Shepherding a Child's Heart
Todd and I recently began going to a new SS class at church - a video series called Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp. I was hesitant to go at first because we've been parents for 13 years now and are supposed to know what we're doing.:) I'm so glad we did, though. I had read the book about 7 years ago and remembered thinking how good it was, and the video series is just as good. It is an excellent reminder of the goal of parenting - our children's hearts. It challenges us to look beyond behavior to discover the heart issues that are causing the behavior. When we deal with bad behavior we may get temporary change, but when we deal with heart issues like selfishness, pride, anger,etc. we are able to work toward lasting change because of Jesus Christ. Focusing on heart issues is so effective because it puts us all (parents and kids) on the same page (we deal with the same issues as they do, we just express it differently), it helps our kids to examine what is going on inside and see what the Bible has to say about it, and it always brings us back to the cross and experiencing God's grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love. The video also addresses the struggles of parents between just wanting what is convienent for us or wanting what is Biblically best for our kids and taking the time to get there. Going to this class together has led to some good discussions (and laughs) at home between Todd and I about why our kids do what they do, and has reminded us that we need to take time to open the Bible more often rather than just using the phrase "because I said so". I would highly recommend the book or video to anyone who has kids or works with kids - perhaps your church would consider the video for a Sunday School class, too!