Talk to Your Kids

Talk to Your Kids
by Doug Fields

“And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (NLT)

The truth is, your kids need communication skills. When children don't learn how to communicate, they find it difficult to functions in jobs and relationships.

If you ever wonder how important it is to teach your kids how to communicate, pay attention next time you go to a fast-food restaurant where teenagers work. How many times have you done that and wondered who taught them how to communicate?
Unfortunately, it’s they’re parents.

The truth is, your kids need communication skills. When children don’t learn how to communicate, they find it difficult to functions in jobs and relationships.
And, Mom and Dad, you’re the best communications teacher they have. Kids learn communication skills by talking with adults.

God designed the family as a place where parents would follow God and teach their children how to do likewise. The Bible says, “And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children.” (Deuteronomy 6:6 NLT)
You’ve got to talk to your kids to pass on your faith to them. The Bible says to talk to them no matter where you’re at – whether you’re on a journey, laying down, or getting up again. But the key is conversation.

Unfortunately, many kids have learned that the only times when adults want to talk with them is when they’ve messed up.
How do you turn the tide on that? Resist the urge to comment on everything you hear. Kids don’t mean most of what they say. They’re just testing you. So allow them to talk without making them feel you’re going to jump down their necks

Parenting with the Lord's Prayer: Don't Worry

Parenting with the Lord's Prayer: Don't Worry
by Tom Holladay

“Give us today our daily bread.” (Matthew 6:11 NIV)

Praying for our "daily bread" includes everything we worry about on a daily basis – our health, our finances, our schedule, our future, all the things we have to deal with.

In today’s society, our children have a lot to worry about. So it’s our duty to teach them how God can replace their worry with his provision.
Now our normal reaction to worry is to find a way to control the situation. That’s just our nature. We figure if we can control everything, then we’ll never have to worry. But when we try that approach, the opposite happens. We find out that we can’t control everything, so we end up worrying.

The real way to deal with worry is to pray, “Give us today our daily bread.” Praying for our “daily bread” includes everything we worry about on a daily basis – our health, our finances, our schedule, our future, all the things we have to deal with. God says, “If you want less stress in your life, then you have to relax in me and let me give you your daily bread.”

It’s important that we teach our children that it’s daily bread, not weekly or monthly. We want God to give us everything we need for the next five years, just put it in a bank account so we can see it’s there and not worry. But God doesn’t do it that way. He gives us just what we need one day at a time because he wants us to live in a daily relationship of trust in him.

So we need to teach our children three basic truths about God’s provision:
God can meet every need you’ll ever have because he’s God.
God wants to meet our needs, not our greeds, because he’s a loving father.

God will meet our needs as we trust in him moment-by-moment, day-by-day.

And remember parents, you need to practice what you preach!