Christian Kids and Good Things

Christian Kids and Good Things - Parenting Like HannahAdmit it. When you read the title of this post, your first thought was probably about teaching kids to “be good” or “do good”. Christianity is much more than being and doing good though. At it’s core is the story of God who lovingly created a world, but more importantly, us.

It’s about how God created not only a good, but a perfect world for us to inhabit. It’s about how even when Satan tempted Adam and Eve to sin – destroying the perfect world – God still allowed good things in the Fallen World. It’s about how His love sent His son to die on the cross so we can spend eternity in a perfect world – Heaven.

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Is Christian Parenting Too Hard?

Is Christian Parenting Too Hard - Parenting Like HannahIf you have ever homeschooled your child, I am sure you have had this conversation many times. You mention you homeschool and the other parent very quickly says “I could never do that. It’s too hard. (Fill in excuse.).” Now most parents aren’t quite that brave about admitting 100% Christian parenting is too hard, but you can tell they are thinking it. Or that’s it really not that necessary to “try so hard” or “do so much”.

After having ministered to kids and their families for several decades now, I can see a lot of patterns. I watch as parents parent young children in certain ways and then I see how the children grow (or don’t grow) in their faith as they become teens and then adults. It may not be 100% accurate, but it is pretty close. The parents who do certain things and avoid others almost always raise children who become faithful, productive Christians. Those who don’t, may get lucky once in a blue moon or may have adult children who attend church for family, social or business reasons, but there is a definite difference.

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Christian Kids and Summer

Christian Kids and Summer - Parenting Like HannahIn Atlanta, summer breaks begin in about a month from now. Summer is not what it used to be. With more parents working, many school systems are going to an almost year around calendar. Your children’s summer break may only be six to eight weeks compared to the three months we had as kids. Yet, those six to eight weeks are a special gift to your family.

If you aren’t careful, summer can quickly become as over scheduled as the school year. Or you may be tempted to send your kids away to camps for the majority of it. Or maybe your family just sort of fritters the days away with no real plan.

Don’t waste this gift of increased time with your kids. Here are some ways to make the most of this summer.

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Kids, Museums and God

Kids, Museums and God - Parenting Like HannahOne of my favorite things to do is watch parents literally drag young children through museums. If you are new to this experience, let me enlighten you. Young children generally do not find walking through one of the largest buildings they have ever seen with room after large room of paintings, sculptures and random objects fun. Sure, a few will catch their attention. Trust me though if you are on day three of a touring vacation or your child is tired and hungry, it can be painful.

If you persevere through the whining and complaints… If you make enough bargains of “let’s just treasure hunt to see if we can find this painting” or “just look at this one gallery”, you most likely will raise a child who appreciates museums. You may even find your children ask you at some point to take them to a particular exhibit or museum.

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Great Family Devotional Resource

Great Family Devotional Resource - Parenting Like HannahFamily devotionals are tough. We all have the best of intentions, but it seems like most of us accomplish family devotionals sporadically at best. One of the problems is keeping it interesting for kids and easy for parents. So, I’m always on the lookout for family devotional resources to help.

Recently, I was offered the opportunity to review 52 Weekly Devotionals For Busy Families by Karen Whiting. This great devotional guide is brand new and could provide just what you have been wanting. For me, the best part is that it is divided into weekly devotionals, but not daily ones within that framework. Which means you can stay on track – and not become discouraged – if you have a crazy week and only one devotional or a more normal week when you have five or six devotionals.

Within each devotional, the reader is given a theme verse for the week and a longer scripture reference of about a chapter or less. The longer scripture is usually connected to a Bible story. Whiting provides a short devotional reading similar to what you are familiar with in other devotional books. What I really appreciate though is that she took the effort to add three or more activity ideas, two or more ideas for creating a family devotional journal or scrapbook and three or more discussion prompts.

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