Sometimes it feels like you are going it alone. Life can be hard. Mothering children is definitely hard. The authors of the devotions in this booklet know hard and they know Jesus. They have experienced the loneliness, the exhaustion and the fear about what the future will hold. They have felt isolated as they raised their children.
They wrote these words and picked out Scripture passages to help keep your eyes fixed on Jesus in the midst of the challenges of raising children. These authors are your Cloud of Witnesses (Heb. 12:1–2). You have others in your Cloud of Witnesses; go to church and meet them there.
The words in this booklet are written for you, anticipating the circumstances and emotions you might experience day in and day out. There are other very important words written for you. God gives you the Holy Scriptures, the very Word of God — the Bible — so that you can know His Son. We pray that reading these devotions increases your eagerness to be among the Church, receiving His Means of Grace, the Word of God and the Sacraments.
Sexual assault, rape and domestic violence are difficult topics to address. They are emotionally volatile and heartbreaking life events, and for women who are suffering and trying to heal, the perfect peace of the Gospel is vital.
In Christ, there is hope and healing for survivors of sexual assault. This Bible study and its companion materials are intended to help fill this need in churches.
‘You Are Not Alone’ Prayer Book
You Are Not Alone: A Prayer Book for Victims of Domestic Violence, is the newest resource from the LCMS Domestic Violence and Child Abuse Task Force. This devotional prayer book will help victims give voice to their heavenly Father in the midst of heartache and despair.
Ten Ways to Give the Greatest Gift
What is the greatest gift you can give your child? Perhaps this hint from God’s Word helps: “What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). The greatest gift Christian parents can give their children is what you might call “soul food.”
Ten Things Your Teen Won’t Tell You
One of the most difficult tasks facing parents today is keeping the lines of communication open with their adolescent children. No longer “children” in the narrow sense of the word and not quite adults either, adolescents are often a mystery to their parents (as well as to themselves).
Ten Things Toddlers Wish They Could Tell You
Tips for helping your young child or grandchild grow spiritually, socially and emotionally.
Ten Things Toddlers ...
Three Worldviews Parents Need to Confront
A review of common contemporary challenges to a Christian worldview along with takeaways for parents seeking to confront them.
The Meaning of the Presence of Children
“It is my aim here to explore the venture of parenthood … from within the perspective of Christian faith — which has, after all, been one of the principal sources of our culture’s formation on this question, but which … may help to point us in the direction of a true humanism.”
The Gift of Children
Children are not only a gift to their parents but also to the world. God desires that all children come to know the grace and mercy of Christ Jesus.
Jolt Junkies
Many parents are accustomed to a constant complaint litany from bored children. Have kids always been so easily bored? Have there always been so many antsy kids who can’t sit still in a classroom? There is no doubt that a major cause is the impact of mass media on kids.
How to Talk With Your Children
The first duty of love is to listen. When we really listen to a child, our compassion helps us sense the youngster’s needs, anxieties, joys and sorrows as if they were our own.
Holy Mashed Banana Gunk!
Raising children is holy and blessed work.
Getting It Together With Your Family
Families need to be prepared and equipped for the high points and struggles of daily life, as well as the times of crisis. By making a commitment to one another to keep Christ at the center, your family will be better able to weather the storms life may bring.
