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What does authenticity look like?
How is your connection with God? Sometimes we can go a long time without evaluating how we are growing in our own relationship with Jesus. But when we stop and think about this regularly it can help us to display an authentic faith that will encourage our children as they learn what living with God can look like.
If you are struggling at the moment, maybe you can share that with your kids – explaining that there are times when it is hard. Or perhaps you could reflect on how you best connect with God. Do you love to spend time quietly reflecting on him? Perhaps you love to sing out in worship or do you enjoy being outdoors in creation? Do you enjoy reading the scriptures and allowing God to speak to you through them?
Maybe you can’t answer those questions at the moment. Has there been a time where you have connected with God best? Could you try something small to reconnect with God again?
Our children need an authentic window into our spiritual lives, not a false one. So if you’re excited about Jesus right now – share that excitement with them. But if not, tell them it’s OK to find it hard. Then it will be less of a shock to them when they encounter those difficulties too!
“But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Remember, we don’t have to have it all together and come across as perfect to our children. In fact, it’s so much better when we are real and authentic. We’re praying for you this month as you connect with God and hope that you’ll have opportunities to share what that looks like with your children.
Becky and the Kitchen Table Project team
Sacred Pathways
In his book Sacred Pathways, author Gary Thomas describes the wonderful variety of ways in which we relate to God according to our different personalities.
There are also online quizzes that you can do to discover more about how you connect with God best. This one from Focus on the Family could help get you started:
Finding your place
It may seem simple, but having a specific place, or moment in your day which is set apart for your time with God, could make all the difference in your relationship with him.
Do you have a specific chair, room or walk that could become ‘your place’? Maybe it’s a particular time of day, in your car, by the coffee machine in work, or in the shower after a long day.
We all know how precious time is to us as parents. It doesn’t need to be a full half an hour, it may only be three minutes between meetings, or five minutes in the car after the school run. You may just find they become some of the most life-giving minutes of your day!
Involving others
There are so many ways we can influence our children’s understanding of how they can connect with God each day – and that gives us an opportunity to connect with him too!
You could:
- Go for a walk and talk about how you like to connect with God.
- Have a story evening where you create a special space in the house, make some yummy drinks and share things about your journey of faith.
- Show your children how you read your Bible or speak to God in prayer.
You may be surprised how influential these times can be on their own faith!
Please send us your stories of inspiring faith at home – good and bad – we know it’s a rollercoaster! We’d love to include them in our emails and on the blog.
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