Violet Beauregarde – Wrong Priorities
The next trap I think many parents fall into is the wrong priorities trap.
We communicate to our kids every day what is important. By what we say but far more by what we do. I will start off by saying I am a very competitive person. I like to play and I love to win. I also think sports are a very important part of a child’s life.
So having said all that let me talk about an area in our culture that I believe has gotten way out of whack. That area is youth sports. I have gone to many games that kids from our church have been involved in. I am always amazed at the level of interest, passion and excitement exuded by these parents. They will sit there on those cold metal bleachers in snow, wind or rain.
What perplexes me most is that many of those same parents are not involved at any level with their kids on the weekend at church. They are not involved or actively engaging their kids in their spiritual walk at all. And many times these same parents are perplexed as to why when their kids are teens they never discuss anything about their spiritual life.
What matters most. How do you show it. Don’t just tell your kids God is cool make it an adventure. Be a part or their discovery of who God is.
Many parents I have found are a bit intimidated by a crowd of kids. I have seen powerful things happen in our kids church by parents who rolled up their sleeves and taught 14 kids about the power of God’s word and how it changed their life forever.
Practical stuff:
- If you asked your kids what you love most what would they say?
- Can you put your bum (CM talk for butt) where you mouth is? (What I mean by this one is this. If you say church matters will you be willing to step out sit on the ground and lead a small group for a wonderful group of 8 year olds? )
- Are you proud of how you use your time?
- Can you say with clarity of conscience. Follow me as I follow Christ.
- Can you give your kids specific examples of how you have loved God and loved others this week.
Philippians 3:12-14
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
The best line of the clip below is
“But I can’t have a daughter as a blueberry. How is she supposed to compete?”
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7MyRSqpy44
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Amen and Amen – as a Children’s Pastor I would ask dads what their kids were learning from them was most important in their lives. They would look at me strangely and then i would add, “You know where you get the most excited about spending time with your kids.”
I recently wrote about this in two posts http://www.kidtrek-sundayplus.org/2011/09/13/chil…
http://www.kidtrek-sundayplus.org/2011/09/19/chil…
I really think a lot of the blame lies with the leadership of the Church. We are afraid to truly challenge the people. We are afraid to speak truth because we want to be liked and accepted.
Keep speaking the truth brother.
Great thoughts I'll be sure to check out your posts.
Thanks Hannah