Our daughter is in college now. We have taught her part of ministry is keeping up with current issues in the world. Whether you have a strong opinion on an issue or not, you need to understand how both sides feel. Many of the issues spill over into the views people have of God, Christianity or Christians. It may not be fair, but it’s just a fact of life.
I was interested when offered to review the book Befriend by Scott Sauls. Billed as a book to “create belonging in an age of judgment, isolation and fear”, I think it has a slightly different value for Christian parents of older kids and teens.
Sales uses the book to make the case for “befriending” everyone from ourselves to “prodigals and pharisees” and everyone in between. What he actually does is examine a lot of the people issues creating stumbling blocks to faith for many non-Christians and Christians today. In each chapter, he mixes scriptures and stories – many personal – to both lay out the issue and then make the case for how he believes God would want us to interact with each.
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).”
Have you ever been told you have a strong personality? Or called tenacious? Or overwhelming? Chances are you are a strong willed woman. Many strong willed women are threatened by other women with strong wills as they see them as some sort of competition. I love to surround myself with them, because I have found they are more than capable of getting things done long after others have thrown in the towel.
Family devotionals are a great way to expose your children to God’s Word at home. Even if you use a devotional book or read from scripture and pray, it’s often difficult to find a consistent time to have them regularly. Why not shake things up a bit and have family devotional theme dinners?