Having children to raise, to train and to love is a privilege. Personally, I loved being a parent and still do even though my children are now grown and happily married. But if you’re serious about parenting, you realize at times it is beyond you or more than you think you can handle. At those times, I often wondered if I was raising my children or were my children raising me? Having the responsibility of children is stretching, maturing, tiring and quite often exasperating. My children could bring the best out of me… or the worst. I also discovered that children could help hold you accountable as a parent. What do I mean?

•  Are you teaching your children to resolve conflict in a healthy way with one another, but then you and your spouse regularly experience out of control fights without resolve?                             
• Do you desire your children to love reading and learning? Are you reading to them? Are you a reader?
• Are you training your children to pray? Do they see you having a personal prayer life? Can they catch you and your spouse praying together?
• Do you want them to love God’s word? Do they see you reading it, hear you quoting it and then relating the stories from the Bible to them in practical ways.
• Are you committed as a family to serve together and support your local church? Do you desire your children to love your local church?  Are you enjoying roasted preacher Sunday at the lunch table?
• Are you teaching your children to value giving to those in need? When is the last time you took them to the homeless shelter in your local community to serve?

The very presence of our children will hold us accountable to actually live that which we are speaking to them. That’s a good thing.