God Is Not an Extra-Curricular Activity

God Is Not an Extra-Curricular Activity - Parenting Like HannahExtra-curricular activities for young children are a relatively recent development. A few decades ago, a handful of kids might have played ball, taken music or dance lessons or been in scouts. At the most though, you had something to do one or two afternoons a week for an hour or less. Boy have things changed!

Today’s children- even very young ones- have scheduling calendars to rival the most successful business person’s. Every minute of every day is scheduled tightly – from the moment they wake up in the morning until their head hits the pillow way too late at night. Dozens of books and articles have been written warning of the dangers of over scheduling your children.

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Every Reason to Stay

Every Reason to Stay - Parenting Like HannahA happy marriage is one of the best gifts you can give your children. Unfortunately, marriage – even Christian marriages – involve two sinful people living together. This means even the best of marriages have disagreements and tough times. If your marriage has issues – a lot of issues, you may be tempted to walk away.

Part of being a Christian is coming to grips with the difficult teachings of God. One of which is that God hates divorce. Oh, He makes a few exceptions, but in general it is obvious He wants us to stay married. Yet what do you do when it feels like you are at the end of your marital rope? How do you hang on for one more day when you believe that is what God would want you to do? Is your relationship even worth saving?

I don’t know the answers to your questions, but maybe I can give you some hope. Vicki Rose is a woman who looked like she was living the dream. Her husband owned a popular restaurant in New York City and they were part owners of the Yankees with all of the perks. Yet their marriage was an utter disaster.

Neither Vicki nor her husband were Christians when they married and God was not a priority (or really even a factor) in their relationship. Years of infidelity, drug use and selfish behavior left their marriage in shambles. Yet learning about God and His plans for them changed everything.

I won’t kid you, this is not a step-by-step how to save your marriage book. The author does mention at the end of the book a few major things she believes helped turn things around in their marriage, but they are very general. Turning their marriage around was not a quick nor an easy process. It actually took several years. What I do love about this book though is that it is as gripping as a novel, but can also give you some perspective and possibly even hope about your own marriage.

While the book definitely gives God the credit for the changes in the Roses’s marriage, the theology is a little off at times. My biggest issue is that in spite of being an avid Bible reader, the author failed to mention the importance of baptism in becoming a Christian (it is mentioned in every conversion in Acts.) There were a couple of other very minor things, but in general her thesis idea is correct – God can change lives and marriages.

I am in no position to give you specific advice about your marriage. All I can do is suggest you pray, search the scriptures, ask for solid Christian counsel and perhaps read this book to give you some additional hope. I truly believe it is God’s desire that we have solid Christian marriages. Maybe this book will give you what you need to keep working on yours with your spouse.

Teaching Kids About Absolute Truth

Teaching Kids About Absolute Truth - Parenting Like HannahWant to hear something scary? A recent poll of 18-32 year olds revealed 80% of them felt it was perfectly fine to lie to get out of an awkward situation. Eighty percent of young adults think lying is perfectly acceptable!

I will admit lying will send me over the edge quicker than just about anything. I struggled with lying as a young child. That is until my parents decided to trot out every Bible verse about how much God absolutely detests lying. I am sure I have told an occasional lie since then, but I try to keep it to none. I am honestly still too frightened by the sheer number and emphatic nature of those Bible verses!

In today’s society, trotting out the Bible verses unfortunately, probably won’t stop your child from lying. Why? Because lying has been given such an extremely narrow definition by the world, your child will think she isn’t lying even when she is. In today’s world, a lie is a huge untruth told on purpose to hurt someone else. Partial truths, hidden truths, lies told to “spare” someone else, little “white” lies and more are considered acceptable and “not really lies” in the world.

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What Sheep Can Teach Your Kids About Jesus

What Sheep Can Teach Your Children About Jesus - Parenting Like HannahHave you ever thought about how often sheep appear in the Bible? From Jacob and Laban and the spotted/not spotted sheep to the first Passover meal to David as a shepherd boy, sheep play an important role in many Bible stories. Sheep are great animals. They can provide milk, cheese and clothing while still remaining alive to provide again another day. Of course when they were someone’s dinner or used for sacrifices, they needed to be replaced. So soon sheep also became a vital part of the local economy.

During the ministry of Jesus, sheep took center stage. Not just because shepherds were some of the first people to worship the baby Jesus, but because Jesus called himself our shepherd. He even said that we, his followers, were his sheep. Jesus told parables about sheep to make some important points about his role in our lives.

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Stop Bullying by Cutting Screen Time?

Stop Bullying by Cutting Screen Time? - Parenting Like HannahSchool has started in many places and with it is a new campaign to stop bullying. As usual, there is an educational component and some sort of pledge to sign. While I applaud any efforts to change something for the better, the solution may be simpler than we think. Drastically limit or eliminate screen time for children and teens. Sounds simplistic and a little extreme? Keep reading.

The other week my teenage daughter came home horrified. She had watched in shock as a parent gave a child about a year old an iPhone to play with for an extended period of time. She has regaled me with stories from her acquaintances of parents encouraging their children to watch multiple hours (6-8+) of television during the day or children watching totally inappropriate media at very young ages. I thought television viewing was bad in my day, but between television, video games and other “screens” the average child spends most of their waking, non-school hours looking at some sort of screen.

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