Has anyone told you lately how proud they are of you? Seriously, many of you are first-generation Christians trying to raise godly children while building a solid foundation for yourself. You are not able to pull on your childhood experiences and what was modeled for you and are pioneering your way. You ARE doing it, and you are doing a good job. Keep going. He is so very proud of you.
For family devotions, each child asked Jesus for a verse. Hudson heard, “God is our strength.” I felt like we were supposed to say it out loud a couple of times. We often take this verse to say God makes US strong so we can be powerful, but the verse is actually saying HE is the strength. Our muscles are actually HIMSELF. This is a game-changer – we aren’t called to be powerful and strong in ourselves. We are called to have HIS power and strength.
Some parents are in crisis with their children and are desperate for new tools, while others are simply hungry for more. Some come from generations of strong believers; others are brand new to the faith. Some have teenagers or grown children; others have wee ones. There is a place for YOU. Your family is worth it. YOU are worth it.
You can register here: Journey – ONLINE CLASS – Let the Children Fly
It always surprises me when I hear people talk about me as if I have mastered this concept of parenting with Jesus. Let me be the first to tell you I have great experience partnering with Jesus to raise children up to 16 years. A day after that, I need Him just as much today as I did yesterday. It was never meant to be a maturity that we reach to begin walking confidently on our own but a constant dependence upon Him. I blow it, make mistakes, feel confused, am overwhelmed, doubt myself, wonder if I am enough, don’t know what to do, feel clueless about what my children need, etc. It keeps me dependent, humble, and seeking Him just as much today as I did years ago when I first discovered He was my Husband. Get your eyes off the goal of ‘arriving’ and settle into the fact you will always need Him in your parenting, and that, my friend, is the best position to be in.
Often, the last thing I feel like doing when I feel heavy is worship, but there is something so powerful about opening your mouth and flexing those weak muscles. Worship ushers in His presence, aligns our thoughts with His, and, most importantly, gets our eyes off of ourselves and our weaknesses and back onto Him and His power, strength, and ability. I have my go-to songs for when I feel tired and weary.
I hear this ALL the time – a person falls radically in love with Jesus and has excellent ‘quiet times.’ They get up early and spend tons of undivided time with Him, and they have a close relationship. The kids come, and soon those quiet moments together give way to sleepless nights and the demands of their new addition. As time passes, the relationship suffers, and they begin to feel exhausted, dry, and burned out. They begin to feel guilty for not investing hours into their relationship with God, which only makes them feel worse. The time we spend with our children in this season is 24/7, but there is a Biblical command to let them leave and cleave to their future mates, meaning our 24/7 relationship will transition into a new way of connecting and relating, yet the love and relationship are still there!
Could it be God intended all along for our time with Him to be transitioned, as well, when the baby comes? Do we not think that God KNEW that our relationship with Him would change when He gave us the gift of our child? Instead of feeling guilty that your former way of relating to Jesus isn’t working, ask Him to show you what the NEW looks like.
“Jesus, I miss our times together. I miss knowing You and feeling Your presence. I miss our deep connection. Will You please show me what our relationship and time together look like in this season?”
Be blessed with the fact that your relationship is growing, changing, and being transformed into something NEW!
I was talking to a friend about an area in my life that is causing a lot of stress and worry. She brought me to John 15’s story about the vine and the branch, which gives us the key to bearing fruit (which I was not having in this area). Together, we asked Jesus to show us the separation, and I heard “tourniquet,” a device that cuts off the blood flow. Hmmm. That is kind of what it felt like. I asked Jesus what the key to removing the tourniquet was, and I kept hearing “turn, turn, turn, turn,” but it sounded like the word tourniquet was stuck on a broken record, and it didn’t make sense to me at first. I asked Jesus to clarify, and He said, “You keep turning and turning and turning, and the more you move, the more it is cutting off the life-giving flow between us. Stop moving and REMAIN in me.”
The Vine and the Branches – John 15:1-8 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing and hand over the reins back to Him.
Your children are not victims of your journey.
We had a Let the Children Fly team meeting and I could sense many people were dealing with spiritual resistance (the refusal to accept or comply with something, the attempt to prevent something by action or argument). As I was sharing my experience, I saw this picture of workout resistance bands wrapped around one’s legs. They can still walk, but every step requires more effort because resistance is set up to oppose their steps. I got the idea to grab rubber bands and put them between our fingers to feel the resistance. I put on some worship music, and we just spent time aligning our hearts with His.
During worship, God reminded me of a story where a man came up against great resistance, but God put up the block for his training and development. When the challenging season was over, he knew his anointing had doubled. I began to process that some resistance is good and from the Father’s hand to develop us more like Jesus. But then I saw this picture of the enemy using resistance and disguising it as being from Him. And that is when God showed me the strategy. Many people are experiencing resistance and simply accepting it, going low, and submitting to the Father when in reality, it needs to be dealt with in the spiritual realm. The more they partnered with the resistance saying, “Well, it is just for my development,” or “It comes with the territory of breakthrough,” they were actually partnering with the enemy who was bringing the wrong kind of resistance against them, their minds, calling, assignments and relationships. What’s the difference? Your level of peace! God’s training, character development, increasing our capacity, and seasons of refinement are not always pleasant, but they come with a layer of peace. Only God can discipline you in a way that still somehow feels loving and protective. If the resistance you are experiencing makes you feel uneasy, unsettled, full of lack, discouragement, or hopelessness, then perhaps it is not more patience that you need but a revelation of your authority to resist the resistance and watch it flee. I gave each team member scissors, and we stretched the rubber bands between our fingers to feel the resistance and then cut it. The bands went flying everywhere, and joy broke out. We all felt lighter and restored to hope and confidence that He will complete the work in us and fulfill the promises over us in His way and in His timing.
“I am so glad to have found a parenting class that ‘takes you to church.’ I love the Holy Spirit-breathed teaching that Let the Children Fly brings. I hope to ignite a flame of His presence in my home and feel this course will fan that flame.”
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.”
