This is the first of what I hope will be a weekly article designed to promote biblical parenting on purpose, with the intention of fostering delight in God in our lives and in our children. I hope to write or link to good teaching, challenging thoughts, or other items to strengthen and encourage us as parents. I hope that you will come back weekly, or link through RSS feed (check out a good article on that here) so you can keep up to date on articles.
Today I was reading through the 9Marks eJournal for September/October. This issue is on family and parenting. In that issue Matt and Elizabeth Schmucker give 39 lessons, 20 tips, and 10 “don’ts” for parenting, from their perspective. Matt is an elder at Capitol Hill Baptist Church, where Mark Dever pastors, and they have five children ranging in age from 3 to 19.
As you can tell by the title, there are numerous thoughts contained in this article, a few of which I am sure will be of challenge or encouragement to you. Let me focus on one thought. This one is number 6 under the section, lessons about ourselves.
Being parented is defining; Parenting is refining.
Parenting our children should show clearly who they are and who God wants them to become. Parenting should help to first define for our children who they are without Christ. We should be striving to show clearly to our children the state of their heart without God. We each, without Christ, have a sinful condition composed of sinful speech and sinful actions, according to Romans 3:10-18. We are foolish, proud, unloving, and anything else you can think of. We are more sinful and flawed than we ever dared believe.
But Christ is a far greater Savior than we ever dared imagine. We should define to our children what we want them to be like according to the gospel. Along with God’s justice and judgment of sin come God’s love, mercy and forgiveness for those who trust. Parenting should define their need for God, how to trust Him and how to follow Him.
Parenting also refines us. That is the part of parenting I don’t really like, because being burned hurts (Malachi 3:3)! Discipline, though, communicates God love to us and His desire to have us share in His holiness as people and as parents (Hebrews 12:3-12). If you don’t think you are being, changed, renewed, refined, humbled or stretched as a parent, you better look at the effort you are putting into parenting for the glory of God.
Read the whole article by clicking on the title above. I hope you come back again to read and grow. Any comments are appreciated.
I Commend Joy! 
Thank you for doing this. This is something that I can do without having to be somewhere at a particular time. I would also like to forward these, or have you do so, for a friend of mine who is pregnant with their first and is a babe in Christ herself. Thanks again! Love, Marie