Parenting! Wow! What a privilege! I shall never forget the realization of the just plain ignorance in raising a child. It was an exciting day when we arrived home from the hospital with our first child. I kept looking for instructions somewhere on what to do now. She cries a lot! She doesn’t sleep at night. She’s a real person, God, please help us. I honestly was afraid, afraid of failure. We had prayed for her and God had given us a beautiful little girl. Praying and constantly reading God’s Word for wisdom and God’s design for our home is how we raised our children. I do not have all the answers nor were we perfect parents. We made trillions of mistakes. But God constantly reminded us that we were “Hand-picked” parents for the “Hand-picked” children we were given.

Our desire, as Christian parents, for our children is not that they be rich or famous, but that they love the Lord Jesus and count for His cause.

Several things to keep always in your heart: 1) Your children are on loan from God- they belong to Him. 2) Children will do what you do, not what you say. 3) Children do not need material things(expensive toys); children need YOU!

May I challenge you today to sit down with your Bible and look up every verse on children. Make a determination to obey the voice of God as you read and I promise you that if you are faithful and genuine (real), your children will follow your example. They will make choices that will put you on your knees. Because we are not perfect, our children will never be either. We all are born in sin. Without God being first in every aspect of our lives, God will not be first in the lives of our children.

God is our example in parenting. He is our Father. Do you want to be successful as a parent? Follow His example!