Pouring Into Our Children

Nearly everyday The Lord gives us an opportunity to pour into the life of someone, whether it's our children, immediate family, friends, co-workers, or complete strangers. Dr. Richard Farmer gave us a powerful sermon at our church a few weeks ago that spoke to that very thing. 

Let us so live that people get something good to imitate. ~Dr. Richard Farmer 

But how do you do that as a parent? I think one of the most important roles anyone can have is that of a parent. That role carries a lot of responsibility! It's not an easy role but it's so important that God created a command with a promise attached to it!

"Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the LORD your God gives you". Exodus 20:12

The command is also found in Ephesians 6:1-3...

Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.

Our mission as parents is to live in a way that molds our kids into responsible adults. Our kids should be able to take what they've learned from us and carry it on to the next generation into the next generation and so on. But when you're parenting solo, that burden seems to be extra heavy. 

The example we set as parents is probably the single most important part of guiding our children in this misguided world of ours. Paul said it most boldly in I Corinthians 11:1: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” As daunting as it may seem, we parents should say the same to our children and then live in such a way as to back it up. ~Dr. Tony Evans / Chrystal Evans Hurst

So how do you accomplish it when you're parenting solo?

• Take it one day at a time! No one expects you to be perfect. The ONLY perfect person is Jesus!  
• Create a schedule that works for your family that includes time for prayer, devotion and sharing, time for activities, and time for worship
• Because it's hard to do everything alone, find a mentoring program which will support and partner with you to develop your child's mind in a positive way and reinforce what you're already teaching them. 
• Ask your children what they like and be aware of opportunities to challenge them positively

These are just a few things I can think of.  Remember, be a righteous example in front of your children - not perfect. Be the best you can be and remember children most often do as they see, not as we say!