Helping Your Kids understand What God Wants

Helping Your Kids Understand What God Wants - Parenting Like HannahAsk someone unfamiliar with the Bible and they will probably tell you Christianity is about knowing and obeying a list of rules. They may be basing their thoughts on some facts they learned from a few Bible stories or sermons. Or they may even have a basic understanding of the idea that God has given mankind some commands He expects us to obey. What they lack is the complete understanding of God and what He wants from us and for us.

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Raising Kids to Be Who God Meant Them To Be

Raising Kids To Be Who God Created Them To Be - Parenting Like HannahOne of my favorite things about New York City is the niche stores you can find everywhere. Want anything, and there is probably a store somewhere in the city that sells every variation of that item ever created. Last week, I found this great store in Chelsea Market that had bins of all types of different spices and teas.

The store took great pains to carefully label each bin with the name of the spice or tea it contained. Some spices look very similar to each other. If you have ever mistakenly substituted cumin for cinnamon in a recipe though, you understand how important it is to know exactly which spice you are buying.

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Kids, Resiliency and God

Kids, God and Resiliency - Parenting Like HannahRecently, I was talking with a counselor who works with young adults. One of the concerns many, including this counselor, share is the increasing lack of resiliency they are seeing in children, teens and young adults.

Resiliency is the ability to recover quickly when one encounters tough times or something bad happens. It allows the person to “rise from the ashes” and move on with their lives. People who lack resiliency are often those who seem to get stuck when they encounter an obstacle or life doesn’t go the way they had hoped. In fact, a lack of resiliency can even lead to self-destructive behaviors, including suicide.

Unfortunately, helicopter parenting or its mirror twin detached parenting don’t provide ways for young people to learn how to be resilient. Helicopter parents prevent anything from happening to their children that is even unpleasant. They don’t give their kids the chance to learn that they can indeed bounce back from unfortunate events. Detached parents barely notice their kids are encountering tough times and surely don’t provide guidance on how to bounce back from them.

The ironic thing about all of the articles on resiliency is that if we have been teaching our children about God and who He is, they will already have the tools for resiliency at their fingertips. So what are some of the tools of real godly resiliency? Here are a few of my favorites:

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Fun Ways School Supplies Can Teach Your Kids About God

Fun Ways School Supplies Can Teach Your Kids About God - Parenting Like HannahSchools don’t start here for another month or so, but school supply areas are already filled in box retailers. school supplies now cost pennies on the dollar compared to what they cost the rest of the year. You can buy a lot of supplies for not much money at all if you watch the special sales that they often add to the already lower prices. Then bring the supplies home and have some fun in these last hot days of summer using them to teach your kids about God.

So what are some fun things you and your kids can do with school supplies and learn more about God and what He wants from us and for us in the process? Here are some of my favorites:

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Summer Reading for Christian Kids and Teens

Summer Reading for Christian Kids and Teens - Parenting Like HannahSummer often brings reading lists for kids and teens. Sometimes, they are given specific books to read, but often there is a lot of freedom. Wouldn’t it be great if some of that extra reading time could be spent reading books that will encourage your children to live godly lives? There are actually quite a few good Christian/positive secular books for kids and teens on the market.

I have had several people ask me for suggestions, particularly of good non-fiction books. The list below is not complete and not all are technically “Christian” books. They are all, however, books that will get your children thinking. Take advantage of the summer slow times and ask them to share with you some of the things from these books they particularly liked and others with which they are not sure they agree.

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