Today’s post comes from my friend Amy Schafer. Amy and I have been friends for years, but have not spoken for years until we stumbled across one another on Facebook. Today Amy lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (GO DALLAS COWBOYS). Amy and her husband Bruce Schafer pastor Grace Life Church (with locactions in Pittsburgh, PA and Norman, OK.) Amy is the real deal, she lives it out loud and I absolutely love how kingdom minded and focused she is! And she loves her family more than life.
Get ready…she’s packing heat today!!
Thank you so much Amy, it’s an honor to have you post for EpicParent.
Here’s Amy…
I remember the night well. Homework was finished. Activities were over. I cooked an amazing dinner;) Our family sat down, we prayed, began to eat, and it was…. quiet. Aaahh…This is the moment I dreamed about as a mom! A quiet, peaceful, family dinner. No laughing, no talking, no moving, no potty jokes, no kids crawling under the table to pass secret codes, no stories, no silly songs…. nothing. Was this good? My entire family was lost in their own portable, electronic device. It was terrible! Time to make a change! It was time to get back to our families core values! Time to get back….. to Face Time!
FACE TIME
Being a mom is more than just cooking, cleaning, laundry, activities, school, baths, etc. As a mom, my number one goal is to pass down my faith to my children. That they will walk in the ways of the Lord. Ps 145:4, ’Generation after generation stands in awe of your work; each one tells stories of your mighty acts.’ The only way to impart your faith and impact generations is through Face Time! Face to Face. Pass down your passions. Impart faith. Tell your faith stories. Ps 78:2-4, ‘I will teach you hidden lessons from our past–stories we have heard and known, stories our ancestors handed down to us. We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation.’
FACE OFF
I guarantee when you have lots of Face Time, it can lead to Face Off’s. Friction is inevitable. I have to face conflicts, attitudes, & behaviors. Iron sharpens iron, sparks will be flying. I want to bring out the greatness in our children, which means I have to correct them. The goal is to correct in love. Rules and regulations without relationship, or Face Time, breed rebellion! Face Off’s can be a beautiful part of the journey to becoming a Christ follower.
FACE DOWN
My only hope for being an amazing mother is to be Face Down before my Father. Seeking His face. Seeking wisdom. Worshipping Him. I was a daughter before I was a mother. I need to spend Face Time with my Heavenly Father. The ultimate goal: What’s in God, gets in you! What’s in you, gets in your children!! You reflect Him to your children! Face Time changes generations!
My prayer for you on this journey to becoming an epic parent is……
Numbers 6:24-26
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.” ‘ NIV…. And when you look back at the end of your life, you will see generations serving God and setting the world on fire!!
If you like this post, you should also check out a few other guest posts’…
- Parenting World Changers, Craig Groeschel
- Seeds Of Servanthood, Amy Groeschel
- Pack Your Bags, We’re Going On A Guilt Trip, Michelle Clark
- A Mom’s Work Is Never Complete, Cindy Beall
- World Challenger’s, Scott Williams
Awesome message! You are an awesome mentor and role model to the moms raising the next generation!
It is very true that parenting is much more than cooking, cleaning, baths, etc.. Without facetime you really can’t connect with your children on a spiritual level, which is the most the important level we need to connect with them on.
Face offs are equally as important. We must correct our child with love in order to prevent rebellion and keep them on a Godly path.
The face down portion of this blog is very inspiring. As parents we will never be able to have adequate face time and face offs with our children if we are not experiencing face downs with God.
These 3 F’s of parenting are vital in creating Godly children!
Thank for sharing your heart with us Amy, I was truly touched. You are so right! Electronic peace is not the peace we are after in our homes. This article is a perfect wake up call for all of us! It’s a call for us as parents to realize how our children can be in our presence, yet truly be absent at the same time. Face time, I love it! That’s beautiful! There has to be time throughout their day when it’s just us & them, with truly genuine face time. You have stirred my heart today, I’m so thankful.
Amen! I am attempting to make a transition away from electronics with my kids as well… electronics can be useful but they can also be a huge distraction from quality family time. Face time with our kids has got to be a priority, even if they act like it is going to be torture! The reality is my husband and I were commissioned to train our children, not their cellphones, iPods, Kindles, laptops, Playstations, and so on. Thank you for the great message!
Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it”
As I read the “faceoff” post by Amy Shafer, and reply using my handheld cell phone, I know what she means when she says..put down your devices…step away from your computers. We all need more “facetime” with the people in our lives. Thanks Amy.
Great word!!! This is so true for the day in which we live. Are we giving our family and kids the time that they need FACE TO FACE! Thank you for sharing!! We all need this word as parents… PASS IT DOWN!