Friday, February 4, 2011

Parenting on Purpose

Posted by Tracy Wainwright at 2:03 PM
I must begin this topic by saying that I am the most imperfect parent. Despite the number of parenting books I’ve read, despite the fact that I’ve been trained as a counselor and taught parenting classes, despite knowing the right things to do, I am the most imperfect parent. I don’t always do the right things, say the right things, at the right times, for the right reasons. But I have learned a lot about parenting from other parents and the Ultimate Parent. This chapter, as are all of them, is as much for me as it is for you. Although I have the knowledge, I also need the encouragement and reminders to use that knowledge and stay consistent and focused in my parenting.

One of the things that has developed through my experience as a mom is my focus in parenting. Once I got past the newness of being a mom and shock of what true sleep deprivation is like, I learned that I had to do more than just survive parenting if I wanted my children to do more than just to survive their childhood. I wanted them to thrive and that meant intentionally focusing on my job to guide my children towards maturity – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. My job is to love them and make decisions in their best interest. As a person living in the flesh, I often fall short, but I have learned that by using the resources God gives me and relying on Him to lead me as a mom, I can give my children everything they need as the grow and mature. And even my faults and failures can serve as lessons for them as I admit my shortcomings and sins and continue to seek after God’s will for my life.

As my children and I (and my husband) make progress on our journey towards maturity, there are several principles that I have found to be critical. The first principle is that our main goal in parenting is to lead our children to maturity. The end goal is that they not just grow older (physical maturity) but that they become everything God intended them and created them to be (spiritual, mental, and emotional maturity.)

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:14-16

We know our children have reached (relative) maturity when they are internally motivated to seek God and obey Him out of love. To get them to this point we have a lot of work to do and much of this work will come in the form of “motivating our children externally - correcting their flesh, or their actions” (Lisa Welchel) while instilling right heart motives to do the right things. As we do the work of parenting with the end goal in mind we must also keep in mind the who, what, when, where, how, and why of parenting.

0 comments on "Parenting on Purpose"

Friday, February 4, 2011

Parenting on Purpose

I must begin this topic by saying that I am the most imperfect parent. Despite the number of parenting books I’ve read, despite the fact that I’ve been trained as a counselor and taught parenting classes, despite knowing the right things to do, I am the most imperfect parent. I don’t always do the right things, say the right things, at the right times, for the right reasons. But I have learned a lot about parenting from other parents and the Ultimate Parent. This chapter, as are all of them, is as much for me as it is for you. Although I have the knowledge, I also need the encouragement and reminders to use that knowledge and stay consistent and focused in my parenting.

One of the things that has developed through my experience as a mom is my focus in parenting. Once I got past the newness of being a mom and shock of what true sleep deprivation is like, I learned that I had to do more than just survive parenting if I wanted my children to do more than just to survive their childhood. I wanted them to thrive and that meant intentionally focusing on my job to guide my children towards maturity – physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. My job is to love them and make decisions in their best interest. As a person living in the flesh, I often fall short, but I have learned that by using the resources God gives me and relying on Him to lead me as a mom, I can give my children everything they need as the grow and mature. And even my faults and failures can serve as lessons for them as I admit my shortcomings and sins and continue to seek after God’s will for my life.

As my children and I (and my husband) make progress on our journey towards maturity, there are several principles that I have found to be critical. The first principle is that our main goal in parenting is to lead our children to maturity. The end goal is that they not just grow older (physical maturity) but that they become everything God intended them and created them to be (spiritual, mental, and emotional maturity.)

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. Psalm 139:14-16

We know our children have reached (relative) maturity when they are internally motivated to seek God and obey Him out of love. To get them to this point we have a lot of work to do and much of this work will come in the form of “motivating our children externally - correcting their flesh, or their actions” (Lisa Welchel) while instilling right heart motives to do the right things. As we do the work of parenting with the end goal in mind we must also keep in mind the who, what, when, where, how, and why of parenting.

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