FamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript

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Needs of Kids, Part 2

Guests:                      Dennis and Barbara Rainey

From the series:       The Art of Parenting: What Kids Need (Day 3 of 3)

Bob: While you’re making sure today that your children are fed—that they’ve got something to wear—that they’re doing their homework and that they’re protected—Barbara Rainey wants you to remember there is an even higher priority that we should never lose sight of, as parents.

Barbara: The number one thing that kids need from a mom and dad is to know how to have an authentic faith for themselves. They need a relationship with Jesus Christ, so that they can live for Him and take the message of Christ to their generation. What they need from you is to see it!

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Friday, September 7th. Our host is Dennis Rainey, and I’m Bob Lepine. Your children are going to live forever, just like you are. That’s why their spiritual condition is the most important thing we need to be focusing on, as parents. We’ll talk more about that today with Dennis and Barbara Rainey. Stay with us.

1:00

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us. So one of the great things about learning about parenting from parents who’ve already done it is they’ve made the mistakes you don’t have to make; right? [Laughter]

Barbara: I wish it were that easy!

Dennis: Well, we were parents. We still are parents, by the way.

Bob: Right.

Dennis: But we were parents in the thick of it for 28 straight years: six children—now, all adults; now, all married; lots of grandkids—[our kids] raising their own crew. I have to tell you, Bob—my hat goes off to them.

Bob: Yes.

Dennis: I think they’re raising this generation in much more challenging days than we ever thought about.

Bob: We’ve been taking time this week, and your wife Barbara is joining us. Barbara, welcome back.

Barbara: Thank you, Bob.

Bob: We are talking about parenting, because you guys have just finished a book called The Art of Parenting. The book is, really, the centerpiece of what has become a parenting initiative, here, at FamilyLife®.

2:00

It led to the video series—the Art of Parenting™—that churches are starting to use in small groups. People are using this in their living room with their neighbors, inviting them over for dinner and going through the video series. And this is what led to the movie that we produced, called Like Arrows, which is also going to be available very soon for people to purchase and to watch. I know a lot of our listeners did not get a chance to see it in theaters—they’ve been asking me, “When does it come out on DVD?” We’ll have news for you about that soon.

Your book, The Art of Parenting, is really the headwaters for all that we’ve been talking about here. We’re spending time helping parents understand what their kids need from them. You put these needs in the form of tweets, and we’ve already covered half of your list of ten tweets. Do you want to go back through the first five that we covered?

Dennis: I think it might be good; yes.

Barbara: Except it starts with ten; so the first five, but it—

Bob: Okay; we’re counting down until we get to number one. [Laughter]

Dennis: Number ten—it’s: “A home that is not child-centric.”

Bob: Your kids need the home they grow up in not to revolve around them.

3:00

Dennis: Exactly. Number nine—it’s: “A home led by intentional and purposeful parents.” That means parents who are really thinking through where they are taking their kids—

Bob: Yes.

Dennis: —and “What is the target that they’re going to release their arrow toward?”

Bob: —not just in the moment—but you’re thinking, long-term and strategically, with your kids.

Barbara: Yes; you’re thinking: “Why are we doing what we’re doing? What’s our goal?”

Bob: Yes.

Barbara: “Where are we headed?”

Bob: Alright; what else?

Dennis: Number eight: “A secure home.” Security is different than an alarm system. It’s the security of a mom and dad, who are committed to one another, and who are committed to following Jesus Christ.

Bob: It’s emotional security. Barbara, that goes beyond a mom and a dad being together. It is part of how we communicate to our kids, “It’s safe here for you to be who you are”; right?

Barbara: Yes; and mom and dad model that by being committed to one another and having a love relationship with one another that spills over to their kids. Their kids feel that—they feel that security and that freedom to be who they are.

4:00

Dennis: Number seven: “Parents who pray together every day.” I believe this more than ever—parenting is a spiritual battle. Marriages and families are taking place on a spiritual battlefield today that is unseen, but you are in a battle over your child’s soul.

Bob: And let me just say—in August, we launched a “30-Day Parenting Prayer Challenge,” where moms and dads can sign up and get a prayer prompt every day that will give them things to be praying for their children. It’s not too late to sign up for that. You can go to FamilyLifeToday.com—give us your email address—and every day, for the next 30 days, we’ll send you a prayer prompt. You can be praying, together, for your kids.

Dennis: Number six: “Your child or children need parents who don’t freak out when their children fail.” When they’re developing a faith of their own, parents can be a shock-absorber/a safe place to share their doubts.

Bob: Okay; we’re to number five. So, Barbara, as we count down to number one, what’s the number five tweet?

5:00

Barbara: Tweet number five is: “Parents who embrace God-given differences, as male and female.” The tweet goes on to say: “Men ...