We are looking forward to the Empowered to Connect Conference this weekend and so I have been thinking a lot about Godly homes and how this God ordained institution is so crucial to the well being of our society.
The home is not only meant to be a place where mom and dad can get rested up for another work day. The home was intended to be a place where peace reigns. An environment where our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual can grow and develop into the healthy, whole person that God intended us to be.
Psalm 127:3 says that “Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him”. The children that have been placed in our lives are the most valuable asset on earth. Does the level of sacrifice and energy that we are willing to pour into these young souls reflect this value? Are we proactively looking for ways to prepare them for the journey that God has in store for them? It is better to prepare the child for the path, than to prepare the path for the child.
One of the ways that we can prepare our children for life is to be aware of the emotional cup that each child has, and his need for that cup to be filled with affection, love, security, and attention. Some children seem to have a full emotional cup most of the time or know good ways to get a refill. But most children get a little nervous when their cup gets near empty.
Here are some ways that children deal with having an empty cup:
· Steal from other people’s cups
· Misbehave to get your attention and show that they need a refill
· Seem to have bottomless cups, or need constant “topping off”
· Can’t sit still for refills or actively refuse them
· Bounce off the walls when they approach empty
· Think they must fight or compete for every refill
What fills a child’s cup?
· Play
· Friendship
· One on one time
· Love and affection
· Connection with you or a mentor
· Accomplishment or Succeeding at something
· Doing what they love to do or what they choose to do
What empties a child’s cup?
· Stress and strain
· Rejection by peers
· Loneliness and isolation
· Yelling and punishment
· Failing
· Fatigue
· Doing what they’re forced to do or they hate to do
You may be questioning how this applies to you, but I would challenge each one of you to find a child that you can impact in some way. It may be a grandchild, a niece or nephew, a neighbor child that comes over from time to time, or maybe there is a young family at church that you would like to “adopt”. This is an amazing and rewarding ministry to devote yourself to. I’m sure you will never regret the time and resources you choose to invest in a young soul.
I am looking forward to gleaning a lot of powerful truths from the speakers at this conference. I will plan on sending out some high points next week.
Blessings on your week!
Phil