Sunday 01:12:14

Our lives are short. Our time on earth is like a breath. We are like grass; here for just a season. Psalm 144:3, 4 Lord, what are human beings that you care for them, mere mortals that you think of them? They are like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow. But some aspects of our lives will live beyond us into future generations. The psalmist described children as being like arrows. In our children and grandchildren, we project our influence, our legacy into the future. Psalm 127:3, 4 Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth. We are all leaving a legacy of some sort. And some of our legacy will be lived out by our children. Raising children is one of the most difficult, time and money consuming, and challenging things a person will do in life. The truth is some of the things our children will inherit both good and bad things from us. Like red hair, but susceptible to freckles and skin cancer. The truth is that the environment that we set at home, the things that we tech our children, the life that we model to our children will set the course for the rest of their lives. The things we do with our children and the way we live will impact their lives and their future. That's an awesome responsibility. We can all look back to the way we were raised and the environment of our homes and see why we are the way we are today - some good, some bad. I know this about us all, we all want a better future for our children. The way to a better future is to focus on the present. What's the environment of your house? Chaotic? Raised voices? Conflict? Distracted? Always television, games? Little conversation and connection? Absent? Never home? Always running? Secretive? Secret sins? Home? Connection? Peace? Refuge? Home environments mirror the hearts of the parents. How can you change the environment of your home? -Leave space for conversation and connection -Limit TV and game time -Eat dinner together every chance you get - at least a few times a week -Talk over dinner -Have a scheduled game night -Model the environment you want for your family Their are no perfect families. But there are families who are intentional about honoring God with their homes and applying the wisdom of The Scriptures to their home life. Raising a family is hard. The OT has more bad examples than good. Adam's Family - adam chose Eve over God. Adam's family began with blame and ended in murder. Abraham's family - Abraham pretends that Sarah is his sister. Later Abraham has a child with another woman. Isaac's family - Isaac loves his son Esau more than his other son, Jacob. His wife Rebekah, loves Jacob more than Esau. The Mom and Jacob plot against Esau and daddy and eventually Jacob has to run away. Jacob's family - Jacob has thirteen kids with four different women. Jacob favored one son over the others, those other brothers threw him down a well, sold him to slavery and then told their father he was dead. 1 Samuel 3:1-14 Eli was a priest and his sons ministered as priests. But they made people's offerings about them instead of about God. Eli threatened, but did very little. God gave warning, spelled out the consequences for their disobedience and then disciplined them. Modeling will always win out over instruction. Your children will always pick up what you do and how you speak over what you tell them to do. If your home is sick with disrespect, be respectful If your home is sick with yelling, calm down, control your tone If your home is sick with secrets, get them out in the open, deal with them If your home is sick with misdirection, take charge If your home is sick with distractions, limit the distractions and focus on connection No one impacts the life of a child like mom and dad. Intentionally or unintentionally, we build into our children's lives or take away. GPA is important, competition is good, but no one looks back on sports or academics as to where their problems originated. We are so intentional about so many things involving our kids. What about the kind of people they need to be? How have you helped build their character and faith to face the challenges that life will bring? Parenting is so challenging. It may be the greatest responsibility of our lives. Be intentional about the environment of your home - it's a reflection of you - and it will set the direction of your child's life.