I am Michelle, married to my husband Jim for 25 years. We have 2 daughters, Bailey (age 16) and Sydney (age 12). Both girls have enjoyed ballet dancing for years, and Sydney has recently added track and cross country.
I’m Alicia, wife to my best friend for the last 20 years and mom to four adventurous,
energetic boys (ages 16 down to 7) who keep me on my toes—and my knees in prayer!
We live in beautiful Colorado, where we love hiking, watching sunsets, and cheering on
our kids in all their sports and school activities. Our home is far from perfect, but it’s
filled with love, laughter, and lots of learning moments where we get to point each other
back to Jesus.
When the school year starts, a lot of transitions happen, and it’s easy to lose sight of what is most important for our kids-their growing relationship with the Lord. It’s good to take a step back as the school year begins and proactively set the stage for the year, so our children continue to grow in their faith, relationship with God, and character.
My next interview is with Kelly, our pastor’s wife and wonderful mom of three amazing boys, ages 12, 14, and 17. Her kids have attended public school for the past eleven years, and she has a passion to encourage her kids in their relationship with the Lord. Kelly, thank you for sharing your public school experiences with us!
What do you want your children to look like when they are grown? Do you desire for them to be focused on success, materialism, and entertainment? Or do you want them to be living in communion with God and raising your grandchildren to live for the Lord as well?
Josh and I have been married for 17 years. We have 4 children; Weston who is 14, Braxton is 12, Baylor is 10, and Landon is 8. Josh is a pastor at Crossroads Baptist Church in the Woodlands, and I am a teacher at Legacy Preparatory Christian Academy where all four of our children attend. We love to be together as a family as well as do life with friends from church and school!
Now that my kids have become teenagers, my husband and I have thought and prayed through what this spiritual discipleship process should look like as they move closer and closer to adulthood. On the one hand, our teens are often exposed to more worldly influences than when they were younger, making it more essential to guide them through uncharted waters that could affect their faith. On the other hand, they are growing up and becoming more independent, making it harder to know how to spiritually mentor them without making them feel “too young” or worrying that they won’t want our spiritual influence in their lives any longer. For this reason, I felt led to interview young adults who are strong in their faith and were positively impacted by their parent’s spiritual mentorship during their teen years to learn what impacted them the most. These insights will help those of us seeking to spiritually disciple our own teenagers to gain insights on what seems to work well and how to best encourage our kids spiritually during this more complex stage of life.
When my kids were very young, I had a hard time not losing my patience with them on a daily basis. I love kids, but I just expected my kids to- well, be perfect, and perfect, they weren’t! Of course they were growing and maturing, but it felt like such a slow process when they were in the middle of it and still so young. When they went against my rules, the anger would sometimes get the best of me, and I would think, “How DARE those kids disrespect me like that?!”
Last summer I led a small group of teenagers at Camp 220 with my church. I had heard many great things about this camp and how teens’ lives had been dramatically changed, and I wanted to experience it first hand with the students from my neighborhood Bible club. It was an unforgettable experience, to say the least.
I hope you enjoy this two part devotional designed for ages 4-8 to teach your children how to have a forgiving heart! Read the italic section or paraphrase with your children to fit their age level. Click here for the printer friendly version of this devotional.