Congratulations Parents!
Congratulations for the recent arrival of a wonderful baby.
Children are a precious gift and great blessing from the Lord. Welcome to the
exciting journey to discover what you carried for nine months.
Raising children is an awesome responsibility. Anyone can
give birth to children but it is real man and women of honor that commit to
raising up the children they bring into the world to become responsible godly
citizens. As arrows are in the hand of a
mighty man; so are children of the youth (Psalm 127:4). Children are like arrows you will one day
release into a life of independence for better or for worse. Parents ought to
prepare children for independence, productivity, life roles, relationships and
responsibilities.
Children bring new dynamics to a marriage relationship or a
parent. You have to be willing to adjust in order to accommodate the arrival of
your child. Raising children requires commitment before God to rely on his
grace to care and train the child wisely according to his/her stage of
development.
As an infant, the baby has absolute dependence on God,
parents and guardians. Since at this
stage the child has no choice parents have the responsibility to build a strong
foundation for them. The baby’s main needs are belonging, care, prayer,
protection, love, nourishment and very basic knowledge.
From about four to twelve years, the child experiences a new
stage of development. In these crucial formative years, the child is still
unable to look after him/herself and needs the input they received as a baby
modified as necessary. The child however has a high eagerness to learn. The
child begins asking questions and imitating. Values and opinions acquired at
this stage last for life. (Prov. 22:6). These years offer the greatest
opportunity for parents to influence their child. No one else has the same opportunity in the
life of the child. Many parents miss this opportunity by failing to allocate
time to their children. As a result, they fail to provide them with the
foundation and orientation they need to survive the turbulent adolescence
stages.
The best gift parents can give their children is to love one
another. In today's culture, with so many broken families is it any wonder that
we have so many troubled children? In
addition, the way you handle your marriage sows seeds for your children’s
marriages.
My prayer is that God will give you grace to train up your
child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it
(Luke 2:52; Proverbs 22:6; Deuteronomy 6:7). May your children find your home
to be a safe place of acceptance, affirmation, blessing and confidence building?
The opposite of acceptance is rejection. Research indicates that almost all
violent teenagers feel rejected by their parents.
May you be a source of consistent guidance and example?
Children tend to do what they see more than what they hear. Maintain a balance
of love, training, responsibility and discipline. Begin now to for their future protection,
provision, and calling/career.
Promises to claim for
your child (ren):
For I will pour water
upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour my spirit
upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring and they shall spring up as
among the grass, as willows by the water courses. One shall say, I am the
LORD's; and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob; and another shall
subscribe with his hand unto the LORD, and surname himself by the name of
Israel. - Isaiah 44:3-5
Praise ye the LORD.
Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in his
commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon earth: the generation of the
upright shall be blessed. - Psalms 112:1-2
Message by Dr. Kurai Chitima.
