1. Be a good spiritual role model and encourage your spouse to do the same.
As we all know, our kids listen to us and watch us, so if the Lord’s important to us, then it’s much more likely that the Lord will be important to them as well. No hypocrisy allowed!
2. Attend church each Sunday.
This is so basic and yet can be elusive for busy families. Yes sporting events are important, and yes vacations and other extra-curricular events are important, but isn’t the spiritual health of our kids important? If it is, being at church each Sunday has to be a high priority for us as parents and grandparents.
3. Establish a daily routine of family Bible reading and prayer.
In my strong opinion this is a must-do. It’s absolutely critical that we make the Lord part of our everyday lives. The daily routine should include Bible reading, discussion and prayer. And it’s a good idea to do it the same time each day so it becomes a part of the daily routine.
4. Memorize one Bible verse each week and practice it daily.
This is a good one. Even little kids can get involved on this one. And the beauty of this suggestion is that you can pick and choose what to memorize. For instance, if a child has trouble telling the truth have him or her memorize a verse that says lying is sinful. And if the child’s a teenage boy who’s just discovered girls have him memorize a verse about sexual immorality.
5. Check out children’s Bibles from the library.
While our temptation might be to buy one or two to keep at home, don’t forget that the library has literally dozens of children’s bibles for all ages. Best of all, they’re free to anybody who has a library card! The readers in your family will have a blast reading them all.
6. Take advantage of teachable moments in everyday life.
This suggestion is huge, but it means we have to keep our eyes and ears open. For instance, let’s pretend the family’s eating out at McDonald’s and we witness an angry man complaining that he asked for a cheeseburger but got a hamburger instead. That would be a great time to ask your child what Jesus says about loving our neighbors. And we can follow that up by asking if the customer was treating the worker in a loving way, and then ask our child how the man could have made his point without being unkind or rude. Talk about practical application of biblical truths!
7. Encourage your children to listen to "Christian music."
When they’re smaller you can have them listen to age-appropriate music about God such as "Jesus loves me." Then when they’re older, why not encourage them to listen to contemporary Christian music instead of secular rock or rap? Take it from a former father of teenagers, there’s lots of good music out there for kids to listen to without all the offensive and immoral lyrics.
8. Make sure your middle-school and high-school students are actively involved in a local youth group.
This is extremely important when your kids are teenagers. They need a fun alternative to some of the rotten choices that are out there. This way they can be with kids their own age, have fun and still learn about the Lord. Every parent worth his or her salt knows that kids can be influenced either in a positive way or a negative way. Being involved in a youth group can help prevent them from doing something foolish.
9. Enroll your child in Christian camp in the summer.
Spending one or more days at a Christian camp is great way to make sure your children have fun and learn about the Lord. In addition to swimming and doing all of the other fun activities, your child will be exposed to biblical teaching and worship experiences.
10. Go to http://www.focusonthefamily.com/parenting.aspx and check out all the free parenting resources at your disposal.
Take it from me, this is a goldmine of good stuff. I spent about a half-hour looking through what’s available. There’s everything from how-to articles to actual devotions and age-appropriate study materials. Really good stuff and it’s all free!
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