Kira and I have asked a handful of godly women that have come alongside us in our own lives to share their wisdom with all of you over the next few months. We pray God use these women's words to encourage others in the discipleship of their families and ultimately bring glory to Himself.
Our first submission comes from a dear family friend, she is a co-discipler with her husband and homeschool mother to five - now grown adults. Here are her words...
As a mother of five children, all Home Educated, the top three pieces of advice that I would love to share with younger moms/parents would be...
1. Unity between Spouses - I cannot express enough the importance of mom and dad living out their Christian faith before their children in humility & unity. Your children will learn way more by watching your example, then they ever will from textbooks. Be assured that they know a hypocrite when they see or hear one. If mom and dad are “divided” IE: Continually at odds with each other, you can expect to “reap” division in your home.
2. Character vs. Academics - The window of opportunity that you have to disciple/train your children is small. Teaching them things that have eternal value far outweigh earthly knowledge and worldly wisdom. Prioritize raising boys and girls to become young men and women of valor and virtue. Teach them their biblical roles according to scripture and assign them duties accordingly.
3. Be Deliberate and Consistent - At first breath, you have a little disciple on your hands. Pray over & sing over that baby! Deliberately and consistently read scripture to your children and create an atmosphere of worship in your home. Develop realistic routines that you can stick to. “Quality” of time is way more important than “quantity” of time but consistency is a must. As your little ones get older, you will find that you can have and enjoy both quality and more quantity time of focused homeschooling and worship. Be consistent in the discipline of your children as much as possible by the grace of God. You want to raise children that are “Blessings” not “Burdens”.
We hope that this bit of wisdom encouraged you, if you'd like to read other posts from this series - just search for "Wise Women".
Alongside You,
Kira & Kenzie