Calvary Church

As I have been preparing for the sermon series we are doing during May called “Family of Faith”, I have been struck again with the fact that of all the responsibilities we are given on earth, there is none as important as raising children. I say this now as a Grandparent looking back at the years of parenting our three kids. Parenting each of our kids was such a privilege, but, “wow” it was also hard work. Each of our children had their own personality, temperament, interests and abilities, and our parenting had to recognize these differences and make the adjustments to each one. I read everything Dr. Dobson ever wrote. There were many times when I felt like I was fumbling the ball. I know I did not pass on to the kids a model of “perfect parenting” – far from it. But, looking back, I do believe the most valuable thing I was able to pass on to the kids, next to faith in Christ, was a personal relationship built with each of them that carried us through the times of testing, and remains strong to this day. One of the supreme joys of my life is spending one on one times with my kids, though now those times are not able to be as frequent as I or they would like them to be. As we go into this series, we will be emphasizing such things as building a personal relationship with your child, laying the foundation for passing faith on to your child, surrounding your child with positive influences outside the home, passing on the blessing of God by affirming your child, setting boundaries, creating a nurturing environment in your home, and working through the struggles of healthy discipline when the boundaries are tested. We are so blessed as a congregation with wonderful families. It is our goal that the Lord will enable us to empower parents for most important responsibility of raising their children.