Raising Kids with a Kind Heart Who Love the Lord –
A Brief Guide to Spiritual Disciplines (Continued)

Submitted by Jennifer Power

This is the final installment of Raising Kids with a Kind Heart Who Love the Lord. These suggestions have by no means been exhaustive, but I hope they have led to careful thinking on how we are being intentional about our parenting as disciples of Jesus Christ.

I continue now with part two of A Brief Guide to Spiritual Disciplines and pick up where I left off last week with some suggestions on incorporating these disciplines into the life of your family.

WORSHIP: Worship turns us from looking at ourselves to looking to the Lord.

• As previously mentioned, worshiping together in church worship services is a great way to worship as a family.
• Look for Christian concerts to attend as a family.
• Teach your family worship is not just singing praises to God, but we worship by obeying God and sacrificially loving the people He places around us.
• Allow your kids to explore different outlets for creative worship including music (vocal and instrumental), writing (poetry, stories, songs), works of art (painting, drawing, sculpting), movement (dance, flags, signing), and more. (Watch for fall F3 kids class: Using Your Creativity to the Glory of God)

Romans 12:1 “Offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”

CELEBRATION: Celebration gives us the opportunity to celebrate the joy we have in Christ together with other brothers and sisters of the faith. Faith in Christ can be hard. Celebration reminds us of God’s goodness and faithfulness.

• When God is moving in your family in a clear way, point it out to your kids and use it as an opportunity to celebrate together.
• Bring your family to corporate Christian celebrations.
• In these celebrations, make clear what you are celebrating (God/what He is up to), rather than having a party for a party’s sake.

1 Corinthians 5:8 “Therefore, let us celebrate the festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.”

FELLOWSHIP: Christian fellowship ties closely with celebration and worship but is not quite the same. Fellowship involves building one another up in the Lord.

• Like worship and celebration, church worship services are a good place to seek and engage in fellowship.
• Reach out to other families in your area, and begin building genuine relationships. Being around other Christians who are seeking to live in full-hearted devotion to Christ is important, and your kids will watch and learn from how you build relationships.
• Join a prayer group. Do not just pray for illnesses and other more obvious difficulties, but pray for one another’s walk with Christ as well – build trust and be willing to be vulnerable. If you are not aware of a prayer group, start one with one or more families you already know.
• Be willing to live out radical grace to the people you encounter. Surprise people with your openness and kindness.

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another.”

SERVICE: Look for ways to serve as a family – here are a few ideas.

• Adopt an elderly individual in your congregation. Spend regular time with this individual. Allow your children to learn from their wisdom and offer your services with household tasks.
• Serve as ushers or greeters together with your kids.
• Adopt a family in need at Christmas time.
• Make bags of necessities/food for the homeless.
• Volunteer at a thrift store or other local non-profit.
• Become foster parents or provide respite care for foster kids.
• Take in a college student and allow them to live in your home with your family.
• The options here are endless!

Mark 9:35 “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

SACRIFICE: As Christ has deemed us worthy to sacrifice His life for ours, we must follow in His footsteps and live a life of sacrifice for the good of His creation.

• To set an example for your kids, consider giving away your favorite item in your home (perhaps excluding what is of sentimental value). Remove for yourself the need to have and acquire by regularly and purposely parting with some items of value. I would not recommend asking your children to do the same. We do not want to create an environment where our children do not feel safe, and forcing them to part with something of great value to them could be harmful. You might be surprised, however, at how they may volunteer to follow in your footsteps – if not now, then at some point in their lives.
• Give away something you were keeping “in case you might need it in the future” if there is someone who has a present need for it. Trust God will provide if you need it later.
• Sacrifice your wants/needs for the needs of your children. One way we as mothers (and fathers) often do this is with sleep. We sacrifice our real need for sleep for our children’s need of our presence when they are very young. I would not, however, recommend regularly sacrificing your needs for your children’s wants, but I know we all sacrifice our wants for our children’s needs and wants.
• Buy a smaller home/cheaper car/etc. in order to have more money to give away to those in need.
• When warranted, sacrifice your dreams for the good of your family. Trust yourself to God’s perfect plan for you and your family and let go of desires for personal glory/status/power/money/etc.

Hebrews 13:16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”

Luke 3:11 “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

SIMPLICITY: Simplicity is ultimately about being of one mind. Our singular focus is Jesus Christ, and everything else flows outward. Our cultural gets so weighed down by money and “stuff”. This can be a huge barrier to authentic discipleship, allowing us to all too easily get caught up in us what we want, what is rightfully ours, and what we think we deserve.

• Regularly go through your home and donate items which you do not use.
• Pare down your schedule to exclude items which do not bring value.
• Keep a journal for a day, week, or month of what you are doing at any given moment. Look back over the entries to see where cuts can be made.
• Think purposefully about which activities bring value to your family or others and which do not.
• Regularly and deliberately give your kids/spouse your undivided attention. Multi-tasking has its place, but your kids/spouse need to know they are worth a considerable chunk of your undivided attention.

Colossians 3:1-2 “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”

I hope you have enjoyed this study (on raising kids who have a kind heart and love the Lord) as much as I have enjoyed writing it. I pray God will bring us into more and more obedience and love through His great grace and Holy Spirit. Stay tuned next Wednesday for Nine Reasons to be part of a Children’s Ministry Team.

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Books on Spiritual Discipline/Bible Study I have read and recommend:

Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Grown by Richard Foster, The Spirit of the Disciplines: Understanding How God Changes Lives by Dallas Willard, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels by Kenneth E. Bailey

Raising Kids who have a Kind Heart and Love the Lord

Raising Kids who have a Kind Heart and Love the Lord – Part Two

Raising Kids who have a Kind Heart and Love the Lord – Part Three

Raising Kids who have a Kind Heart and Love the Lord – A Brief Guide to Spiritual Disciplines