As parents, we get to blow on our child’s areas of strength and empower them in their areas of weakness. We have the privilege of helping them unpack what is inside of them by God’s intentional design to impact those around them. The more this is discovered in childhood, the easier adulthood will be because they already have a grid for who they are. You can’t operate successfully unless you know your original design and purpose.
Declare this over your child, even when they are struggling and making messes. “I speak over YOU today there is still room for you at the table. Your messes are part of the growth process. There is still room for you. God has not weakened His gaze or affection over you. You have permission to be on your journey and learn as you grow! We live in a performance-based culture that values your A+ and rejects you for getting a C. God values your process and journey of becoming the full expression of who you were created to be. Break agreement with any voice telling you otherwise!”
The road between revelation to testimony is often long and hard but so worth it. Keep walking…
Does anyone ever have a moment when God shows you something in your parenting, and you feel profound guilt and shame? Instead of viewing the revelation through the eyes that you have harmed or hindered your child, view it through the eyes of God using your child to restore what was lost in you. The sudden attack of condemnation is the enemy’s attempt to remind you of your lack so that you do not partner with God’s goodness and redemption. You have permission to step over the condemnation and fully embrace God’s goodness and kindness towards you.
My mom was a school teacher and not only had gorgeous penmanship, but she also had a high value for it. Homework wasn’t just supposed to be accomplished in our house; it was also supposed to be done neatly. My writing was never perfected like hers, but even as an adult, whenever I write something sloppy, I have an internal check that I should either slow down or redo it. When we proactively teach our children who they are, we are helping them partner with God’s truth about them, which anchors them through life experiences. Example: God told me early on that my son would be a gentleman, so I have called it out since he was two years old. I have looked for ways he can practice being a gentleman (opening doors, helping with strong things, giving up his chair for an elderly lady, etc.). When my son does not act like a gentleman, something goes off inside of him that feels funny because he is acting in a way that is contrary to his true nature.
Children will exercise their flesh and act out; it is the nature of a child, but having the truth written in them helps guide them to become the person they are created to be. When children are not told who they are, they are influenced to become the things God never designed them to be.
No man can do the things that terrorists do without intentional grooming. They are so DE-sensitized to the brutality that the real thing no longer upsets them. They have been exposed to such darkness, most likely from a very early age. It is awful what is happening in the world through them, but what is brewing so deep within me is that God is STILL bigger. He STILL sits on His throne and hasn’t budged. God is STILL the Alpha and Omega. The enemy knows that equipping children at a young age is the best weapon they have as they will grow up being mighty weapons of mass destruction. But do WE know that? Do we get how powerful it is when children are given spiritual tools at a young age? Do we really have more fear than faith? Do we not see the importance of raising up an army of children who know how to hear His voice and act accordingly? It is like the enemy says, “Boo!” and we all jump in fear. NO! We WILL do our part to teach, train, and equip our children to be the warriors in the world God has called them to be. It is our job. We are the generals in God’s army, and the family is our training ground. My intent is not to instill fear or partner with that ugly religious spirit but to share that something so deep and so wildly violent is bubbling within me. I want more! I want more families to be intentional about their children! I want YOU to embrace all that God has for you and your family. I burn for more. I yearn that we, the Bride, all of us, would know that there is NO weapon formed against us that shall prosper but that WE will march forth and walk in victory because God Himself is leading us. I want your connection with your children to remain intact so that they are spared from the countless years of agony we endured. I want for them to know how amazing and powerful they are because you speak it over them daily. I want them to know, like second nature, how to go to Papa God and discuss the burdens of their heart with Him directly. Ah, that the children would be trained and equipped by intentional parents who do not partner with feelings of inadequacy but know themselves who they are. Oh, I burn for this. Yes, the enemy is doing many un-fun things in our world right now but let them wait and see what this generation is about to do. They will rise up and flip atmospheres; they will say NO with ease to the false comforts of the world. They will hinder the pornography, alcohol, and drug markets simply because they have no need for it. They will walk in confidence and assurance. They will honor adults for the wisdom they possess and seek their counsel. They will discern the fear for what it is and laugh at it. They will grab hold of the hurts, lies, and offenses and apply the tools they have been taught to work through them, so they don’t become adult-sized woundedness. They will walk into the darkest of situations and turn on the LIGHT! They will praise where there is weeping, and they will heal where there is sickness. They will love where there is brokenness. They will hold their places, and all of heaven will back them up. Your labor in equipping your children is not unseen. Ask Jesus to show you what it means to Him! I believe in you and am so honored that we get to link arms one family at a time!
We are in an incredible season of increasing our capacity – not to DO more but BECOME more.
Video – Increasing Capacity – YouTube
Podcast – Increasing Capacity by Lisa Max – Let the Children Fly! (anchor.fm)
I tell people often, “Do you pray to be filled by God? Pray for hunger because people that are full become content and lazy. Hungry people will do whatever it takes to be fed.”
I have a message specifically for YOU. I love history and ponder what it would be like to be in other people’s shoes. I think about Pearl Harbor and what that must have been like to wake up to the instant chaos of the bombings. Or the pioneer families who braved the west fighting the wilderness. Or the women who knew their husbands were on the ground during 911. We learn the facts of history but do not often hear the stories.
Pioneer – a person who is among the first to explore or settle in a new country or area.
Precious pioneer moms, you have just walked through our future’s history. The year 2020 will be recorded in our children’s children’s history books, and you were the woman who endured, fought fear, and cared for her family in the midst. I see the sweat on your brow, matted hair, and dusty clothes, but you DID IT! You pioneered in new territory. As a spiritual mom, mentor, and leader, I bless you in the name of Jesus for the grace and call on your life for such a time as this. God knew the day you were knit together in your mother’s womb that you would be alive today for this hour. Everything you have endured and walked through was part of your training ground for this season. You have walked through something no other person in history has EVER endured – not ever. You have plowed new ground and are still standing.
I want you to stop for a moment today and ponder how challenging this past season has been for you, specifically as a mother. It has required something of you that demanded you to dig deep and find your footing in the midst of gale-force winds and turbulent waters. Yet, you did it. You are still in the game. The favor of God is upon you, and many of you can say your family is stronger, more solid, and more deeply connected than ever before. Put your hand on your heart and repeat these words “(NAME), I bless you. I see how hard it has been for you as a mother in this season, but you did it, and I am so proud of you.” Ask, “Jesus, will You please show me what You see when You look at me?”
We spend so much time focusing on how to be a Son or Daughter, but the only way to be a real Son or Daughter is to know you have a Father. To be a ‘good’ Son or Daughter without a deep rich connection with your Father is nothing more than performance. What makes someone a Son or Daughter is not what they do but the mere fact they have a Father.
