I highly recommend this book, Spiritual Parenting: An Awakening for Today’s Families (https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Michelle+Anthony&crid=3AZ25OR4ZKFBE&sprefix=michelle+anthony%2Caps%2C89&ref=nb_sb_noss_1), by Michelle Anthony.
The author talked about the ten environments that we can create for our children to help them grow spiritually:
(1) Storytelling: Help them learn about the Big God Story.
(2) Identify: Help them find his/her identity in Christ.
(3) Faith community: Bring them to church.
(4) Service: Train them to ask this question, “what needs to be done?”
(5) Out of the comfort zone: Challenge them to step out of their comfort zone from an early age.
(6) Responsibility: Teach them to take ownership of their lives, gifts, and resources.
(7) Course correction: Based on Hebrews 12:11-13, practice Biblical discipline to cover (a) a season of pain, (b) an opportunity to build up in love, and (c) a vision of a corrected path with the purpose of healing at its core.
(8) Love and respect: Always show love and respect even when they are still young.
(9) Knowing: Establish a true relationship by knowing God and being known by God.
(10) Modeling: Model in our daily lives including our mistakes.
If we just focus on controlling our child’s outward behavior without the inner transformation, the child may align his/her behavior to receive approvals. We may have moral children, but not spiritual children. Good behavior shall be a by-product of the inner transformation by the Holy Spirit.
The most meaningful and interesting point to me is that we can’t give our children what we don’t have. Do we want our children to be followers of Christ? We shall be followers of Christ. Do we want them to trust and obey God guided by the Holy Spirit? We shall trust and obey God ourselves. This is something that we as Christian parents need to reflect on a daily basis.
