Yesterday I traveled with my two sons from our home to a church 2 hours away for an informational meeting before going on a mission trip to Costa Rica the end of May (God willing).  The time we spent on the road was a high point of my year… let me explain.

I sat in the back seat (By choice) as we followed the Sunday rule in the Ethridge family… “No Secular On Sunday.”  That meant the whole way I enjoyed listening to my boys (Age 20 and 17) sing worship songs and talk about their faith.   They talked about how excited they were to worship at the church we are going on the mission trip with (CrossPoint Church in Argo, AL).  They talked about going on the trip also, but by far the greatest majority of time was spent listening to them sing song after song after song that exalted God and glorified Jesus.

Both of my sons have regular quiet times reading the Scripture (Without prompting from me).  Trey has a group of 8th grade boys he is discipling (Click).  Britton has a friend with whom he reads and discusses Scripture weekly (Click).  My daughter Amy and her boyfriend are in church each Sunday in Auburn and are seeking God’s will for their life.

Those are blessings that only come from God Himself!

Dr. David Jeremiah said, “Parents take too much blame… and too much credit… for how their children turn out.”  I agree.  I am thankful to God that (To this point) all three of my children love God the way they do, AND that they have a level of spiritual discernment that I am thankful God has given them.

When it comes to parenting, I’ve come to a few conclusions:

Model the life you want your children to live the best you can.

Use all of life to teach your children to love God and honor Him (Taking them to church on Sunday isn’t enough).

Talk with your children daily about Jesus, Biblical Truth, and Christian morality.

Don’t be a Pharisee (Legalist).  Explain why certain behaviors honor God and others don’t.

Pray for your children regularly… then trust God!