Christian Parents » Group

My nine-year-old, Hannah, loves to dance. She's been in tap and jazz for four years now. And I must say she's a natural. I have two left feet, so it's great to watch her move with rhythm. Maybe she got her talent from her dad. His moves in the nightclubs caught my eye and then some when we were dating in our twenties.  

So anyway, last night Hannah had to study for a history test. And she hates history. I tell her not to hate but she still hates history. So she sang and danced through the history vocabulary words. I sat smiling wondering if she was even memorizing anything. She was wiggling all over the place, hands in the air, head tipped back, hair swirling, voice loud. What a joy it was to see a child so passionate. By adding her own style of dance and song, Hannah studied for history.  

Wow, what a lesson for me. I'm challenged to live with passion when I'm confronted with the things I don't like--like cleaning toilets and grocery shopping. Wonder what my style would be? Singing, maybe.

 What is yours?

Is there anything different about being a Christian parent? Don't we need to follow all the same tips and advice about children's health; their development; their well-being - and ours - as do all other parents, all over the world? Well yes we need all this "material" stuff, but there is more. There is the "spiritual" stuff. Many do not even recognise this dimension to the human being - others do, but come from the "pagan", "new age" or some other side.

Being a Christian parent brings its own negatives; and its own positives. There are greater joys than any other parent will ever know; and there are also troubles and oppositions that no other parent will face - especially in those areas of the world where action is overt and backed by government or other policy.

Christian parenting includes many vast untrodden areas - especially when it comes to children. We cannot just send a child to Sunday School and think we have solved it. Nor can we sit at home and think having a nice family - with all those other bits of parenting under control - is all there is to it. I think Christian parenting is different! I think Christian parenting challenges us in ways that few are prepared to accept; and Christian parenting rewards us in ways that no one on this earth could imagine.

What are some of your experiences about parenting, from a uniquely Christian angle, that shows it is a different task? What makes it different? What rewards have you had? And what problems has being a Christian specifically created? And -if you don't think it isn't any different - how and why?! Some hard questions to kick off.. or start your own topics.. Enjoy this blog group!

 

With so many groups on Minti it is easy to miss seeing them all. There is already an active group called Christians with 27 members.