Faith and Family

My level of faith continues to grow as I get older. I have seen more, experienced more, learned more about how God is working in my life, in and through my children, my wife, my family and friends. Now that I have turned 50 years old  and having more grandchildren come into the family, I seem to be spending more time reflecting on the past. However, I am also looking forward to the future. In the past, I was looking forward to the future and trying to forget the past. You can't do anything about the past anyway, so why dwell on it, right?

I see the direction of the Family Ministry model at New Beginnings and I have my own regrets about the things that I could have or should have done with my children as they were growing up. Now they are adults and some are now having their own children. So in this reflecting process I am reminded about what kind of parent I was when I was their age.

Here is one of the things that I have learned that I wish I would have known early on in my parenting. Parenting is a life long process. It doesn't end when the children turn 18.The little things that you may not think are making a difference will make a difference over time.

Some examples of those "little things" are having Faith Talks and Faith Walks with your children and creating milestone events that make memorable moments for you and them, that they want to pass down to their children, with hope that those things will get passed on to their children, etc. The hard part in the process is that we parents get busy. Busy with life, job pressures, relationship pressures, time pressures and then time slips away and before you know it, your children are now teenagers and then adults. Will you stay the course? Do you believe it will make a difference? You may not see immediate changes in your children. You may not see immediate changes in your teenagers. But will you have enough faith, that God will help you in the process, IF you remain faithful in doing your part too?

Most Christians know this verse that defines the word "faith"  from Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen."

But not many may know the "why" explained in the very next verse in Hebrews 11:2   "For our ancestors won God’s approval by it."

 Will our children and grandchildren and great grandchildren be saying the same thing about their ancestors?