How to Grow Great Kids

By Teaching Your Children About the Lord

Faith is not just for the church house; it is for your own house, too! 

The foundation of Harvesting Home is that our lives be firmly established in truth. But if you are looking for advice from perfect parents, you have come to the wrong place! Our children are now grown and we are still learning how to be good parents! 

We want families to be strong and weather the storms of life that most certainly come to all of us at some point. But helping your children become rooted, firmly established in their faith, is a challenge in this day and time. There are so many religions blended together in our pluralistic culture that it can become confusing. At Harvesting Home, our faith is rooted in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Because of that, our foundational truth is found in the Bible. And, it has always been a priority that faith be passed down to future generations. We were given that heritage from our parents, who were received it from their parents. What we have to share is not merely from our own experience or knowledge but is from older generations who taught and modeled the faith before us.

How can you, as a single or married parent, give your children a firm faith foundation?

Sometimes it is easier to identify the failures to do that than it is to spot the ones who do it well. But to let you off the hook, it is not easy! There are no perfect children because they do not have perfect parents. We all slip up from time to time. 

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Here are some obvious MISTAKES that many parents make regarding passing down the faith:

1. Allow the kids to figure it out on their own. Let them choose their own path when they grow up.
2. Send them to church when it is convenient. You know, those Sundays when you think you need a couple of hours of peace and quiet, or a quiet cup of coffee between mom and dad? Just drop the kids off at church; they provide babysitting.
3. Become a C.E.O. family (Christmas and Easter Only)!
4. As a parent, behave one way when you pull into the church parking lot, and another way when you are at home.
5. Keep your Bible where you can find it, up on the shelf in the study and covered with dust.

You can probably read between each of these lines and give examples of when you have “seen other people make these mistakes!” It is always easier, and more fun, to identify the failures of other parents rather than facing up to your own and making changes.

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Positive ways to instill faith in your children:

1. Get that Bible off the shelf and use it! Children learn by example.
2. Instruct your children in the faith from moment one, providing a consistent example of obedience and godliness.
3. Make it part of your family DNA to be actively involved in a local church. Local, because your kids need to meet friends with whom they live in the neighborhood or go to school. Local, where you can get to know your pastors and other families with like-minded beliefs and interests.
4. Take advantage of teachable moments with your children “as you go ” through life. When tough times come, help them to see how their faith can sustain them and give them courage to persevere. Your children need to hear you praying, and you need to teach them how to pray themselves. Intertwine your faith into every part of your home and family.
5. Help them see how God blesses your family. The “blessing” is more than a few words at dinnertime. Blessing your children is more than a ritualistic ceremony with your children when they reach a certain age. The greatest blessing you can bestow upon them is for them to see you live out your faith, not only in words, but in actions also.

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It is HARD to be consistent in your faith in front of your kids. But, it is worth it! The greatest investment you can ever make in their lives is to invest in their faith foundation.

I heard someone say once, “The greatest impact you will ever make in this world is not something you personally do, but someone you raise.” 

Make it a priority for yours to be a Harvesting Home!

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Harvesting Home will be creating resources for Faith and Family including a special course on teaching values to your children which will be released this fall. To stay connected with Harvesting Home and become informed when resources and new blog posts are available, please subscribe below!