Tuesday, September 22, 2015

September 23, 2015

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.” Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Home plate is the connection base where you help your kids get connected to God by faith. The goal at home plate is a kid who loves God.

First base is the character base where the love of God takes residence in the heart of your kid and shapes it to be like Christ. The goal at first base is a kid who finds a healthy self-love.

Raising Home Run Kids means learning to coach your kids how to win at home and first.

There are three parenting models you could choose to Raise Home Run Kids. I want to review them with you.

Model One: Discipline Without Emotion

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

This could be the overly diligent parent who in his desire to Raise a Home Run Kids he just tries a little too hard. In his effort to instill the nurture and admonition of the Lord he errs on the side of rules while neglecting the relationship. Rather than being a parent figure he becomes a drill sergeant.

Another variation of this model is a parent who disciplines with negative emotions allowing anger or frustration to enter into his discipline.

Model Two: Emotion Without Discipline

Sometimes an insecure or immature parent will want to be liked by his kid and is hesitant to apply any discipline to his child. The result is a spoiled kid who has not secure boundaries and who learns to be ruled by feelings. Such a child will struggle to make good decisions because his reality becomes determined by how he feels at the moment. This kid will also struggle to become emotionally mature due to his impatience and inability to delay gratification.

Likewise, this kid will find it difficult to reach spiritual maturity because of his undisciplined ways. Galatians 5 describes a kid like this.

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:16-21

When you read this Scripture substitute the word “feelings” for the word “flesh” and you see where this immature way of living leads. This is NOT a home run life!

Model Three: Emotion With Discipline

This is the model that Raises Home Run Kids. Such parents teach their kid to say “no” to selfish emotions and desires and say “yes” to God’s Word and God’s way. Paul describes this parenting model in Galatians 5:16-18; 22-25

“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.Galatians 5:16-18 & 22-25

Living a life disciplined by the Word of God and led by His Spirit will be a life set free to express and experience a wide range of emotions!

Three models of child-rearing. Only one of them produces Home Run Kids.

Do you recognize your parenting model?