SUNDAY SNAPSHOT... (Better Parent By Sunday)

You ASKED for it - now you're gonna get it!

WHAT DOES GOD HAVE TO SAY ABOUT PARENTING?

Don't Miss this week at COC as we wrap up our BETTER PARENT BY SUNDAY Series with a MESSAGE that YOU WROTE! Answering ??'s that you've submitted over the Series in regards to PARENTING!

Here they are...

HOW TO MAKE STEP-PARENTING WORK?

HOW DO I BECOME A BETTER SPIRITUAL LEADER/PARENT… AS A NEW BELIEVER?

PART-TIME PARENTING (Divorced Homes)… HOW CAN I BETTER COMMUNICATE TO A CHILD WHO DOES NOT LIKE HIM/HERSELF?

WHY DOES GOD TAKE CHILDREN AWAY SO YOUNG?

WHAT DO I DO WITH A CHILD WHO SAYS THEY ARE GAY?

DEALING WITH GENERATIONAL SIN?

HOW DOES A MOM KEEP HER SENSE OF IDENTITY?

UNEQUALLY YOKED HOMES…?

HOW DO I GET MY KIDS TO CHURCH – REGARDLESS THEIR AGE?

PRO-CHOICE (Law) vs PRO-LIFE (Bible) & LIVING WITH PAST DECISIONS…?

FINDING RESTORATION WITH MY CHILDREN?

WHEN DO WE TALK ABOUT SEX?

HOW DO YOU BEND THE WILL OF A CHILD WITHOUT BREAKING IT?

SPANKING… RIGHT OR WRONG?

HOW TO DEAL WITH STRONG-WILLED CHILDREN?

See you SUNDAY @ COC...

Maricopa Wells Middle School (9a/10:45a)

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT... (Better Parent By Sunday)

(6) WHAT'S YOUR GAME PLAN?

How do you leverage the TIME you spend with your family?

We've become so busy giving our kids what we DIDN'T HAVE that we haven't taken the TIME to give them what we DID HAVE!

Developing a "GAME PLAN" (Family Identity) is the key to successful Parenting!

Something that pushes back against CULTURE & what CULTURE has to say about the FAMILY!

You must create a COUNTER-CULTURE that says something like this...

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOUR FRIENDS ARE DOING! I DON'T CARE WHAT THE WORLD SAYS ABOUT THIS! I DON'T CARE WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK! YOU ARE A 'BARRETT' - AND A 'BARRETT' SERVES GOD - PERIOD."

Joshua 24:15.... But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you - then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve - whether the gods your forefathers served beyond this River - or the gods of the Amonites - in whose land you are living. BUT AS FOR ME AND MY HOUSEHOLD - WE WILL SERVE THE LORD!

Ck-out COC this week as we explore THREE QUESTIONS that will determine whether your FAMILY has a GAME PLAN!

(Maricopa Wells Middle School / 9a & 10:4a)

Family Focus... (Happy Birthday Isaac!)

Our OLDEST - Isaac Matthew - celebrated his 10th birthday this past Sunday! Leaving the single digit years goodbye! He now considers himself a "PRE-TEEN" - can I take that as a good thing!?

We're waiting a week to REALLY CELEBRATE as Grandma & Pop will be here next week and we are heading up to WOODS CANYON LAKE for a 5 Day Camping Trip! However... we did do OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE on Sunday - his choice and really a boy after my own heart!

Also... We also had a little DAD/SON time on Saturday PM as just the two of us went to the CARDINALS Home Opener!

Enjoy the pics...

The greatest thing on the night was on our HOUR drive home - I gave him controls of my iTouch and said SURPRISE me with a PLAYLIST! He started out with EUROPE (The Final Countdown) - then we went to BONNIE TYLER (Total Eclipse Of The Heart) - moving to a foursome of JOURNEY (Don't Stop Believin' / Faithfully / Open Arms / Separate Ways) - then we had some BOSTON (More Than A Feeling) - moving to some WHITE LION (Little Fighter) - then closing it with QUEEN (Show Must Go On)!

To cap this off he then said...

"I LOVE THE 80's - I WAS BORN THREE CENTURIES TOO LATE!"

To which I replied - with a serious laugh...

"I THINK YOU MEAN THREE DECADES TOO LATE BUDDY - BECAUSE 1710 MIGHT NOT HAVE BEEN AS COOL AS THE 80's!"

I HAVE ONE STINKIN' COOL KID!

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT... (Better Parent By Sunday)

Wk 5 / You Can't Make Me ~ But I Can Be Persuaded! (DISCIPLINE)

Dr. James Dobson writes in ~ Dare To Discipline...

"I believe that if it is desirable for children to be kind - appreciative & pleasant - those qualities should be TAUGHT not HOPED FOR! If we want to see honesty - truthfulness & unselfishness in our offspring - then these characteristics should be conscious objectives of our early instructional process! If it is important to produce respectful - responsible young citizens - then we should set out to mold them accordingly! The point is obvious... HEREDITY DOES NOT EQUIP A CHILD WITH PROPER ATTITUDES - CHILDREN LEARN WHAT THEY ARE TAUGHT! We cannot expect the coveted behavior to appear magically if we have not done our early homework!"

We wear THREE particular HATS in the area of DISCIPLINE...

1. GROUNDSKEEPER - Drawing the LINES/BOUNDARIES of the Playing Field of LIFE!

2. REFEREE - Always being prepared to THROW THE FLAG & ENFORCE THE PENALTY!

3. COACH - We move into the area of ENCOURAGEMENT continually TEACHING!

Get this if you get anything about DISCIPLINE...

DISCIPLINE is what you do FOR your children - so they will be PREPARED for when you're not in the ROOM later on in Life! PUNISHMENT is what you do TO your children - to satisfy your FRUSTRATION!

-LINES must be drawn for your CHILDREN - of what's RIGHT or WRONG - and YOU'RE the one to Draw Them! (Prov 29:15)

-THROWING THE FLAG & ENFORCING A PENALTY must happen if your Child is to learn RIGHT & WRONG (Where the LINES are drawn!)! (Prov 13:24) - Also remember that BIG PENALTIES need to be reserved for ATTITUDE - not for ACTIONS! (Penalties of the Heart!)

-The best opportunity to COMMUNICATE often occurs after a DISCIPLINARY EVENT! (Prov 22:6)

See you SUNDAY @ COC as we continue this CONVERSATION...

Maricopa Wells Middle School / 9a & 10:45a

SUNDAY SNAPSHOT... (Better Parent By Sunday)

(4) WHAT'S MY JOB?

Prov 22:6... Train a child in the way he should go & when he is old he will not turn from it!

Your Main Job as a PARENT is to INFLUENCE your Child with JESUS!

The Child's First Classroom is... THE HOME!

-Where Actions have Consequences & CHARACTER COUNTS!

-Where FORGIVENESS is provided UNCONDITIONALLY!

7 things to learn from GOD about PARENTING...

1) Love Them!

2) Be Gracious with Them!

3) Model Consistency for Them!

4) Minister to Them!

5) Invest Your Time in Them!

6) Empower Them!

7) Equip Them!

See you SUNDAY @ COC!

(Maricopa Wells Middle School / 9:00 & 10:45a)