Parenting is one of God’s greatest gifts. What an honor to shape the precious lives God places within our care. And what a great responsibility! As a pastor, I watch many parents struggle to raise their children in today’s world.
I’m concerned about the unraveling of so many parent-child relationships. To be sure, we live in a poorly parented generation. Yet I don’t believe kids have changed. As one post I read put it: “Give kids boundaries, expectations, rules, limits, rewards, and consequences. They will run to the challenge and exceed expectations every time.”
Raising Parents Is Tough speaks from experience, not theory. My wife, Lori, and I raised two sons and two daughters. Believe me, we were less than perfect parents, as perhaps all four would attest. I write out of a heart of love for all families struggling to raise their children in this generation.
“To be in your children’s memories tomorrow, you have to be in their lives today.” — Barbara Johnson
Parenting is a twenty-four hour, 365 days a year privilege. In a very real way, parents never have time off or breaks from responsibility. Family life, to be healthy and sustaining, must be walked out in due diligence. There’s never time to coast.
Children do not raise themselves. They need constant attention, supervision, love, direction, and yes, correction; all the while training them to become properly independent…