My friend Beverly wrote a great post detailing some parenting tips from John Rosemond. One point jumped off the screen: “As parents, you MUST have a vision for what you want your children to be in the future.”
That statement swirled around in my head. Yeah, I want my kids to be kind and love God, but do I have a specific vision for them? Not really.
About a week after I read Beverly’s post, I turned on the radio. A woman was sharing how each year she sits down with her husband and sets long-term and short-term goals for their children. They talk about what they want their kids to be like when they are older, and they discuss what they can do now to help them reach those goals.
She said something like, “A vision for the future helps you make decisions for today.” Her encouraging words reminded me of something I read in a parenting book a while ago: It’s much easier to prevent problems in your kids now than to fix problems later.
I’ve learned when God sends me the same message from different sources within a few weeks, it’s as if He is putting his arm around my shoulder and gently saying, “I really want you to get this.”
I shared the concept with Kevin, and we spent some time talking about the kind of people we would like Caleb and Chelsea to be when they are in high school.
Here are some of the things we discussed:
- We want them to love everyone (put others’ needs before their own) and reach out to the kids in their classes who need a friend.
- We want them to find their worth in God and be confident and secure in themselves.
- We want them to be mission-minded and have a heart for those who do not know Jesus.
- We want them to be involved in at least one extra-curricular activity, but we don’t want to them to be committed to 10 different activities. We don’t want their lives to be so busy that there is no time for family or personal time with God.
We might alter this list as they grow, but it’s a start. Helping our kids attain these goals requires us to model godly characteristics. Wow, what a great tangible way to keep ourselves accountable to live holy lives.
What vision do you have for your children? Are you setting practical goals to help them become the people in your vision?
I hope to write a post soon about one practical way we are helping Caleb develop a heart for missions. In the meantime, I’d love to hear what goals you have for your kids.
