The Bible tells us, "Sons are a heritage from
the Lord, children a reward from him. Blessed is the man whose quiver if full of them."Psalm 127:3,5 Our prayer
for your family is that you will realize God's love and know that he is the creator
of our families. He has given us our children as gifts from Him.
One of the best resources that we have found in our parenting is the Growing
Kids God's Way class which is presented by Pastor Gary Ezzo. It is a semester
long class which focuses on family relationships and discipline issues based on
God's word. It takes Biblical Principles and applies them to daily family situations.
This
is a wonderful class because the focus is on the Bible and how God instructs us
to raise our family. We are sure that there are many different ways to raise your
children (that this class is not the only way), but we believe that using
the Bible as our guide for raising children is the easiest way.
We believe that if Mom and Dad have a strong and happy marriage that the children will
feel secure and that there will be a God-given peace in the home. It is important
for Mom and Dad to spend a few minutes sitting together each day, when the children are
awake and in Mom and Dad's presence so that they can see that Mom and Dad are making time for
one another. This will give them a sense of security in knowing that Mom and Dad really
love one another.
We have found that it is helpful to schedule special, individual time with each of our children.
We call this our "date time" with them and they look forward to having their
time alone without siblings with just Mom or Dad. It can be as simple as just running
an errand together. Sometimes, we take our special "date" and go out to eat or
we let them pick a special treat at the mall. The important thing is that for
that moment the child is getting individual special attention that is strengthening the
relationship. It is important to show your children that they are loved by loving them in their
individual love language. (Taken from Gary Chapman's book The Five Love
Languages: 1. Physical touch and closesness, 2. Quality time, 3. Words of Encouragement,
4. Acts of service, 5. Gift giving). These love languages should be spoken
often to your children so that they feel your love.
Parenting Links
