Author: Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

Christian Conversation Starters

One of the most effective ways to teach your children God’s principles and concepts is through casual, but planned conversations. Some parents call them teachable moments. A teachable moment is when another child almost darts into the street and then a car whizzes by. The parent uses what just happened to reinforce or introduce the concept of “that is why you don’t run into the street without looking, because he could have been killed!”

Teachable moments are different than lectures. There is almost a “we are in this together” tone to the conversation. The conversation mentions the rule or the principle but focuses more on the natural consequences of not obeying the rule or principle. (As opposed to the more lecture oriented “If I ever catch you, I will ____” consequence!)

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What A Son Needs From His Mom

Growing up, I had a younger brother and lots of guy neighbors and friends. I wasn’t exactly a tomboy, but I could kick a football barefooted and knew enough about sports to impress my buddies. I was very comfortable hanging out with guys and imagined if I ever had a son, raising him would be somewhat intuitive.

Having a daughter has kept me immersed in the world of tea parties, dress buying and girl things for the last sixteen years. I have hesitated to comment much on raising boys in case things have changed since my childhood. Until recently, my search for solid books on raising boys has not been very successful.

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Using Every Day Things to Impress God’s Words

I don’t know why, but many people think having scriptures on various items is a cheesy way to decorate. Yet in the Old Testament, God told the people to have scriptures on at least a couple of places around the house – the door post and the gate.

Why did God want scriptures where people had to see them entering their yards and their houses? The Bible never says specifically, but my guess is that it reminded them every time they came home and every time they left, “whose they are”.

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Lies Satan Tells Moms (and Dads)

I have to give Satan his props. He is tricky and bold. Look back at the story of Adam and Eve. As far as we can tell, the only rule they had was that they were not to eat or even touch the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (apples aren’t mentioned anywhere!). God wanted to make sure they understood, so He added a warning, “Or you will die.”

Now I don’t know about you, but when my mother taught me not to drink drain cleaner and added, “Because you could die”, I took her very seriously. In fact to this day, I am not even tempted to drink drain cleaner. Yet, for Adam and Eve something didn’t click.

I think there is something we can’t pick up on easily in the story. I am not sure what the serpent looked like or what he sounded like, but there was something in the way he said his temptation that convinced them they wouldn’t really die and would even get benefits from disobeying God.

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Moms Declaring War on Satan

I am officially declaring the end of the war between working moms and stay-at-home moms. Not because I don’t have an opinion, but because I think this trumped up, media fueled war is distracting all mothers from the real enemy. Our enemy is not other moms. Our enemy is Satan. I know even many Christians question the existence of Satan, but I assure you he is real and active in our world. Reading the headlines can validate that very quickly.

So how does Satan attack mothers? Surely, he is too busy with other things to worry about than how mothers parent their children? Actually, I think parents may be Satan’s number one target. You see, children are the most vulnerable individuals in any society. Anyone in education will tell you, how a child is parented and educated in the early years will effect everything the child does for the rest of his life. If Satan can convince us to parent poorly, he has made winning the next generation away from God much easier for himself.

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