From the Desk of a Geek: Saving the World Starts at Home

From the Desk of a Geek:

Saving the World Starts at Home

Every Wednesday night, Landon, Alex and myself sit down and watch 

Superman and Lois a new TV show on the CW, and now that Cathy is done with Nursing School she will have more time to watch it with us.

The show took the iconic Superman story and gave it a more modern twist.

Clark is now a husband to Lois Lane, and a dad of two teen boys, who like every teenager we know are going through "growing pains".

We follow Clark/Superman and Lois each week dealing with parenting and problems that we all deal with, all while trying to save the world, or write that Pulitzer Prize winning article.

Infact, Lois has a great quote she says

"Every family has problems, even the extraordinary ones."

When I first became a Minister of Family and Students/Children, and then a parent myself, I was very scared.

There was an overwhelming theme I heard from other parents, church members and Christian books that was consistent: 

Protect your children at all costs !!

As Christian parents, we were told to Not let our kids:

Consume any media unless it was the Adventures in Odyssey radio program.

Listen to secular music (and even some Christian rock was considered too edgy)

Play with kids who weren’t from Christian families (unless they were specifically doing so to eventually invite them to church.

Fear is a very powerful force. 

It can make us fear our kids will make the wrong choices. It can make us fear a lack of control. It can make us fear being viewed as bad parents. I’ve also seen how fear can absolutely be the most destructive tool in our parenting bag.

Instead of fear, God longs for us to see His power and love and grow in self-discipline. 

As 2 Timothy 1:7 encourages us, 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

So how do parents transition from parenting out of fear to fearless parenting? I’ve got a few ideas.

*Talk about the steadfastness of God. God has given us a spirit of power and we are powerful because we are His. Make sure your kids know the power they possess because of Who lives in them.

*Teach your kids how to love others well. You are their first example and their first teacher of loving well. Loving when circumstances are tough and when your kids are difficult are both great examples. Then, teaching your kids to love people even when they are unlovable is one of the best skills they can possess.

*Transition from the role of protector. 

It’s easy to want to stay in the role of our kids’ protector longer than we should. And with all that goes on in the world, who can blame a mom for wanting to keep her family safe?

As our kids grow, our job is to fearlessly transition our parenting from protecting to preparing our kids and trusting them to God. And He’s given us the ability to do that because of His power in each of us.

God gave Abram a promise of blessings, but He also promised suffering and delay. It seems He knew that the faith of the Israelites would be increased by the sanctifying power of their bondage in Egypt. 

God knew His people could remain strong in the midst of suffering, and that their faith would abound because of it, rather than in spite of it!

When we rescue our children from consequences and fill their lives with material blessings, we deprive them of some of life's most important lessons. Remember that God's blessings are found not only in "great possessions," but also in suffering and delay. 

Once we grasp this concept, we are more likely to parent in a way that benefits our children eternally.

Walk beside your children when they experience the blessings of trials.

Lonnie