Today's topic is "Three Things That Every Parent Should Teach Their Kids". I would like to share my heart on this subject. I am sure I will write this and then think to myself, "oh I should have said this and that and this" but these are the three things that come to mind for me, based on my beliefs, what I have learned and the things I hope for Emersyn.
1) I want to teach Emersyn about the importance of knowing the Lord as her Savior. I believe that having a faith in God has "saved" me in so many ways. I believe that in the Lord comes self worth, joy, confidence, purpose, fulfillment, peace and so much more. I don't want Emersyn to know "religion" or rules, I want her to know Jesus as her Lord and Savior and for the hope that she has in Him to govern the way she lives her life and the choices that she makes. I believe that the greatest way I can teach Emersyn about faith is to live a life worthy of being admired and let my actions do the talking, moreso then my words. Walk the talk...Lord help me even now!!!
2) I want to teach Emersyn about the importance of purity and the incredible value of being able to give her entire heart to her spouse someday. Brett and I firmly believe that casual dating leads to heartache and baggage. We each have very different stories in regards to this subject and both of these experiences have led to our belief in the importance of trusting the Lord with your heart until He sees fit to give it to someone else. For some reason, our society thinks that having multiple boyfriends and girlfriends in our past as something glamourous. You will never regret purity or friendship. No one ever looks back and thinks, "I wish I would have slept with that guy". More often it is the opposite. I believe that making faith an important element in our lives can help us in this area. I want to instill a value and self worth in Emersyn that is rooted in WHO she is in Christ, not in approval from her peers or the admiration of a boy. I am sure this will be a challenge as she heads into the teenage years. In the meantime, I will PRAY!!!
3) I want to teach Emersyn the importance of being dilligent and having a perspective that looks beyone the "now". Her daddy and I have learned the hard way at times that "no discipline seems pleasant at the time but reaps a harvest of righteousness". When we graduated high school, neither of us saw the need for college. Brett made great money at Nordstrom and I decided that moving out was more important to me, thus creating the need for me to work full time + and not have time for school. I have had some significant successes in real estate and thought that money would never be an issue. It's okay to have expensive car payments when you can afford it, right? Debt is no big deal, etc. Oh how we wish that we would have had a more long term perspective! You live and you learn though, and God has showed us some incredible lessons along the way, lessons I wouldn't trade for anything. I am proud of our decision to live a life that is practical and frugal; not giving into the pressure to have fancy cars and other belongings. Not that there is anything wrong with having nice things, just not at the cost of tremendous debt and the bondage of monthly payments. It is my hope and prayer that Emersyn will make wise decisions, be known as a hard worker and be willing to sacrifice now to reap benefits later. It is our job as her parents to hold her hand until she becomes an adult and show her the ropes, not just toss her into the real world at 18 and hope she figures it out!
Again, none of these opinions have anything to do with how Brett or I was raised, these are just OUR hopes for our daughter and any other children that the Lord sees fit to bless us with!
Special thanks to Shoplet.com-Purell Hand Sanitizers for sponsoring this blog hop.
5 comments:
You truly created a great list.
Many Blessings to your family,
Deanna
I love exactly everything you said. From 1 to 3, you summed it up perfectly. You and I have a lot in common, my friend!
That was great and I agree with each one! Come over and see mine! http://raisingbabycheap.blogspot.com
You go with #2!! And don't let anyone ever tell you it isn't possible or that it is stupid. More people need to start thinking like that.
My husband never dated another girl. :) I'm his only one. I feel special! (I wish I could say the same was true for me... but I made my mistakes.)
Dear Patricia aka "Sweetie"
My Prayers were answered, as yours will.
So proud of the Woman you have become and are.
I Love you even more than you can imagine.
Love, Mama
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