One of the positive highlights of this generation is that we have started to pay more attention to parenting. Emphasis on intentional parenting have become popular these days.
Women have started to acquire a lot of knowledge on this through courses, books, media, etc. We have started to worry about how parenting supports patriarchy, encourages abusers to remain silent, creates more hurdles for the girl child, and so many more. Amazing!!! Right?
When I had my first child, well-meaning friends were quick to offer a lot of helpful tips on parenting ranging from new-born care to baby shopping sites.
I got wary of suggestions, and this is a very common experience for most first-time parents. However, I wonder if most parents can say that they are this intentional in raising these same children for the Kingdom of God.
In the long list of dos and don’ts, is there room for the Holy Spirit to dictate the decisions we take regarding our child(ren)?
This journey of intentional parenting needs to begin from a point of submission to God on how we raise our children.
We know that we are merely acting as custodians to our children for God. However, it is time to begin to walk the talk. No matter the age range of your child(ren), you can begin today to ask God exactly how He wants you to raise them for His purposes.
We need to get to the point where we completely surrender our parenting, and child(ren) to the leading of the Holy Spirit.
Did you consult God before you enrolled them in that school? If you have the Spirit of discernment, you will know the teachers that are not fit to instruct your children.
You will also understand that the choice of schools for your children is beyond state/international ratings, social pedestals and other factors that seem important to us.
What sort of extracurricular activities did you enroll your children and under whose instruction?
Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up (see Ephesians 4:11-12 NIV).
Every child is born with a unique gifting and assignment. Some of us have enrolled minstrels (for the Kingdom of God) in football clubs for reasons motivated by flesh. When you understand that you are raising a Minstrel for the Kingdom, you will begin to pay attention to kind of music, and words they listen to.
For instance, if you have a child who turns most words and conversations into songs, and you would often find them singing, do you like most adults simply find this fascinating? If you pay close attention, you may find that the Holy Spirit has been convicting you about this.
A parent in this scenario needs to quickly realign and pay close attention to the kinds of words used around that child, the type of atmosphere created in the home which includes the kind of songs the child is exposed to.
Expose that child to Spirit-filled, and edifying music ministers and you would witness a transformation of that gift for the Kingdom. This is one way to steward the giftings of God in that child.
Satan has nothing to give, he can only try to redirect the giftings of God for his own purposes. The examples can go on and on. When you seek the heart of the Father, He instructs you on how to align your children to His giftings and purposes.
Emphatically, this should not be misunderstood as arguments against any of the activities mentioned in this write-up, rather it argues for the consciousness of thinking Kingdom and the Father’s Will first. Decisions concerning the welfare of our children should not be solely emotional.
I would implore us to make a commitment today to ask God for blueprints on how to nurture every child he has blessed us with.
Can we dare to trust God to guide our decision-making because every single decision we make shapes their destinies?
While the argument that children’s talents can be noticed easily if you pay attention, not every talent is immediately obvious.
Can we ask the Father to teach us what it means to be in partnership (alliance, collaboration) with Him in the matters that concern our children?
Thank you for reading this piece from my heart. Stay Blessed.
Written by Xtralargeshoes
