This semester Pastor Donna, Steph Alksne (parent volunteer) and I, have been privileged to run a parenting course for parents of High School students. We have really enjoyed sharing together and learning from each other.

Although my boys are in their early 20s, we never stop learning from each other and though we did have some challenging times, now we are best mates. No one has challenged me more or helped me grow more in my own Christian life than my boys. It’s worth the hard yards folks, trust me!

Recent sessions have challenged us all about what deposits we are putting into our family’s personal internal bank accounts. I am not referring to paying off debt, but I am referring to us all using great attitudes, words and actions that allow each individual’s hearts to internally smile. If our own “love tanks” are empty from never earning praise, encouragement or appreciation from those we love, then when we try to draw on something deep to help us get through the challenging and confronting issues of life, then we can often find ourselves empty, not knowing how to respond. This can often produce a negative response.

Therefore I encourage us all to take time to think about how we have spoken to each member of our family lately. Have we been building them up or tearing them apart? Ephesians 4:29 says “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”  Another suggestion would be to pray each day for your kids. Pray that your attitude would display Christ’s love towards others in all you say and do. Ask your kids to pray for you and even forgive you if you have done anything wrong by them. Prayer works and has an amazing way of softening hearts and joining them back together again.  

I hope and pray that you will continue to deposit great memories, thoughts, words and experiences that will produce a harvest of long-lasting, fun memories that ultimately produce close strong families that are filled with what is most important, love.

Shine on folks.

Pastor Rob and the Pastoral team.