Today’s post is from my good friend Ryan Golightly.
Ryan is the kids pastor at Rejoice Church in Owasso, OK. I have been on site at Rejoice Church and seen Ryan and his team in person and let me just say that this guy is one of the most creative Kids Pastors that I have seen in years.
You should check out Ryan’s Blog and friend him on Facebook, he’s a great guy to learn from!
Thanks for posting today Ryan, it’s a true honor to have you lend your voice to EpicParent.
So, here’s Ryan…
The Most Important Story…
is the one you write on your child’s heart.
My mom was the most incredible elementary librarian. Super fun and energetic, she was the rarest breed of librarian ever created. Her God-given gift of storytelling captured the imagination of every child. She is part of the reason I’ve always enjoyed good stories and authors, and had a hunger to tell stories well and write well. Unfortunately, to put it nicely, I can often suck at the most important writing I’ll ever do as a man, husband, and father.
God has called me, as the spiritual leader in my home, to write the truths of God on my children’s hearts. In recently reading through 2 Corinthians 3, God gave me some encouragement that this seemingly impossible task is possible in Him. So here’s what the Lord spoke to me and I hope is a good word for you today:
1. Don’t dish out laws “written on stone”. Since the Israelites didn’t do so hot obeying laws written by God’s own hand on stone tablets, why on Earth do I ever assume that simply giving out rules will affect heart change? Bummer. I guess I can’t just post Christian wall art that says “as for me and my house we will serve the Lord” and expect it to magically produce disciples. I actually have to do some hard work. The hard work of being a humble grace-giving father that leads by example in the home. Why get excited about the hard things? Because…
2. We are adequate in Christ! (2 Corin. 3:5) This isn’t the Saturday Night Live “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough” self-help talk. Jesus makes us sufficient! Praise you God for giving us confidence and strength to endure as parents in this tough world. This is the toughest job we’ll ever encounter. But we never do it alone! This means Jesus empowers imperfect people to write on the hearts of their children!
3. The Spirit gives life and liberty to both parent and child as we obey His Word! What’s the result of the hard work? Life and freedom even in the home! This God-given life in the home is so desirable you can almost taste it. So stay in the Word, listen to His voice & declare His glory in your home. Then by God’s grace we will mirror the Author of Life!
In what ways are you writing God’s truths on your child’s hearts?
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