This Week In Faith 12-5-19

Tell Me More: 8 Conversations to Have With Your…

This is a great series to help you initiate conversations with your kids. One of the good things about our kids going through transitions is that they provide a great opportunity to to listen and talk with them about how they are processing everything. I am always looking for ideas on how to have better conversations with my kids and this is a good tool. The links to the different stages are below but I would say that they apply to more than just the year they say they are for.

8 Conversations to Have With Your New Middle School Student

8 Questions to Ask Your High School Freshman

8 Questions to Ask Your High School Senior

8 Conversations to Start [and continue!] With Your College Freshman

5 Ways To Ensure Your Kids Never Consider Being a Missionary

We sometimes miss the unintended consequences of what we say and do. I think the church has done a better job recently of helping people understand that they can glorify God in whatever vocation they choose. You can glorify God just as much though working at the bank as you can as a pastor…or glorify him as much as a teacher as you can working for a Christian ministry. But I think the unintended consequence is that we haven’t communicated as well that being a missionary is still an important calling and one to consider. I also think, in our desire to let our kids know how much we love and enjoy them, we can create an expectation that staying safe and close to home is the best option for their future.

Now, every kid is not being called to be a full-time missionary. But we don’t want to unintentionally communicate that this is not a possibility. We want to create an environment for our kids where they are listening to God’s voice more than our insecurities and fears for whatever it is he is calling them to. And who knows, maybe your child will be the next David & Lisa Fish or Sarah Weinrich that God calls into full-time missions work for the sake of his kingdom. As parents, this calling on our kids would definitely be challenging. But it could also provide an incredible opportunity for us to trust our kids to God’s faithful care [something that helps us and them flourish no matter what season of life our kids are in]. In general, this article is about more than just the possibility of our kids being missionaries. It’s about what we are doing to point our kid to Jesus by teaching them what it looks like to “deny yourself and take up your cross”, so they can follow him.

Click here to read the article by Scott Hildreth and Leslie Hildreth.

Give the Gift of Reading: Rooted Parent 2019 Christmas Gift Guide

I love to read and I love helping my kids cultivate a love for reading by giving them good books. Here is a great list of book ideas for your teenager. Some of my favorite books from the last few years are on this list. And my kids have read some of them too. This is just one list but consider using this Christmas to give your kids books that will open their eyes to God’s world around them and help them love God more deeply.

Click here to look at the list of books from the Rooted Ministry website.