CITY LIGHTS CHURCH
CITY LIGHTS CHURCH
- Godhead Parenting, Podcasts
FAMLY DETOX
Our bodies profit from an occasional detox from the build-up of toxins. It just helps make the rest of the body parts function better. Our family is a body, and it, too, could benefit from a spiritual detox from the hurts, lies, and offenses that have been built up among family members. It never ceases to amaze me when we do this as a family. Everyone is more helpful, joyful, and drawn to connection. Send them to school this year with the slate clean between family members. Have a listen!
Video – Family Detox – YouTube
Podcast – Family Detox by Lisa Max – Let the Children Fly! (anchor.fm)
GOD’S LOVE EVEN IN MY WEAKNESS
A mom in class writes: “There were SO MANY AWESOME TIDBITS in this lesson!! I love the discussion about letting our kids know God’s character. When Mommy messes up and yells, it’s one thing to apologize and let them know what I did was wrong, but it takes it one beautiful step further to remind them ‘God would never speak to you like that or lose His cool, God is slow to anger and abounding in love.’ So so valuable for helping my kids know the truth of God’s love even in my weakness.”
COME PLAY
What happens inside of you when you hear, “Mommy, will you come play with me?” If you have a strong reaction to that question, may I encourage you to ask Jesus this question? “Jesus, what about play makes my heart so uncomfortable?” So often, children are told that play is loud and messy and are taught to shut it down. As a result, children grow up being adults who do not know how to play and partner with JOY. It is God’s plan to redeem that in you through your child’s natural ability to play. If we do not learn to be re-introduced to joy, we will simply pass on to our children what was taught to us. So break the cycle – GO PLAY!
GOD WANTS TO SPEAK TO YOU!
Too many believers have limited their relationship with God with the written Word (which is very important and must be our anchor of truth), but He wants us to relate to Him, hear Him, feel His love, and experience Him. I liken the difference to wives whose husbands are overseas; while they may exchange beautiful love letters, it is not the same as the wife whose husband is there every night holding her, kissing her, and protecting her. The latter is the kind of love Jesus wants to have with us. We all know no marriage would be healthy or survive without communication. That is how personal God wants our relationship with Him to be. How could anyone find that level of intimacy with someone without talking, listening, and responding to each other? I have often heard people say that they believed God loved them in the “He loves the world” sense but had never fully understood how much He loved THEM personally until they heard Him speaking to them.
Let’s invite Holy Spirit to do what He does best. Pray out loud: “Holy Spirit, I invite You to come and remove everything and anything acting as earmuffs. I want to hear my Father’s voice more and more. I grant You permission to teach me anything You want about my Father’s voice. Come and have Your way with me.” Do we think that after all He went through to get us to come to Him, He suddenly has nothing more to say to us? God wants to speak to YOU!
DO YOU HAVE A CHILD YOU DON’T CONNECT WELL WITH?
Do you have a child you have a harder time connecting with? This can be a crippling thing for parents to admit, but it affects more people than you realize. Listen to this podcast to hear what is going on underneath those uncomfortable emotions.
Do You Have a Child You Don’t Connect Well With? by Lisa Max – Let the Children Fly! (anchor.fm)
YES, LORD
Parents often share that, deep down, they are afraid if they say YES to more of God, He will require something of them that they may not want to do (like sell everything and live overseas). I want to challenge this fear-based belief and say that it is more of a reflection of one’s belief about what kind of Father He is. The reality is saying YES to the deeper things of God means you are going to have to enter a training ground of learning how to receive His goodness, kindness, and blessings as a Son/Daughter. And that, for many, is the harder work!!!!
LET HIM PERFORM
You can only be condemned in your parenting if you are doing it FOR Him. When we do things in our own strength, it becomes about our performance. But, when you have the revelation that He lives IN you and works THROUGH you, one cannot condemn what Jesus is doing.