Leading Well at Home
Well, my childhood dream came true. Spring Break lasted almost 5 months. Wow. Good times. :)
For many parents, this season has been incredibly challenging, and for others, it has been a season that you’ll look back on with a smile. If I’m honest, I think I’m somewhere in between the two.
Meet 3 of the 4 Braschler kids (Claire, Caleb and Caitlyn). Just missing little brother, Paul.
I watched this weekend as Facebook lit up with parents taking kids to college, school supplies shopping, and getting one last trip in before school starts. We’ve all been faced with tough decisions, whether to send kids to school or have them stay home. I recognize the challenges that these decisions bring - I’m right there with you.
“How well are you leading your family?”
This is a question a friend asked me last week. I gave him the old, “pretty well, I think” response. He asked again, “No really. How well are you leading them?” As I have thought more about it, I think there have been times during this pandemic where I felt like I didn’t have much to offer at home. Mentally and emotionally, the stress has certainly built up over the last few months. I spent some time praying about this and asked God one of the harder questions, “If You had Your way with how I am leading my family...what would it look like? What do I need to adjust?”
I hate that question. To be completely human, I don’t want to ask it, because the answer I get always requires me to change. It challenges me to be more humble. I don’t do either of those super willingly, if I’m honest.
But I still ask the question.
God led me to two thoughts. One was from Proverbs and another was a quote I found a few years back:
“Direct your children onto the right path, and when they are older, they will not leave it.”
“As parents, you may confidently rear your children according to God’s Word. While bringing up your children, you are to remember that your children are not your “possessions” but instead are the Lord’s gift to you. You are to exercise faithful stewardship in their lives.”
My kids are watching how I deal with this. They pick up on way more than I give them credit for. I want to protect them from everything, but I can’t. What I can give them is a path for how to walk through really hard times like we are in right now.
Because, as much as I hate to say this, they will experience challenges, hurts and disappointments both while they are in my home and when the leave to lead their life on their own. It’s sort of the cost of doing life. I want them to experience growth through this season. And that growth is going to start by their Dad growing first.
So, I found a couple of resources that I thought I would share with you. Below are some great series on Parenting that I think will be helpful for me and might be worth looking into for you as well.
Recommended Parenting Resources
SACRED PARENTING | Gary Thomas
Parenting is a school for spiritual formation- and our children are our teachers. In this six-session video-based study, Gary Thomas uses a unique lens to look at parenting, moving beyond raising great children to becoming more holy as a person.
It will help you rediscover parenting from a different perspective: as a method of spiritual formation expressly designed by God to shape your soul in ways you could not imagine! This study will help you dig deeper into learning how God can transform dirty diapers, toddler tantrums, and a teenager's silence into occasions for becoming more like Christ:
Sessions include:
BREATHING ROOM FOR MOMS | Mandy Arioto & Sandra Stanley
Do you ever feel like you don't enjoy anything because you're trying to do everything? You're multitasking your way through motherhood filling your calendar, draining your bank account, and missing out on memories along the way. You're efficient but exhausted, weighed down by more than the toddler on your hip and the diaper bag slung over your shoulder.
With one surprisingly simple invitation, God offers a way to trade your overwhelming pace for one that will finally bring you peace. This 6-session study will show you how. With a little humor and a lot of empathy, Sandra Stanley and Mandy Arioto will help you avoid burnout and find some breathing room, even in the trenches of motherhood. WATCH HERE
33 THE SERIES: A MAN AND HIS FATHERHOOD | Authentic Manhood
Being a dad is one of the most important and influential roles a man could ever play in his life. But being a good dad doesn't always come naturally. That's what this volume of 33 The Series is all about … setting you up to win as a dad. All six sessions are designed to help dads think strategically about how they play out their important role. It equips you with insights that will help guide you through key decisions and the great challenges of being dad.
For more resources (blogs, quotes, more RightNow Media@Work videos), click on the link below to view the Parenting page on our Life Support section of our Chaplain Website.