12 Suggestions For Raising Godly Children

So you want to bring your children up in God’s ways so that they will follow Him. Here are some suggestions for ways you can help achieve this. 1. Pray for and with your child. Let them see the reality of your faith as you turn to the Lord in prayer when problems or hard times come, or just for God’s help with decisions each day. Encourage them by your example to praise God for the blessings of life every day. 2. As you pray for your children, pray for those they will grow up to marry. From the time … Continue reading →

Fathers and Sons- part 2

Yesterday we looked at Saul’s rashness and willful disobedience to God, but what of his son Jonathon? It would seem Jonathon inherited some of Saul’s rashness and dislike for sitting around idle. Keeping it secret from his father, Jonathon made up his mind to cross over and climb up to the Philistine garrison. Unlike his father, Jonathon acted in faith, trusting God to work for them, 1 Samuel 14:6. The way to the garrison was difficult but Jonathon was not fazed by the difficulties for he trusted God to help them. Jonathon acted but only so far, as he then … Continue reading →

Fathers and Sons – part 1

Does the son become like the father? When we look at some people in the bible we see that a godly parent does not necessarily translate to godly offspring. We only have to look at Eli and Samuel to see that. Both their sons abused their positions and did not follow God, see I Samuel 2:12-17 and 1 Samuel 8:1-5. The opposite can also be true, where a godly parent has a godly son. Take the case of Saul and Jonathon Saul’s problems started almost at the beginning of his reign. Samuel told Saul to go to Gilgal and wait … Continue reading →

What Are You Teaching Your Children Through TV?

How much influence does your TV have on your children? We can teach them certain attitudes and values at home but chances are that many of the attitudes and values they see on TV shows will be counterproductive to what we are trying to teach them. In some homes the TV seems goes on first thing in the morning and says on till the last person is in bed at night. The TV is on during meals and when visitors come. It appears many people forget TVs come with an off switch. They sit and complain about the shows on … Continue reading →

What Are You Teaching Your Children About Anger?

Recently we’ve been looking at anger and how to deal with it. What are you teaching your child about anger? Look at Proverbs 15:1 and we find that ‘a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.’ We need to not only watch our words but also the manner in which we deliver them, so we do not incite anger in others. This is true in parenting, as it is in a marriage relationship and in our churches. Years ago I went with my daughter’s school to Canberra and to Parliament House. As we sat in … Continue reading →

Parenting God’s Way – part 2

“Modern mums equate the word wellbeing with ‘happiness’, as if happiness is all that counts or is at least more valuable than discipline, responsibility or overall health,” says social trends researcher Sure, we all want our kids to be happy, but to expect happiness all the time in life is unrealistic. Loss, hard times, sorrow, disappointments come. They are part of life. How are our children going to cope with them if they have not been trained properly, during their growing years? My children both tell people they had happy childhoods. We spent lots of happy hours, reading to them, … Continue reading →

Parenting God’s Way

‘I want my children to be happy. You can’t deprive them of everything or they’ll go the other way and rebel.’ Is this what you think? Is it how you deal with your children? This comment came out of an column by Ruth Ostrow. The comment made by a parent of her child’s friend, was used as an excuse for providing an unhealthy food for her child. Ruth Ostrow went onto say that Neer Korn, researcher of social trends, found many parents ‘have a guilt complex.’ The result is they try and make up for it by providing treats like … Continue reading →

Friend or parent – part 2

On Saturday when my daughter rang,as we were talking,I mentioned Kori’s blog , and the idea that you could not be best friend and parent to your child. ‘It needs to be a balance between the two,’ my daughter said, which I agree with. One of our favorite shows is ‘Gilmore Girls.’ I have bought and finished watching season 7 which has only just been released in Australia. It’s also one of my daughter’s favorites and for the same reason. We both loved the close relationship between Lorelei and Rory. Even so, there were some times I felt like getting … Continue reading →

Friend or Parent to Your Child?

Can you be a best friend to your child as well as a parent? I not only believe it can be done. I know firsthand it can happen. One or the other seemed to be the idea, when Kori raise this issue in a recent blog. But it can be both. For starters it depends on what you mean by ‘best friend’ To me ‘best friend’ is the person you enjoy spending time, the one you go and talk with, and talk things over with. For me throughout childhood and teenage years and even beyond that was my mother. That … Continue reading →

Laziness – part 2 – in parenting

In parenting – sometimes it’s easier in the short term, not to correct and discipline our children but turn a blind eye to wrong behavior. But it’s not helpful to be lazy in this area. By ignoring behavioral and disciplinary issues, it leads to bigger problems as the children grow up. Look at some notable examples in the bible – Eli’s sons and Samson. Contrast this with someone like Esther, who learned obedience at an early age from Mordecai, Esther 2.20. Though Mordecai was her uncle, he was in all senses her parent figure. Spoiling a child does not show … Continue reading →