Before your child leaves for school, have them ask, “Jesus, how do You feel about me?” This helps them enter the building with the TRUTH about their identity. When they come home from school, and you notice them being off but aren’t sure why, have them ask again. Sometimes they just need help realigning themselves after being surrounded by spiritual orphans all day.
With school starting back up again, make sure you are playing the HIGH/LOW game at night. How to play? Simply go around the dinner table or while you are checking them in at night and ask, “What was the HIGH of your day?” And then ask, “What was the LOW of your day?” Why is this important? When kids first walk back through the door, they are resettling themselves. They have not only endured a lot physically in school but also emotionally. They have encountered things spiritually, too, all day long. Coming home helps realign them, but sometimes they need help to process things further. By asking their low, it nearly always reveals where there is conflict in their heart. We want to help them resolve it before the sun goes down.
**While you surely can ask when they walk in the door, I suggest waiting a bit because just being back at home helps resolve things on their own and realign their minds and hearts. By giving it some time, it will reveal what needs some extra attention.
One day I had a piercing headache that made me sick to my stomach. It was an unusual headache. I said a few hours later, “I don’t think this is a headache. It feels like witchcraft.” The things in the spirit can affect your mind, body, and emotions. I couldn’t discern where it was coming from, but the moment I exercised my authority over it, the headache went away. The following night the girls asked to speak to me. Emma was clearly upset, and they began to show me the book they were required to read for school. It included: a 12-year-old wanting a relationship with a married man, “bashing my parent’s head against the wall until I see their blood,” talking to the dead, putting curses on people, violent murder, using the words “witchcraft, spells, and curses.”
I told her she could stop with the list as I understood enough. They are required to spend six weeks studying this book, writing about it, and discussing it daily. This is NOT life-giving. This is NOT appropriate entertainment for minors. This is NOT what I send my children to school to learn. To call this ‘American Literature’ is an insult to our history’s scores of talented writers. It is not a matter of ‘being able to handle it.’ It is a matter of NOT opening the door because once the door is opened, we give the enemy a legal right (foothold) to influence us, and his agenda is always to steal, kill, and destroy.
Parents, do your homework! Pay attention to what your children are learning and being taught.
How many of you have anxiety about sending the kids to school? Ask Him, “Jesus, is this anxiety about their journey or mine?” We do not want to pass on our fears, anxiety, and worry to our children based on our own undealt with experiences. Your journey matters because you will automatically parent out of that place.
Emma told me about a book she was supposed to read that included a 12-year-old sleeping with a married man. The wife found out, and the girl put a curse on her. Teen girls dancing naked, blatantly talking about witchcraft and curses, and “bashing my parent’s brain until blood splatters.” She is required to read, write about and discuss this daily for six weeks. As I was praying about what to do, Emma felt she should be a voice and take a stand against it. I have never been more proud of her as I listened to her stand alone for righteousness.
PARENTS – TEACHING YOUR CHILDREN AT AN EARLY AGE WHO THEY ARE EMPOWERS THEM TO STAND AGAINST WHAT THEY ARE NOT. The demonic is real – whether you are a believer or not. It is like opening the door and letting a swarm of flies in your house. Demons, witchcraft, and curses are NOT entertainment; they are spirits.
P.S. After speaking in class, some of the girls privately messaged her saying she was not the only one concerned about the material.
As we were celebrating the end of the school year, I was reminded of something Ellie said years ago. Her report card reflected all A’s, and I praised her for being so smart. But she said, “Mom, I am not really that smart. I just have the character to sit in class and listen to my teacher.” She was saying her grades were a reflection of her ability to be taught more than her inner IQ. Character matters and is something we go after for a lifetime, but those younger years are vital to setting a child up for lifelong success. If your child has never been taught to listen to and honor your voice, they will have a harder time in the classroom. If your child has not been expected to get along with siblings, they will have a harder time with peers. If your child has not been required to practice self-control in the family room, they will struggle with it in the classroom. Character matters!
Want to help your child reset after coming home from school? Give them an intentional few minutes of just being still in God’s presence. I would have a snack prepared for them and tell them to grab a corner of the living room and enjoy their snack while just lying quietly. Sometimes all it took was five minutes, and you could feel a shift in the atmosphere.
Do you have teens who resist spiritual things? No problem. YOU soak and fill the atmosphere of your home with His presence before they come home. When they walk through the door, they won’t be able to help but feel His presence.
Morning school routine for a child:
Morning school routine for a parent:
Before you send your child out into the world, arm them with:
When all my children entered formal school for the first time, it was a huge deal for them. They got inundated with many new things all at once. My goal for the two weeks leading up to it was simply focusing on their love tanks. The more they experience love at home, the more they will be able to handle what comes their way. Isn’t that true for you? Are you a better parent on the days when you and your spouse have conflict and are feeling detached? I bet not. Love languages matter!
We polled educators around the globe and asked: “Outside of academics, what do the kids in your classroom need the most?” The number one response was, “For children to have their love tanks filled.”
Children who come to school with low love tanks spend their time in the classroom looking for love. Children who come to school with their love tanks filled spend their time in the classroom learning. We are sending our children out into the world where they will encounter a wide variety of situations. They are growing and learning spiritually, mentally, emotionally, relationally, spiritually, and physically at a rapid rate. Sending them out with a heart tank full of love helps them process, weather, endure, overcome and succeed far greater than the child who is on empty. The more they experience love at home, the more they will be able to handle what comes their way.
Homework – Go to The Love Language™ Quiz (5lovelanguages.com) and have YOUR CHILD take the quiz. Print them out and talk about them as a family (even Mom and Dad’s language). At the end of the quiz, there is an option to sign up for the weekly email, which is a short and sweet list of creative ways to speak love each week. In the days ahead, I encourage you to be super intentional about speaking their language every morning, as well as each night. Sandwiching their day in love is so important because they will encounter things each day that drain the tank. I realize schedules are busy, and it seems impossible at times to add yet one more thing to the to-do list, but I would like to encourage you that communicating love should be the first thing on the list, not the last. Loving someone should not be a burden or overwhelming. When you learn how to speak their language fluently, it is like hitting a bull’s eye right into their heart. We owe it to our children and teachers to do our part in giving them what they need each day to succeed in school. Be intentional. Fill the tank. Reap the results!!
