So God Made a Mother is Here! 🎉
SearchSearch
SearchSearch

Faith

I Want to Raise Children Whose Hearts Belong to Jesus

  • 3  Minute Read
Six siblings standing by a lake holding hands
Image via Jennifer Kish

I pray that I won’t spend my whole life teaching my children how to look like a Christian.

I don’t want to teach them how to talk like a Christian.

I don’t want to teach them how to walk like a Christian.

I don’t want to train them to perform the acts of a Christian.

I don’t want to raise children who sit in pews every Sunday and run with the world every Monday.

I want to raise children whose hearts are captivated by Christ.

RELATED: I Don’t Want To Raise Church Kids, I Want To Raise Jesus Kids

It is so easy for a child to quickly learn how to play the Christian game. They know all the Sunday school answers. They know all the worship songs. They know how to talk in front of the youth pastor. But they don’t have a clue about walking with Jesus.

A child learns the most about Jesus Monday-Saturday. Why? Because they watch what WE do with Jesus.

If we simply raise children who know how to occupy pews and mutter the words of the hymns then we have failed. FAILED.

It is our responsibility to teach our children what to do with Jesus when life doesn’t go as planned.

It is our responsibility to show our children what spending time daily with Jesus looks like.

RELATED: I Want My Kids To See Me Seeking Jesus

It is our responsibility to create an environment of praise, we can fill our homes with music that glorifies God.

It is our responsibility to raise kids who know the difference between looking like a Christian and being changed by Jesus.

I don’t want to raise kids whose hearts are deceived by the idea that an attendance record at church will get them into eternity with Jesus.

If I don’t take Jesus serious on Monday, why would they take Him serious on Sunday?

I don’t want to spend my whole life teaching my kids how to look like a Christian.

This post originally appeared on Sprinkles In My Closet with Jenn Kish

Leading our kids to grow in their faith is our highest calling, and HelloBible can help! HelloBible is a fun, faith-filled subscription for kids. Each month they’ll receive a box with books, art projects, activities, and parent guides to explore a new Bible story.

 

Recommendations in this post contain affiliate links. Her View From Home may receive a small commission if you choose to purchase.

So God Made a Mother book by Leslie Means

If you liked this, you'll love our new book, SO GOD MADE A MOTHER available now!

Order Now

Her View Shop

So God Made A Mama Tee So God Made A Mama Tee

Articles by Jennifer Kish

Jennifer Kish

Jenn Kish is married to her high school sweetheart, Jared and together they are raising six (mostly) precious children. She loves to connect women to one another and most importantly to Jesus.

God Holds Her Every Step of the Way
In: Faith, Motherhood
Mother holding infant baby's feet, color photo
by Megan Kewaza

We were told she wouldn’t make it to 20 weeks. When she made it, we were told she wouldn’t survive to full-term. When she survived to full-term, we were told she wouldn’t grow properly. When she grew, she thrived. When she thrived, she confused the doctors. RELATED: Keep Fighting, Little Miracle When the doctors tried to find the science to explain away her defeating all the odds, I had the answers. God. Prayers. Miracles. At 10 weeks when I found out about her condition, I prayed. I gathered my prayer warriors, and we prayed. Ultrasound after ultrasound, the technician was...

Keep Reading

Your Marriage Can’t Sit in a Laundry Basket without Getting a Few Wrinkles
In: Faith, Marriage
Couple doing laundry in front of washing machine
by Christen McKey

Bring on the bottled scent of fresh mountain breeze and seaside lavender. I’ll happily perform the swivel dance of transferring clothes from washer to dryer. I’ll hang those darlings with delicate personalities to gently air dry. I don’t mind the doing part. I’ll do laundry ’til the cows come home. It’s the folding part that I tend to put off. The cows have come home and gone to pasture several times, and that basket of clothes is most likely still sitting there developing more wrinkles than a baby bulldog.  And don’t even get me started on ironing. Let’s just say...

Keep Reading

Overwhelmed Mama, Take a Moment to Sit at the Feet of Jesus
In: Faith, Motherhood
Woman sitting in hallway, black and white image
by Tynea Lewis

Mama friend, I know you’re exhausted. It feels like you have nothing left to give. You know you need to take a moment for yourself, but you don’t know how. I know it all feels endless—like it will never be any different. I know you long for a week, a day, or an hour to yourself but take this moment. Put the baby in the playpen. Tell the kids to play in their room. Sit down somewhere away from the dirty dishes in the sink and the pile of laundry that has been waiting to be folded for days. Step...

Keep Reading

The Ring Came from a Stranger from Heaven
In: Faith, Living
Large ring on woman's hand, color photo
by Lynette Mitchell

This ring is not much to look at now—a well-worn piece of turquoise costume jewelry, its cheap metal revealing its quality and insignificant cost. But the value of this ring, “The Ring,” rivals that of my diamond and gold wedding band. It is priceless. For me, it is tangible proof of how an unseen God orchestrates events, circumstances, and people to remind me that miracles do happen and that He hears me—especially when I hurt. I happened upon this precious keepsake at a time in my life when things seemed to be falling apart and when I was feeling very sorry...

Keep Reading

A Mother’s Day Kintsugi Birdhouse: Beauty from Brokenness
In: Faith, Motherhood
Broken birdhouse lying beneath tree, color photo
by Christen McKey

Seated at the sunroom breakfast table, mouth full of Special K, I glance out the row of windows. A flutter of gray-blue against white paint catches my eye. I quickly swallow. “Y’all, a bird just went inside the bluebird house!” We all stand in a row, mimicking the windows. Yes, my sleepy morning eyes did not deceive me. Tail feathers were protruding from the circular opening. At last, a bird had found its way to this little white house with a tin roof nailed to a lone holly tree in the middle of our backyard. This was not the original...

Keep Reading

A Mother Gives Everything for Always
In: Faith, Motherhood
Young girl kissing mother on cheek
by Amber  Palmer 

My eyes flickered open and closed as I lay on the hospital bed after giving birth to my first-born daughter. The lights above me felt painfully bright as my eyes fought hard to stay open. Almost lifeless, my body had never felt so depleted. I lay there in a dream-like state, watching the world go on in full speed around me while inside I was in slow motion, barely strong enough to partake in the joy of bringing my daughter into the world. I had given every last ounce of myself, poured out until there was not much left. My...

Keep Reading

My Sensitive Son Is a Friend Who Prays
In: Faith, Motherhood
Mother kissing son goodnight, color photo
by Manndi Maphies Wilkins

Last night, I sat on my youngest son’s messy bed, and we said our nightly prayers. I went first, as usual, and he followed up, mentioning a little boy’s name I had never heard. When he was finished with his prayer, I asked who so-and-so was. He explained that he is a student in his fourth-grade classroom, who was crying during class yesterday morning. The teacher asked him what was wrong, and he said his dog had died. My heart immediately went out to the young little boy, facing what may be his first major heartbreak in life. I was...

Keep Reading

Lord Give Me the Faith of My Child
In: Faith, Motherhood
Mom holding child's hand top view
by Natalie Howson Price

My sweet girl had a nightmare last week and now won’t be in her room for bedtime alone. She won’t fall asleep without me sitting in her room with her, and if she wakes up at night, she screams until we come to her. It’s hard because as much as I don’t want to see her scared, I know I can’t stay with her in her room forever. As I sat there wearily last night waiting for her to fall asleep, I suddenly realized that I wished I could be more like her. She knew that as long as I was...

Keep Reading

My Prayers for You Will Never End
In: Faith, Motherhood
by Jaclyn Warren

Let me start by saying, this post is for me. I wanted to wrap our first child in bubble wrap. Or at least make sure all potential dangers were kept at a manageable, safe distance away.  No kissing his baby face to prevent the spread of germs. No taking him out into public until I felt confident and capable. Along with typical new parenting what-ifs, postpartum anxiety stole my peace and clouded my judgment and took me to my doctor to get clinical help.  Yet, three more babies later, I’m starting to believe those early years weren’t really the most fragile. I’ve...

Keep Reading

I Am Who Christ Says I Am
In: Faith, Living
Woman praying with eyes closed
by Brittany Ulmer

When I was 16 years old, I had a pastor pull me aside after church one night. He proceeded to tell me I was a good girl, but I needed to stop cutting my hair. I loved serving Jesus and always tried to do the right thing, so you can imagine how the words of this pastor devasted me. I remembered every unkind word spoken about me—they came flooding back into my memory that night. It was then I realized no matter how hard I strived to do what was right, it would never be enough. I accepted the identity...

Keep Reading

Marriage

Dear Husband, I Loved You First

Next Post

Where Do You Turn When the Only Person You Need is Your Mom?

Grief

Where Do You Turn When the Only Person You Need is Your Mom?

You May Also Like

When a Season of Struggle Lingers

Faith, Motherhood

When a Season of Struggle Lingers

I Was a Blemished Bride

Faith, Marriage

I Was a Blemished Bride

Why Is My Son’s Life Worth More Than His?

Abortion, Faith, Inspiration, Motherhood

Why Is My Son’s Life Worth More Than His?

5 Discoveries I’ve Made In My 20s

Journal

5 Discoveries I’ve Made In My 20s

With His Help – My Daughter’s Struggle with Bulimia

Faith, Grief, Kids

With His Help – My Daughter’s Struggle with Bulimia

I Shouldn’t Have Worn White On My Wedding Day

Faith, Journal, Relationships

I Shouldn’t Have Worn White On My Wedding Day

To The Mom Who Is At The End Of Her Rope – Beatitudes for Parents

Faith, Kids, Motherhood

To The Mom Who Is At The End Of Her Rope – Beatitudes for Parents

The Ring Came from a Stranger from Heaven

Faith, Living

The Ring Came from a Stranger from Heaven