My next several posts will be in reference to a book I am reading - "Revolutionary Parenting" by George Barna. I am really excited about this as it is a book based on research. They interviewed parents of "spiritual champions" - "an irrepressible follower of Jesus Christ who accepts the Bible as truth, lives by its principles, and seeks ways to impact the world and continually deepen his or her relationship with God." They found out what these parents did to raise children like this and they also interviewed the grown children to find out what they feel most impacted them to become a spiritual champion. I will be sharing with you what I learn!

One of the most important things to keep in mind that I read in the book is the fact that our job is "not to succeed (in raising a spiritual champion), but to be obedient to God's calling and principles and allow Him to produce the outcomes according to His perfect will." So we do the best job we possibly can, but the ultimate result is up to God.

"Your impact on your children's lives is proportional to the depth of the relationship you have fostered with them. This implies devoting substantial amounts of time to building your relationship with your child." "Once you have created a true relationship with them, they will be more open to your guidance, even when it seems counter intuitive, exceedingly difficult, or out of step with cultural norms." I would love to have the primary influence on my children, yet this is only possible if I have built that relationship.

At the end of each chapter it gives you some work to do. I plan on taking this very seriously and so I took some 3x5 cards to write down my answers and plan to review them often. I will share these with you and encourage you to also take part in this!

1. "Think about the relationship you have with each of your children. Write down three things you will commit to do during the next thirty days that will improve your relationship with them."

- with three going on four children it takes effort to make sure you spend adequate time with each child, making them each feel special. One night a week my daughter gets to stay up late with me. Sometimes I dread this, because that is "my time", but I have decided to make sure to do something special with her on those nights and not just think of it as "giving up my time". I am building an important relationship with her. With the other two I plan to make sure that I am spending time with each one individually - my older son loves games, so I plan to play Trouble, Candy Land or whatever the game of the day is. And my youngest, try reading to just him before his nap and try to play with him and not just try to keep him busy so I can do "my" work.

2. "Consider the lessons your children learn from watching you. Write down three things that you will change in your behavior during the next 30 days in order to have a more positive and biblical influence on the lives of your children."

-write them down - I did!

3. "PRAY that God will give you the personal resources to make the changes you have written down - and that those transitions will enhance your ability to raise your children to be spiritual champions."

What is more important than prayer?

This is a journey - a difficult one without a guaranteed outcome, but please join me as we try to be obedient to God's call on our life!

Love,
Susie

I'm back

Please accept my apologies for not fulfilling my commitment to encourage and challenge all of you each week!

I don't want to make excuses, because I really do not want to neglect what God has called me to do, so I will just briefly explain my last couple of months so you know that I have not completely forgotten all of you!

This fall to put our house up for sale so we would be in a position to do what God wanted us to do and not have to worry about a house to sell. Well, shortly after all the projects began we found out we were expecting #4! We were very excited (and still are). I was able to get a lot done before getting sick, but then I got very sick. It was very difficult to keep the house clean and ready for showings. God wonderfully answered this prayer by allowing our house to sell in 2 weeks. While being sick my quiet times really suffered. It is in those precious times with God that I am filled with words to share with all of you. Since my time with Him was suffering, I really did not feel like I had much to offer all of you. I am now getting through that part. I am finally starting to feel really good again, we have moved, and our house is finally cleaned, settled, and for the most part organized. Plus the most important thing is that I am getting back on track with my time with God. So I am excited to once again share with you each week what it is God is placing on my heart so that together we can raise Godly children!

My poor children these last couple months. I really feel like I have neglected them - mom is either resting on the couch or busy cleaning/packing etc. However, I was able to read lots of books, play many games of Candy Land while lying next to my Candy Land finatic son. I have to realize the little things are important. Maybe they haven't been completely neglected, but I am looking forward to spending more time with them, feeling better and most importantly getting back to discussing God's Word together.

Procrastination - does anyone else suffer from this? My least favorite job in all the world is cleaning out the refrigerator. Do I really think that if it hasn't been touched in a week, those leftovers are going to get eaten? If I would just take the old stuff out on a regular basis - my refrigerator cleaning would not take half a day. I heard a message yesterday - "do the important things first". Something I've heard many times before, but it really hit me. Many days I have intentions to getting through our Bible story for the day with the kids, but it doesn't get done, and I keep thinking we will get to it later. Well, I've learned personally and for my family if I don't put God first, it is hard to fit Him in. I really want to make it a priority that after breakfast (because my kids want to eat first thing), that this is what we do. So if you've been suffering from procrastination and want to get back on track with teaching your kids God's Word - join me in doing it first!

Love to all of you!

Susie