Email 1
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Subject Line: Caring for Your Kids
Dear Friends,
There are lots of different roles that you play as a parent. You are sometimes a chauffeur, sometimes a cook, sometimes a personal assistant, and always a guide. Your kids need a lot from you, and there is always something to be paying attention to. Because of the pace of life, you might miss doing the thing your child likely needs the most. You might not care for them in the way they need it.
At this point, you are likely saying, ‘What are you talking about? I care for my child deeply!” That’s true, but lots of parents mistake guidance for care, and they are not the same. Your child very much needs you to provide for their needs and point them in the right direction when it comes to a variety of different issues and circumstances. But possibly more than that, they need you to care for them on a deep, personal level. They need to feel that care and know that you want to lead them in more than a functional way. To use a biblical metaphor, think of yourself as a shepherd. Look at your shepherding in more than just a practical sense where you want to keep your sheep safe. Think through how you can really care for your kids, understanding more about them and their world, what they are experiencing, and what they need. If you do, you’ll have a stronger relationship with them, and they will be better equipped to handle the world because they know you care.
This month, we want to encourage you to take your care to a different level. The care that we are talking about goes much further than simply providing direction or meeting physical needs. It starts with the heart and seeks to meet your child’s emotional and spiritual needs. To help you think through this idea of care and help you live it out at home, check out this month’s Online Parenting Class and Parent Toolbox Resource. They will provide you with some insight, wisdom, and a list of practical ideas that will help you step into caring for your child in a deeper way. There are easy yet practical things that you can do that will incline your heart to care for your children in a different way and demonstrate that care in everyday life.
To watch this month’s video or download the Toolbox Resource, click on the links below.
[ INSERT LINK TO ONLINE PARENTING CLASS VIDEO ]
[ INSERT LINK TO TOOLBOX RESOURCE ]
You can do this! We are always here for you if you need us.
Cheering you on,
[ INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE ]
EMAIL 2
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Subject Line: Shepherding Your Kids
Dear Parents,
When it comes to parenting your kids, where do you put your focus? Are you fixated on helping them learn all the right information so they can be “successful” in life (whatever that means)? Are you intent on getting them onto the right team or into the right class or attached to the right group of friends so they can excel in the world? None of these things are inherently bad or wrong, but they might not be the best things for you to focus on. What if you decided to really focus on their heart and cared for them in a way that goes beyond the mechanics of life? What if your care for them led them to a place where they experienced life in a different way and felt a true sense of peace?
In Scripture, we are told that Jesus is our Good Shepherd. He cares for us, His sheep, in a personal and relational way. He reminds all of us that we, too, are to think like shepherds, caring for the sheep in our lives like God cares for us. Your child is a sheep in more ways than one and needs the care and guidance of a shepherd, not just the direction of a leader. We know all this can sound intimidating, but remember, you are not in this alone. We are here to walk alongside you, pray for you, encourage you, and even equip you with tools to help you live this out. If you haven’t checked out this month’s Online Parenting Class yet, we talk about what it would look like for you to think like a shepherd and provide your sheep with the things they really need to flourish in the world. In this month’s Parent Toolbox Resource, we offer some practical steps to care for your child in ways that will protect them, nourish them, and lead them in a way that will give them life. Lastly, we have an incredibly insightful blog article for you titled “Entrusted To Our Care” that we think will truly encourage you along the way.
To watch this month’s video, download the Toolbox Resource, or read the Blog Article, click on the links below.
[ INSERT LINK TO M2P PARENTING BLOG ARTICLE ]
[ INSERT LINK TO M2P ONLINE PARENTING CLASS VIDEO ]
[ INSERT LINK TO TOOLBOX RESOURCE ]
We are in this together! Let us know if there is ever anything we can do for you or your family.
Praying for you as you lead at home,
[INSERT LEADER’S SIGNATURE HERE]
M2P KIDS May Parent Video Script
Caring for Your Kids
One of the things I know about you as a parent is that you care for your kids. You care deeply for them. There is something about the parent-child bond that is so strong and something that wells up in you as a mom or a dad that you sometimes can’t even describe.
But today, I want to ask you to think about something. I know you care for your kids… emotionally and with all your heart. But how are you caring for your kids? How are you not just teaching them and guiding them and pointing them in the direction you think they should go, but how are you caring for them? This question takes me to an image from Scripture that you’ve probably heard before, where Jesus gives us a picture of what it looks like to care. In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd.” Shepherds care for their sheep.
Now, we may not always look at our kids as cute little cuddly sheep, but maybe we should. When it comes to how we care for our kids, maybe we should take on the character of a shepherd and have that mentality. I’ve heard it said recently that lots of parents have begun to see themselves as their kids’ agent, negotiating deals and manipulating situations, making sure that their kids are well-positioned for the future and set up for success. If I’m honest, I can gravitate to a version of that sometimes. But what if we saw ourselves not as our kids’ agent or guide or even their teacher? What if we saw our primary role as being our kids’ shepherd?
What would that look like? The second part of John 10:11 says, “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus sacrificed for you and for me, so part of being a shepherd for our kids and caring for them involves sacrifice. You know this because you’ve been doing this for years. As parents, we have to sacrifice our wants, our needs, and sometimes, our dreams for what our lives can look like for our kids. This doesn’t mean catering to their every want and whim, but it does mean loving our kids in such a way that we deny ourselves in order to love and care for them.
John 10:14-15 says, “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me—just as the Father knows me and I know the Father…” Part of being a shepherd and truly caring for our kids is really knowing them. It’s having a relationship with them. I don’t mean just a functional relationship where things keep moving, and stuff gets done, but I mean a deep relationship where you know one another and you are truly doing life together. And this takes work! Building and maintaining a strong relationship with our kids is not always easy and how we need to do it will change in different seasons. Building that relationship may require us to sacrifice things we want to do or talk about and step into things our kids want to do and talk about. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to act like I was interested in something in order to step deeper into a relationship with one of my kids. But when I do that, I’m always glad I did.
When I think about some other things that shepherds do, one of the big things that comes to mind is they protect their sheep. I know for a lot of us, it’s easy to go into protection mode when it comes to our kids, but I would encourage you to really evaluate how you protect your kids and particularly think about the posture you take when you are protecting them. Yes, our little sheep need protection, but they also need to feel confident that they can grow up into big sheep. I wonder if the culture our world is creating around protecting our kids is actually scaring the sheep and making them wonder if they can or even want to grow up. Definitely protect your kids from the evil in the world, but also give them the space they need to learn and grow so that they don’t always need you to be an overprotective shepherd. Learn how to have conversations with your kids about what is going on in them and in the world so that they can grow and develop in a healthy way while under your care.
One more thing about shepherds. They nourish their sheep. Now, obviously, you’re going to feed your kids lots of stuff, but I want to talk about a different type of nourishment. Part of caring for your kids is learning how to nourish them spiritually. How are you helping your kids get the spiritual nourishment they need to grow in their trust in God and life with Him? I hope you aren’t hiring another shepherd to do that part of the care. I hope you aren’t relying on someone from church or, a family member or a friend to be the spiritual shepherd for your kids. God has given that role to you, so take some time to figure out how you can lead your kids spiritually because they need you. They need you to have honest conversations with them about life and faith. They need you to keep building the relationship that gives you the influence you need as you guide them along the way.
Here’s the last thing I want to say. I hope you know that other than Jesus, there is no perfect shepherd. In all of this, you’re going to make mistakes and get some things wrong, and you’re going to need to rely on your shepherd to care for you. Jesus laid down his life for you and offers the same grace, forgiveness, and care that you are offering your kids. Lean on that and when you think about the fact that you care for your kids, go deeper into HOW you are caring for them as they continue to grow and develop.