Teaching Tuesday / Model Values You Want To See In Your Children

During this season of tension and upheaval, it's more important than ever before to model peace and love in front of our children. You are literally shaping the next generation and what that will look and act like.

Regardless of your political stance, if you claim the name of Christ, then we need to be sure that we are acting like Him, especially in front of our children. I know I sound like a broke record, but they are just such copy cats. They copy our thoughts patterns, which leads to them copying our actions. They copy our values, which leads to them copying our words. Did I hear an "Ouch!" ? Yeah, me too!

I know, if you are like me, those can be scary thoughts at times to even contemplate. If you haven't caught your dear child mimicking you in some way, I promise you that sooner or later you will. One or two copying what you do and say is one thing. By the time we had six children, I kept seeing myself in their actions every time I turned around - and some of those actions weren't pretty to watch. But by the time we had a dozen plus, I kept seeing myself in the reflection, not of my mirror, . . . it was in my children's every move. What a wake up call! Every facial expression, every rolling of the eyes, every deep huffing breath was magnified and multiplied back at me many more numerous times than I can even count.

What I quickly learned from the mirroring of my ugly attitude flashing in my face every time I turned around was this. Just as I set the stage negatively with an evil attitude, I have the same power to impact my children's lives in a positive way with a Christlike attitude.

As a Christian, I have the mind of Christ

(I Corinthians 2:16). That means that I can think thoughts of Love like He does. I can bring every thought captive according to the obedience of Jesus (2 Corinthians 10:5). He wouldn't tell me to do something that was impossible for me to do. He told us this, because our actions fall fast on the heals of our thoughts. Control your thoughts and voila! - your actions will follow suit.

All I had to do was read His Word (His Love Letter) to us to find out what thoughts He was thinking and what actions I was to copy. Ephesians 5:1 says,

"Be imitators (copy cats) of God in everything you do, for then you will represent your Father as His beloved sons and daughters."

I decided that nothing was more important than copying my Savior. Nothing was more important than pleasing Him and being conformed to His image . . . not getting my own way, not giving people a piece of my mind, nor any other lust of my flesh. My heartbeat became the heartbeat of Jesus. My heart's desire is to be able to say like the Lord Himself,

"he (satan) has no hold over me." (John 14:30)

You know the amazing thing is? When I'm focusing on and copying Him, I don't even have to think about is one of my children watching what I'm doing, saying, or how I'm acting. I can say like the Apostle Paul,

"I want you to pattern your lives after me, just as I pattern mine after Christ."

(I Corinthians 11:1 - TPT)

And Dear Parents, you can, too! Model Jesus Christ to your children. I promise you that you will never regret it!

#TeachingTuesday #ModelValuesOfChrist #ChildrenAreCopyCats