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14
May
Do You Worry About Your Kids? Grab Onto This Tip.

Sometimes I forget that God is closer to my kids than I am. Usually this lapse of memory occurs when a child, or grandchild, falls into some type of crisis—or my definition of a crisis. When my worry genes kick in, my mind switches gears into anxiety mode and my hand reaches for my Bible. The latter action adjusts the former two.

One tip for dissolving worry is to tweak your mind from thinking worry-talk to thinking promise-talk. Here are two Scripture promises I use for my personal self-talk during times of anxiety. Note how each Scripture ignites a spiritual pep talk in my brain. Just replace my name with yours.

“Who has done this and carried it through, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the LORD—with the first of them and with the last—I am he” (Isaiah 41:4 NIV).

Susan, God has been calling your generations from the beginning of time. He has called each individual in your family into existence and he is with each one of your kids, just as he has been with you. He is also calling your kids—even those yet unborn—to come into his love and light. God is passionate about your generations and he is passionately in love with your kids. He will always be at their side drawing them close.

“But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations” (Psalm 33:11 NIV).

Susan, God’s plans and purposes for your kids will stand firm. These plans are not dependent on the opinion or actions of your kids, yourself, or others. God is more determined than you are to see your kids come into his kingdom and walk with him. His intimate thoughts are on each person in the generations that follow you—planning how He can influence each life to reflect His love and grace.

God’s promises hold steady when our lives don’t. Self-talking a few Scriptures transforms worry into faith. What Scripture promises do you grab onto when your children hit your worry button?  

In Him together, Susan Gaddis

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Category: Daily, praying for your kids, Quiet moments  Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
05
Feb
How to Pray Your Child “Home”

394279_home_keyI believe in praying for my kids. I’m in the trenches of finishing raising child number six now, and prayer, as with the other five kids, continues to be my best bet for his survival and my sanity.

Titus 2:11–12 is the mainstay of my Scripture praying for my children. Although I use many, this one passage remains my favorite when I approach God’s throne discouraged and needing my Father to do another “kid intervention.” Basically, my Titus 2 prayer sounds like the following:

“For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. That’s a lot of grace, Lord—enough to show your salvation to everyone who has ever lived. So I know there is as much grace as is necessary for (name of child) to come home to you in his heart, decisions, and actions.

I ask that your grace continue to teach (name of child) to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and worldly passions. You know, Lord, how much temptation my child faces on a daily basis. May your grace instruct (him/her) in how to live a self-controlled, upright and godly life in this present age—here and now—not just someday in the future. Lord, self-control, upright, and godly are hard things to walk in, even for an adult. I ask that you do what no one else can do in my child’s life—teach (him/her) to be a Christ follower.”

So far God’s track record in the Gaddis Department of Child Raising has been spotless. Parenting is messy at times, but God, for His part, has been faithful. All of the older kids love and serve the Lord, and I have every confidence that this last one will continue to be mentored by Grace in how to say “Yes” to self-control, an upright heart, and godly actions. I’m expecting Grace to teach him how to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions.

Am I the only parent who needs the God of Grace to mentor my children? What do you pray when you seek the Lord for the welfare of your kids? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

In Him together, Susan

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Category: Prayer, praying for your kids, Relationships  Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,
27
Jan
Please Pass the DNA
Adelaide Ayers
Adelaide Ayers

I have six little grandchildren in my life who carry my DNA. Sometimes I wonder if I am doing enough to pass the baton of faith on to these little people. Good grandmas do things like that.

Shouldn’t I be teaching the Bible and praying with them when they come to visit? How will they acquire the DNA of God unless I cram spiritual truths into their heads and cookies into their mouths?

Usually about that time of feeling like the Grandma from Failureland, I’m caught up short by the Spirit Holy and reminded that it is I who need to accept the baton from their little hands. This is just one more principle of the Backward Kingdom that I am learning.

Jesus told us that unless we become like little children we cannot inherit the kingdom of God—we won’t have the DNA of God infused within. We seem to know the important things of the Kingdom when we are small, but such wisdom seeps out of us as we grow big enough to carry the cares of the world.

Here are three things I’ve observed about little children, but don’t see in adults:

Children don’t worry. I worry. My husband worries. My grandkids don’t worry.

Children dance everywhere they go. I walk or stumble along life’s highways and byways. Children dance across the floor, on top of the couch, under the table, up and down on Grandma’s bed, and into the kitchen where they ask for something to eat since they only ate 15 minutes ago and have used up all their calories dancing.

Children are directly honest with God.  I avoid certain conversations with God. My grandchildren don’t seem to have that problem. One morning while cooking breakfast, my daughter Kati heard her three year old, Adelaide, strongly say, “Jesus!” She heard her again, “Jesus!” Turning around, Kati saw Adelaide looking at the ceiling as she announced a third time, “Jesus! You need to get down here right now! I need to talk to you!”

Maybe Jesus isn’t the only one Adelaide needs to talk to. Perhaps she can teach me to dance again. Anyone care to join us?

In Him Together, Susan Gaddis

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Category: Personal growth, The Backward Kingdom  Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,