What Children Have Lost
To face the world with confidence, children need security, faith, and courage. Security comes from knowing the truth. Faith is strengthened when we believe the truth. And courage is the result of acting on the truth.
Do you ever feel that finding all the resources you need for successful parenting is an impossible task? On any given day, a parent may need to have handy a child psychology manual, a fix-it-yourself instruction guide, a volume on basic theology, and a good book on emergency first aid!
While you may not find all of those on our website, we believe you will find the resources here to be practical, invaluable, and uplifting as you seek to shape the hearts of your children. With these tools at your side, you can begin to see the role of parenting as not only one of the most challenging experiences but also one of the most rewarding.
To face the world with confidence, children need security, faith, and courage. Security comes from knowing the truth. Faith is strengthened when we believe the truth. And courage is the result of acting on the truth.
Some days you just can’t win. You feel distant from your kids when you want to be close and no matter how hard you try you fear you’re only passing bad traits—instead of the good ones. Sometimes the lyrics of a song express accurately the attitudes of the heart better than anything else.
One of the best ministries a parent can sustain is confrontation. If you do not get the attention of your child, you are rearing a monster. You confront your children not because you want them to fail, but because you want them to succeed.
The housework will always be there, but the kids won’t. Give them all the attention you can. The sacrifices you’re making right now are worth the effort.
Rebellion begins in childhood and continues into adulthood. That’s why it’s so important to teach young children to obey. And they learn best from their parents’ example.
There is no pursuit more important than the cultivation of your family. That’s the one eternal thing you leave behind. While you can’t undo the past, you can work intentionally to reconcile and restore your relationships.
Playing favourites is nothing new. In fact, the Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau describes a family torn apart by favouritism. Parents and teachers today can learn from this family story—favouritism causes division that continues for generations.
Too often, we end up saying “if only I had known then what I know now.” Since there’s no way to go back and relive our lives, we need to focus on the best way to respond to these painful memories. Otherwise, we will live under clouds of blame and shame and be paralyzed by fear.
Living harmoniously as a family is an ongoing, intentional journey. The beginning of that journey is marked by great anticipation and genuine excitement. A bride and groom have high hopes and great dreams as they start out life together. However, as in all journeys, unexpected challenges pop up, including the arrival of children, which requires the couple to cultivate valuable parenting skills—without a handbook!
Unless dealt with appropriately, conflicts lead to permanent breakdowns in our relationships that time alone cannot heal. If we wish to cultivate healthy relationships, especially with our children, reconciliation is essential. But…how?