The Best and Most Far Reaching Job in the World...

PARENTING... My wife and I have been thinking a lot lately about the task that God has set before us to raise our children. We what to proactive. We don't want to simply rush around putting out fires, praising success, or punishing the most recent display of rebellion. We want to be very deliberate about bringing Elisabeth, Rebekah and Jonathan up in the nurture and admonishion of the Lord. So we have established a list of goals - specific and measurable - for our child rearing endeavor. We have agreed to sit down monthly and evaluate our parental ministry in light of these goals.

Maybe these goals will be helpful to you. Maybe you can comment on them as to how they have payed out in your parental ministry. Anyway, here they are:

1. To expose them to the gospel, by life and by Word, from a very early age so that they have the opportunity to be saved at an early age.

2. To instill in them a love of family and desire to be an active part of the family unit so that they will contribute to the life and ministry of the family.

3. To teach them the Word of God so that they will allow the Word to dwell in them richly, so that they will develop a Biblical worldview regarding (family, education, ministry, current events, church, etc).

4. To guide them in becoming active, productive citizens so that they may let their light shine before the world so they me see their good deeds and glorify our Father in heaven.

5. To stir up a passion for reaching the unsaved so that they will be active in sharing the hope of the gospel.

6. To encourage faithful stewardship of all God’s resources so that they will honor Him with their time, talents and treasures.

7. To teach them the doctrine of the Church, so that they will desire active participation in and love for their local church at all stages of their life.

8. To challenge them to strive for excellence (academics, extracurricular activities, employment, etc.) in all they do so that God will glorified in the sight of the watching world.

Grace to You!