It was a privilege to be invited by OMFLit Publishing to attend a free parenting talk a few weeks back at their Boni branch, God’s Got An Answer For That: Teaching Kids How to Use the Bible to Solve Problems.
Amor Alvarez is the first speaker and he is a pastor at Christ Jesus Our Life Church. He also works at OMF Lit Publishing. He shared about how we can apply Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” in our parenting.
- Tell them about Jesus by reading His word. There are many age-appropriate Bibles available and choose one that fits your child’s age and interest.
- Patiently answer their questions. Answer truthfully and simply. If you avoid answering their questions, they will go to Google, social media or their friends to find out the answer.
- Read together especially when they’re young. This builds a love of reading in your children. Put your books at a reachable place. If you are not available, record your voice in an app and let your child listen to you read even if you are not there.
The second speaker is Ms. Angel Santos. She is the current children’s ministry head from GCF Ortigas.
She shared her parenting tips through the acronym INTENTIONAL.
Intimacy with God. We need to grow personally so we can teach our children. Do our children see us praying and reading God’s Word?
Nurture your children. Children stay out of the house because they don’t have a relationship with their parents. It is important to know your children’s love language and let them know they can express themselves at home.
Train them consistently. Do it daily.
Exemplify Christ-like behavior. Be more kind, gentle, loving and have integrity.
Nourish them spiritually. We should not delegate nourishing our children to the church as this is the parent’s responsibility. They need to know the Bible is part of their life, not just as stories but also they need solid doctrine. Help them to do quiet time and disciple them.
Teach them about real life. Help them understand that life is not perfect and how to deal with disappointments, difficulties and despair. Also teach them to dream and hope in God.
Invest time in relating to your children. A child would view God with the way the child relates to parents. If parents is always busy, then the child would view God as always busy. If the parents are distant, the child would view God as distant.
Offer them to God. We need to remember that our children are not ours, but God’s. Let’s entrust them to the Lord’s care and point them to His Word. Let them realize that the Word of God has everything that they need to know.
Never entrust your children’s future to others. Be proactive in teaching our children.
Affirm their value. Help them come up with goals and remind them of challenges they will encounter and walk with them on these challenges.
Lift them up in prayer. We must pray for every area of their life.