Thursday, April 28, 2011

Teach me Jesus Thursdays... Parenting Philosophy

I'm linking in with a fellow blogger and dear friend at To Show Them Jesus on Thursdays to share thoughts, struggles, and ideas on raising our children to know and follow Christ.  Would you join us?

To Show Them Jesus


This week I am finding it hard to talk about parenting as I am facing a challenging time with my three year old.  I truly feel inadequate, but I'll give it a shot and look forward to feedback as well as ideas of how you may be raising up your children.

This week our focus is on Parenting Philosophy.  The perfectionist side of me began parenting reading books and articles online in a search of doing things the "right" way.  I quickly learned that there are many styles of parenting and many personalities of families as I discovered that I would not be able to find a perfect solution, be a perfect parent, or raise perfect kids.   Okay, you can stop laughing now. :)

I gave up the search for perfection, overwhelmed by the myriad of opinions on the subject of raising children. I've read a few books, but am most reliant on God to work in and through me and my family to accomplish His purpose for us.

Our philosophy of parenting is still in the works.  Here are a few core beliefs that drive us:

The grace of God shown through Christ.  Our greatest hope is that God would draw our children's heart to Himself.  It is our prayer that God's grace would transform each of our hearts and that we would live out that grace to extend it to each other.  I'm not great at the latter statement.

God's compassion for His people throughout the world.  We hope that our family would be able to give freely of all that we have to benefit God's kingdom.  We want to raise our children to love selflessly and give abundantly, living a lifestyle of sacrifice and building treasures in Heaven rather than clinging to things on Earth.

Heart's of service.  This works closely with compassion.  We hope that we will not just feel for those in need, nor just give our possessions, but that we would give our lives as well.  Starting with a servant's heart for each other and extending to our church, community, and world, we hope to raise our children to look beyond themselves and give of themselves for the mission of the Gospel, fulfilling the Great Commission.

Creative Expression and Unique Giftings.  We hope to encourage our children in discovering and developing their unique giftings whatever they may be.  Also, we want for them to be able to appreciate giftings of others as God has made each of us uniquely in His image.

A growing love for God and life of pursuing Him.  We hope that our children will grow to love God with all their heart, soul, and mind.  We hope to instill spiritual disciplines in them that will develop their relationship with our Father. We hope that what they learn from us grows into a life of pursuing God and growing in grace, that their time under our roof may just be the beginning.




1 comment:

Christina said...

Awesome! Thanks so much for joining me on the journey!

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