IParenting

Recent statistics  show us that sixty-five percent of children raised in the church, will leave the church by the time they leave home.  Hearing this brought on a slight panic.  Seriously?  Our children are sixty-five percent likely to turn their backs on God?  This really hit me hard as one of the most important things for me is that our children will grow up to be incredible and faithful children of God.

Jeremy and I became students of Dr. Dave Currie this past weekend at the I-Parent Conference hosted by our church.  Our hope was to learn some strategies along the way to build a strong family with a strong faith.

The sessions were amazing.  Filled with laughter and useful tools to help us become great parents with great children who have a great faith.

If I took one thing out of the weekend, it was this one key thing.  Slow down.  That simple.  Slow down.  Hmmm.  This is a curse word to me.  Lots of thought going into this one.

 

Time is craved by our children and giving time  results in the following things:

1) Prevent lost connections.  Take the time to talk and listen to our children

2) Build greater security.  Take the time to raise confident kids who know their worth before God, because they are reminded by us consistently.

3) Catch our core values.  Take the time to model and teach the values we hold close to our hearts.  (These values still need to be developed by Jeremy and I officially)

4) Maintaining high-speed connections.  Take the time to allow our kids a variety of opportunities.  Don’t rob them because of the time it takes.  Enjoy the season of ‘busyness’ and ‘taxi-driving’, it will come to an end.

This weekend could not have come sooner for us.  If I were to be completely honest, slowing down and taking time out was not nearly as high on my priority list as it should be.  This is going to change.  That is a promise I have made to my children.