Free and Equip Your Children to Pursue Their Unique Interests

ryan-holloway-168925-unsplash.jpg

A great way to help your children become self motivated is to help them to discover their gifts, talents, and interests. Then, as parents, we have the opportunity to free and equip them to pursue those unique interests. 

To learn more about this, watch this last video in the series, How to Help Your Children Become Self-Motivated. You will also get a sneak peak at my upcoming book, Loving God: A Practical Handbook for Discipleship

When Should You Give Your Children More Freedom?

Photo by Bruno Nascimento on Unsplash

As our children grow up, one thing you can be sure to expect is that they will desire more freedom. An immediate difficulty we face is the common misunderstand of what freedom is and how one obtains it. Our culture teaches us (and maybe it is a natural assumption) that freedom is our ability to do whatever we want and that freedom is our inherent right. These things are not true. 

As you struggle with your pre-teens and teens in their fight for freedom, do you know how to teach them the true meaning of freedom and the legitimate way of obtaining it? Watch this brief video to learn more about the biblical economy of freedom and responsibility. This is Part 7 in the video series How to Help Your Children Become Self-Motivated.

When "Because I Said So" Isn't Good Enough

The most popular question that my children to ask is "Why?" I have to admit that I have allowed this question to irritate me at times. Often the best answer is "Because I said so." However, it doesn't work all the time. If we are working to raise our children to be mature, Christ loving believers, then we are going to have to come up with a better answer. We are going to have to tell they why.

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Photo by Gaelle Marcel on Unsplash

Part of being mature is being self-motivated. The key to being self-motivated, as opposed to only being driven by outside forces, is to know the "why" of what we are doing. We must understand the heart and purpose of our actions. 

One of the most important roles we play as parents is to help our children develop a biblical worldview in which the "why" questions are answered from God's perspective. Check out Part 6 of my video series How to Help Your Children Become Self-Motivated to dig a little deeper into how we can give our children the "whys" of the Christian life.

Have You Discovered the Ultimate Goal of Parenting?

IMG_4397.JPEG

What we are aiming for as parents has a major impact on how we relate to and raise our children every day. Have you discovered the ultimate goal of parenting from God's point of view? It is easy for us to get distracted by all sorts of other parenting goals and motives that will not produce the outcome we are really looking for. 

Here is Part 2 of my video series on How to Help Your Children Become Self-Motivated. [Hint: Helping your children to become self-motivated is not the ultimate goal of parenting!]

A Great Way to Understand the Bible Better

I am going through the book 12 Essential Skills for Great Preaching by Wayne McDill (also known as my Dad) with a group from our church. Like many of you, most of them are not planning on becoming preachers. Although this book is written for those who desire to preach and teach God's Word, these skills are great for anyone who would like to understand and communicate the Bible more effectively. One of our students is a mom who takes her responsibility to disciple her children seriously.

The first skill is to complete a Structural Diagram of the passage you are studying. This part of the study helps you understand how the various words and idea in the text relate to one another. Here is an example of what it might look like.

I recorded a video of me explaining to my older children (who are going through the book with us) how to do a Structural Diagram of Phil 2:5-11.