We often forget what the goal of parenting really is, don’t we?

We forget that it’s not really all about our kids being the best in sports or getting good grades or being successful in their careers someday (though these things are important!)

It’s so easy to forget about what really matters, isn’t it? That’s true for the holiday we just celebrated, but it’s also true in our parenting.

We make parenting about things that don’t really matter in the long run. We make it about good grades or good behavior. We make it about success in sports or extracurricular activities. We make it about things we can measure.

Though each of these is important, they’re not the MOST important thing.

The MOST important thing we should focus on is being a picture of God to our kids.  

Because the truth is, for better or for worse, when our kids grow up and think about God, they’re probably going to see Him through the lens of how we treated them.

Did we teach them through our example about forgiveness and grace? Did we teach them about love? Did we teach them about righteousness, service, and generosity?

The goal of parenting isn’t to create perfect kids. It’s to point our kids to the perfect God. (Click to tweet this.)

I don’t know about you, but I fall short in this department. A LOT unfortunately.

That’s why I’m so excited about this week’s challenge.

Here are 5 practical ways we can be the picture of God to our kids this week:

5 Ways to Be the Picture of God to Your Kids: 

• God is Love. – Do a random act of kindness this week (and make sure your kids understand that you are loving someone else because of the love God has shown you).
• God is Patient. – Be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry this week. (Yeah, it’s hard, but set a goal to not yell at all for ONE week…or one day if you need to start slower. You can do this!)
• God is the Source of Our Goodness. – Spend time with the Lord every single day this week, and let your kids witness you doing it. (If Jesus needed to do it every day, then we certainly do too!)
• God is Grace. – Offer grace. (One fun way to incorporate grace and mercy into your home is through the consequence can. Check it out here.)
• God is a Servant. – Serve someone else this week, and allow your kids to participate if possible.

Want to join me for the final challenge? If you’re in, leave a comment here telling me what you plan to do! You can use one of the ideas above or come up with your own idea. 

Need to catch up on previous challenges? No problem:

Week 1 Biblical Parenting Challenge

Week 2 Biblical Parenting Challenge

Week 3 Biblical Parenting Challenge

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About Searching for Sanity:

Have you ever looked at your beloved children and wondered: What in the world am I doing? Why did God trust me of all people to raise them? Motherhood is the most difficult job many of us will ever take. Moms today are busy, overwhelmed and stressed. Many feel under qualified.

Searching for Sanity offers moms an opportunity to take a breath, dig into the Word, and learn from parents of the past. In short devotions designed for busy moms, this book explores the parents of the Bible both the good and the bad. Some of the parents within the pages of God’s Word set great examples for us to follow; others made huge mistakes. In Searching for Sanity, you’ll learn from both.

The wisdom of God’s Word, paired with the experiences of another mother-in-training, will help moms find sanity in the midst of chaos.