Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / How to Guard our Children's Hearts (and our own!) w/ Melissa McLaughlin + Book Giveaway!

Transcript

How to Guard our Children's Hearts (and our own!) w/ Melissa McLaughlin + Book Giveaway! · 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids.

• 0:01
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to another episode of the Five Minute Parenting Podcast.
• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Karen Ferguson, wife, mom, grandmom, and children's book author with a background in K-8 education and a passion for equipping parents to raise confident and God-confident kids.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: In this podcast, we'll cover parenting practices for both a practical view and a biblical view.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_00: Our goal is to help you raise kids with a positive, godly self-image so they can become all they were created to be.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I know you're busy, so we'll keep it short.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Let's take just five minutes and dive in.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome back to another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Karen, your show host, and today I have the pleasure of talking with Melissa McLaughlin, who'll share tips and tools for guarding our hearts as parents and our kids' hearts.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Melissa is a teacher and writer.
• 0:55
  SPEAKER_00: She loves encouraging others through her faith and words.
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: Having retired from her 28-year career as a public school teacher, she now writes and speaks about her passion, Jesus Christ.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Melissa holds bachelor's degrees, elementary education and special education, and a master's degree as a reading specialist.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: She also earned a certificate in Foundations of Biblical Studies, which complements her teaching degrees as she writes to uplift and inspire followers of Christ.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: God inspired Melissa to write her second book, The Whole Bible Devotional, Seeing Jesus in Every Book of the Bible.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: Her goal with this book is to help others with today's busy lifestyles grasp the Bible's main message and see Jesus throughout the scriptures.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_01: Melissa, welcome to the show.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for having me.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_01: I'm excited to be here.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, I'm so glad to have you.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: You know, and I have your book right here.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: I've really enjoyed it.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: You know, it's a great, uh, a great tool for individual study and for family devotions.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: And the prayers are absolutely beautiful.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's loaded with scripture, of course, which I love.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: And it really helps to see the big picture of God's character and his plan of redemption in every book of the Bible.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So it's been a pleasure to read it.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: And I want to thank you because you've agreed to do a giveaway just for our listeners for that book.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you for that.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_00: You're welcome.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: You bet.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: So, listeners, be sure to check the show notes for links to a special giveaway for Melissa's whole whole Bible devotional.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: And again, thank you for being here.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: I know that you have some tips and tools for parents, um, and you're going to share a little bit about your book.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm just going to let you jump right in.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 2:40
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Karen.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_01: And welcome and thank you for listening to anyone who is listening today.
• 2:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I'm sharing some tips for parents based on my years, both as a school teacher, public school teacher, and also now as a Christian writer.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but just a little bit of background.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: I was raised in a Christian home, grew up in a Christian home in the beautiful hills of Pennsylvania with loving parents.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, grew up loving the Lord, following the Lord.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, certainly peaks and valleys like anyone else.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but I've always loved the Bible and just getting to know the Lord through the Bible.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: And um following some struggles with trying to help my own children um read through the Bible together, that really was um the catalyst or how God planted a seed from that kind of low point to be able to write the whole Bible devotional, to be a help to individuals, adults, and families who would like to um know Christ better through his word.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_01: So I just wanted to share a little bit about that just from the personal level.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_01: And then the thoughts that I have for parents have to do with guarding both our own hearts and guarding our children's hearts, and that comes from Proverbs 423.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_01: Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: And one of the ways that I feel we begin is simply by guarding your child with God's love.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that can be at any age.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_01: So, as much as possible, we want to make it a priority to go to church together, eat meals together, play together, read and sing together, celebrate things together, and just take the time to do what brings laughter and love, um, just connecting our hearts more and more with the love of God in our in our families and in our homes and in our relationships.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: The second is to really guard our child's spirit with prayer.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I would recommend to teach your children simple prayers.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: And this can be at any age, from the youngest age to college age, young adults, any age.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: And that's some things just sit learning to say thank you, God, for this new day.
• 4:57
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for your love, you know, thank you for shelter and food and clothing.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, thank you for my family.
• 5:05
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you for the blood of Jesus which was shed for my sins on the cross, so that I am now washed clean and part of your family.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: Just simple things to say thank you, God, um, every day.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_01: And then I would encourage families to say the Lord's Prayer once weekly.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: And that helps really plant a seed in your child's heart, a prayer that can always be remembered.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we run into moments where we feel like we've run out of words to pray.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: And that's when we can use prayers like the Lord's Prayer, which Jesus taught.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if we've really planted that in our our children's hearts from a young age as much as possible.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: I encourage parents to pray out loud when there are reasons to rejoice.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: And it can be little things like, oh, those look at that beautiful, you know, daffodil that's blooming.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_01: God, thank you for the daffodils.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_01: Or if there's a something, a reason that a child might be scared or sad, maybe there's a big storm outside, or your child isn't feeling well, it can just be a simple prayer.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, God, um, give us your peace at this time, or God, bring please bring healing for my child, so that your children are hearing you, leaning on God in the good times and in the tough times, so that then when tough times come, it will it will seem natural to call out to God.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_01: And these don't have to be lengthy prayers, they really can be very simple from the heart, one to two sentence prayers.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_01: Another suggestion would be to guard your child's mind with God's word.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I really encourage families to try to read the Bible every day with your children and to keep it very, very simple.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_01: It can be one verse, just one verse that you say, and then they repeat that verse at bedtime.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_01: One suggestion might be to recite one verse from Psalm 23, one verse, the same verse each day for a whole week.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: And then week two, move on to the second verse of Psalm 23, and so on, until you get to the end.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_01: And this could take several weeks until you have then, you know, said those verses, and now you can say Psalm 23, the whole Psalm 23 from beginning to end as part of your regular Bible reading or just bedtime saying scriptures together.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I encourage parents to have regular bedtime Bible reading.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: So that really means looking for a children's Bible that really matches the level of your child.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_01: So when they're very young, it may be mostly pictures with just a few simple words like God is our creator, God is good.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, and mostly pictures.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: And then as your child grows, try to find Bibles that match where they're really at.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and again, keeping that really, really short so that the key would be to keep it short, but done daily, because that would be more important than trying to have a once-a-week Bible cramming session with our kids.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_01: So just one verse a day, every day, uh, for as many days as possible, no matter what age.
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_01: If you're a parent with young children, you can read this to your infant, you know, and and those words are getting soaked into your own soul and your child's soul.
• 8:18
  SPEAKER_01: And if your children are older and you're you're wanting to start some new family on, you know, habits and traditions, it's not, it's never too late to start.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but again, the key, I think, is keeping it short and keeping it meaningful to the level that your children, you that your children are at.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um another way to guard your your heart and your child's heart is to really guard the family's schedule, protecting your time with your child.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_01: And when it comes to activities, even church activities, less is more.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: And we know that even Jesus stepped away from ministering to the crowds so that he could have time alone with his heavenly father.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: And our children need time alone with their mothers and fathers, they need that um quality time and they also need that quantity time, just being together.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_01: So guard your schedule, be really mindful of that.
• 9:14
  SPEAKER_01: I heard a quote recently, and that was that if the devil cannot tempt you to sin, he will tempt you to be busy.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: Oh I think that is really important to remember that it's not that our Christian existence is not about being busy and doing, doing, doing.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_01: It's about resting and walking with the Lord and in at his pace and his timing, and we're leading our children to walk with the Lord in that same way.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_01: Another suggestion for guarding our hearts is of course guarding screen time.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that includes not just phones, but also like kids' electronic gaming devices, computers, TV, anything that has a screen.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 9:59
  SPEAKER_01: Because we really want to teach our children to limit our virtual life so that we can actually enjoy real life.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say that one of an important way to do that is just to make sure that children are having fun with you as the parent when they're not on their screens.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_01: And that doesn't have to involve a lot of money.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: It doesn't have to be complicated, it can be simple things like choosing to play a board game after dinner instead of watching a TV show.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you might enjoy picking up a canister of Legos and building a character or a scene together rather than playing a video game.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um you can make a point of calling grandparents or aunts or uncles or loved ones and talk on the phone once a week rather than texting or emailing.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I simple things like go for a walk and keep a list of all the plants or the animals or birds or flowers that you see along the way.
• 10:56
  SPEAKER_01: It can be driving to your favorite park and just playing, getting markers, crayons, paints, and creating um something at the table together on paper, building a fort with furniture and blankets and climbing inside to read with a flashlight.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: None of these things that I've just described really cost a lot of money.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: But what it does require is the parent to actually put down their phone and their device and spend time with their kids.
• 11:23
  SPEAKER_01: And the kids would always much rather spend time with their parents than do those virtual activities if the parent is truly engaged with them.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: And it's really a key way of guarding our hearts is you know, really checking how much we're allowing the screens to hold our attention and distract us from what's really going on and the people who are around us.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_01: Sometimes we're so busy engaging with people who are hundreds of miles away from us that we're ignoring the people that are two feet away from us in the room.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: And we really want to guard against that.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um then I just think that what's so wonderful is that as we're trying to guard our own child's heart for the Lord, we're guarding our own hearts at the same time.
• 12:09
  SPEAKER_01: And we're really nurturing deeper, deeper bonds of love in our in our family relationships, in our home, and helping our children experience the love of God through the love of their parents.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_01: So those are my simple suggestions for guarding your own heart and guarding your child's heart that I hope are helpful to people.
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_01: And a lot of it is things that we already know, but sometimes we just need those reminders.
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, I need to make this the priority and really be aware of how um how easy it is to just, you know, kind of slip away or fall into habits that are not as nurturing to our souls, to our relationships, and to our time with the Lord.
• 12:53
  SPEAKER_00: No, these are these are fantastic reminders and ideas.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I know for many people they will be new, and for others, it will be a good reminder because it is easy to get out of those habits sometimes as we go about our busy days.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you, Melissa.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know that these will bless many families, and it's been a pleasure to have you here.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now we're gonna have your website in the show notes, but for those listening right now, where is the best place to find you online?
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_01: It would be on my uh, it would be on my blog.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_01: That's where you can read other posts.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_01: I have um a contact page there so people can email me directly if they have a prayer request or a question.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I can contact you personally that way.
• 13:34
  SPEAKER_01: People are also welcome to email me directly at Melissa at Melissamaglachlin.org.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_01: And you can also find me on social media as well.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, wonderful.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I just I recommend parents uh and grandparents you check out her book, The Whole Bible Devotional.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: It would be a wonderful tool to add to your family devotions and to add to your individual devotions as well.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, listeners, be sure to check the show notes because we will have links to Melissa's website, to her books, and for information about the book giveaway.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_00: She's going to be giving away one of one ebook of the whole Bible devotional.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: So be sure to check that out and share this episode with a parent you want to encourage.
• 14:16
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's it for today.
• 14:18
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you for joining us, and we will uh see you next week and have a blessed week.