School starts here in a little over a week. Extra curricular activities will start soon after. In a few weeks, the only “quality time” you may have with your kids is when you are in the car together going from place to place. (And no, I am not a fan, but it is what it is.)
One of my favorite scriptures for Christian parents is Deuteronomy 6:6-7. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You should impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (NIV) Only today, we may need to add “while in the car along the road”, but I think you get the point.
Proverbs is one of my favorite books in the Bible to encourage kids and teens to read independently. It is relatively easy to understand and is filled with lots of great practical advice for living a godly life. It even has 31 chapters – removing the stress of missing a day of Bible reading. Just read the chapter with the same number as the current date.
by John Mason. I was in hopes it would include a discussion of the types of prayers reading Proverbs might prompt the Christian reader to pray. Unfortunately, this was not the case.
Someone has taken the concept of idle hands being the devil’s workshop and decided children and teens should not have a spare moment of unscheduled time. Schools are pressured to give lots of homework and keep kids at the building for as many hours as possible. Extra curricular activities often demand young people practice or perform six to seven days a week – all year. We run our kids from activity to activity, coming home in time for them to do homework and get inadequate amounts of sleep. If our kids do have a rare free moment, all they have the energy to do is zone out in front of a screen – watching videos or playing games.
Sounds a little strange I know, but I think it is possible to have been a Christian for many years and not have a personal prayer life. If you weren’t raised in a home where prayer was modeled as your connection and lifeline to God, you may feel confused about prayer. Perhaps you even believe the corporate prayers at church cover everything you need.
, by Stephen and Alex Kendrick was written for people who are somewhat new to the idea of the power of prayer. The book breaks down the various aspects of what one should pray and the basics of how to pray.
Nothing will drive to your knees in prayer like becoming a mother. Those precious little souls are so vulnerable. Hopefully, you have been praying since before your children were even born – for their physical needs and safety, but more importantly for the things that will touch their souls. Perhaps though the exhaustion that often accompanies mothering has thwarted your prayer life. Not only may you find yourself falling asleep mid-prayer, but you may also have realized days have gone by without you having any sort of personal conversation with God at all.