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Last time, we started talking about what it looks like to love our kids well, and part of loving them well is meeting the needs they have. In her book, A Confident Mom, Simple Ways to Give Your Child What They Need Most, Renee Swope identities several needs all kids have, and one of those needs is to feel known, understood, and completely accepted for who they are. We were reminded of how intentional God was when He created each of our kids and how He gave our kids qualities that are unique just to them. These qualities that make our child unique are to be valued and celebrated, and it’s important to know, understand and accept our kids for who God created them to be. Another need our kids have is to feel loved and pursued. This one is so important. For our kids to go through this life well, they need to believe without a doubt that they are loved. We looked at the Five Love Languages of Physical Touch, Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Gifts, and Acts of Service and were reminded that it is important to be communicating all of these love languages to our children. The reasoning behind this is that it can be difficult to identify the primary love language of our child much before the age of five, but it is also important that our children observe us modeling how to communicate love to others in different ways. This will help them understand how to love others whose love language may be different from their own.  Today, I want to talk about some other needs that our kids have. The first, is that character matters. Character is defined as the mental and moral qualities distinctive to an individual, and is built over time…

If I were to ask you, what it looks like to love your kids well, what would you say? Some of you might say that providing food, clothing, and a safe home shows your kids that you love them. Some of you might say spending quality time together as a family or speaking words of affirmation over your kids are ways you can show them they are loved. Today, I want to talk about some specific areas that we can focus on that will help us love our kids well.  In her book, A Confident Mom, Simple Ways To Give Your Child What They Need Most,  Renee Swope shares different needs that all children have. She offers practical tips on how to meet those needs while also building Godly characteristics within our children. She says, “We can develop the gold of God's character in our children's hearts by offering them the ingredients of encouraging words, God's Word, and an emphasis on character in an environment of acceptance, approval, affirmation, and unconditional love under the conditions of heart connection, belonging, affirmation, listening, quality time, patience, awareness, an accurate portrayal of God's goodness and grace, fun and loving biblical discipline, the power of apology, and forgiveness.” By providing the right ingredients in the right environment under the right conditions, we can love our kids exactly as God has called us. So what are some of these needs that our kids have? One need your child has is to feel known, understood and completely accepted for who he is. We are reminded in the book of Psalm, that each of our children were carefully and uniquely created exactly as God intended.  “For You shaped [my child], inside and out. You knitted [my child] together in my [own] womb long before [he] took [his]…

It’s been over twenty years, but I can still remember so clearly the shock I felt at my husband’s words. “Let’s go down to the beach.” Now, you may be asking yourself what is so shocking about that statement. Let me give you a little background.  Newlyweds for less than a week, my husband and I were on our honeymoon in Myrtle Beach. On this particular day, we left the beach earlier than normal and returned to our rental house. Storms had begun forming all around us and having been struck by lighting already once in my life, I was not eager for a repeat experience. Upon returning to our rental, my husband jumped in the shower, and I turned on the tv just in time to see a local weather alert come across the screen. Several counties in the area were under a tornado warning, and the weather anchor was encouraging people to take cover immediately. Glancing around the mobile home that was home sweet home for us that week, I could feel my panic start to rise. If we were indeed in the path of this storm, I had no idea where we would take cover. We were in the middle of a sea of mobile homes with no basements in which we could take shelter. I called into my husband, who was still in shower, and asked the name of the county in which we staying. His answer confirmed for me that we were one of the counties included in the warning and in the direct path of this storm. Trying to control my now racing heart, I told him we were under a tornado warning and were being encouraged to take cover. His response caught me completely off guard. He suggested we go down to the…