Intentional Parenting

Read

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk alongside the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Think

Moses delivered this profound message in the book of Deuteronomy. This same Moses, who spent only a few years with his parents before being adopted into a royal, pagan Egyptian family, understood the importance of discussing the powerful force of a dynamic Christian household. He recognized that the process of shaping young hearts and minds begins with the parents themselves. Truth must penetrate your own heart before it can flow through you to your children.

If our Christian walk is reduced to mere monotony and routine, our children will miss out on experiencing the magnificence of an all-powerful God who still performs miracles and parts the Red Sea of our challenges. It is our sacred privilege to convey to our children the lessons we have been taught, the wisdom we have gained, and the divine discoveries we have unearthed during our personal journeys with God. In doing so, we guide them toward a love for God that is rooted in their own hearts.

The method is beautifully simple: weave these conversations into the fabric of everyday life, amidst the ordinary and commonplace moments. As Moses wisely put it, "When you sit down, when you walk around, when you rise up," speak of Jesus. It's as natural as engaging in conversation, sharing the profound truth that Jesus is present everywhere and in everything, making the divine accessible and relatable to our daily lives.

Apply

Make Jesus a priority in your home daily. Whether or not you are a parent, talk it and walk it. Reading daily devotions, making weekly church attendance a priority, and serving will not only enhance your walk with Jesus, but when done with your children, their walk as well.

Pray

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of children. Help me to guide the children in my life in your ways. Please give me the wisdom that only you can impart. Help me to serve as a model and guide each and every day, helping them grow into people who deeply love you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.