Latest / 5–Minute Parenting: Tips to Help You Raise Competent, Godly Kids. / How to Help Kids Develop a Mission's Heart for the Lost w/ Special Guest DeAnna Sanders

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How to Help Kids Develop a Mission's Heart for the Lost w/ Special Guest DeAnna Sanders · 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-A education and a passion for equipping parents to raise confident and God-confident kids.
• 0:18
  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 and 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 Five Minute Parenting, tips to help you raise competent and God-confident kids.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: Today I have the pleasure of talking with a fellow Ambassador International Author, Deanna Sanders, about how to help our kids develop a mission's heart for the lost.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_00: Deanna is an award-winning author and writer who seeks to inspire her readers to sharpen their focus on undervalued unseen people locally and globally.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: Her writing life includes her weekly Substack newsletter, A Good Word Wednesday, and her award-winning book, Unseen People, Sharing Light and Life with Your Neighbors and Nations.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: Deanna lives in Oklahoma with her husband and two Fox Red Labradors.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_00: Deanna, welcome to the show.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much, Karen.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: I appreciate you inviting me.
• 1:26
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yes, it's always great to connect with another ambassador author.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: And I just want to say I had the pleasure of reading your book.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's a fantastic read, uh, great encouragement to see people and step out of our comfort zones.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: And it's clear, you know, reading through the book that this topic of missions is near and dear to your heart.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: You've traveled the world to unseen locations for many years, and you served as a missions minister for your church.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I just want to dive right in on this topic with a question.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Why is it important to teach and involve our children in missions?
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I think it's if you start when they're young, when they're little, uh it develops within them a heart for their whole life to see the world the way Jesus sees the world is the way that he sees all people.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and and we live in such a self-focused world that we're always on our phones or some device that helping children when they're young to develop an outward vision uh gets them away from being so self-centered and self-focused, and we all need that.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_01: So when it starts, starts in the home.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's a good point.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 2:35
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Deanna, you wrote in your book, my parents instilled in me a love for all people of the world, for my daddy as he preached about the Great Commission, and for my mama as she shared about missionaries around the world and her women's group that often met in our home.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_00: Please share a little bit more about that.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think I remember because I'm a preacher's kid.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I remember my my daddy had such a heart for people of the world, and it came through in his sermons.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_01: And of course, you know, John 3.16, you know, God loved all people of all the world.
• 3:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I just remember him saying that and repeating that.
• 3:10
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then I saw him do it.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then with my mom, yeah, she was uh uh back in the day we'd have women's mission groups meet in homes, and I remember that in one of the parsonages we lived in, and she was talking about different people.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I think at that point, if she was talking about people in Africa, and I remember hearing those stories, just listening in, and I thought, wow, uh, this is you know, a little girl in this living in the south of the United States, but God cares about people all over the world, and we need to do that too.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_01: And so it came from from both parents from the kind of a mission education standpoint from my mom and from the the practical, biblical, theological stance from my dad.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_01: And um, yeah, it just kind of molded me into that person uh from a very early age to see the world a little differently, and I wanted to be a part of that.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's quite a legacy there.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: It is, it is.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Well, for parents listening, you know, wondering what they can do practically to help their children develop a missions lifestyle.
• 4:14
  SPEAKER_00: You talk about learning, praying, giving, and going.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: What sort of tips, you habits, or routines do you recommend to parents?
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, the the learning part of it, of course, you want to get grounded in scripture, all the way from the story of Abraham in Genesis about he was going and didn't know where he was going.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: There's stories from Genesis to Revelation about people of the world.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_01: And so start there always.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_01: Start with scriptures and stories and scriptures uh in your family worship time.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_01: I'd make mission a part of that.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: Um and then I mean, just practical ways is you know, have a have a world map, have a globe, have uh read missionary bios uh together, things like that that you just kind of weave into your natural um way that you do life in your home.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you want you want the kids to see that they're part of something bigger than just right close by.
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_01: But at the same time, and and I also make the point in this in the book that I've been such a goer around the world that sometimes I would forget about right next door.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_01: And those people are just as important as the people on the other side of the world that I've gotten to go see.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: So that that part of me had to develop about seeing people close by.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: And that could be just getting to know the names of people who live in your neighborhood.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: It could be uh helping them wreck their leaves or you know, taking them cookies or whatever.
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um just just being open to people that God puts in your path uh to develop that vision locally as well as globally.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then there's the the praying part.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_01: There's a resource called Window on the World.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_01: It's a book, and it has it's designed for children uh that uh it takes different countries and it has prayer points about how to pray for people in those countries.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's a good resource, window on the world, that that parents can look at and incorporate uh within your home.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_01: Uh different churches, different denominations look at missions in a different way, but that is one resource that kind of uh would be helpful for anyone.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's the the giving part of it, and we we want you know children to develop that habit of giving of their resources to help somebody else.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: And in uh a lot of churches, whenever you give your offering at the church, whether it's in your Sunday school or class, small groups or a big church, whatever, um, that part of that money goes to help missionaries.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um so but but it also you can get involved in some um well-selected nonprofits that need resources, and it's giving your money as well as giving your time to help somebody else in need.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: So find a find a place nearby where you can go and serve with your children and that they can see the needs of other people.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_01: I remember when my kids were little, uh, our our neighborhood didn't have a lot of different uh ethnic people, and we all kind of looked the same.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_01: And I wanted them to realize that that's not the way the world looks.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: So we would go to another location, uh, to a mall or somewhere else in a city nearby, just so that they could see the peoples of the world and they could help understand uh uh that God made all people.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: And so I think that's that's a part of it too.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_01: So uh giving of your time and giving of your resources is important.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: But one thing that I remember doing, especially with my dad when I was little, is our growing up, we would take uh we would go on family mission together.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and that made an impact on me to see um how to serve other people in different locations, as well as he would uh he had a heart for children that uh were in difficult home situations.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember that we kept a few of those uh people when I was just little, and I thought, I wonder what's going on with that person.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_01: But as I got older, I began to understand why you need to be open to people nearby that are in need as well.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and when my kids were little, my we've taken uh several family mission trips together in the states and uh international locations as well, when they got a little older.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_01: So think about that, consider that.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_01: Is that something you can do through your church or do through through another organization that you can go as a family uh to serve other people?
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_01: And uh I think all of those things together, learning and praying and giving and going, as you do that, the kids are going to model what you do.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_01: Very true.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_01: So very true.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: And I know you know that.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: So it's it's important to do that in your in your way that you live your life, and it gets to be a natural part.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_01: One thing I talk about in the book is learn people's names.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_01: There's something about a name that is just so important to you as a person, and that makes you a natural connection.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're going to uh going to a restaurant or whatever, and you have an opportunity in in a natural conversation, get to know who the person is that's serving you.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: And if you especially if you keep going back and back and back to that same location, you build a relationship.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: So you don't have to go around the world, you can just go to a nearby restaurant or or know the cashier when you're checking out at a grocery store, things like that, that you're looking beyond yourself in your own need in that moment in time to reach out to another person and give them value just by repeating their name.
• 9:53
  SPEAKER_01: It's a small thing, but it's a big at the same time.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Well, it is big, and I love that message and that you know, being having that mission's heart and all of your experiences, going out into all the world.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: I love how in your book you really drove that home that we don't have to, you know, it's good to do that, but we can see people right around us.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I think what you mentioned in the beginning for kids, you know, why is it important?
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's true, our society is so self-focused, you know, and so to be able to teach our kids to to look beyond ourselves and to notice people, I think is just so important.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_00: And and just this whole message, it's important for us adults to remember that too, you know, that we don't get stuck in our phones with our heads down, you know.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I it's that's a great message and great advice.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: So Deanna, before we close, please just share a little bit more about your book in general, what inspired you and so forth, and where to find it online.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 10:50
  SPEAKER_01: So this whole book was birthed through many, many years.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: And I had written different um uh newsletters and different things about some of my travels and things that I've learned.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_01: And as I started looking at it, it started taking shape that this is the story that that needed to be told from my childhood to and how that developed like what we're talking about today, to how practically through my adult years.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: I just wanted to put that all in one resource uh that that I could help um somebody else see, like we're talking about today, to be able to see the world through a different lens, um, the lens that Jesus has given us to see all people of the world.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: I just wanted that in one uh one book form.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: And uh yes, it's a legacy to my family, but I think hopefully it will help other people.
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um I have a some free resources on on my website.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_01: There's a uh a study guide that's not included in the book, but it is on my website that you can download for free.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: And it helps walk you through each of those chapters and gives you some scriptures and gives you some prayer thoughts.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_01: So I encourage people uh to to do that.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: Perfect.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we will uh include links to that in the show notes, and just for those listening now, uh, where is the base best place to find you online?
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_01: What is your name?
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_01: Deanna, yeah, Deanna Lynn Sanders.com.
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: So it it's uh yeah, you'll include that in your show notes.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: I know you will.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_01: And it's just that simple.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: And it's got uh a page in there about the book and sp specifically, and it's got uh I think I titled it get the good stuff, which is the free things, and uh, and then an opportunity to sign up for that uh sub stack that you mentioned earlier, uh A Good Word Wednesday.
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's an opportunity to do that on that page as well.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Wonderful.
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Deanna, thank you so much for being here and sharing.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_00: And listeners, thank you for joining us.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to check uh the show notes for links to Deanna's website, check out her book and that study guide.
• 12:56
  SPEAKER_00: I know you will be blessed.
• 12:57
  SPEAKER_00: And then come back next week for another episode of Five Minute Parenting.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Until then, have a blessed week.