Called to Lift Each Other Up: Raising the Next Generation Part 4...Tell Your Children

We live in an age of ideas.   The Information Age has brought us to a place to gather information at a click of a button while at the same time making our minds turn lazy to the process of critical thinking.  My family and I love Disneyland! We are annual pass holders, so we go often. Now if your a Disney fan, there are some awesome apps out there to use on your visit to make the experience fun.  The app that tells you detailed “wait time” for rides...A MUST! The very same app can help you reserve a dinner time at your favorite Disney restaurant or help reminded of your "Fastpass" time...AWESOME!  It will tell you showtimes plus give you the opportunity to order food anywhere from the park so you can pick up and go! I will admit….I love my Disney APP! Our family fell in love with Disney when we took a vacation to Florida.  The girls were heading into their tween years. “High School Musical” was out and Zac Efron was the heartthrob of many young girls, including mine! The Disney Channel at the time was a must in our household. So to experience a cross country red eye flight, Disney World and Disney Cruise to the Bahamas was an adventure to this day that will never be forgotten!  Yet, when we arrived in Orlando, the “Disney Magic” kicked in from the time we left the plane to the moment we stepped foot into the Magic Kingdom! The quality of service and hospitality. The vision of Walt came alive as I saw a theme park that truly was hand stamped with his detail and lessons learned from the California Disneyland. Our family also boarded the Disney ship, where you were made to feel special as your family name was announced over the ships speakers to welcome you aboard.  The experience was so overwhelming yet at the same time impressive. Many people debate the west coast Disney to the East coast Disney...by far the east coast Disney has my vote! Disney World is truly what Walt Disney envisioned. When we arrived back home, I began reading about Walt Disney and his entrepreneurial spirit. His ups and downs. His negatives and positives. The vision he had to see beyond what others saw was amazing! While being told it could never happen, Walt continued to move forward.  Why? He saw the end result when others did not. His vision to details can be seen into the present day, 50 plus years after his passing. I loved to share with my girls all that I learned about Walt. His drive to succeed upon failure. His never give up attitude. His desire to capture the American Spirit of freedom and pride. It was all shared with the girls to feed their entrepreneurial spirit. Now when we go to Disneyland there is a sense of gratification and appreciation, as they know the story behind Mickey Mouse and Main Street, USA.  They view the detail of the park and see Walt Disney’s vision come alive! The story of Walt’s life and “Disney Magic” is an inspiration to my girls today as they start small businesses and market their work. It may have never happened unless I shared with my girls Disney’s life.

Yet, Disneyland will come and go.  Mom and dad...how more important it is to share the things of the Lord with our children which will last a lifetime and into eternity.  How will they carry the message of hope? How will they know that God truly cares and loves them? How will they know that He is faithful?  If there is a time in our culture for children to know of God’s unconditional love...it’s now! The battle for the minds of our children is in full force, and the culture of our time is winning!  If we are to see our young children grow in their faith, we must tell them what the Lord means to us! It must be lived out, not just words spoken from the pulpit and then hope the words stick! The Word of the Lord must be spoken and lived out by you.  There is no greater pastor in the life of your children then you...mom and dad!  What a great responsibility we have to point our children to God.  As the Word of the Lord speaks…”Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.” In preparing to write this series, I asked my youngest daughter who is now twenty years old, “What stood out to you as a child concerning mom and dad’s faith?”.  I was curious to know. She gave me five points, but one really stood out to me. She replied, “I have learned that a true disciple of Christ will show it in their character. For you and mom, you lived it out for us. You both showed us how to live out our faith.”  Mom and dad, your kids are watching you! I truly believe that our children do not want to hear from the pulpit the why’s to the what’s. They do not want to just know that we believe in God and Christ as the true Messiah. They want to see it! They want to know why you believe in God?  They want to know why you believe the Word of God is true.  They want to know what made you come to acknowledge Christ as your Savior?  They want to hear it from you!  Here are some ideas to possibly help you get the ball rolling.

Ways to Speak into your Child's Life...

Have dinner together

I have to thank my wife for this!  She made it a point that each night we had dinner together.  Yes it was difficult at times, especially when the girls became older and after school practices began.  Yet we made it a point that when we all got home we had dinner together, no matter what time. It was a great time to pray together as a family and catch up on our day.  Sometimes it was 15 to 20 minutes, other times longer. Conversations came about throughout our dinner. Family. Relationships. Faith and many moments of laughter! Even now as the girls are adults and our lives are very busy with careers, we make time at least once a week to get together.  Those times are precious as we know new chapters in our lives will be taking place in the future.

A family walk

Summer nights were awesome for this!  We just went on a walk in the neighborhood.  Simple as that. The conversations that arose were priceless!  As parents we always looked for ways to bring God into the conversation, not in a forceful way but we allowed it to naturally happen, allowing the Holy Spirit to open the door.  

One on One dates with your child

When the girls were about 4 or 5 years old we started taking them out one on one dates.  This was so much fun! Going out for ice cream. Dinner and a movie. Shopping. Whatever we could do we made it a point to have fun, but also allow time to talk and listen.  Once again great conversations about future and faith would always come up. It allowed us to speak into the lives of our children, so they could hear our faith and see Christ in us. To this day our girls will ask us, “When are we having a date night?”  Priceless!

Road Trip

If you can pull this off you will not only create a memory, but you will have so much quality time with your children.  Time to laugh. Time to cry. Time to pray. And time to speak into their lives! When the girls were teenagers I took them on our first road trip to Magic Mountain.  So much fun! Yet once again so much quality time to speak into their lives! When the girls became older it was concerts and festivals. One memorable trip was going to San Francisco, walking from Powell and Market to Fisherman’s Wharf and then to the evenings venue to watch Imagine Dragons!  Funny thing? They introduced me to some awesome music and bands! Which also opened up doors of opportunity to talk about worldviews and hope through Christ through the lyrics of the bands we were listening to. Now that the girls are adults, they just went on a road trip with mom to New Mexico!  Remember, it’s not about the trip as much as it is about the quality time you want to spend together with your child. The opportunity to speak into the lives of your child will become endless!

When you deposit these “coins of building a relationship” into the lives of your child at a young age, it will be easier to take a “withdrawal” in the moment of their life when they need to hear their parent say, “God is faithful…..”  Now go and tell your child the great things God has done in your life!

His call. His gift to you. Your purpose. Irrevocable.