What Can Parents Do?

1. Have A Close Relationship With God: Have Quiet Times that you share with your kids. Use your quiet times to inspire your children and write Bible studies for them to use as well. 2. Set A Great Example: Do your children see you living the life of a disciple? Are you making the kingdom your primary concern and is God #1 in your life? 3. Have A Close Relationship With Your Spouse: Do you work on your marriage to have a close, open and honest relationship? Learn how to be open with your marriage struggles with the kids and ask them what they think. Show them how to be open and receive input. 4. Be Involved In Spiritual Relationships: Do you have consistant dptimes where you are getting help in walk with God, marriage, faith? Do you talk to your kids about the things you are working on in your life to change? Do you want their input? 5. Build A Team For Your Child: Involve 1-3 people in addition to the weekly or regular person your child gets with. Your child needs hero’s, role models, big brothers/sisters who can influence them spiritually. 6. Serve Those Who Are Working With Your Child: Make your house a home for those who are involved weekly with your child. Have them over for meals, let them do laundry, help them with their dating, life. 7. Be Outward Focused: Are you evangelistic and involved in helping others become Xians? Work together with your child to reach out to the parents of his friends at school……invite them over to reach out to them. 8. Host Teen Or MS Events: Make your home a place where kids want to be. Offer to have devotionals, game nights, breakfast times and events at your house. 9. Build Your Relationship With Your Child: It is a challenge for most parents to become emotionally involved in their teens life on a regular basis. Feeling what they are feeling, engaging with what they are engaging with emotionally. Not being detached or distant. Some parents need an emotions chart. Help them and you learn, understand and express their emotions.

Parenting Scriptures

Parenting Scriptures “But watch out! Be careful never to forget what you yourself have seen. Do not let these memories escape from your mind as long as you live! And be sure to pass them on to your children and grandchildren.” Deut. 4:9 (NLT) “Listen, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.” Deut. 6:4-7 (NLT) “Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night.” Deut. 6:6-7 (Message) “We will not hide these truths from our children, but will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the Lord. We will tell of his power and the mighty miracles he did!” “He commanded our ancestors to teach them to their children, so the next generation might know them – even the children not yet born – that they in turn might teach their children. So each generation can set its hope anew on God!” Psalms 78:4-7 (NLT) “Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.” Proverbs 1:8-9; 6:20-22 (NIV) “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4 (NIV) “Father’s, don’t exasperate your children by coming down hard on them. Take them by the hand and lead them in the way of the Master.” (Message)