Entering Summer with Purpose

It is the small things that matter.

By: Brendon O’Dowd, head of school

When we began reading Paul Tripp’s book, Parenting, two years ago we learned that we are not owners of our children but ambassadors who are motivated by “the potential of what grace could cause [our] children to be” (p. 19). At the end of the book, Paul provides a practical list to help you with your calling as an ambassador. I want to highlight three of them.

First, he reminds us to “accept our limits” (p. 203). In a social-media dominated world that holds impossibly high standards, this concept is so important. We want instant answers and instant change and that’s just not the way God or life works.

Second, we need to “root” all that we ask of our children in the wisdom of the Bible, and not just on Sunday (pp. 205-206). That comes with a big assumption that as parents we are spending time in the Word. I know summer is when many Bible reading plans fall by the wayside, so why not read the Bible together as a family before dinner?

Finally… “do all of the things over and over again. Parenting is about the willingness to live a life of long-term, intentional repetition” (p. 208). It is the small things that matter. It’s okay to be ordinary parents with ordinary children that God can and will use to be His instruments who can turn the world upside down (Acts 17:6, ESV).

May your summer be filled with taking the long way, reading books, and solving puzzles!