Thoughts on parenting.

Most parents want their children to grow up to be healthy and whole adults that will, hopefully, change the world. As christian parents we deeply desire our children to be those world changers: evangelists, Mother Theresas, presidents, revivalists, inventors and so on. We tell our children that they are unique and special. Princes and princesses.
I believe that every child is a gift to the world. I believe that within every child is the possibility for the impossible to happen through their life. Nothing is tainted, nothing is capped. They are born believing the impossible. I look into a child's eyes and I see incredible depth and sparks of hope that "life" hasn't dampened or shallowed.
The responsibility as a parent is enormous!

the thing is that we can call our kids royalty but have we trained them how to behave in the presence of Kings and Queens? We have the privilege and responsibility to equip our children with the character that will sustain their destiny. Every "hero" in the Bible had a time of preparation:
Esther was chosen but spent a year in preparation to be a Queen. Daniel was trained for three years before he could advice King Nebuchadnezzar. Joseph spent a substantial amount of time serving in Potiphar's house before being the governor of Egypt. Moses became a shepherd for Jethro before leading the Israelites into freedom. Samuel was trained under Eli before becoming a prophet. David was trained in the silence and hidden of the pastures before he became King. Joshua was Moses's shadow before he lead the Israelites across the Jordan river.

Character starts in the home. It is moulded in the unseen and in the safety of family. It begins with making your bed, cleaning your room and eating your vegetables. God always trains and equips before he releases. Jesus did this with his disciples as he ate with them, spoke with them, washed their feet and invited them into his heart. Parents can do the same thing with their children.
Family models Kingdom and it is our awesome privilege as parents to see and hear the voice that God speaks over our children and partner with Him as we prepare the foundation of their character so that they are equipped to carry the call of God. We don't manufacture their destiny, God has done that.

Behind every world changer is a mother and a father who said Yes to God. A Mary who said yes to the angel despite the ridicule and slander she would endure. A Hannah who was desperate for a child only to give that child back to God. A nameless mother who, by faith, laid her baby in a basket and let him float into the palace of the enemy. A Jessi who watched his young armour-less son walk up to a giant. A Sarah who laughed in the face of age a barrenness as she delivered a promise.

kingdom looks like family: conceive, birth, belong, train and release. Conceived in love, birthed in faith, belonging by name, trained in safety and released into destiny. Love, faith, belonging and safety must always precede destiny. If we walk into destiny before we know who we are and why we are loved we cannot be sustained. Identity comes first.

The Smile of Significance

Significance: to be great or important; worthy of attention; having meaning.

We all want significance in life. To know that what we are doing really matters. Significance is the driving force that pushes us to pursue our purpose, and without it we lose hope. Think about almost every movie or television show you watch – the unassuming quiet character discovers his inner voice as he rises up through adversity to conquer his biggest fear. He becomes the hero and boldly blows up everyone else perception of him.
We. eat. it. up!
Its in our DNA to seek out greatness, to make a difference and to live under a mantra of “who I am and what I do really matters.”
While all of this is good and necessary, Im reminded that the Bible tells us to lose ourselves, to deny ourselves and that “to die is gain.” The Bible tells us to not love our life here on Earth because it is temporary and there is another life that we are going to be entering; a life that is for eternity. God also says that we are all predestined with a hope and a purpose, that He has prepared GREAT things for us to do with Him. Yet with the every day business of life, we often tend to feel so invisible and we think our lives seem mundane: The mom at home with her children constantly cleaning and making snacks; wiping noses and spills. Or the man behind a desk day after day punching in numbers, putting out fires and paying off a mortgage... 

The beautiful thing about life is that it never stays the same, our bodies change, our perspective matures, our taste varies and we never stay in the same place. Significance is something we are constantly discovering through every season, and in life there are many, many seasons. Significance is the one thing every human being is longing for, hungry for something that says they belong and they are not a mistake. Its an insatiable hunger, put there by the designer Himself. I used to often wonder why God made us this way if He asks us to lay our lives down. 

Heres the thing, I don't think God intended us to fully arrive in this life, to be self sustainable and to rejoice in what we build or have built. The truth is none of us have arrived. We have an ingrained desire to “find ourselves” and “discover our purpose and calling.” The world says we have to live for that “one moment,” the one where we are singled out from a crowd, the one where every one stands in awe of who we are or what we have done, the massive breakthrough, or the wildest dreams coming true.…. yup some of us live for those moments, and without them we feel lost.

We all want to see the victories and the crowns but no one wants to hear the stories behind those moments, the hours of sweat and tears, crying out for answers. The years of struggle and faithfulness with little. The months of loneliness walking through the pain. We want the palace stories, not the pit ones. 

You see, the journey is where we truly find out what we are made of. The Lonely times, the starving times, the grief, the pain – that is when we find the substance of whats inside. Take away the distraction, the buzz or the static noise of life and sit in the silence. Put your phone down, lift up your head and have a good look and whats in front of you. Stare in the mirror. See those wrinkles from the years of laughing or crying? See the scars and stretch marks? Remember who you are, and what God has done. Remember how far He has carried you, walked with you, held you. Remember the times when you had little, remember the times when you had no options, because those are the moments that really matter. The moments when you said "no", or "yes". The moments when no one understood or agreed with you but you followed His voice anyway. The times when you danced alone in your lounge when all you wanted to do was sit and cry. The times when you chose the low road as others were promoted around you...Those are the moments of real significance. 

They are the unseen moments, the moments when all of heaven stops and watches in anticipation as you climb out of depression, as you face the pain of rejection or as you courageously stare into the eyes of fear. In those moments you are singled out of the crowd, you are cheered for by your maker and all the hosts of Heaven. Those are the moments that really count.

Earthly fame and rewards are fleeting and fickle, but eternal rewards are given without measure and last through the fire. 

Here is the golden point: He is the significance of our lives! His smile is the greatest prize and honor of my life, His smile qualifies me, identifies me, secures me, defines me and sustains me. 

Ive learned to rejoice when the mat of life gets whipped out from under my feet. Its a reminder to stay on my knees, and thats the place I want to learn to live from. 

It all starts on the floor.