Whatever your hopes and dreams are for your child, the more connected they are to the wisdom of God, the better chance your child has of growing into the amazing person you and God want him/her to be. When is the right time to teach your child about God? Now and always.
1. God’s Dream. God has a dream for you. God created you to become the-best-version-of-yourself! As your father/mother, that’s my dream for you too. When you ask me if you can do something or have something, I ask myself if it will help you become a-better-version-of-yourself.
2. The Wisdom of God. The more you adopt the wisdom of God the happier you will be. When we reject God’s wisdom, in a mysterious way we reject ourselves. Alienation from God is alienation from self. If you are ever unhappy, begin by asking, is there an obstacle between myself and God?
3. God Answers Our Prayers. God answers every prayer. Sometimes with a yes, sometimes with a no, sometimes with a maybe, and sometimes with not now. God’s answer is always in your best interests. Always. God reasons may not always be apparent, but God always has a reason for what he does.
4. Decision Making. When you have a big decision to make, turn to God for advice and wisdom. Constantly seek the answer to this question: God, what do you think I should do?
5. The Voice of God. Learn to listen to God’s voice. God is always speaking to us in more ways than we can imagine. The question is, are we listening?
6. Talk to God. Throughout your day, keep a conversation going with God. Talk to him about what brings you joy and what makes you sad, talk to him about school and work, talk to him about decisions you are making. Just talk to him. When you talk to me, it brings be great joy. When you talk to God it brings him great joy.
7. God Loves You. God is your Father. You are a child of God not an orphan of the world. He created you and he loves you no matter what. There are many things in life that change, but not this. Nothing you can do can change God’s love for you, or cause him to stop loving you or love you less. When you love someone you want good things for that person, and God wants good things for you even more than you want them for yourself. God values love above everything else. When we are at our best, so do we.
8. The Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is tender, caring, courageous, generous, and loving. The spirit of the world is harsh, impersonal, uncaring, fearful, stingy, and selfish. You get to decide which spirit guides and rules your life. One leads to clarity and happiness and the other leads to confusion and misery.
9. Goodness. God cherishes goodness and there is a tremendous capacity for good in you. Nurture the goodness that God has placed within you, share it with the people who cross your path, and never stop looking for ways to do the most good for the most people with your life.
10. Knowing God. Learning about God fills our souls with joy, and brings clarity to our hearts and minds. Never stop learning about God. And yet, for everything we know about God, it is still just a drop in the ocean compared to what we don’t know about God. God is a mystery to be enjoyed and reverenced.
Wisdom is the key to all we hope and dream for our children. By teaching them about God we are teaching them how to connect with the source of wisdom. Teaching your child about God is one of the greatest gifts you can ever give him/her. Next time your child asks for something, rather than saying, “Let me think about that” say “Let me pray about that.” Something this simple teaches your child that you consult God in your decisions and will encourage him/her to do the same.
Matthew Kelly
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