Do you agree or disagree with the thought that some of the pain we parents cause our children is due to the unresolved pain we still carry from our own childhoods?

One important but often missing piece when it comes to guarding our hearts is finding/creating relationships in which our hearts are not on guard. Hearts can get hardened when they never have a place to take off their armor.

What really matters is whether our kids feel our interest without feeling our agenda. Kids are good at sensing when connection is a strategy. When curiosity is a technique. When warmth has a goal attached to it. We all want our kids to be open to and with us. They don’t open up because we said the right thing. They open up because they felt genuinely seen. No correction waiting on the other side. No agenda. Just — I want to know you. It’s such a hard part of parenting. And also extremely important.

What does it mean for you to finish well? For me, I want to be loved most by those who know me best. In other words, I want the right people to love me. On the other hand, I also want the right people to hate me. If I live authentically, and honestly, there will always be people who don’t understand, and even lean towards hatred. Luke 6:26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you… So how would you describe finishing well for you?

The spirit of Elijah turns the hearts of parents to children and the hearts of children to their parents, preventing a curse on the earth. (Mal 4:5-6) In other words, the condition of our families directly impacts the condition of the world. This could be one of the most important portions of scripture, because of what it means for our planet. The best part is that God sends us this spirit, He turns our hearts. This isn’t God telling us what we need to work out on our own and change, but what He intends to help with. What He intends to lead us into. It’s not all up to us, but simply our partnership with/submission to His direction. I received an incredible testimony the other day from an adult son, who partnered with God in this way, and his own relationship is being restored with his father, which in turn, can influence his relationships with his own children. I’ll tell you more about that later, as well as our next course coming up for parents. A course that is deeply inspired by God to heal families and the world. In the meantime, who of us here desires the spirit to affect our homes?