Tomorrow @ The Gathering – Parenting: Wimps Need Not Apply

Tomorrow @ The Gathering we’re going to continue with our series, “They Promised Me Chocolate: The True Confessions of a Disappointed Christian,” by talking about parenting.

No place in human relationships can there be such a contrast to the idea of having kids.  On the one hand, it’s a dream, a desire, a passion.  And on the other hand it’s a lifelong responsibility that at times can feel like you’re living in the pit of hell.  Yeah, that’s true.  When our kids go wrong, no matter what happens in our lives, our lives go wrong right along with them.

So this weekend we’re going to talk about how to raise super-confident kids in a super-cynical world.  It is possible, but we’re going to have to understand what parenting is and what it isn’t.  We’re going to be talking about the four things that make parenting absolutely miserable.  We’re going to expose some of the myths we’ve bought into.  Things like:

  • If you just love your kids and take them to church, everything will be ok.
  • If you bring them into the world and support them financially, that’s all they really need.
  • Or the idea that kids want what you can buy them more than they want you.

It’s a tangled up mess when we approach parenting with these faulty ways of thinking.

But we’re going to spend the major part of our time talking about the four keys to parenting successfully.  I didn’t say without stress, work, or disappointments along the way.  These are four practices – habits – that are absolutely essential if you’re going to be able to raise your kids to adulthood.

Here is one of the questions I have for you.  If you have kids, or grandkids, have you set out some goals that you have in raising them? For me, I set 4 for my three daughters; four characteristics that I wanted to see in their lives as adults.  And I am happy to say that each one of them reflects them in spades.  What are they?  I’ll tell you Sunday.

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