What's really important?

I've been thinking a lot about what is really important when teaching my boys. More than anything, I want my boys to have character, to have godly character. We have begun to teach them these character qualities, which are biblicaly based. We believe that these qualities are very important to teach our children. For example, rather than teaching our boys to be tough, we want to teach them to be BOLD.

There seems to be a disconnect in some Christian circles when it comes to the bringing up of boys. I am constantly asking myself when I am correcting a behavior, "What is my ultimate goal in the correction? Do I want him to merely stop the offending behavior or do I want to get at his heart, so he can see what the effects of his actions have on those around him?" No, I do not want to raise a "sissy", but I do want to raise a boy, who will become a man that is SENSITIVE, GENTLE, and shows COMPASSION. And that's where the character training comes in. We are not teaching our children to be mindless drones, but we are teaching them the qualities that will enable them to have the right responses in even the most difficult of circumstances.

We are constantly praising our children for displaying good character. We also correct them in areas where they should have displayed good character. For example, I was doing the kitchen floors the other day, when DS1 asked me if I was going to mop them. I said that I was, and he went and got the mop and bucket for me. I didn't ask him, but he showed INITIATIVE and did it on his own. I praised him for exhibiting that character quality. Another example, I told (I didn't ask; asking always gives the other person the option to say "no") DS2 to go put his books away. He did it, and I praised him for his OBEDIENCE.

We take every opportunity to teach our children to have good character. It happens throughout the entire day. When we are reading our Bible, we will point out specific instances of character, like Ruth's LOYALTY, or Abraham's HOSPITALITY. We will also point out good character in others around us.

My husband and I think it is very important to raise children with good, godly, character. We are raising up a heritage for the LORD. This is something we take very seriously. As parents, we are responsible for our children.

Proverbs 22:6 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.