A Profound Question

Lately, Coby and I have really been more interested in parenting books and messages than ever before. I wonder if it has anything to do with the fact that we have a 2 1/2 year old who often throws her beautiful self on the floor in fits of anger trying to get her way. She did that today in Target. Or maybe it is because she often points her finger at her mama and says, "No! You go away!" Or it could be that many times throughout the day she is jerking toys out of her baby sister's hand saying, "Mine!" I don't know, but our ears are perked and we are listening...

I was talking with my mother-in-law yesterday about this. She just got back from an apologetics conference in North Carolina where she had the privilege of hearing Dr. James Dobson speak. It seems that there is an urgency for families to step it up a bit. The world is getting very, very loud and we need to make sure that our children are prepared. Two books recommended to Coby and I early on were "Child Training Tips" by Reb Bradley and "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Tedd Tripp. We have both found ourselves reading these books over and over again. They are pretty much in line with the scriptures and have become quite handy to us as we seek more knowledge and understanding. We have recently loved listening to Tedd Tripp's Biblical Parenting series online through the Resurgence Conference. I am amazed at the information that we have access too. This information is not worldy parenting information but it is all based on the Word of God.

Another awesome opportunity we have had has been to hear a Kingdom Parenting series taught in our Bible Fellowship class by Dr. Larry Taylor. Larry has 4 boys, one of whom is in college at Yale University. This past weekend, he asked a profound question that we have not ever put too much thought into: "What habit do we want Ava and Sophia to have when they are 20 or 25?" hmmmm... That really makes you think! A friend, Julie, who was sitting at our discussion table gave the best answer. She said that she wants her son to rely on the Word of God for every part of his life. I think that if our children rely on what God says to us in His word then they will be content and not materialistic. They will have more of a desire to feed the hungry than to have those new expensive shoes. They will also have an urgency to share the gospel with their neighbors, coworkers, etc. They will not give in to temptations to feed the flesh but will rely on every word of God. They will be kind, compassionate, and forgiving as it says in Ephesians. They will desire to live lives of purity b/c the Word of God instructs them to be holy and blameless so that they can approve the will of God. Do you see? Every situation that we face has an answer in the Bible.

This question has changed some things for us as parents. One thing that Dr. Taylor has encouraged us to do is to have a personal spiritual plan, a marriage plan, and a family plan. We are so excited to develop these and hold fast to them. In our plans, we will be able to implement how we want to train our girls to rely on the Word of God. I am so excited to be able to train them in this way over the next 18 years.