Have your kids started back to school yet? Whether they are involved in distance learning, in person classes or homeschooling, this is a great time of year to reintroduce family Bible study to your home. Our parent website teachonereachone.org has lots of free activity ideas to help. In case you missed them, here are our social media challenges from the week.
Monday: Because of their lack of knowledge and life experience (amongst other things), your kids will see the world differently than you do – at least in some ways. Sometimes, it can be enlightening or fun. At other times it can cause fear – especially when those differences show a tendency to reject God or His commands. The trick is to constantly have conversations about spiritual matters from the time your kids are very little. Explain why you believe what you believe. Help them understand the benefits and struggles of living a Christian life. Show a passion for reading scripture and trying to be more godly, serving others and sharing your faith. Let them see the difference God has made in you. There are no guarantees, but avoiding discussing their doubts won’t make them disappear. They will just get answers to them from someone else. Someone who may not believe in God at all.
Tuesday: These mushrooms are interesting. They can only handle so much heat and then they just start shriveling up. Your kids are like that. They may appear oblivious to stress, but at some point it begins impacting them negatively. They need you to teach them godly coping strategies like prayer, scriptures, exercise, art, music and others. If not, they are more likely to turn to unhealthy, ungodly or even dangerous or sinful ways to cope when the stress levels get too high. Now is a great time to start having those conversations and giving them guided practice.
Wednesday: Believe it or not, this is one building. It took years to finish and every time they hired a new crew, they started building in their favorite style! Your kids spiritual beliefs will look like this if you don’t help them build strong faith foundations. Even many Christian adults have taken a belief or two from multiple religions or world views and tried to merge them with Christianity. Jesus made it very clear that will not work on any level. Your kids need strong grounding in biblical truths and help in developing wisdom and discernment. The church can help, but ultimately it is your responsibility to teach them, train them and help mold their hearts. It takes a lot of time and energy. It may be the hardest thing you ever do, but the rewards are eternal.
Thursday: The Bible talks a lot about joy, hope, contentment. The world then wasn’t any better than the world is now. It’s important to teach your kids how to find that joy and hope even in a difficult season like this. It’s not always about loving or even liking what is happening. It’s about understanding the big picture of eternity in Heaven. Of knowing God is with us and loves us. Of seeing the blessings and God created beauty around us. Take some time today to point out things that remind all of you that God is here loving you, right now.
Friday: Toasties and chips? Sammies and fries? Different cultures use different words or have different meanings for the same words. Your kids are in a different culture than you because of the age difference. You need to understand the words they use. You don’t need to necessarily use their slang (it really annoys some teens), but you must understand it. Ask, google do what you need to do to stay fluent in their language. It changes rapidly but can cover all sorts of issues your kids or their friends may be having. Understanding what your kids are saying can be an important parenting tool.