Teaching Your Children to Follow Where God Leads

Teaching Your Children to Follow Where God Leads - Parenting Like HannahIf you have been following the twelve month plan for Teaching Children to Live More Like Jesus, you have been busy working with your children on quite a few practical Christian habits and attributes. This month is probably the toughest, perhaps because I am still working through the subject myself in some ways.

One of the qualities Jesus displayed time and time again was that he went where God led him. Sometimes it was to dinner at someone’s house, sometimes it was to heal people. In the end, God’s Will led Jesus to die a painful death on the Cross. Jesus was obviously not thrilled about the idea of a painful death and separation from God even for a time, but ultimately Jesus went where God had led him.

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Teaching Children to Stand Up Regardless of the Consequences

Teaching Children to Stand Up Regardless of the Consequences - Parenting Like Hannah
Photo by Paul and Teresa Villa

If you have been following our one year plan for Teaching Your Children to Live More Like Jesus, you know I am posting this at the end of the month instead of the beginning. Our family left town for three weeks, school started and we have several older family members in ill health. I felt guilty at first, but realized this gave me an opportunity to encourage you.

Often, we start programs or ideas or Bible studies with the best of intentions. We do really well for awhile and then life sort of explodes on us. Maybe you have one of those weeks when the car and two major appliances break down at once. Perhaps you had to go out of town or sit in the hospital with a loved one. Maybe you were just too tired to move.

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Teaching Kids to Live More Like Jesus Month Six Challenge

Teaching Kids to Live More Like Jesus Month Six Challenge - Parenting Like Hannah
Photo by Alexander Lyubavin

If you have been working with your children on our year long challenge to teach them to live more like Jesus, they are hopefully developing some great new habits. You may be wondering about this month’s challenge though. Why is it important for our children to know how to ask meaningful questions and listen to the answers with love?

Jesus set a wonderful example by reaching out to the marginalized people of his day. No real religious leader at the time would want to have been seen with tax collectors and prostitutes. Yet, Jesus knew their hearts and spent time with them. He didn’t just meet their physical needs though. He spent time in their houses (Luke 19:5).

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Teaching Children to Tell Others About God

Teaching Children to Tell Others About God - Parenting Like Hannah
Photo by William Warby

If you are following our 12-month challenge to teach your children to live more like Jesus, this month we are focusing on teaching our children to tell others about God. The early Church grew quickly and spread throughout the known world in a very short time. One would think with the internet, airplanes and SKYPE, conversions today would be happening at breakneck speed. Yet now, many of our churches are shrinking instead of growing.

The reasons the church supposedly isn’t growing fascinate me. “Our message sounds outdated.” “We ask people to give up too much.” “It is too hard for people to understand.” “We can’t compete.” If we could only make the Gospel more fun, more exciting, easier. Then we could convert people as quickly as they did in the first century.

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Month Four Challenge: Helping the Hurting

Month Four Challenge: Helping the Hurting - Parenting Like HannahIt’s not too late to join our 12 month challenge to teach your children to live more like Jesus. This month we have been adding the idea of teaching our children to help the hurting. Not just serve them by meeting their needs, but sharing the Gospel message with them as we show them God’s love.

If your family has been searching for ways to help the hurting people of the world, you may just be overwhelmed. It seems like every time I open the paper, read my mail or turn on my computer I am bombarded by stories of people who are hurting. Some in ways I can’t even imagine. All of these people could use our help, but we only have a limited amount of time, energy and resources to give.

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