HELPING YOUR KIDS ACHIEVE

HELPING YOUR KIDS ACHIEVE: Practical Advice for Back to School
RF, August 27, 2017

CONNECT Welcome to “Back to School Sunday” here at RF. A pastor friend asked me this yesterday, “Do you know the difference between broccoli and boogers? Kids will eat boogers!”

TENSION All of want our kids to be successful. What can I do to help them?

SOLUTION Cooperate with God…

Proverbs‬ ‭25:2‬ ‭(NKJV‬‬) It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

James‬ ‭2:17‬ ‭(NKJV‬‬) Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I call this “cooperating with the spirit of grace…”  Only God can make things happen. I just put things in place and watch God do it!

INSTRUCTION Today I want to give you some very practical ways you can help your kids be successful. Now don’t get burdened down with a load of guilt!  I know how we feel like we have to do everything right. Just pick out one or two areas that apply to you and work in it!  If you want more information look for these writers and websites:

Joe McGee; Kevin Lehman;
Focus on the Family;

We want to touch every area of our kid’s life: spirit, soul, and body…

I Thessalonians‬ ‭5:23‬ ‭(NKJV‬‬) Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Now here are some tips…

I. Physical encouragement

“Top 10 Back to School Tips”
Joe McGee

1. Communication
2. Calendar
3. Establish the night before routine
4. Early to bed, early to rise
5. Eat good, eat right
6. Homework station
7. Extra supplies
8. Stick to a schedule
9. Study skills
10. Down time

Practicing these ten things can help us stay organized and sane while at the same time helping our kids succeed at school.

The best thing you can do in this area is to bring a sense of peace into your home!

II. Emotional encouragement

“The Eight Things No Kid Should Leave Home Without”
Joe McGee

1. A Sense Of Self Worth
2. A Big Vision
3. A Love Of Math
4. Organizational and Time Management Skills
5. Teachable Spirit
6. Communication Skills
7. Character
8. Sense of Humor

The best thing you can do in this area is to constantly remind your kids of what God says about them!

I want to let you in on a secret. If your child is struggling academically, one of the best things you can do with them is memorize Scripture.

Illustration: Until his high school years, Bill Gothard had been a very poor student, flunking first grade and passing the next eight grades on probation (that means he was getting too big for the desks).  However, as he memorized and meditated on Scripture, Bill’s grades improved significantly—so much so that he graduated from high school a member of the National Honor Society. This direct correlation between his grades and consistency in memorizing and meditating on Scripture continued through college and graduate school.

Psalm 119:97-100 (NKJV) Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. 98 You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; for they are ever with me. 99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for Your testimonies are my meditation. 100 I understand more than the ancients, because I keep Your precepts.

Psalms‬ ‭119:130‬ ‭(NKJV)‬‬ The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Notice I said for you to do it with them. This will work at any age. Start simple and grow together as they grow.

III. Spiritual encouragement

1. Help them give their hearts to Jesus.

Some of the things your kids struggle with will not be fixed until they get saved!

2. Make spiritual things part of life.

Deuteronomy‬ ‭11:18-22 ‭(NKJV‬‬) Therefore you shall put these words of mine in your heart and in your soul, and bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 20 And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, 21 that your days and the days of your children may be multiplied in the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to give them, like the days of the heavens above the earth.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

INVITATION