People will often ask me questions about raising children. Perhaps it’s because of my job title of Children’s Ministry Director, or because I ran an in-home daycare for close to thirteen years, or because I have two adult children now. Either way, people ask me questions about kids, and I love to share personal experiences with them. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Haha!

Our oldest, Hunter, was a rough toddler/young child for me. I was convinced, and I’m sure many of our fellow church members at the time prayed he would be an only child. He was four and a half years old before our second child, Allie, was born. I do not call kids “bad” but let me tell you Hunter tested that.

When Hunter was three years old, a very wise and I’m sure “prayed up” youth pastor lovingly pulled me into his office. He pushed a book titled “How to Raise a Strong-Willed Child” by Dr. James Dobson, across his desk, told me he loved me and ran out of that office as fast as he could! I wanted to cry, I wanted to be UNChrist-like, I wanted to have a Ginger Snap, and Satan tried to convince me to leave the church over it. But I relented and read the book. Guess what? Hunter wasn’t a bad kid. I was sending mixed signals, and the poor kid was confused. I learned so much from that book, but you know what? Had I dug into my Bible, I would have found all the answers. Who would have guessed that?!

For some of my devotionals, I would like to share some parenting nuggets. I know some of you are like me and are past raising children, so feel free to skip past them. But we can also apply these truths to help the families in our church raise their kids because, believe it or not, those little snot slingers running around are watching ALL of us! And sometimes it’s not mommy and daddy at home that reach these kids for Jesus.

Number One Nugget-Lead with integrity.

Children crave and need security. They need to feel safe. The definition of integrity is “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.” Are you the same person at home as you are at church? This is where I pull the statement out that A LOT of pastors say-this message is for me, not you, but hey, if the shoe fits, blah, blah, blah. But it’s true. Am I giving the same energy to my family that I give to my church family? Do I do the right thing, even and especially when nobody is looking? Am I honest, or does the little white lie count? Yes. It counts. I think we’ve all met the person who says one thing and does another. My Dad used to tell me, “Do what I say not what I do.” I never understood that. My best advice is to lead by example, but to lead with integrity. Be honest with yourself and with those around you. Kids can see through the fake, I promise you.

A hard prayer for me to pray is to ask God to show me the parts of my life, my walk, my heart that are not aligned with His Word. Purification is a tough process, but it’s a worthy one. My prayer for you today is as you read this you ask God to show you any area of your life that might need a touch up. A touch from Him.