When I meet someone who left the church during their teens and early twenties, I often ask what their parents could have done that might have kept them from leaving. Surprisingly, almost everyone mentions they wish they had seen that their parents’ faith made a difference in their lives in some way. The sad thing is those parents would probably be able to share multiple ways God touched their lives over the years. Yet, they never shared this with their kids. As a result, their children thought serving God was a waste of time.
The good news is everyone loves a good story – even your teens. You probably already tell stories from your family or about things that happened when you were the same age as your children. Whether you realize it or not, often those stories are great teaching tools. Jesus knew stories were effective ways to get across a point. That’s what the parables Jesus told did for the people. It helped them lower their defenses and hear important wisdom in ways they could easily understand and remember.
Giving your kids the gift of your personal faith stories is so very important. Those stories help them see God and understand how He continues to work in the lives of His people. You don’t have to have stories as awe inspiring as Moses to reach your kids. Often, our every day faith stories are just as inspiring and helpful in their own ways.
So what types of personal faith stories can you tell your children? There are probably many, but begin by thinking about times these things happened in your life:
Continue reading Telling Personal Faith Stories to Your Kids
The other day, I was having lunch with a children’s minister in another state. As we discussed our hopes and concerns for the current generation of children, we began talking about the impact Christian parenting can have on a child. We shared stories of being congratulated for giving birth to “compliant” children (neither of us had), of having great “luck” in how our kids (now in their teens and in college) were acting and how many times we had heard the ever popular “Your kids are great now, but just wait until (the next stage).”
The other day I noticed the leaves were beginning to change. It seemed rather strange since we have barely had a day with temperatures below ninety degrees in months. Even though cooler weather seems to speed up the change a bit, God must have placed the trees on some sort of timer…when it’s time, those leaves are going to change. It’s God’s timing for this part of His creation.
If your children can speak, you probably realize they consider you and anyone else close to your age “old”. I laugh now, because I will talk to friends from home and they will mention someone is “getting older”. In my memory, that person had to be at least in their 60’s or 70’s when I was a child. Inevitably, I will ask “What?! Isn’t she over 100 by now?” Usually, I realize the “old” person had actually been only in their 30’s or 40’s when I was little!