GIVE HIM ROOM

GIVE HIM ROOM

  • JOURNEY, Kingdom Parenting

GIVE HIM ROOM

Testimony from a mom taking our online Kingdom parenting class: “I never thought of teaching them this young. I’m inspired as I know it would be so good for them. Let’s see what Holy Spirit does. I’m determined not to plan the outcome.”

What I LOVE about her response is that she went into it full of faith that Holy Spirit would show up and do His part and that she didn’t need to control or force the outcome. This is a perfect recipe for God to show up in our living rooms. #1. An intentional parent willing to teach their child. #2. Have faith that He cares more about encountering the child than you do! #3. Willingness to go with the flow and give Him room to move.

PERFECT PARENT

There is only ONE perfect Parent, and His name is Father God. He created parenting and is the original Father. Everyone all falls short but is invited to PARTNER with Him. This really is excellent news. You don’t need to walk under the pressure of perfection, which means you can enjoy your parenting journey.

REAPING AND SOWING

I am getting better and better at letting my kids feel the aftermath of their choices instead of taking it on myself. The other day, I asked one of the kids to take out the trash, and as we pulled out of the driveway to go to school, I noticed two fully loaded trash bags sitting against the fence. I immediately pulled back into the driveway and put the trash in the bin myself in a bit of a huff. In the process, I stepped in the mud with my new shoes on, and it was not a fun ride to school. I sensed Holy Spirit saying to me, “Why did you do that?” and I began to think of what would happen if I hadn’t put the trash in the bin myself. Oh my – it would have been a disaster. Surely the neighbor dogs would have found the chicken bones, and there would have been trash all over the yard. And gee, the neighbors would probably think less of me if my yard was littered with trash. Then I heard it again, “Why did YOU do that?” and I began to picture my son coming home from school to find trash – the trash HE left out – all over the place and how uncomfortable HE would have been in cleaning it all up. While it would have cost me embarrassment with my neighbors, it would have been a price to pay for my child to learn ownership of completing tasks fully. God has set before us a Kingdom principle of reaping and sowing. Our children need to learn how to reap what they are sowing and not always have a parent who steps in to reap what they have sown. 

PARTNERING WITH HOLY SPIRIT

Hear what a mom had to say about her recent journey: “The timing of this class was perfect! Especially in light of everything going on, I appreciate the tools to teach me how to partner with the Holy Spirit to breathe life into my kids and help them to understand what it really means to find their identity in Christ and walk in the authority that God gave them to withstand lies of the enemy. You truly are inspired and anointed for this work, Lisa! It is so clear that you are walking in your calling. Thank you for being obedient to share your gifts and wisdom with us!!! I can’t wait to get my book so that I can READ and RE-READ the material! These lessons are priceless! THANK YOU!” 

ENCOUNTER THE FATHER

The goal is not to use spiritual tools to ‘fix’ our children. The goal is to lead our children to an encounter with their Father!

I SEE YOU

We were away from home, and the kids were all getting in a funk; lots of small conflicts, attitudes, and agitations. Having to correct them constantly gets old, so I flipped the situation by turning it into a game. I gathered them together in a circle and asked them to keep their mouths closed, but they had to have eye contact with someone else at all times. I wanted them to SEE the people around them. Then I held up a mirror and said, “This is who you have been focused on, but I want you to keep your eyes on someone else.” When we went to breakfast, they tried to outdo each other by showing kindness and love to others. They were opening doors, putting garbage away, smiling, saying “thank you,” letting others go first, etc. The Kingdom is JOY, and sometimes partnering with the Holy Spirit to devise creative ways to get to their heart impacts them more than reaping the spirit of religious rules over their head!

CONNECTION

On the second day of our online Kingdom parenting class, we talk about CONNECTION. I asked if their parents saw the value in them. There are always two camps. Those who were raised in dysfunctional homes and those whose parents tucked them in at night, took them to Disney, showered them with love and attention, provided for them, and enjoyed them. But there was always a BUT… Since I was in the first camp, this bothered me. Whenever day two would come around, I KNEW what the answers would be, and I would brace myself. Seriously, how can you have a “BUT…” when your parents were there for you, loved you, and were involved in your world? That is until Jesus spoke. He told me that I was becoming judgmental of those who claimed to have a great childhood and still confessed something was missing. Because it was HIM who put that void there. NO child is wired to be 100% filled by their mom and dad. There are some places in our hearts that are reserved for Him. This is great news. If Jesus is ultimately who our children need to be connected with in order to be whole, then maybe 18 years of parenting is less about us and should be more about Him! Even if you were perfect, it would not be enough, so let’s stop trying (and feeling guilty about it when we are not) and usher our children to the only perfect Parent.

FAMILIES IMPACTED

These messages from parents taking our JOURNEY class cause me to weep in gratitude over His goodness. 

“Lisa, your daughter’s story of protection because of a relationship with Jesus has probably impacted me most and made me want to learn ALL I can from your teaching to equip my kids. My husband & I both are really appreciating the practical applications you are giving & I felt a definite shift in our mindset and spirit today!”

WEEPING FATHER

I will never forget the father who took our online Kingdom parenting class and wrote to me weeping as he told me how all these years, his daughter had annoyed him with her constant chatter. Holy Spirit revealed to him that that was her way of trying to connect with him and her love language. He was weeping for all the times he had become annoyed with her and told her to be quiet. He never saw her heart until that day, and it broke him. Love languages matter!