How to Plan Intentional Spiritual Moments During a Busy School Year

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How to Plan Intentional Spiritual Moments During a Busy School Year

Welcome to this month’s online parenting class. Our goal each month is to be an encouraging voice in your life as you parent. This month we are going to talk about how to plan intentional spiritual moments with your kids during the school year. One thing we know happens as school gets rolling is our schedules get packed with meetings and practices and homework. For most parents we are glad they are back in school but we can find ourselves fighting to survive as the school year moves ahead full speed.

With every new school year we get a reset, a fresh start. This month we want to invite you to think about a goal you may not have considered. This is a long term goal for this year and it’s something that is going to take some work on your part as a parent. We want to invite you to think about how you could create a moment of blessing in the life of your child this year. We call these moments family experiences because you are creating a simple moment where you can speak blessings and spiritual truths into the lives of your children. Before we go any further let’s tackle a few fears you might have…

The first is…

I don’t know what to do. That’s the easiest one of all because if you are getting this coaching video your church already has a suggesting for you this year of your child’s life. They will help you know what and how do create this experience.

The second fear is…

I feel inadequate. Great, join the club. Parenting breeds insecurity in our souls because we love these kids so much and we don’t want to mess them up. God chose you to parent your child so He believes in you way more than you believe in yourself.

The third fear is…

I am way to busy. We all are busy but we can’t allow business to rob us of significant and fun parenting moments. Make sure you grab control of your calendar and make this a priority this year. You have months to prepare!

Let me give you 3 quick tips for how to plan a spiritual moment for each of your kids this year. Here we go…

First, Keep it simple. Think about your kids and how you could intentionally work a moment of blessing into the natural flow of the year. A great family experience / moment of blessing needs to fit you and your kids. Most of the time this kind of experience is just adding one more element to your child’s birthday. Make it work for your family and your child.

Second, Calendar it. This is a powerful and purposeful step. With each child place your goal and the day of that child’s family experience. What goes in our calendar gets done. What is a good intention slips through the cracks.

Third and final tip for you is ask for help! You don’t have to do this alone. Get church friends and other family involved. Ask your church leadership for the family experience guides. Adjust the plan to fit your family and feel free to Google or Pinterest other ideas!

We know back to school time is a busy time but look ahead this year and plan and intentional spiritual moment in the lives of your kids. We promise, you will never regret it!

Facebook Posts/Texts/Tweets

TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.

Tweet One: Planning a moment of blessing allows you to pull your children close even when they are pulling away.

Tweet Two: Our children need to hear that both their parents and God believe in them. Speak into them concrete, positive words about their character.

Tweet Three: God chose you to parent your child, so He believes in you way more than you believe in yourself. Together, with God, you have got this!

Tweet Four: We all are busy, but we can’t allow busy schedules to rob us of significant and fun parenting moments.

Tweet Five: When it comes to spiritual moments, keep it simple and make it personal.

Word Swag

Raising Kids That Lose Well

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Raising Kids That Lose Well

Welcome to this month’s online parenting class. Thank you for blocking off time to work
on your parenting. We pray each month this is helpful to you.

This month we are going to help you think about how to raise kids that lose well! Yes, I
said that correctly, this is not a mistake. We want to help you prepare your kids to have
success when they lose. When we talk about losing we are talking about any moment
when things don’t go like we want them to. It could be losing in the classroom. It could
be losing a close friendship. It could be losing games in the sport they play or having to
sit on the bench instead of starting. All of our kids are going to face times when they
lose…how will they handle it? What will their response be?

Let’s take this idea a little further down the road. Your child will grow up and you already
know that they will face seasons of losing. They will encounter a challenge in life where
they don’t get what they want. Helping our kids know how to lose well now is going to
help them lose with class later.

Here are a few tips to help your kids lose well…

Celebrate the process as much as the final result.

We all love to win but the fun that winning brings only comes through the process. We
oftentimes get so fixed on achievement that we miss all the joy of being on a team,
striving together with teammates, and the lessons we learn on the journey. The process
of striving for a goal is as important as the end result. We have to remind kids how
proud we are of them for going on the journey and not just celebrating the final result.

Stop blaming and encourage learning.

When we lose it’s easy to blame. Blame to coach. Blame the teacher. Blame the
weather. Blame the surprise problem that caught us off guard. What could happen if we
spent as much time learning when we lose as blaming others? When we stop blaming
and start learning we actually set our kids up for future success!

Celebrate others when they win.

This is so important for kids to start early in life. We all need to learn how to celebrate
with others when they win. There is nothing worse than people who tear others down
when they don’t win. This habit starts early, so help your child to strive to celebrate with
others when they win.

If you guide your kids toward these three principles of losing well then they will become
kids that lose well! Your influence matters, so show them the way.

Texts/Tweets

TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.

Tweet One: When kids don’t win, it’s the perfect time to help them learn rather than blame.

Tweet Two: Teaching our kids to lose well today helps them lose with class later.

Tweet Three: Celebrating with others when they win is as important as winning.

Tweet Four: How kids respond when they lose or don’t get their way reveals their character.

Tweet Five: Raising kids that lose well produces kids of deep character.

Tweet Six: The process of striving for a goal is as crucial as a result.

Tweet Seven: What could happen if we spent as much time learning when we lose as blaming others?

How to Help Your Kids Be Responsible

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How to Help Your Kids Be Responsible

Welcome to this month’s online parenting class. This month we get to talk to parents of
kids and teens. You are all amazing and we love these months when we get to talk to
parents as a whole. There are some things that your children need help with no matter
their age and this topic is one of them.

This month we want to help you raise kids and teens that are responsible! I think I just
heard a collective “amen” from all parents because this is a real struggle for all of us.
How do we help our kids be proactive and actually finish their chores? How do we help
kids get ready for school on time? How do we help our children follow through with their
commitments? It all boils down to responsibility and responsibility is something that
takes time to develop. The good news for you as a parent is that it can be learned even
if your child wins the most irresponsible child of the year award.

Before we share some simple responsibility tips let me just remind you about one
important step we have to take as parents when teaching responsibility. Staying angry
about your child’s irresponsibility is no help when it comes to teaching responsibility. So
often we take all this so personally. We actually believe our kids are trying to drive us
crazy when the truth is, most of the time, kids and just being kids. Responsible behavior
is learned and does not come naturally. The more you stay calm in the process the
more influence you will have and the more lessons you will be able to teach!

Be clear about your expectations and stand by them calmly.

If you want your kids to be more responsible with school, with chores, or with their
sports teams then you are going to have to make your expectations crystal clear. Most
of the times we have expectations that we assume our children understand and then
when it all falls short we blow up. Let your children know what you expect and then
stand by your expectations calmly as they learn.

Allow your kids to suffer the consequences of not being responsible.

We all tend to want to save our kids from the consequences of not being responsible,
but the only way kids and teens ever learn from their irresponsibility is to deal with the
natural consequences. Allow them to get points taken off their grade. Don’t allow them
to go to the movies if their rooms are nasty and not cleaned during the week. Let the
coach bench them when they make poor choices. Let your kids fail when they are being
irresponsible and they will start learning the benefits of responsibility.

Find hacks that help your child be more responsible.

You know your children better than anyone else so look for hacks (easy solutions) that
will help your child be responsible. Every person is unique and needs different
motivators to help them become responsible. Find what motivates them and leverage
that to help the process. Look for ways to encourage them and teach them.

We all want more responsibility from our children so let’s do something different. This
month try putting some of these tips to work and see if things begin to improve.

Texts/Tweets

TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.

Tweet One: Responsibility is a learned character trait, much like riding a bike. To nurture responsibility within your kid is trial and error. Offer patience, understanding, and consistency.

Tweet Two: You can nurture responsibility by looking for ways to motivate your kid unique to their personality.

Tweet Three: Communicate clearly, set expectations, stay consistent, and let natural consequences do the work of nurturing responsibility.

Tweet Four: A parent who remains cool, calm, and collected while nurturing responsibility in kids creates more opportunities for conversations.

Raising Spiritually Aware Kids

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Raising Spiritually Aware Kids

Welcome to this month’s online parenting class. Being a parent can be challenging and
our team just wants to be one voice cheering you on. God created you to parent your
child and speaking of God…this month we want to help you raise spiritually aware kids.

There is nothing quite as complicated for a parent as God and their children. Every
parent has their own insecurities when it comes to faith. That insecurity is what tries to
convince us that we have no place in helping our kids understand what it means to
follow God or have faith or read the Bible. We think we will mess everything up, but the
truth is that it’s impossible to mess faith up when you are being honest and pointing kids
to a God that loves them more than we ever could!

Raising spiritually aware kids begins with parents that consistently point their children
toward the love and goodness of God and not their own goodness. Our goodness and
our effort are not what lead kids to God. Our honesty and consistent pursuit of God is
what our kids need to see from us. What you pursue will shape what your kids pursue.

If you want God to be something your kids pursue then there are a few steps you can
consistently take…

Help your kids engage the Bible early.

This Bible is God’s story and God’s ways revealed to us, so getting kids to engage the
Bible opens the door to something bigger than just our own spiritual advice. There are
great versions of the Bible that are easy for kids to understand. Help your kids engage
the great moments of the Bible and the teachings of Jesus quickly and watch God work
in their lives.

Engage at church as a family.

Church is a place of community where you link arms with other families to pursue Jesus
and serve others. For many families, church has become an option and not a regular
part of family life. When your church engagement grows as a family your spiritual
influence grows because you have other people investing in your kids.

Make spiritual conversations a normal part of family life.

The more you talk with your kids about God when they are young the bigger that door
will be open as they grow into teens. Now is the time to talk about faith on a regular
basis. You can leverage meal times, bedtimes or car time, but just be intentional about
making time and starting the conversation. You can even listen more than talk or offer
advice!

You can lead your kids toward God and allow them to discover the love and goodness
of God over time. Be brave and allow God to use you!

Texts/Tweets

TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.

Tweet One: It’s impossible to mess faith up when you are being honest and pointing
kids to a God that loves them more than we ever could! #spiritualparenting
#awareparent #godlyparenting #mom #dad

Tweet Two: Raising spiritually aware kids begins with parents that consistently point
their children toward the love and goodness of God and not their own goodness. #goodparenting #greatgod #godlyparenting #spirituallyaware #godsdad #godlymom

Tweet Three: Our honesty and consistent pursuit of God is what our kids need to see
from us. What you pursue will shape what your kids pursue. #pursuegod #godlydad #godsmom #kids #children #family #parenting

Tweet Four: The Bible is God’s ways revealed to us, so getting kids to engage the Bible
opens the door to something bigger than just our own spiritual advice. #opendoors #godlyadvice #godsway #parentingadvice #biblicalparent

Tweet Five: When your church engagement grows as a family, your spiritual influence
grows because you have other people investing in your kids. #churchlife #home #familylife #godlyinfluence

Tweet Six: The more you talk with your kids about God when they are young, the bigger opportunities will be open to you as a parent as they grow into teens. #teenlife #parenting #familylife #opendoors #godlyparenting

How to Help Your Kids Manage Mobile Tech

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How to Help Your Kids Manage Mobile Tech

Welcome to this month’s online parenting class! This month we are going to talk about
kids, teens, and mobile tech. Yes, we are going to talk about cell phones and other
mobile tech gadgets this generation has had since they were babies. Yep, we did it. We
let our kids use our phones and tablets when they were little kids. Now those little
babies are grown and have their own devices.

There is no going back. Mobile tech is here to stay!

Our goal now is to help kids and teens learn to manage mobile tech. As adults, we have
our own mobile devices and we all have opinions about them now after a decade of
better and better tech. We love it and we hate it and we have to manage it. Our kids
need help managing it because they don’t have the skills we have as adults. Now is the
time to help your kids and teens learn to make mobile tech a part of their life and not
dominate their life.

Let me give you some thoughts that can help your children learn to manage the mobile
tech they have access to.

Tech is a privilege, not a right.

Never forget, your children don’t have to have their tablets, watches, and phones. Tech
is about adding to our lives not dominating our lives. Tech is a privilege and should be
treated that way. You provide your children with their devices and those devices should
be used in a way you approve of. We advise parents to use a tech contract to spell out
how you expect your kids to use their devices. When you spell out what you expect you
have every right to limit access to that tech when your kids choose to disobey.

No tech at meals.

This goes for the entire family. Leave mobile tech away from meals. Stop kids from
watching videos at meals and putting in headphones. Leverage meals as a time to have
real conversations, laugh, catch up, and learn how to live without the influence of tech.

Social Media accountability.

You should always have access to all your kids and teens social media accounts. If your
child is under 12 we recommend they have no social media, and older than 12, access
to it should be staggered and limited. You should be connected to your children on any
platform they use and if you see things that raise red flags you have every right to limit
access. As your children grow older your limit on social media should also get more
lenient. Social is just that, it’s social, so make sure you have a voice in that area for your
children.

Internet and cell bedtimes.

Never allow your children to have unlimited access to the internet all night because they
will stay up all night on it. There are many ways you can shut down the internet and the
cell phone data your children have at nights. Make sure your kids are clear when tech is
to be shut down so they can actually go to sleep. While we are talking about the internet
and data, lets talk about their browser access. Use your parental controls to limit
download of apps and also access to content on the internet. Your kids will watch what
you give them access to. Limit that!

Family fun that leaves tech alone.

Plan times where your family puts up the mobile tech and has some fun. Play a board
game. Plan a hike. Leave devices at home and go for a bike ride. Learn to hang out
without tech.

We want to encourage you to be aware of what your kids are using mobile tech for in
their lives. We love tech but we don’t want tech to wreck your family. Thanks for being
an active parent in the lives of your children and teens.

Texts/Tweets

TIP: Choose a hashtag for your tweets and use it consistently. That will tell Twitter to store a list of your tweets on one place for later reference.

Tweet One: Children don’t need to have a cellphone, tablet, or even a smart watch. They are all optional wants and privileges. Parents can choose wisely when they are allowed. #techparenting #nocellhome #takebacksummer #unplug

Tweet Two: Technology use in your home should always come with expectations, respect, and accountability. #momsmarts #dadwise #techsmart #parenting #parent

Tweet Three: Meals should always be technology free. There is nothing so important that a family meal should be interrupted. Pick up the burger, put down the phone, and connect to the people in front of you. #techfreemeal #familydinner #facetoface #parenting #familytech

Tweet Four: If your child is under that age of 12, they don’t need a social media account. The things they post as a immature pre-teen may live on with them as a teen, and maybe beyond. #smarttech #preteenparenting #under12 #socialmediawise

Tweet Five: Bedrooms and bedtime are for sleeping not scrolling. Have your kids leave the tech at the door so they can snore! #techfreesleep #phonefreezone #parenting #momsmarts #dadwise

Tweet Six: Family fun time means everyone turns off their tech so they can connect! Using your tech will make your family time a wreck! #familytime #techfreefun #parenting #advice #turnitoff