Are You Involved in Your Child’s Life?
Kids don’t have to wait until they’re 18-years-old and on their way to college before they start thinking about what they want to do with their lives.
As parents, we can help them discover their gifts and talents so that when they’re ready to leave home, they have an idea as to some options that would fit with their natural abilities to cause them to be successful in life.
Do you know what your kids are good at? How well are they doing in that sport or activity that they begged you to be able to participate in? Do you go to their games or their events and actually watch them? Do they feel comfortable communicating with you about the things they are feeling insecure about or areas in which they’re not doing well?
An important key to discovering your children’s gifts is communication. Make sure to take time to talk with your kids, and really listen to what they have to say. As a parent, you have the opportunity to be their biggest fan, their biggest cheerleader, and their biggest coach, and pull out of them the gifts and talents they never even knew they had!
The Take Away
Stay involved in your kids’ lives. Show interest in the things they’re interested in. Go to their games. Go to their practices. You don’t have to constantly hover over them but be engaged in their lives. Encourage them in their gifts.
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Helping Your Kids Succeed
As parents, our job is to teach and train our children so that when they grow up and leave home, they’ll be ready to do life on their own.
That’s a pretty big job, and it involves several different areas.
First of all, it involves their spiritual life. As a parent, I want to make sure all of my kids are born again and know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Eternity is part of their future, and I want to make sure they spend it in the right place—Heaven and not Hell.
Secondly, I want to make sure my kids do well in school and get a good education. I want them to graduate from high school and have a chance to go to college. Education in and of itself won’t make them successful, but it will give them a good leg up in life and allow more opportunities to be available to them.
Thirdly, I want to help my kids to discover their talents. What are they good at—music, art, athletics? Are they talented at working on cars, interior decorating, or graphic design? Knowing the gifts and talents God has put in them will help them become successful.
And fourthly, I want to teach my kids how to get a vision. The Bible says that without a vision, people perish. I don’t want my kids to perish. I want them to be successful. So, that means I need to teach them how to set goals and get a vision.
The Take Away
Parents, take the time and make the effort to be involved in your kids’ lives. Your investment and guidance will make a big difference in preparing them to step out on their own.
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Friday Funny: Thumb Sucker
We can either let our life experiences hold us back, or wade into life.
God wants us to rise above our self pity and thumb sucking and start focusing on other people. We are supposed to wake up in Hell Whippin’ Mode. Enjoy Joe’s encouraging word on how to wake up ready to fight, rather than Thumb-Suck.
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What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
As a kid, I remember going to family reunions and having older relatives ask me, “Joe, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
At that age, the only goals I had were to have my buddies come over and play ball, shoot BB guns, and go fishing. I didn’t have any long-range goals! But at every family reunion I’d get asked that question, and even though I was just a kid, it made me start thinking about it.
I remember at one family reunion somebody asked me, “Joe what do you want to be when you grow up?”
I said, “I want to be a forest ranger!” Growing up in east Tennessee, we would go to the Cherokee National Forest to trout fish and hunt. I had seen forest rangers there and remembered thinking, That must be a fun job! They get to wear a Smokey Bear hat, live in a log cabin up in the mountains, and hunt and fish anytime they want. That was right up my ally! Then I found out that being a forest ranger required eight years of college, and so I chucked that idea pretty fast!
But those family reunions are what started getting me to think about my future goals. Even though I didn’t end up becoming a forest ranger, it made me start looking around and thinking about what my options could be.
The Take Away:
A key to discovering your children’s gifts is communication. Make sure to take time to talk with your kids, not at them, and really listen to what they have to say. As a parent, you have the opportunity to be their biggest fan, their biggest cheerleader, their biggest coach, and pull out of them the gifts and abilities they never even knew they had!
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Small Goals Are Better Than No Goals
If you want to enjoy life on this earth, you need to have a vision.
The Bible says that without a vision, people perish. There are sinners who enjoy life a whole lot more than some Christians simply because they have a vision, and they’re not afraid to go after it. Their eternal salvation may not be secured yet, but while they’re here on earth, they’re doing everything in their power to chase their dreams. And many of them succeed and accomplish them.
Why? Because the law of vision works whether you’re saved or unsaved. It makes no difference your spiritual condition. It’s just like the law of gravity; it’s going to work no matter who you are. The law of vision is no respecter of persons.
God has given every human being the ability to dream and have a vision, but it’s up to us whether we choose to have a vision and pursue it. People who don’t have a vision aren’t going to progress very far. They’ll stay in the same spot every day, week after week, month after month, year after year, never growing, advancing, or achieving any goals. But people who have a vision are going to advance in life. They’ll willing to take risks, step out beyond their comfort zone, and try new things. As a result, they’ll continue to learn, grow, move forward, and increase.
If you don’t have a vision, get one. Most people are capable of much more than they give themselves credit for. So, start setting some goals, even if they’re small. Don’t get stuck just living day in and day out with no goals. Small goals are better than no goals because at least you’re moving forward! Get a vision and start running toward it!
The Take Away:
Are you sitting on the sidelines watching others progress and succeed, wondering why your life isn’t a successful as theirs? You may need to ask yourself, “What’s my vision? Where do I want to be in a month, six months, or a year from now? What goals do I have?” If you don’t take steps, you won’t move forward. Start by sitting down with your spouse and setting some goals. Nobody can do this for you. You have to get off the bench and into the game!
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You Will Only Get Paid for Two Things
There’s an old saying I heard that stuck with me: “You will only get paid for two things on this planet. You get paid for what you know, or you get paid for what you can do.”
So, if you don’t know very much and you can’t do very much, you won’t get paid very much. That’s pretty much how it works in this world’s system.
The good news is that God has given every single person on this planet a gift—something they have a natural ability to do. People will pay you for your skills, and they’ll pay you a higher wage if you have excellent skills. Proverbs 22:29 (NIV) says, “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank” (Proverbs 22:29 NIV).
Are you a good auto mechanic? Everyone needs a good mechanic, and if you’ve developed your gift and are excellent at what you do, people will be willing to pay you more than the average mechanic. Maybe you have skills to be an electrician, a plumber, an accountant, a lawyer, or a school teacher. Everybody has a gift and ability they can use to serve others and meet a need.
Your gift will make room for you. The question is, are you using what you’ve been given to supply a need? And are you continuing to grow your skills to their fullest potential? If you want to advance and increase, you have to choose to be excellent.
The Take Away:
What is your gift, talent, or ability? Have you taken the time to grow and develop that gift? If not, what steps can you take to do so? Get a plan of action and set some goals to start developing the gift God has given you. Determine to be excellent!
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Who Are You? Why Are You Here?
Denise and I had the privilege bringing six kids into this world and raising them together, all under the same roof.
Out of all six kids, there are no two alike. They all have their own individual personalities, likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, and quirks. They also each have different gifts, abilities, and talents. Some are quiet. Some are loud. Some like to communicate. Some don’t. But despite all of their own individual differences, each one of them is uniquely gifted by God to do something while they’re on this planet.
As a parent, one of my biggest challenges and responsibilities is to help each of my kids be able to confidently answer these questions: Who are you? Why did God put you on this planet? What is your purpose? What are you called to do?
I want each of my kids to know they are not here by accident, and that God knew they were going to be born. I want them to know without a shadow of a doubt that He has a plan for their lives because He had all their days written in His book before they were even born (Psalm 139:16 NLT). I want them to know that they are gifted by God to do something that will not only be a blessing to them, but also bring blessing to others. I want to instill in them the truth that their lives matter, and God has really good plans for each of them.
Parents, each of your children has been given a gift, talent, and an ability from God. Part of our job is to help them find out what those abilities are, so they can walk in them, live blessed lives, and be a blessing to others.
The Take Away:
Parents, help your kids find out what their talents and abilities are. Start when they’re young. Ask God to help you and your child recognize the gifts and talents within them. As they’re growing up, have them try new things to see what they’re good at. This will not only help them develop new skills, but also discover what abilities and talents are the most natural to them.
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Happy New Year from Joe & Angel
Angel & I just want to wish you and your family the greatest of New Years.
We are believing for God’s best in your life and in the lives of every one of your family. God has a future and a hope for you and we believe you are going to see it come to pass, in Jesus’ Name!
Have a wonderful New Years Day!
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Friday Funny: The New Bass Boat
Men and Women see money differently.
Men see money as Freedom. Women see money as Security. Listen as Joe shares this hilarious story of when some unexpected money showed up….and how he “almost” got his bass boat.
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Friday Funny: The Bank Job
God watches over HIS Word…not ours.
Enjoy this week’s Friday Funny as Joe talks about the words of our mouth and making sure we are speaking what GOD says! We need to be filling our mouths with the Truth of God’s Word.
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