Parenting the Prodigal
The primary struggle for Christian parents in this situation is coming to terms with what happened and how to relate to their child moving forward.
Living harmoniously as a family is an ongoing, intentional journey. The beginning of that journey is marked by great anticipation and genuine excitement. A bride and groom have high hopes and great dreams as they start out life together. However, as in all journeys, unexpected challenges pop up, including the arrival of children, which requires the couple to cultivate valuable parenting skills—without a handbook! At each age, from preschool through elementary school, each child requires his or her parents to make adjustments along the way to keep the relationships harmonious. Just about the time parents get their arms around all of that, the teenage years arrive! This stretching and complicated time calls for even more adjustments and a greater willingness to change if the parents hope to sustain harmony in the home. Then, after all that adapting, a new set of challenges arrives—the children reach adulthood, with minds of their own. Can there still be mutual respect and meaningful relationships in the family? Can harmony continue between parents and their grown-up kids? Absolutely! The question is, how?
The primary struggle for Christian parents in this situation is coming to terms with what happened and how to relate to their child moving forward.
Though second-generation fallout is both ancient and common today…it can be minimized and we parents will have grown spiritually through that process. New and healthy habits can be formed.
Every day we parents leave footprints for our family to follow. But parenting is not a game—a future generation of faith rests on us. There’s no doubt we are leaving tracks and our kids follow in our footsteps…at least for a while.
Here we are in our early fifties and, I kid you not, we’re expecting.
Sometimes balancing these two extremes between faith and fear causes us as Christians some apprehension as we walk the tightrope of life. However, if God requires you to fall off the wire, fall on the side of faith.
The Bible presents aging as a normal, natural part of life in this world. In fact, growing old is a blessing of God and the elderly are to be honoured. Here are some of the benefits and blessings of growing older.
For the past 26 years during my journey with my wife Cornelia I’ve come to understand two very important elements of a strong marriage.
What's the nicest thing someone has ever said to you? Proverbs 12:18 is so true. “Some people make cutting remarks, but the words of the wise bring healing.”
All of us need encouragement. We need somebody to believe in us. To reassure and reinforce us. To help us pick up the pieces and go on. To fuel our flame of determination as we face the odds against us.
Your prayer together is an act of surrender to the God who is there, the God who cares for you and responds to you. Let me try to convince you to start with my top 10 benefits of praying together.