Growing in Faith Through Parenting – Part 2

Ever feel like there’s no time for you to grow spiritually because you’re always busy with the kids?

In this episode, I look at this a different way because the truth is being a parent can actually help you grow closer to God.

As we deal with all the busy and all the exhaustion we can try and do it on our own, or we can press into God.

The more we depend on God the more like Christ we become – and that, as we’ll find out is God’s purpose.

I give three practical things we can do to help us hear the Spirit and grow in our faith: put off the old man, renew our mind, and put on the armour.

Tune in to find out how you can strengthen your faith and become more and more like Christ – because you are a parent, not in spite of it!

Think you’re too busy to grow spiritually as a parent? 🤔 I believe God uses every context, even the busyness of parenting, to shape us into the image of Christ. This verse gives me so much encouragement.

💗God is bigger than the mess and chaos of family life.

💗God is bigger than the ups and downs we face as a parent.

God has a purpose – that we are conformed to the image of Christ – and He will do the work.

✝️”Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil 1:6

Be assured, God will faithfully keep working in your heart.

Imagine you are overwhelmed with anxiety about an circumstance in your family. You recognize the anxious thoughts and identify that they do not align with God’s Word.

You recall Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

You reject the anxious thoughts and replace them with the truth of God’s promise of peace. You pray, asking God to help you trust Him and focus on His peace. You might even share your struggle with a trusted friend who prays with you and encourages you with scripture.

This is taking captive every thought and making it obedient to Christ.

And we need to do it whenever thoughts come to our head that are not consistent with God’s word.

Do you struggle to do this?

Have you ever thought of parenting is a context for spiritual growth? God will use every stressful moment for His purposes.

And I believe His purposes are for each one of us to be conformed to the image of Christ.

Romans 8:28-29 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.”

This verse reminds us that all experiences, including our parenting experiences, are used by God to conform us to the image of Christ.

Being a parent is one of those ‘all things’. When we are overwhelmed, and out of our depth, when we have no idea, when we make mistakes – God will use that to conform us to Christ’s image.

When we think on all the things going on – the question we have to ask ourselves is – are we pressing into God, depending on Him, in the middle of all of this? That is all God wants from us.

Have you seen God at work in your life as you raise your kids? Let’s encourage each other by sharing our testimonies.

If you’re struggling to find time to have a personal quiet time/devotions time lets talk about what you should do instead.

There are other ways to fill your heart and mind with God’s word – go over these 10 ways – personal devotions is only one of the ways.

When I was a busy mum, my favourite way was to leave my Bible open on the kitchen bench and have a quick read as I passed by or as I made a cup of tea, or as I prepared a snack.

These days having the Bible and devotional book on my phone (with focus settings) helps me read and ponder first thing in the morning.

There have been seasons in my life where I have been able to sit and study the Bible, but there have also been sasons where I have struggled to find time to read and pray and journal – in these times I make sure I renew my mind by feeding on God’s word in other ways.

What ways work best for you in these busy seasons?