Category: Service

5 Listening Skills You Should Be Teaching Your Children

5 Listening Skills You Should Be Teaching Your Children - Parenting Like Hannah
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Did you realize there are dozens of verses in the Bible about listening? Whether it’s listening to God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, parents, wisdom or instruction, it is clearly important to God that our children listen and listen well. If you have children, you have probably been frustrated more than once with their ability to listen – and we won’t even talk about the obeying part!

Strong listening skills are essential to any Christian who wants to make an impact on the world for God. Yet parents, churches and schools spend little time training children how to listen well. Oh, a few may have children practice repeating what they have heard or even answering questions about it, but the listening skills your kids need go far beyond merely recalling details.

So what are the listening skills you need to help your children learn to master?

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Join Our New Parenting Like Hannah Community

Join Our New Parenting Like Hannah Community - Parenting Like HannahWe are so excited about our latest free resource for Christian parents! Many of you have been asking for a private community Facebook group. We heard you and it’s live now! The Parenting Like Hannah Community is a safe place for Christian parents to be encouraged and challenged on their Christian parenting journey.

 

Community members will have access to special content including:
– live chats
– in depth discussions of blog content
– first look at new resources
– priority registration for learning intensives
– opportunities to have your parenting questions answered by more experienced moms

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Christian Families and the Kindness Challenge

Christian Families and the Kindness Challenge - Parenting Like HannahUnless you have been living on another planet for the last few years, you may have noticed there is an increasing lack of kindness in our world. It seems everyone has lost the filter that keeps them from saying and doing every hurtful, hateful thing that enters their minds. Sadly, even Christians have not seemed to be totally immune to this virus of unkindness.

When anyone teaches on the Fruit of the Spirit, they seem to fly right over kindness. It’s definitely on the list though, right after love, joy, peace and patience. Yet, I have never heard sermons or read articles and books on the idea that God expects his people to be kind. Period.

I was interested naturally, when a book on kindness was finally offered to me to review. It was by one of my favorite Christian authors, Shaunti Feldhahn. Her books on marriage are great, because they combine God’s commands and principles with hard, cold facts, leaving no wiggle room for avoiding what you must do.

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Christmas Family Service Fun

Christmas Family Service Fun - Parenting Like HannahMy favorite part of Christmas is that our daughter has a lengthy break from college. It allows us some time together when she isn’t forced to spend a lot of time on schoolwork. This year instead of spending all of that free time with your kids in separate rooms doing different things or stuck with your total attention on devices, make a difference.

How you make a difference is totally up to your family’s creativity, energy and resources. I love this cute little idea from the Women’s Ministry at our congregation. It’s not only a little something to brighten someone’s day, but it leaves them with the name of the church of the (hopefully) nice person who was so kind and friendly to them.

Want other ideas? You can go to our parent website at Teach One Reach One and find a lot of other ideas for service projects. Or if you are on Pinterest, follow our founder Thereasa Winnett or search for her service board, where she has pinned other great service ideas from around the internet.

Service projects are a great way to teach your children lots of godly commands and principles. It gives them real world experience in who, how and why God wants us to serve. If done well, it can also give your children practice in beginning to share their faith with others. Hopefully, what you do will also make a positive difference in the lives of people who need to experience a little more of God’s love in their lives through your family.

So pull out your family calendar. Gather your kids and start planning your Christmas of serving!

Creative Ways to Thank Others During Your Family Gratitude Month

Creative Ways to Thank Others - Parenting Like HannahSo, you have decided to join the family gratitude month challenge. The first couple of days were easy enough, but now it’s starting to seem more like a chore. Introducing a little fun into the challenge can help your family show their thankfulness for the entire thirty days of November.

As always, Pinterest is your friend. Don’t feel like you have to get caught up in that Elf On The Shelf type competitive madness though, for your family month of gratitude. If you and your kids are having fun writing notes or making cookies for the entire month – go for it.

If you want some new ideas though, here are a few I have used or seen over the years (my apologies to the original creative people – I have no idea of the original source of any of these):

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