Status Updates From Heartfelt Discipline: Follo...

“Changing my child’s attitude about his sin, was as much about me changing my attitude about my child, to become an advocate rather than an adversary. Nothing was forced by threat of punishment or pain; repentance was drawn out by relationship. The Holy Spirit was in control.”

Taking my time with this one, but really enjoying it!

“Rather than obsessing over what comes out of a child’s heart, the advocate parent will focus on what goes into their child’s heart….. It’s about pursuing the larger biblical picture of discipline, and seeing yourself as a godly guide for your children along the path of life.”

“We often aim our disciplinary efforts at the wrong target. We set our sites on stopping and changing a child’s wrong behavior, and we miss the real target of shaping and influencing their heart, which is the source of the wrong behavior.”

“When the gospel takes hold, they will be saved from their sins and given a new spirit. Then the Holy Spirit will begin the lifelong process of producing the character of Christ in them…. but unless his or her heart has been prepared, and until it is changed by Christ, those seeds will be wasted. There must be hoeing if the sewing is to result in growing.”

“We cultivate the soil of our children’s hearts with nutrients that will allow spiritual qualities to grow there - the language of God‘s truth, the behaviors of the Christian life, the reality of God.”

[Luke 8] “this parable is not about a good seed, but about good soil.”