Been a while - busy times, ya know. I continue my notes from "Grace-Based Parenting"....
I mentioned the three driving inner needs. The 3rd is a need for strength. It translates into a gift of hope that we need to give our children. So, here's a few thoughts on "A Strong Hope".
"Children develop a strong hope when their parents lead them and encourage them to live a great spiritual adventure."
Kimmel says that when raising safe rather than strong kids is the goal, "Your effort will produce shallow faith and wimpy believers."
"Safe Christianity is an oxymoron....Living your life sold out for Jesus Christ has never been a way to enjoy a safe life. It may be a way to enjoy a good life, but not a safe one. That's because Jesus isn't safe, but He is always good."
Reading from Hebrews 11:32-40 will demolish our concept that Christianity is safe.
"Spiritually safe kids seldom get to see just how wonderful and powerful their God really is. Spiritual safety is a prescription for spiritual impotency. The good news about raising strong Christian kids is that you get safe kids in the process. They know God's love, they've seen Him work, and they understand how to appropriate His power."
Kimmel has some astounding revelation on 1 John 2:15-17 that I am still processing. He talks about "the world" being a noun - that is, a person, or a place or a thing. We tend to look at it as a place or a thing but those don't make sense. He talks about "the world" being personal - a living organism.
"When you convince your kids that things are evil rather than Satan and his corrupted world system being evil, you set them up to be easily manipulated by him."
This book is so different than any other "child-raising" book I've ever read - and there's been a few. The thing is, it makes sense. It resignates so strongly in my spirit. He says there will probably be books written to counter what he's suggesting. I can definately see that he could tick off the whole "evangelical Christian culture". But what he says is biblical and so rings true with my "inner man".
Thursday, August 17, 2006
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about me
- javamamma
- I'm passionately in love with Jesus. He overwhelms me. I'm outrageously in love with my husband of 11 years. He stole my heart. I'm giddily in love with my kids. They make me laugh.
2 comments:
hey there,
just thought you should know I went and ordered the book... it was ust convicting me too much, and I know Bryan and I need it.
through reading ann voskamp's blog "holy experience of listening" (don't know how to link... you can get it from my blog ) my view of motherhood and parenting, etc. has been being slowly transformed. Thank you Jesus!!!
I'd like to hear more about the world being a noun and that whole paragraph. I've been around so many families that teach this "thing" is bad, that "thing" is bad but fail to teach why it is or what about it is. Like my kids have a friend who told them taht they can't watch the Chronicles of Narnia because it's full of majic. However, the movies I've heard them talking about that they've already watched I consider to be just as full of majic. ie: Superman, Nanny McPhee, The Lord of the Rings. I'm not saying yea or nay to any of these just the logic that one is worse than the other. And as a parent I do the exact same nonsense. Ugh.
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