Purposed Parent Connected Child Podcast Episode 121 - Are You Raising Good Kids?

Welcome to the Purposed Parent/Connected Child podcast – Episode 121 – Are You Raising Good Kids?

Thank you for sharing your day with me. I pray this podcast gives you the awareness and tools you need to STOP being a GOOD mom and BECOME the GODLY mom God entrusts you to be. Then you will be the SET-APART woman PURPOSELY raising children to chase CHRIST over culture.

Just a quick reminder as we start, if you enjoy Purposed Parent Connected Child podcast episodes, would you please share this episode or others with a friend or family member? When you graciously take a moment to do that, and leave a rating or review at Apple Podcast, you are ensuring that others will find the podcast. When you do, you’re helping affect generations for Jesus.

Now on to this episode that asks an important question…Are You Raising Good Kids?

When I was young, a common expression used by my parents was, “Be good!” Whether I was going to school, a social function, or they were leaving for work, one of them would always offer that directive.

When I became a young mother at the age of eighteen, my goal was to become a good mother and raise a good daughter. When my son arrived a few years later, I was determined to raise a good boy. I had a good job, a good home, and a good marriage.

Finally, after all the years of being good and striving for more good, I realized that good isn’t God’s objective for our lives. We know He desires the absolute best for us. Our Father in Heaven doesn’t command us to be good, but He does call us to be godly.

The term, “good” is described with a variety of adjectives: honorable, righteous, favorable, responsible, dependable, well-behaved, and socially proper to name some of the descriptors.

When I raised my first set of children to be good kids, teens, and adults, I believed teaching them to be good would give them strong self-esteem and confidence. I thought it would help them to strive to do the best job in whatever they completed, be lifelong learners, be polite, grateful, kind, responsible, and it would help them learn from mistakes.

After I deepened my personal relationship with Christ, I realized I didn’t want good kids. Instead, I began desiring what Scripture showed me Godwanted. To raise my kids to be good would actually cheat them of growing Christlike qualities. Striving for good would cause them to miss what was godly.

I realized that in my quest to raise good kids, I wasn’t mentoring Christ effectively to mine in order for them to construct identity through relationship with Jesus. They needed to be shown how to craft identity purposed through Christ that reached their heart and changed their desires, behavior, and words. I didn’t want to continue to raise kids who were good for the sake of not getting into trouble around me. I wanted kids who chose to intentionally pursue Jesus and become more like Him through every part of their character, actions, and reactions.

They would be transformed through Christ because only He can create holiness and Christlike character. Goodness can’t.

If I set the goal for my kids at goodness, they’d never pursue godliness. I’d be cutting them short of a standard that would bring them great joy and a lifetime in eternity with God.

The world we live in tells us we’re good, and that we should raise good kids, but then why are children and teens experiencing more identity and character problems than ever before? Why do we have such a mental health crises?

While we settle for raising good kids, their hearts long for godly.

God’s Word is clear in Deuteronomy 6:5-7, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.”

In the pursuit of goodness, mothers have forsaken godliness.

Are you heeding the words of Scripture and placing God first, not the “goodness” this world offers? Are you loving Him for your children to witness? Is your love for Jesus evident with your heart, mind, and soul? Do you teach His way, His holiness, His godliness daily as you sit at home or go out, from the time you rise until you go to sleep? Do you know how to shine Him?

For too many moms, the answer is no. Because of that, how many children are becoming their own idol? How many kids find celebrities or influencers to fill vacant spots inside that only God can fill?

Are you striving to instill holy values and character that is in alignment with God’s will? Are your children learning to nurture and showcase His purposes for them? Are you teaching them to live a lifestyle of integrity authored by God and view this world through the lens of eternity? These are the godly truthsGod commands each of us to teach our children instead of what the world calls good.

Instead of agreeing with the values and strivings of society that leaves us and our families empty and more in alignment with the world than the Word, mature your personal walk with God moment by moment. Become a godly woman who parents with godliness, not goodness. Purpose to raise godly, not good kids.

As you find yourself growing in the ways of God rather than the world, your child will grow in wisdom and stature like Jesus.

Dear Heavenly Father, how great You are. Please show us the way to Your heart. Help us live like we will be with You in eternity today. We don’t know if we are here for today or ten more years. We don’t know when we will stand before You, but we know we will one day, and so will our children. Please equip us to bring them straight to the heart and feet of Jesus. Help us be worthy of the high calling you’ve entrusted to us as women and mothers. May we be the mother You call us to be. Help us favor eternity rather than the present, but let us also rejoice with You and honor You with the time we have now. Help our children do the same because they love, honor, and serve You with open, willing hands and hearts. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.

If you’re ready to become the godly mom God entrusts you to be for Him and His children, you might like my free “Good to Godly: A 31-Day Scripture and Prayer Guide for Moms.” Visit terrihitt.com and enter your email to receive this resource.

You are the first Jesus your child will see. Your relationship with Christ is the light that shines Him to your children. If you want a connected relationship with Jesus and your children that leads them to your side and His feet, instead of them seeking validation from peers, my Set-Apart Collective program can show you how to reflect Christ in a way that attracts your family to a connected relationship that lasts into eternity.

If you don’t want peers and culture to be the main influence over your child, if you desire to parent to “prepare” your child for eternity with Christ, not repair your relationship with them, the Set-Apart Collective will arm you with a Christ-centered Motherhood Mindset Model™, and create a Purposed Parenting Plan™. You’ll also deepen your identity in Christ so you can mentor the way for your children to do the same. You will be a purposed mother with an intentional mind and heart set on Christ and your family and you will have the tools to raise set apart kids as you parent the heart, not simply the behavior.

Visit terrihitt.com/coaching and click the link for a free, no obligation conversation call with me. This is a strategic call where I will hear your biggest struggle and show you how to turn it into a blessing that will bring you closer to Christ and your children. It’s time for believing mothers to be purposed in preparing their children for a lifetime pursuit of Christ. Time is short. Make yours matter for eternity. Remember - if you’re not purposed in knowing Jesus and showing Him to the next generation, the world will sway your children away from Christ. I pray that what you hear on this podcast enables you to stop being a good mom and focus on being a godly parent. Until next week, keep looking Up while focusing on new ways to parent with eternal purpose and connection with your children and Christ.