He Speaks to Me {through others}
One evening I was sitting at a table at a restaurant with six other people; my pastor and his wife, another godly couple we’ve gotten to know over the past two years, and two new friends that I don’t know extremely well were there. Someone asked what we thought was the key to raising godly children. Considering the ages of our kids (only 10, 9, and 8 years old), Josh and I probably should have kept our mouths closed. We did share our opinion, but we did more listening than talking.
The conversation seemed to boil down to three main ideas.
1) PRAY for your kids. Take every concern or desire you have for your children to The Lord. I have really enjoyed using The Power of A Praying Parent by Stormie Omartian as a guide. One of my favorite prayers to pray is that, as their parent, I would see their giftedness and encourage them in it in ways that give God glory.
2) TIME with your kids. Look them in the eyes. Spend one-on-one time with them. Listen to them talk….about big things or little things….let them know you want to hear from them about anything.
3) HUMBLE yourself and apologize when you blow it…and you will blow it. Letting your kids know that you know you were wrong and seeking their forgiveness is HUGE. It gives them a picture of the gospel. God knew there would be times that we would mess up….yell…be impatient…respond selfishly….so He made a way through Jesus to be forgiven and made right with God and others.
While I enjoyed the food and the atmosphere was delightful, I greatly appreciated the conversation. I hope I find myself surrounded with godly people often, and that while I am with them I will ask good questions and listen intently. God often uses other people to speak into my life.
