One of the things I’m the most thankful for in standing and serving in The Way Ministry over many decades now has been being able to raise my children in the Word.
While other moms were reading up on the current methods of child raising to steer away from what they were hearing that their own parents did wrong, I was blessed to be learning God’s Word on the subject by way of our ministry’s Christian family class and the Word in Business and Profession Conferences sessions on marriage and raising children. In addition, I had the great opportunity to teach Children’s Fellowship for many years, utilizing material like Teaching God’s Word to Children and Heirs magazines. These resources, along with faithfully attending fellowship and seeking counsel from wonderful believers who were already successful at applying godly principle in their families, helped us teach and train our children with confidence in our method and in what we were teaching.
Our confidence allowed peace to rule in our family as we trusted God throughout the years. We saw God work in countless ways: miraculous healings; protection in danger; so many incidents of perfect timing that we knew were not just coincidence; and not just answered prayer, but answered prayer with amazing “God stories.”
Our children learned of God’s great love and the blessing of living by God’s standard. We could and did say with utter conviction to our children that something was right or wrong because God’s Word said it, regardless of what any other source of information may have said. As they grew, they had confidence in themselves because of who God says they are, and they understood and practiced godly principles like prayer, positive confession, working heartily, giving, serving, and believing. When our kids reached ages of making their own choices, they had a solid background in the instruction and practical application of God’s Word.
Today parents have blogs, chat rooms, podcasts, etc., where they may go to give and seek advice from each other on dealing with the different stages and challenges of raising children. Trends in child psychology are ever changing. I am thrilled to see our granddaughter being raised in the unchanging stability of God’s Word as it is still held forth through the resources available in The Way Ministry.
I think I understand when God says in III John 4, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.” It is such a joy to me to see our next generation take on the responsibility of providing teaching and training in God’s Word with even greater confidence than we knew. It is the reward now for the effort put into raising our children in God’s Word, and I am so grateful that The Way Ministry taught me how.