“Daddy, close your eyes!”
These are the words I’ve heard on repeat the last few weeks, as one of our girls always has something she wants me to see, and she expects a fully excited response, no matter what it is. (I’ve gotten really good at faking surprise over the same toy she’s shown me four times this week.)
It’s really cute. She cares about what I think and wants to please me with her surprises.
But in parenting, what matters even more than what our kids show us is what we show them on a regular basis.
Our kids are natural imitators, learning how to live life by watching how we do it, day in and day out. So here’s a question worth your time: Have you ever considered that everything your child needs to know about God, they can learn from you?
- How to treat other people like Jesus
- How to forgive
- How to stay calm in stressful situations
- How to respect their mother or father
- How to be patient
- The importance of stewardship
- The priority of a visible walk with God
Kids learn how to live life by watching how we live ours. That means we have a great opportunity, not just to raise good kids, but to show them the Father. We get to let them see Jesus through us, one ordinary day at a time.
Some of the greatest impressions our kids will ever have of who God is will come from us, their parents. No pressure, right?
That’s actually why I wrote the 30-day YouVersion parenting plan called “Show Us the Father: 30 Ways to Reflect God’s Heart to Your Kids.”
Because what if the most powerful thing you could do as a parent was simply reflect God’s heart and character to your children every day? You can, by parenting with the Father’s heart. I’ll walk you through thirty character traits of God that you can practically mirror in your home, one day at a time.
Your children don’t need a perfect parent, but they do need a godly one. Show them the Father.
You can start the free Bible plan here!
“Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.” — 1 Corinthians 11:1
