Yesterday, Zach and I were commissioned as parents to raise our little Ellie in a God-centered home and show her the ways of the Lord. This is such a huge role we have and one that should not be taken lightly. Our prayer is that we will continually delight in the Lord so that we can represent Christ to Ellie through the overflow of our hearts. In Deuteronomy 6:5-9, God commands us:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."
We pray that we will listen to this command he gives us. Ellie is a gift from God, she is HIS child... and we are so thankful to be given this opportunity to raise her and love her. We want Christ to be the leader of her life and we only want to be the ones who direct her to her true Father.
Our pastor, J.D. Greear shared with us his thoughts about this role we have been given...
"Our culture teaches us to give our kids experiences. God's Word teaches us to give them relationships. Your relationship with your child will be the most formative influence on their character. And it is their character that will determine their destiny. So don't let anyone or anything raise your children or influence your children more than you do. That means TV, media, games, friends, school systems, government or any other force. You shape them. You love them. You spend time with them. The greatest gift you can leave your children is not an inheritance of material things, but an inheritance of time invested in them over their lifetime."
Wow... what a HUGE role we have. What truth is in J.D.'s statement... we must remember this daily. Zach and I ask that you will pray for us and be partners with us as we take this role as parents. We know that we won't be able to conquer this without prayer.
3 comments:
Congrats on Ellie's dedication, your post was beautiful, it will be a wonderful tribute and charge to have and remember in the future. Yay for blogs! Becky wants to print hers out and keep as her journal :)
I love the picture and I'm so excited that our families dedicated our girls at the same time! :)
What a great post by you honey.
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