Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
Family Friday: Give your kids this gift in the next 48 hours
Happy Friday and Merry Christmas🎄
This will take 1 minute to read and 10 minutes of your time.
I hope you'll give your kids this last-minute gift.
The Blessing
By now you've shopped and wrapped and the anticipation is sitting like a powder keg in your home. Everyone is counting down.
In a last-minute moment, what if you could give your kids a gift that they couldn't outgrow or break? Something that wasn't a trip or experience?
As great as your presents may be, I'd like you to consider giving them something else in the next 48 hours.
Your words.
Not just any words though. Words in the form of a Blessing.
You may not consider yourself a word person or a writer. That's ok.
The fact that it's coming from you gives it more power than anything else on earth.
Whether your kids are 2, 7, 13, or 17 you can bless them in the next 48hrs.
It could be over a meal on Christmas Eve.
It could be in the form of a letter in their stocking.
It could be a special moment in your pajamas on Christmas morning.
I'm turning the tables a bit here for you, from consumer to creator, but what a gift your kids could receive.
And you know what, they need it from you. It's what they want more than anything else. Your blessing.
Will you take 10 minutes and write out something for each of your kids and share it with them for Christmas?
A book titled The Blessing was written 30+ years ago and laid out what this looks like for parents. It involves the following:
- Meaningful touch for your child
- Attaching high value to the individual
- A spoken message of love and acceptance
- Verbalizing a special future for that person
- An active commitment to fulfill the blessing
A few prompts for you to write out and share with them could be...
- I have loved watching you grow in ___ this year.
- I am proud of how you handled ____ recently.
- I noticed you made a change in ____ and that was hard.
- I believe in you because you have ____ qualities.
- I see a special future for you as you use ____ talents.
- It is a privilege to get to be your mom/dad right now because ___.
- I love you because you are my son/daughter and nothing can ever change that.
When I was in my 20's my dad told me that I would make a good writer one day. I had no idea what he saw or if it would ever be realized. What he said has never left me and 20 years later, this little Friday newsletter is one of the outcomes.
Your kids crave your Blessing. I hope you'll give them that gift.
Take the time. Create a moment. Speak from the heart.
I pray you have a wonderful and beautiful Christmas!
Finley
|
Power-Decade Parenting
Helping propel moms & dads of 3 to 13 year-olds to invest in their power-decade of parenting. Father of 3 teenagers and pastor of 20 years turned digital writer.
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3 min read Season: The Springtime (2 of 11) Big Expectations When we were raising young kids, I'll admit that I had unrealistic expectations when we spent time together as a full family of 5. It happened in small doses when we ate dinner or worked on projects around the house together. But if I had abnormal sized dreams on a regular Thursday night, they were exponentially higher when we went on family vacations. I have been accused by my wife of being too much like...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 3.5 min read Season: The Springtime (1 of 11) Tell Them The Truth As I’ve written about the power-decade over the past few years, I often ask young parent friends for relevant topics or situations. A while ago, my neighbor asked me to write about how we responded when our kids asked hard questions. It had me stumped at first, but I know that we did it. When I stopped to think about it, I realized our kids never seemed hesitant to bring hard questions. I am thankful...
500 Fridays Newsletter - 4 min read Season: The Cold Days (12 of 12) The Dilemma "Discipline" is a complicated subject for power-decade parents. I was texting a friend the other day about the gentle parenting movement that has landed in our culture today. So many of today’s ideas are a reaction to what was broken about yesterday’s approach. While disciplining children is a polarizing topic, it is a critical part of raising kids. My wife and I were young parents and both came from families...