Here we are! It’s time for school again. It’s easy to worry about all the things our children can face attending school. But God doesn’t want us worrying. So I thought it would be a good time to share some helpful resources. I polled some blogging friends for help. (NOTE: There are some affiliate links in this post.)
Teach Your Children Truth
I’d have to say that even before praying for your children, which is highly important, we must teach them daily from the Word. Proverbs says,
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. train up a child.
Proverbs 22:6
This is a proverb, mind you, it’s not a guarantee but the likelihood that they will follow the Lord throughout their lives is much higher when we have lived the spiritual life before them and with them. I highly recommend Dr. James Dobson’s Bringing up Boys & his later edition Bringing Up Girls. I would suggest reading both no matter if you only have one gender of children. It will help you pray for their spouses.
We may earn a small commission for our endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website. Your purchase helps support our work in bringing you spiritual encouragement and other favorite product reviews. Thank you.
Robin Morgan shared her review of a book she recommends for all of us. She shared, “Books which center its contents on Christian family life are quite limited, which is why I found this book to be quite enlightening and a must-read for Christian families;… and why I’ve given this endeavor by its author, Scott LaPierre, 5 STARS.” There is a companion workbook, as well.
Find the full review here…
COMBINING THE ASPECTS OF WORK AND REST FOR A DECENT CHRISTIAN FAMILY LIFE (amazon.com)
Here’s the link to purchase.
Establish Discipline and a Solid Spiritual Foundation
. The Essential 8 Principles Of a Strong Family: This is a hands-on workbook to help you get your family on a solid spiritual foundation and keep it there. It was written by a husband and wife team and will no doubt be a great resource to spiritually prepare your whole family to go back to school.
I just stumbled on this great little guide that you may find helpful. And at the moment… It’s free!
Instill Scripture in their Minds
Scripture memorization has always been a top priority for me. A while ago, I wrote about how memorizing scripture can make you an A+ student. No matter the age, if we instill scripture in our minds, it can help us when we need it. You aren’t always going to have a Bible at hand to look up scripture. And when you are in the midst of trouble, it will come to mind to encourage and help you.
I followed the “The Better Mom” blog for several years. Ruth Swenck has some great tips for teaching scripture to your children.
I’m distressed at how students today have such poor handwriting. Here’s a way to get them to practice handwriting and learn scripture at the same time. Writing scriptures out is another good way to commit them to memory. Erin, at Lullaby Lark, offers Scripture Writing plans every month. Here’s the first one for the new school year.
August-Scripture-Writing-Plan.jpg (2550×3300) (lullabylark.com)
Talk to Them About Anxiety, Stress, & Depression
Depression and Suicide seem to have hit a new high since the pandemic. I’m not a pro on this but I think it would be wise for us all to dig a little deeper and learn more about it. I’m reading an excellent book written by a Christian, called Understanding and Loving a Person with Depression: Biblical and Practical Wisdom to Build Empathy, Preserve Boundaries, and Show Compassion. This is a series of 8 different issues including Bipolar Disorder, Drug & Alcohol Addiction, Attention Deficit. Find the one you need soon. It’s easy reading. Short chapters.
Tips from Focus on the Family
Kids Desire Our Presence, Not Our Perfection – Focus on the Family
Sending Them Off
Indeed, the hard part for us was just letting our kids go in the morning. Our first two attended regular school and we ended up driving them there instead of sending them on the bus. They didn’t get out of the car until we prayed over them. Of course, starting your day with the Lord is always a good idea. Possibly, you can share breakfast together, read a short scripture and discuss while eating. Also, talk about what they have going on for the day. Then you will know better how to pray.
Rebecca Vendetti from Out upon the Waters has some wonderful ideas for blessing our children. The beginning of great self-esteem is hearing every morning how amazing and blessed you are.
How to Pray a Blessing over Your Kids – Out Upon the Waters
This reminds me of Gary Smalley & Mike Trent’s book on blessing your family. And their book on the 5 Love Languages for Children. (There are several variants of this one: for men, spouses, teens, etc). I highly recommend any of these.
Handling the Bully Situation
One thing we all fear is for our children to be bullied. One can feel pretty useless when our child is in this situation. Again, we must prepare our children in advance for how to handle a bully because we likely will not be anywhere around when it happens. A few years back I wrote a few thoughts on how we can prepare our kids for the bully. It is also important to talk to your child about being the one who bullies. You might be surprised who the bully actually is…
All That is Left is to Pray
After we prepare our children for life, they can handle anything! No matter their age, if we add prayer to the mix, we have a great chance that our children will be successful in what they do. Author Sharon Jaynes, has recently created a Prayer Wall where we can go to share our prayers with others and join to pray for their children. What a wonderful idea.
Sharon has been a favorite author of mine for a while. Several years back, she wrote a book called “Praying for Your Husband from Head to Toe”. I loved it from the start and I’ve been using it since it was published in 2014. She provides 30 days of prayers literally from head to toe based on scriptures. I have probably purchased this book for at least 20 newlyweds and family members. I have found these prayers just as appropriate for my now-adult children.
A few other helpful books on praying for your children.
Of course, this is the tip f the iceberg. Stormie Omartian has a fistful of books for prayer. And there are many others.
Join a Prayer Group
All you really need is a small group of moms; perhaps the mothers of your child’s friends or some ladies at church. Set a time to get together for coffee or lunch once a week and spend just a few minutes in prayer for the children.
If you want something more organized, there is a fabulous international group called Moms in Prayer Intrnl. They have local groups and if there isn’t one in your area, they will help you set one up. They have some great resources to help you out as well.
A Few Other Blogs That Offer Their Wisdom on Prayer
Arabah Joy has recently released a lovely Mothers’ Legacy Journal to keep track of prayers and answers. Journaling is important as you can be encouraged when you look back and see all the answers God has given you.
https://arabahjoy.lpages.co/mothers-legacy-journal-fb/
3 Reasons Why You Should Pray Over Your Home – Clothed With Dignity (clothedwithdignityco.com)
A Special Needs Mom’s Prayer For Your Child At School – Lullaby Lark
Support this Website
Back to School Products! Amazon Prime Days – July 11-12
It’s Your Turn! Legacy LinkUp
Pastor’s Wife (retired) & Chronic Pain Warrior blogs about how to make it through anything by relating her own life experiences to her writing. She is passionate about her love for the Lord and desires to spread that passion to others. She has a great desire to encourage women who are following behind her.
That’s something I wish I had done–stopped in the busyness of the morning and prayed with them before they left for school. We ate breakfast in shifts as we had only one bathroom with a shower, and one ate while the other showered. But I wish I had thought to stop a moment in the car or at the door just before stepping out to pray for them and their day ahead. Not only would they know they were prayed for and how, but that would have set an example for them to incorporate into their own lives.
I think it sets the right tone for the day. It calms their nerves about whatever they have going on that day. Even if they are grown, don’t stop praying for them. Text them scriptures and blessings. (Check out Susie Larson’s blessings on FB … awesome!)
Thanks for coming by.
It feels harder and harder all the time to let my kids go out into this increasingly crazy and hostile world. Thank you for this.
It really does. That’s one reason I home-schooled my children. I’m glad that my kids are all raised but the world is still injecting their ideas into their lives. But after we teach them the ways of God, we have to let go and trust it was enough and that God will do the rest.I believe He can! 🙂
Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 32. Pinned!
Some great books here Mandy.
Bless you,
Jennifer
Thanks. And thankyou for stopping by