"Lord, protect my children."

"Build a hedge around them to guard them physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Block their paths so that they cannot move toward activities and relationships that would harm them. (Job 1:10; Hosea 2:6-7)" from "Prayers for Prodigals" by B.J. Reinhard

Keep your children in your prayers. Trust God. You cannot raise them on your own. I did not learn to trust God with the raising of my children until the third left home. I had been relying on my own parenting skills. Now I'm working to include God in raising my youngest. It's a change in style & behavior for me.

Raise your children in a Christian Household (Colossians 3:18-21):

- Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.

- Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

- Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

- Fathers, do not embitter your children, or they will become discouraged.

#5 on the list of Commandments is the only one that carries a promise (Exodus 20:12): "Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you.

By teaching our children to be obedient and respectful we are preparing them for an adult life of obedience to God. This should not be considered optional. I am still trying to figure out the recipe, but I know that raising them in a Christian household is key. In Deuteronomy 6 & 11 we are admonished to obey the commandments, keep them on our hearts, impress them on our children, talk about them "when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Who am I to argue? Like I said, it's a change in lifestyle but a change that I willingly embrace.