Love and Respect

Boundaries with Kids (Pastor GF Watkins lesson @ PowerHouse Christian Center)

Psalm 127:1,3-5 Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.

Your children have a purpose! They are a heritage to shape,change, and use in your life. One of the biggest challenges we face in raising our children is ENABLING instead of EMPOWERING! YOU are the standard in their life. Read the Word of God with your children and allow them to ask questions and find the answers with them. We can't expect the school or daycare or ball team to raise our children. I hear complaints all the time about God not being in schools and no prayer - what's happening in your home? Is God in your home? Do your children know how to pray? Prayer doesn't have to be shouted from the microphone or done in unison. Christ is in our schools if He is in our children. Prayer is in our schools if we have taught our children that they can pray.
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2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

Don't be condemned, be convicted. We will all have to account for our lives, believers and nonbelievers alike. Motivation will result in transformation!
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Maturity is the objective.

Ephesians 4:14-16 Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won't be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of this body, the church.

We should speak the truth in love..."you can"..."you shall"..."I'm with you"..."But! We will"...
Maturity comes with the acceptance of responsibility. I remember the birth of my first child. I was a lost kitten. I had no idea what I wanted but I knew for sure that I DIDN'T want to be having a baby, but I was married and it was the "right thing to do". (Not that I had done the right thing too often preceding this) I was unwilling to accept any responsibility nor did I have any intention of trying to mature. So, I went wild and eventually divorced and gave up custody of my child, selfishly. It was a good decision for the wrong reasons.
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Godly order - Path to Maturity

Before you can talk to your children about God, you must first talk to God about your children.
- Pray over your children, literally OVER your children. Lay your hands on
them.
- Command angels to camp around them.
- Pray over the school - no bombs,no knives, no guns
- Pray for their success
- Pray that they learn something today
My husband and I do this every night, without fail, on our knees. We also pray together, just me and him, before we lay down for bed, on our knees. This brings us all together including the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The entire family. Our children have really responded well to this.

Don't carry out confrontations in front of your children.
Matthew 12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, "Any kingdom divided
by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by
feuding will fall apart."
My husband has ALWAYS been a firm believer in this, even before we were saved. He was right, but his reasons were because he wanted us to hide the issues from them. Our children need to see us as ONE, a union, not divided. Work out the kinks and compromise, but not in front of the kids.

Ephesians 6:1-3 Children obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. "Honor your father and mother." This is the first commandment with a promise. If you honor your father and mother "things will go well for you, and you will have a long life here on earth."

Proverbs 13:24 Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.