My new favorite word is 'intentional.' It is amazing how much progress we can make when we lock in on a goal and get purposeful about moving toward it. Lately I've had a lot of conversations about parenting. I'm learning that everyone "hopes" their kids turn out okay, but not everyone is "intentional" about investing their lives into their kids. I once heard someone say: "Parenting is a verb, not a noun." I totally agree.
So take a minute today to think about where in life you want your kids to be in 15 years, and then decide what 1 step you can take today to encourage them in that direction. If you want them to be smart, snuggle up and read them a book. If you want them to be active, play a game outside. If you want them to be spiritually strong, have a devotional with them. Because here's what I know: they're learning from you every day whether you are "intentional" or not.
Posts
Growing churches are led by leaders who “make the ask”
11 months ago
Pastor Todd,
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. I have worked with families for over 25 years in the church and in my profession and it is amazing that people will intentionally plan vacations, exit strategies, buying the next car, and and even where there children should go to college but don't realize that there are very intentional steps that need to made with their children. One of these intentional steps my husband and I did was take time to interpret the world to them as they grew through Biblical Principles. This gave them the mental and emotional tools they needed to sort out life as they picked colleges, spouses, job careers, and now as parents. They did not get into all of the trouble I see in some of the families I have worked with...who still wonder why their kids turned out the way they did...the common comment is I was a good parent, I loved my kids...what happened? I really appreciate your blog today...Be an intentional Parent.
Great observation, Kelly! I think that an often missing ingredient is to get a clear vision/snapshot of what we want the future to look like. Once we do that, it gets a lot easier to make decisions about day-to-day details because whatever moves us closer to that vision is a "yes" and whatever pulls us in the other direction is an automatic "no."
ReplyDelete