Family Ark Ministries

God loves the praise of His people. In heaven the people fall before the throne giving him praise, worship and glory. Revelations 5:13 states, “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.”

All of heaven falls before the throne praising and worshipping God and the Lamb for ever and ever. God loves the praise of His people. And when you are saved by Jesus, then you should want to praise him forever and ever. You don’t wait until you get to heaven. You praise him now on earth. Philippians 4:4 states, “ Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.”

If God loves His creation to praise and worship Him with all glory, then what must Satan love? We know that whatever God has and desires, Satan wants just the opposite. God has a son who is the Christ. Satan has the anti-Christ. Jesus is life. Satan is death. If God loves praise, I think that Satan must love complaining! What praise is to God, so complaining is to Satan. Satan loves it when believers complain. We know Jesus. We know God. We are His children. We know the promises of God. We have eternal life. We are receivers of the light. Yet, we complain, gripe and gossip. Satan then tells the lost world, “ You see heaven isn’t so grand. Christ isn’t all of that. Just listen to his believers. Hear how they complain. If Jesus was all of that, would they complain as they do?” He deceives people. How sad that Satan can use a believer in Christ to cast doubt on how beautiful our Savior is, to the lost.

There are many references in the Bible for the followers of God to not murmur. Murmuring is complaining. We are taught in the Bible in Philippians 2:14,15 to not complain. “Do all things without murmurings and disputing: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;”

Don’t fight over the Word of God. Live it out. Christians live in the middle of a perverse nation. My, how that rings true today. However, we are to be shining as lights in the world. How attractive is the light, when the light is negative, whining and complaining. If you know Jesus, can’t you find something good to say? You complain about the high cost of gas. We all have done it recently. Is that all that comes out of your mouth? Do you not know anything else to speak of around others? Thank God we still have gas. It would be rough walking. Thank God that He has allowed me to have enough money to pay for this high gas. I am not saying we can never complain. When it was 105 degrees recently outside, I complained that it was too hot. It was too hot! I didn’t like it. I think that is normal to say things like that.

I am writing more about a daily attitude. How would people describe your daily attitude? Do you walk as a person of complaining? Do others see you as negative? Do you look for something to complain about? No matter where you are, at church, work, home or even at a fun event, are you able to tap into the negative side of things? Perhaps we could all work harder on rejoicing in the Lord. Maybe we could pray and ask the Lord to help us see the good even in the midst of what we see as bad. Could we all be challenged to be more positive? Is God good? Has God blessed you in any way?

I laugh in disbelief sometimes at church dinners. People complain about a certain food they don’t like. Women complain that they don’t like the way some food they prepared, somehow didn’t come out right. We sit and complain about the crowd. We complain about the stuffiness in fellowship hall or how cold it is. We go so far as to complain about how we overate. I wonder what the angels in heaven must be thinking. They look down on a group of believers whom have been blessed beyond measure with abundance of life sustaining food. All they can do is sit around and stuff their faces, simultaneously finding something to be negative about. They complain with a full mouth!

Worse than this, is what must lost people think of us. We are to shine as lights in the world. If all we ever do is gripe about our paycheck, the cost of living, how other people drive us crazy, how mad we are about something in the world; then how bright does our light shine? Satan must love this. We will never attract people to Christ, when we who call ourselves by His name, sit around and complain. Why would I want to be Christian? You are just as miserable in life as I am. Satan must love this. In ALL things, we are to not complain according to scripture. God loves the praise of His people. Satan loves the complaining of God’s people. It turns others off from Christ. Let’s all work on being more praising, and less complaining.

Thank God, that because of Jesus Christ, children are not cursed to eternal punishment because of ungodly parents. However, that does not meant that children do not suffer because of what parents do, or don’t do, while raising them. In effect, the multiple scriptures relating to curses upon our children and our children’s children because of parental behavior, is a precept that is still carried out by a just God. In this sinful world, there are children who suffer the consequences of their parents actions.

It doesn’t have to be something as major as growing up in an alcoholic, abusive home. It can be a child who grows up in a home where there is no affection. Where there is little love shown. It can be a home where a child feels rejected by one of the parents. This can happen through divorce. It can happen when one parent favors one child over another. A dad who gravitates to a son who plays sports because he likes sports, can leave a mark on the heart of his other son who is more into music. This perceived rejection can cause shame. This young man might grow up and live out a script of a shame based identity. This will cause multiple problems for him in different areas of life. Maybe he uses drugs. Maybe he has bad relationships with females. But when a dad isn’t there for his kids, he dumps a curse upon them. They have to overcome things in their heart. A dad or mom who doesn’t teach their children at home about Jesus, scripture and how to live for the Lord, leave an empty vessel in the heart of their kids. That is tantamount to a curse upon them. They can be filled with Christ, praise God. But they also are much more vulnerable to going the way of the world.

A dad or mom who shows anger all the time; pass this attitude on to their kids. This can be the equivalent to a generational curse. These kids will grow up and show the same kind of anger in all of their relationships as well. Then the children’s children will do the same thing. We will have multiple generations of messed up families. It is a vicious cycle that you could break within your own family with God’s help.

You should have the courage to care about your kids and take action to demonstrate the ways of the Lord to them. Don’t raise them in church. Raise them to totally live for Jesus. They then will gravitate to church. Help them not to just have head knowledge of scripture. Have them learn how to apply it in their life. How to live it out. How to embrace scripture as valuable and beneficial to their life. The greatest way to accomplish this is for your children to see you live out scripture. They are much more likely to follow parents who have a real, authentic love for Christ.

Passivity is cursing our children. You know what you are suppose to do. But you just don’t get around to doing it. We are too busy. We have too much other stuff going on.

You fail to teach a son how to be a real man of God, and he suffers his whole life because of it. You fail to teach a daughter what it means to be a receiver of true unconditional love, and she is affected her whole life by this failure on your part.

Attitudes are caught, more than they are taught. You can teach your kids right from wrong. You can take them to church every Sunday. But the greatest lasting impact on right living for your children will come when they see you live out your life for the glory of the Lord. How sad that so many children are burdened and cursed so young in life because of the actions of their parents.

A child that grows up in an alcoholic home suffers some major mental, emotional and spiritual consequences. It does not mean that this child can not grow on to become a wonderful, holy, healthy individual saved by the blood of Jesus. It does mean that they have to overcome some things. Conversely, if a child grows up in a spirit-filled home, it does not guarantee that they will follow the Lord as adults. It means that the parents fulfilled their Godly role, and these kids have been given what it takes to be successful in life for the Lord. They will still make their own choices. They can choose to follow Satan because he is powerful. Or they can follow Christ. But they don’t start out in life with a minus 10 points.

Although our kids can overcome anything with Christ ( Romans 8:37), wouldn’t it be great if they didn’t have to? Doesn’t it enhance your child’s life to start out as an adult and not have to overcome something that you failed to demonstrate to them. In Jeremiah 32:18 it states, “ Thou shewest lovingkindness unto thousands and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosoms of their children after them: the Great, the Mighty God, the Lord of hosts, is his name.” Recompensest into the bosom means in our language today, to “ dump into their laps”. The sins of the parents pour problems into the laps of their children. Just remember Achan Read Joshua 7:24,25. Today, people are not taken out and killed because of their father’s sins. But our children still suffer because of what we do or don’t’ do. Stop being a passive parent and show your kids Jesus!

This is the concluding article in this series. I hope it helps you to prepare your child for the upcoming school year. The first two articles were preparing your child to be spiritually ready for back to school. This is of paramount and grave importance in the life of a Christian family. The articles discussed respect for others, authority and parents. It also discussed teaching your kids to be defenders of the faith and how to respond biblically to their school year. The 3rd article was preparing your child physically for back to school.

How to dress, what to eat and how much sleep is needed. Article four will deal with helping your child get ready emotionally.

The biggest mistake parents make in this area, is assuming their child is approaching the upcoming school year with the same perspective that the parent has. They are not. They are not adults. They do no think like an adult, nor can they grasp future events, and abstractions like an adult. You need to talk at every family meeting each week about questions they have in school. Young children need more of these discussions than older teens. But even teens need to talk. I sensed the anxiety my daughter felt as she went off to middle school, and later high school. I told her one night, “ It is kind of scary for me to see you go off to that big of a school.” She replied, “ Yow, and I am scared too. I don’t know what I am suppose to do.” Older kids fear rejection from peers. They fear being stupid at this grade level. You need to discuss their fears and just let them vent. It helps reduce stress and anxiety levels. Younger children usually face separation anxiety. Communication is the key to your children adjusting to the new school year regardless of their age. Don’t assume that everything is okay, and they can’t wait for school to begin. You may be ready for school to start back, but they are filled with questions and concerns.

Pray for their day. It really helps a child emotionally if you pray each night before bed for their day tomorrow. Then, always say a quick prayer as they go out the door. Your kids will want to come home if they left out on a prayer. They may not be so ready if they left out on a scream. No matter how hectic the morning is; always find a moment to bring it all under the authority of God and speak peace to your child’s heart in prayer.

Philippians 4:6.

Get ready the night before. There is no need for all the hullabaloo in the morning. As much of the grooming as possible can be done the night before. Only leave things like brushing teeth and combing hair for morning. Always lay out clothes the night before. If there is going to be a meltdown over clothes, better to have it at night than right before school. Arguments before school leave the child frustrated through 3rd period. This hurts their learning. Chores can be moved to after school rather than before school if you have a dawdler or procrastinator. No need in having a mad dash every morning to get things done. Even if your child has no major problems in picking out clothes, go ahead and do it the night before. That way you won’t hear in the morning, “Mom, I have no clean socks to wear”. Find all of that the night before.

There are many kids that have high needs. You can skip this section if you don’t understand what I am saying here. Parents with high needs kids know exactly what I am talking about. You have to love them unconditionally, but they do require more intensity of parenting. These kids are going to exhibit out-of-control behavior every single school year at the start. Don’t panic. Don’t up their medication. Calm down. A change in routine always creates this. Help them as much as possible to have routine in their life. Help them realize it is okay to feel like they don’t understand the subject at the first of the year. It takes time to re-start the ole brain. Keep the lines of communication open with your teachers. Ask your child what is causing them problems or anxiety, and discuss this with the teachers. I said discuss it, not demand it. Give them a back rub at night. A hot shower. Talk it out. Try some special plans on the weekend like going to a ball game or favorite restaurant. It gives them hope and something to look forward to during these horrible school days. Organization in spirals, writing assignments down etc… all go towards bringing stability to a kid who thrives on routine. Help them achieve this.

Finally, for all kids. Love them unconditionally. You do have to discipline them. But also make sure your kids know that when they come home, they are coming home to a place where love lives. They will always want to come home if they know for a fact that, even though we argue and I get whippings or grounded, my parents do really love me. They shouldn’t have to guess. You should tell them and show them. This is the greatest way to help them emotionally and psychologically. God’s speed to you.

In the first two articles in this series, we looked at getting your children ready to be defenders of their faith and warriors for Christ in the school. Spiritually prepared to go back to school is paramount in our hearts as Christian parents. Now I will look at some suggestions to help your kids be ready from the physical perspective.

1) Sleep. Each child is unique. Just like adults. Not every adult needs the same amount of sleep as others. However, generally speaking, adults need about 8 hours of sleep a night to function properly, and to give their body adequate rest. Deviating very far from this causes all kinds of health problems. So it is with your children. However, they require even more sleep. Their bodies are growing rapidly. They are very active. Many behavioral problems that kids experience can be traced to a lack of adequate sleep. The first thing to understand is forming a habit. Get your children into the habit of going to bed at the same time every night. It doesn’t matter if they are sleepy. There is a time when they must lay down and be still. It takes some kids longer than others, but all will learn as a natural bodily function.

I had two kids that hated to sleep. You are blessed if you have kids that don’t mind to sleep. However, even if you have high energy level kids, they too can learn to wind down and go to bed. Failure in this area is usually a reflection on the parent not being strong enough to be the parental authority, but instead chooses to bend to the whims of their child. This is not good. Get them into a night time routine. Brushing teeth, dressing, bible study, prayer time etc… This is the calming down period. Avoid caffeine. Avoid stimulating video games. About an hour before bed time is the time we need to “simmer down”. Start a gradual slow down. Young children and teens need lots of sleep. Teens need 8 to 9 hours of sleep each night. Elementary kids need 9 to 11 hours of sleep at night. A young child that has to get up at 7 a.m., probably needs to hit the bed around 8 p.m. Middle school needs to go about 9 p.m. Teens can stay up until 10 p.m. provided that they are not getting up too early for bus rides or sports practice. Earlier to bed if this is true. You may balk at this, but this is why so many kids are whiny, irritable, angry and perform less than they are capable of on test. They are simply tired.

2) Eating. Wow, this plays such a critical role in your child’s behavior. Watch for food allergies. If there is any question, take them to a doctor. Get on line and see what nutritionist suggest for age specific eating. My son hated breakfast. But we forced him to eat some thing. He wasn’t forced to over eat, or eat a big meal. But there had to be some protein and carbs. While this was a hassle, he learned it was going to happen. Be sure your kids have after school snacks as well. They generally are starved when coming home.

Some kids with things like ADD, ADHD, ODD have hyper sensitive taste buds. The feel of bread drives them crazy for example. So, don’t insist that they eat bread all the time. Find out what they do tolerate and prepare that. I am however, not suggesting that you let your kids tell you they want cookies, doughnuts and sugary drinks, and then you give it to them because you can’t discipline your child. You have to strike a balance. All of you health conscious parents out there also have to realize that it is okay for your kids to live a little with some fun snacks in moderation. I don’t mean to the point of obesity. But come on. Give the kid a break. Sugar cookies after school with milk is a sweet memory on occasion. A brownie in a lunch bag is a special treat. For you parents that only give your kids high fat , high carb snacks; you need to try broccoli with dip etc… Soft drinks should always be greatly limited in your child’s life.

3) Preparing your child physically for school means appearance and dress. I Timothy 2:9 is all I have to say about how young Christian ladies should dress for school. You don’t have to listen to me. Just read the word of God. It is okay for your children to dress fashionable. You shouldn’t go into debt to make sure they have all the designer name brands. That is a bad lesson to teach your children. They will grow up and be consumed with materialism. However, let them dress in modesty, moderation and in style. It can be done. My daughter always dressed fashionably for school, but she never went to school looking like a prostitute. Most girls today in public schools do. Teach your kids that we are different. There are many, many scriptures related to the body, lusting, and that our bodies should not be completely revealed for the world. Teach your kids they have far more worth than physical appearance and dress. They are royalty.

Other kids may not have the standards that you do. We are to be examples of a transformed life. We are to not conform to the world. Do a family devotion on Romans 12:1,2. Follow that up with II Timothy 2:22.