Growing in Grace

Shaping our children’s hearts to live for God is called discipleship. The Clarksons write that “discipleship of your children is your first priority as a Christian parent - to shape their hearts to live for God.” The first step they give to accomplishing this task is to be sure your heart is turned toward your children. “If the parents’ hearts are not turned toward the child, that child’s heart will turn elsewhere.” Our attitude toward our children is very important; we need to see them “as God wants (us) to see them - as future servants and leaders for Him in the next generation.” H. Clay Trumball the author of Hints on Child Training (1890) wrote “It is, therefore, largely a child’s training that settles the question (of what kind of person he will become). . . In all these things his course indicates what his training has been; or it suggests that training that he needed, but missed.” The Clarksons give five “heartbeats” of discipleship. The first one has to do with ...

It seems lately that many things related to parenting have crossed my path. It was part of our Bible study last week, I’ve been reading the book “Educating the Wholehearted Child” by Clay and Sally Clarkson, and just today the Focus on the Family “Thriving Family” magazine arrived with articles on raising daughters and developing self esteem in our children. This has all been really great material to read - very convicting as well as encouraging. One of the most interesting things I have read is from the Clarkson’s book. Although the book was written for those families considering home schooling, much of the beginning is filled with basic parenting principles. They began with the idea of stewardship. I think we are all familiar with this principle in regards to our time or even our money; but I had never thought about it in relation to our children. In their book Educating the Wholehearted Child, the Clarksons write, “Scripture calls you to be a good steward, or manager, of all God h...