Tues.’s Devo - Raising Your Family

Read: 1 Timothy 3-5
Today we read about the qualifications of being an elder or a deacon and the qualifications for being on the benevolent list. They all boiled down to how you treat your family. The most important person in our lives should be our spouses and then our children and our parents. Our families are definitely our greatest challenges and yet our greatest joys. It is a great temptation to get involved in ministry outside our families and forget the ones we are going to be held accountable the most. There is little glory in doing the day to day raising of kids and the mundane things of parenting but as a mother whose children are all grown I can encourage you to take your family seriously. I helped many kids throughout my days of rearing my own and looking back, I wish I had paid more attention to the little things. I am very proud of my three sons and mostly I am grateful that they love Jesus and follow him. That has been my greatest achievement. Grades and sports and developing their talents are important, but nothing is more important than teaching them to have an authentic walk with the Lord.
Since I’m on this subject, I’ll share some of the ways I taught my boys to love Jesus. My husband and I tried to live it in front of them. We tried very hard to give them a healthy picture of God. He is a loving father who wants the best for us. We model him by being that loving mother and father. God isn’t about laws and regulations as much as he is about relationship. I tried to have a relationship with my boys and show them that time with them was important to me. I didn’t always do the best job because motherhood is a 24/7 job that gets very tiresome. We do need breaks but I want to encourage you…it goes by so quickly and then they are out of the house and you have all the breaks you will ever need. Today’s society is focused on entertainment and pleasure and those don’t mix with parenting unless you realize that your family is all the entertainment you need and will give you much pleasure in the end if you give yourself totally to your role at home. It is not glamorous or always gratifying at the time, but it will be so worth it in the years to come.
Lord, may you empower us to be the moms and dads we need to be. Anoint our eyes to see the bigger picture and focus on things ahead instead of the moment. Strengthen us for the task of raising godly children and grand children.