October ParentLink

ParentLink is our monthly parenting podcast that helps us understand key elements of an Orange Parenting Strategy. This month, I talk about "Creating a Rhythm" in your home that allows for spiritual formation to take place.  This month, I propose an idea of a "To-Don't List." You can listen/download a number of different ways. You can listen on our website, download from the iTunes store, listen on our blog or Facebook page.

Parenting Moment

I experienced a parenting Ah ha this morning that I want to share with you.

My wife has been helping paint an amazing mural in our nursery area, and today she and the boys were going to ride into the church office with me.  As we were waiting for her to finish getting ready, my oldest son asked if we could work on memorizing his memory verse. I of course said yes! We had been waiting on him to approach us with this!

So Rance and I sat on the couch and within minutes he was starting to quote all of 2 Corinthians 5:17 which says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" It was amazing to me to listen to this 7 year old, who is still learning English to be putting to memory God's Word!

We then got loaded in the van and drove the 15 minutes to the church. The entire time, Rance was talking about all sorts of things like he normally does.  Never in that 15 minutes did he mention the memory verse, so I thought we would  have to relearn it this evening.  However, as we were walking back to the nursery, Rance started quoting the memory verse again!

He had hidden God's word in his heart in only a few short minutes.  He may not fully understand what the verse means, but do we really know what it is like to be a new creation?  Do we really live like we are a new creation in Christ?  I saw right there in my son that God is already working in Rance to make him into a new creation! 

I am so excited that he loves to read his Bible and put God's Word in his heart. Just yesterday, Rance started reading his Bible to his little brother, you can't beat that! Big brother leading the way to following Christ!

A Question for Parents

As a young parent, I have the desire to do a good job raising my children, actually I want to be the best parent in the world, that is just how I am wired. I want people to look at my kids and say, "WOW, what a great dad Matt is!"

This quest to be the best parent in the world led me to what I believe is the most important part of being a parent. The most important thing about being a parent is not to be a perfect parent with perfect kids but rather to pass on a vibrant and transforming faith. I decided I want my children to KNOW and HEAR God's voice and be able to discern it from all the other voices of the culture around the. I pray they will desire to bey Him when they HEAR his voice.

So then the question became, how do I do that? Leading my kids to have a vibrant faith in Christ is a huge task, what if I mess up and lead them away from Christ.

That is when I found a book called Spiritual Parenting by Michelle Anthony.  I passed it on to Joe as well, and we decided that we needed to share this great info with you.  So on August 26, 27, Joe and I will be hosting a Spiritual Parenting Seminar at WCC.

The cost is only $15. This price includes your copy of Michelle's book, childcare, snacks, lunch on Saturday and some great wisdom from Matt, Joe and Michelle Anthony.

We look forward to you joining us.  You can register by going to www.wentzvillecc.org/parenting or sign up in the church foyer.

ParentLink August 2011

Here is the August edition of ParentLink.  There are multiple ways to watch/listen to this great parent resource.

• Subscribe to the podcast via iTunes 
• Watch/Listen just below
• Listen/Subscribe on the WCC ParentLink website
• Listen/Watch on the KidQuest Facebook Page

August Parenting Resources

With the turn of a new month, we also turn the pages on our parenting resources.  Here is a quick overview of the August parenting resources you will find when you go to the Parent Resource page on the WCC website.

HomeFront Monthly -- HomeFront Monthly is a resource to be used at home that coincides with what is being taught every weekend in KidQuest and FirstLook. This is also where you will find the children’s remember verses. They will be learning one verse over four weeks to help them truly hide God’s Word in their hearts.\

•  Identity Focus -- This environment highlights who we are in Christ. According to Ephesians 1, we have been chosen, adopted, redeemed, sealed, and given and inheritance in Christ. This conviction allows children to stand firm against the counter-identities the world will offer to bring them destruction.
• Verses of the Month
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 (elementary)
• Ephesians 1:4 (preschool)

Family Currents -- a quick newsletter type resource that gives you very practical spiritual conversation starters

•  Practical Tips for praying for your child
• Heart Prep for Home
• Vampires, Werewolves and Wizards
• Sharing Jesus

ParentLink (available on Tuesday 8/2

You are the greatest influence in your child’s life. And here’s some great news, you’re also not the only influence your child needs. This month’s ParentLink talks about how to look for other trusted adults who can influence your child and help you “Widen the Circle.” You can also subscribe to this podcast via iTunes and play it on your iPod or in your homeplaylist.  Click here to download from the iTunes store.

***NEW*** -- Family Fun Activities

These are some fun, printable, activities for you and your kids to do together. They provide a great starting point for you to help nurture your child on their spiritual journey.

All of these resources can be found on the Parents' Resource page on the WCC website.

Words from Other Children's Pastors

I came across this video today about what Children's Ministers across the country are saying about families spending time together and relating those times to our kids' walk with Christ.

There are some great words in here for you as a parent! Listen to what the pros say about your children.

Family Resources

I know its a couple of days before July 1, when most of our new parenting/family resources are posted on our website, but I want to remind you about these great tools! Here is the direct link to the Parent Resources! Remember, this isn’t about doing more; it’s about framing the things parents naturally do with some space for God to work.

ParentLink (posts at beginning of every month

A podcast that helps parents and church leaders understand how, by combining their influences, they can accomplish more for the spiritual wellbeing of a child than either could individually. 

Here is the topic for the July ParentLink podcast:

You are the greatest influence in your child’s life. And here’s some great news, you’re also not the only influence your child needs. This month’s Parent Link Live talks about how to look for other trusted adults who can influence your child and help you “Widen the Circle.” 

Family Currents (posts at beginning of every month)

The Family Currents newsletter is designed to help parents grow in their roles as spiritual leaders in the home.  You will find great info about spiritual disciplines, prayer, practical parenting tips and much, much more.

HomeFront Monthly (posts in the middle of every month)

HomeFront Monthly is a resource you will receive for parents every four weeks. This is a magazine-like publication stuffed with great ideas about how to create spiritually forming times in the home. It has articles and activities on everything from marriage to family, and food time to blessing. This resource is all about equipping parents with really practical ideas about how to create space for the Holy Spirit to spiritually form their kids.

 HomeFront Monthly ties to the lessons and HomeFront Weekly through the common thread of the Environment. Therefore, there is only one HomeFront Monthly for both FirstLook and KidQuest with ideas for engaging both age levels. This is also where you will find the children’s remember verses. They will be learning one verse over four weeks to help them truly hide God’s Word in their hearts.

HomeFront Weekly (posts every week)

 HomeFront Weekly cards are provided as a parent resource with each week’s lesson which will be handed out in KidQuest and FirstLook, placed on the KidQuest table in the foyer and available for download here. The HomeFront card is not a review of the past week in KidQuest or FirstLook; it is an introduction to the next week in KidQuest and FirstLook. This resource is designed to help parents intentionally spend time in God’s Word with their children before coming to church each week. The cool part is this: parents are first to introduce their kids to the Bible content they will hear at church. In this way, the church is supporting parents as they spiritually nurture their child.

Made My Day!

I received a text today from the Mom of one of my 3rd grade students and it made my day. 

You see, today is VBS office clean up day and isn't very exciting or awe inspiring to do more ministry. So when I got this text and finally was able to get the picture large enough to read, I was so pumped about what is happening in the children's ministry here at WCC.  

It also reminds me that I am not in this alone.  The parents are walking right beside me in the journey to teach their children about Christ.  I take very little credit for what is written on the page below. I know my 40 hours a year with the student don't come close to comparing with the 3000 hours the parents have.  I am so glad I can support parents in a way that enables them to help their kids grasp their own personal relationship with Christ!

Here is the body of the text, followed by the picture that was attached to it...

“Look what I just found when I opened XXXXXXXXXX's writing journal from this past school year. It opened right to this page! He really is listening to us and creating his own relationship! I was getting ready to throw the notebook away but think I’ll keep it now :)”

Modeling

Last night at my house I was able to get a glimpse of my parenting style. Normally my oldest son and I are the ones who play the Wii together. However last night, I was busy with some household chores and my wife was watching him play when he asked her to play Wii Sports Tennis Golf with him.

If you have ever played these versions of golf and tennis before, you know they are not the most accurate. I could hear my wife starting to get frustrated with the game when my son decided he was going to "coach" her a little bit.

From the other room, I started hearing these phrases:

• It's ok
• You can do it
• That was close
• That was closer

Then when she had some sucess, I started to hear these phrases:

• That's better
• You're doing great
• Good job

It made me smile to hear the same phrases I use with him when he was learning the same games a few weeks ago.

This observation made me realize that EVERYTHING I say and do has an impact on the future of my sons.  If I would have modeled an overly critical position while he was learning the games, then that is what would have come across when he was trying to teach my wife how to play. 

It also made me remember a chapter from Michelle Anthony's book called Spiritual Parenting (which will be the basis for our parenting seminar in August.  Here is the excerpt from that chapter.

"The best things your children will learn about God will be from watching you try to find out for yourself. Jesus said, "Seek and you will find." They will not always do what you tell them to do, but they will be -- good and bad -- as they see you being. If your children se eyou seeking, they will seek -- the finding part is up to God." -- Polly Berrien Berends

Then the Michelle Anthony goes on to say this about modeling:

"We have an ever-narrowing window of opportunity to maximize our influence in our children's lives. The fields of psychology and sociology tell us that we parents are the primary influencers in our children's lives from birth until twelve years old. Somehow this is almost a science. It's as if on the eve of their thirteenth birthday their brain chemsitry changes in such a way that all of a sudden the world, music, media, and friends now becomre more influential than we are! I remember thinking this wouldn't happen to my sweet children--but it did! We must be shrewd to use this window of influence and capitalize on it in childhood. I don't want to give that influence to anybody else!

In fact, I want to extend my influence in my children's lives. We can say, "Well sociology and psychology say I am the primary model for my kids from zero to twelve, but by the grace of God I want to be an influence in my child's life until the day I die." I know this is possible because of my parents."

Let me leave you with a prayer to help you be a great model in your children's life.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for entrusting these children to me. Thank you for giving me the privilege of pointing them to you, even though at times I feel so undeserving of this role. Help me to be a spiritual parent -- with eyes to see what matters most to you.

I pray that you will show me how to create environments in my home and in my life in ways that will reflect the truth of who you are in them. I want them to know you accurately and fully.

May our home be a place where truth and love prevail above all else, and may your plans for my children, and myself, be fulfilled as we submit ourselves to your desires. Please reveal your desires to me, and craft my heart so that I will listen and obey. I trust your spirit to guide me and give me the wisdom and power to do the things that you desire.

I am yours. Our home is yours. The children are yours. Be glorified!

Amen.

April 2011 Parent Link -- Fight for the Heart

Parent Link is a podcast we do every single month to help connect the church and the home.  In this month's edition we talk about building your relationship with your kids so when your control over them is gone, you will still have a cloud of influence over their hearts.  I do admit, this month is GREAT, so please take some time to listen.

2 GREAT Resources

Today, I have 2 great resources for you. 1 for you as a parent, and 1 for your kids.

For Your Kids

The Action Bible (click here for sample pages)
You can find one on Amazon.com for $15

Here is a quick video/commercial for the Bible.

For You

Spiritual Parenting by Michelle Anthony
also available on Amazon.com

This is a great parenting book. It doesn't focus on the how to's of parenting, but rather the whys of parenting! Joe and I hope to lead a parenting class sometime soon based on this book, so keep a look out for that too!

Here is the description from the publisher...
It's hard enough to train kids to behave, but good behavior isn't what Jesus calls for in the Bible. He wants hearts and souls that are shaped in vibrant faith and love toward God and others. In Spiritual Parenting, Dr. Michelle Anthony places the dependence upon God for our child and calls the reader to a heart posture of obedience and faithfulness. The end goal is a vibrant faith that is passed on from one generation to another.

Parents are, by the power of God's Spirit, to obey and depend on God in order to create an environment God can use to beckon our kids to Him. Isn't it time to embrace this simple, but revolutionary concept?

Creating and Environment of Responsibility in our Homes

We all want our children to grow up and be responsible right?

What is the best way to teach them this responsibility? Should we just give them everything we think they need to make the right decisions or should we allow them to work towards responsibility by giving them little and letting them earn more and more as they show they are responsible for little like in vineyard parable of Jesus?

I don't know what is the correct answer for your kids in your home, but I have a selection from a book I have been reading that sums of the need to build an environment of responsibility.  The book is called Spiritual Parenting and is written by Michelle Anthony.  The book is very good and I recommend it to any parenting looking to parents with a model that includes God.  Here are her words about creating an environment of responsibility in our homes.

"Ultimately, the concept of creating an environment of responsibility in our homes is a charge from God that encompasses a variety of areas. First, it captures the ability to take ownership before God for one's life, gifts, and resources. Second, it challenges us to take responsibility for those in our family and our spiritual family in Christ, for their well-being. Lastly, it calls us to see out in love those who are hurting, poor, and spiritually lost, recognizing our responsibility to those who don't yet know Jesus and His forgiveness.

The early church described in the book of Acts took these three things seriously. As they were awakened to their new life in Christ through the Holy Spirit, they lived radically different lives. With great sacrifice, they generously gave of their time, talents, money, homes and meals to anyone who was part of their new family in God. In addition, these same people sought to take care of the poor, the outcast, the lost, and the homeless in their towns. They lived what they believed, and it was compelling to those who were watching. In this environment where each person took responsibility for himself and for those around him, the church grew like wildfire! It was unstoppable!"

Imagine Wentzville if we would teach our kids how to be responsible to God, their family, and their community!  What a world of difference it could make.  The church of Acts did this without hesitation in a world where they should have feared for their lives as new believers in Christ.  However, they did not fear and instead they reached out with everything they had to serve others. What a great attitude we should have and we can teach our children.

With the busyness of the holidays almost done, take some time to slow down and look for teachable moments in and around your community were you can serve the people you live with.  Maybe its someone from WCC or maybe its a complete stranger in your neighborhood.  Whoever and whatever it is, take the time to not only do the deed for someone but to also have a conversation with your kids about our responsibility to those who we are helping because we believe in God.