Parenting and Religion

Summer can be a time of fun for the whole family, together. Planning may be all that’s needed for you to have small time frames or days at a time of fun with your family.
With many Christian festivals, such as Creation, Kingdom Bound, and Alive, summer fun like camping, picnicing, and beach visits, there is an array of things to choose from.
Summer family fun can include anything you all enjoy. Trips to the park, the zoo, playgrounds, and camp fires at night, all add up to a great time, and wonderful memories being made.

Shopping can be a chore, or it can be fun for all. Prom dress shopping was definitely fun for all. Finding the perfect dress, going from one store to another, ooooing and aahhhing over all the beautiful dresses, and then some more as the sale prices were seen…fun times, fun people, fun with my daughters.
Times such as these are becoming more and more precious to me as I watch my children slowly (but it seems too fast), grow up, move on, and become adults.
That’s one great thing about having a lot of kids, by the time the third and fourth ones come around to nearing adulthood, you know how to appreciate the time together as parent and child, and hold it in your heart even more, on purpose, knowing it will be short lived. Before you know it, it is parent and young adult…still your child, but also your friend.
This is nice too, but holding the memories of childhood helps it be even better.
My advice to young parents: Make memories, and remember on purpose.
As they grow up and develop lives apart from you, you will continue to make memories, but they will be of a different variety than when they were young.
Growing up can be difficult, watching how fast they grow up can be even more difficult; but if the memories are there of time spent together, you will have an easier time letting them go, and letting them grow.
Shopping and memories, part of letting them grow up.

Yesterday when I was at work, (I work in a toy store), an elderly woman was leaning on the counter while her son and his family looked around. She started motioning for my left hand, which was lying on the counter. She said “Let me see that.”
I gave her my hand, and she began marveling over the beauty of my rings, particularly my “diamond” ring. It is beautiful.
I asked her if she really liked it, and she said “It’s stunning!”
I then told her that if she wants one, I can get it for her from Avon, for about $12.00.
She said “NO!!You can’t be serious!”

See how easy it is to be fake?
Diamonds can look real, to the untrained eye. So can people.
We need to be on guard our, spiritual eyes open, to see the devices of the enemy before he gets to attack.
There are so many people who trust anyone who goes to church, they are blinded to the truth that everyone has a past, and everyone has things that will always temp them. There are people who want to get close to our kids, with purposes that aren’t good. Their plans are evil, and it’s up to us to keep our eyes on them, and not be ignorant.
Now, I’m not saying that we aren’t all forgiven, I am saying that parents shouldn’t just trust someone because they say they are born again.
Let’s not be ignorant of Satan’s devices. One of his devices is to hurt our kids, using adults they think they can trust. We need to make sure that the relationships our kids have with other adults is monitored by us, and follows our rules.
We also need to make sure that anyplace our kids are taught, ministered to, and play, is safe.
There are websites you can find that have the addresses of child prdators in your area. These are only people who are second and third degree sex offenders, so the list is not all inclusive.
I found out there is an older man who lives three doors down from us who was convicted of molesting boys as young as six. He is fresh out of prison, and my kids aren’t allowed to ride their bikes alone out there any more.
Using wisdom, setting the rules for relationships between kids and adults, and not being ignorant. These are possibly the best things we can do for our children;s safety.

I have been taking my kids to an inner city outreach, where they can be ministered to at kids church, as well as minister to other kids. It stood out to me last night just how important it is to teach our kids to memorize scripture, and to have it memorized ourselves.
When we get into situations where we need to control our thoughts, know how to pray, or need to have something to say to encourage someone else, having the Word hidden in our hearts is good, having it hidden in our hearts, and fresh in our minds is better.
Teaching our children the importance of hiding God’s word in their hearts, is part of our job as mom and dad.
Taking our position in their lives, means taking it seriously. We have got to make sure we train them in the way they should go, in their gifts, their uniqueness, their careers, their relationships, and especially their relationship with God.
The need for the Word never leaves, it grows as we grow.
Let’s be prepared for anything, with hiding the word in our hearts and minds.

When we were in church yesterday, my five year old son, Andy, was sitting next to me in the front row. Andy was holding a little stuffed dog that has become his favorite. All of a sudden. the dog flew out of his hands and hit the wall, about two chairs over from us. After he picked up the puppy, I took it away from him, and held it while I told him “If you throw the dog again, I will take him away and you won’t get him back!”
He looked at me like I didn’t know what I was talking about and said “Mom, I didn’t thrown him, he jumped!!!”
Now, my question is, how do I maintain a straight face when my kids are so funny?
I did tell him that jumping dogs aren’t allowed in church, but I was having a very hard time looking serious. (I probably only thought I looked serious, because he was smiling at me when he said he would tell the dog no more flying.)
I guess life is full of lessons, but the ones I seem to be running into lately are keeping a straight face, being firm in the midst of cuteness, and not laughing when the kids say something they don’t mean to be funny.
I guess jumping dogs may be the least of my worries, I have kids who are more creative than they should be allowed to be…..I guess I better point them in the way they should go, and keep a good sense of humor along the way.

It’s a common thing that when we are riding in the car, my five year old son will notice street signs. When he sees the sign with a picture of a deer, he says “Mom, watch out for deers!”, and when he sees a picture of people crossing the street, he will say “Mom, watch out for peoples!”. A few days ago we were driving back to my parent’s house, when he said “Mom, watch out for boys on teeter totters’!”
I love this age.
When the innocence of a life being protected from the evils of the world is so obvious. When I think about all they still need to learn, it makes me glad that I have opportunity to show them the way to go.
That’s what parents are supposed to do, show them the way to go.
It can be such a temptation to try and be their friend, but what they need us to be is their mom and dad.
Teaching our kids how to handle life, what to do and not to do, and helping them find their way in the world; that is what we are to do. The way they should go…
Teaching them to follow Christ, to love their neighbor, to put others first, and to show compassion to the people they will meet in life; that is what we are supposed to do.
If I do my job right, my kids will grow up and serve the Lord, use their gifts, and be giving, loving adults.
Please pray for me, I don’t want to run over any boys on teeter totters.

A fellow blogger, Bryan Ayers at The Focused Family, has a great blog up about being intentional in our attention to our kids.
He talks about how often a crisis can happen in the blink of an eye, the few moments we may not have our attention on our kids.
How many times have accidents happened, and we were right there?
Or you see something about to happen, and it seems like you are moving in low motion as you try to get to them fast enough?
Being intentional with our attention is something we have to work to do. I know how easy it is to be divided. I tend to be right there, and block all the sound out, especially if I am writing or reading.
Being undidvided when they talk to us is especially important.
My husband has a saying:”If you want something to be successful you have to do it on purpose.”
I believe that applies to raising our kids, as well as anything we want to do well at.
I encourage you to read The Focused Family blog, it will encourage you to pay attention, on purpose.