Who Do I Want My Children To Become?

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As I begin to pursue intentional living, I am reminded that I am not only responsible for my own life.  As the mother of three sweet, precious children, I am responsible for helping mold their character and their lives.  What a huge responsibility!  So, I started thinking about two questions that I need to answer.  First, what strengths do I possess that I want to pass on to my children?  And, second, what weaknesses do I struggle with that I would NOT want my children to inherit or learn from me? Whether I realize it or not, I am passing these traits on to my children. So here is my list and my intentional plan to either promote my strengths or change my weaknesses in order to help myself and my children become all that God intends.

  • My strengths…
    1. Faith in Jesus….I will continue to build my relationship with Jesus.  Daily.  I will make reading God’s word a priority and I will let them see me reading and praying as much as possible.
    2. Love of reading…I will read to them daily and have books out around the house for them to access easily.  I will stop what I’m doing (as much as possible) to read to them when they approach me with a book.
    3. Integrity…I will continue to make truth be of utmost importance.
    4. Love of learning…I will look for and provide them with many opportunities to learn.  I will engage their curiosity and their natural enthusiasm for life.
    5. Mercy/compassion…I will show them compassion at all times and model that for them with others.  I will love them unconditionally and empathize with their feelings.
    6. Optimism…I will look for and find the good in people in all circumstances.  I will be thankful and content in all situations.
    7. Love being outside…I will take them to explore nature as much as possible and show them the beauty of God’s creation.
    8. Love to travel…We will travel with them to as many new places as possible, near and far, while we have the opportunity.
    9. Good listener…I will really listen to my children as much as possible.  I especially will look at them  and get to their level when they speak to me.
    10. Good encourager…I will encourage them in all things.  I will build them up with life-giving words.  I will speak truth and encourage them to trust God.
  • My weaknesses…
    1. Fear…I will trust God in all things, at all times.  I will teach them that with God, we need never to be afraid.
    2. Worry…I will work on praying instead of wrestling with worry.  I will grow in my prayer life, remembering to  pray at all times.
    3. People pleaser…I will remember that the only person I need to please is God alone.  He is my judge and my Lord.
    4. Disorganization…I will simplify as much as possible.  I will work on following through with my tasks.  God is a God of order, not chaos.
    5. Too serious sometimes…I will remember to laugh at myself and life.  Stop and enjoy today and smile as much as possible.
    6. Stubborn/prideful..I will acknowledge God’s sovereignty and power in my life.  Knowing how BIG God is, reminds me how small I am.  Pray for humbleness.
    7. Judgmental…I will give the grace that I have been so freely given.  I will daily remind myself where I have been delivered from. Praise Jesus!

Oh, Lord, this is who I want to become.  This is who I want my children to become.  Lord, in my own power and strength, I will never be able to master any of this.  But it is through your grace and mercy that I have the opportunity to grow in these areas.  It is because of your power and generosity that you allow me and my children to grow to become people of strong character.  This is my prayer and my greatest desire…to become more like You.  Thank you for loving me enough to want this for me too.  Amen.

 

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