Episode #001 – Introduction
Do you yearn for greater connection with your child and Christ? Would you like to parent beyond the moment with eternal perspective? Remember, if we are not purposed in knowing Jesus ourselves and showing Him to the next generation, the world will direct them away from Christ. Let’s work together now with practical tips and truths crafted to draw your heart to Jesus and guide your child into His arms.
I’m Terri Hitt, a believer and follower of Jesus. I’m a wife, mother to four children, (three on earth with one in heaven), grandmother to one, homeschooling mama, online business owner with my middle daughter, and I’m the creator and host of the Live With Eternal Perspective Podcast and now the Purposed Parent/Connected Child Podcast.
Have you heard the old saying, “the days are long, but the years are short?” Those true and insightful words apply to parenting. Most of us yearn for more time with our children after they are grown. Sometimes we look back and wish we had done things differently. We hope we’ve instilled godly character and wisdom to withstand the culture and pressures of this world.
You might wonder why I care so strongly about purposed parenting. Because my husband and I married right out of high school, had our first child when we were still teens, and I didn’t know Jesus when we married, our parenting style reflected the ways we were parented or things that we made sure to change about the way we were raised instead of seeking and allowing God to guide us in parenting the exact children He sent to us. Since we started so young, both of our children were out of high school and living on their own by the time we were 40 years old. We had no idea that God had another plan for us that involved adoption and a second opportunity to parent with Him at the center and leading the way to honor the relationship we now had with Him.
Connection is also very important. Do you yearn for greater connection with Christ and your child? Are you ready to stop reacting to life or stressors and begin an intentional parenting journey? Would you like to parent beyond the moment with an eternal perspective? I can help you learn new ways of viewing your walk with God through relationship with Jesus and equip you to recognize the precious, unique individual entrusted to your care. Just as God has a plan for your life, your child was created for a reason. Let’s submit to the Lord together to enable our children to find and live His purpose as we parent with eternal perspective.
As I’ve matured my walk with Jesus, I have experienced the Lord in personal, intimate ways, and I can promise that there is none like Him. Jesus is everything His word proclaims and more. Even though I continue to purposely grow my walk with Him daily, I will never know Him well enough, never reflect Him brightly enough, and never fulfill everything He has for me. Now that I understand the truth that the better I know Him, I realize how far I am from Him, I don’t try to measure my walk. I just try to draw nearer to Him in purposed relationship, continuing to release self, and allow Him to lead and guide me. What joy, hope, peace, and relief I have found through Jesus. There is no need for perfection. No need for worry. As my eyes and heart are fixed on Him, I simply strive to draw nearer, listen, and obey so that I hear Him much more clearly than the loud, warped lies of this world, and clearly show Him to my children.
As an older mom who has raised two generations of children, experienced the loss of one, and been blessed with bio and adopted children, I am also an advocate for special health needs and abilities, and I am familiar with parenting through trauma and neglect. I’m a teacher through our homeschool, a business owner with one of my children, a ministry leader, and someone who has learned much from studying God’s word, walking with Jesus, and surrendering my life to Him. I’d treasure walking beside you to educate, equip, encourage, and empower you in your walk with Jesus and your parenting journey. There is no greater legacy to leave your child than an authentic, strong faith that equips and carries them through this life. I truly believe that every answer we need is found in God’s word. Any strength we desire is found through Him. He works miracles in surrendered lives.
Deuteronomy 6:5-9 says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These words I am commanding you today are to be upon your hearts. And you shall teach them diligently to your children and speak of them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as reminders on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorposts of your houses and on your gates.”
In the verse I read, we hear God commanding us to love Him. Not just feel a love for Him, but to passionately care for Him, and deeply desire Him with all our heart, all our soul, and with all our strength. In Hebrew, love is not restricted to just feelings. The word, “heart” is the core of our will, intellect, interests, and emotions. If we understand the word command in that context, we see that when God commands us to love Him, He expects us to surrender and cling to Him completely with our soul, or our spirit essence, meaning the whole of us at the core. God also commands that we love Him with all of our strength, meaning absolutely everything we have.
How beautiful it is that God asks us to keep the words in our heart, which directs all of our thoughts, attitudes, and actions. What is within us gets expressed or expelled out, especially in times of stress, heartache, disappointment, or trouble. Did you know that in biblical times, people would carry verses written from Deuteronomy on a small scroll that was placed in two small leather boxes? The boxes were to be attached to the person; one tied onto the forehead and the other wrapped around one hand. Similar boxes were used at gates and doorposts and enabled one to keep the commandments close to remember what God required.
Thankfully, we can now read and digest God’s word with greater depth of understanding through our relationship with Jesus. We understand with greater clarity what God expects, and why. We are able to study and memorize His words, to hold them within us to help guide us in our walk and relationship with Him. They help us remember what a weighty responsibility He has granted us when He ordained our responsibility as parents. All that we become, all that we share and show, the way we live, react, and speak is seen, evaluated, and absorbed by our children. With great clarity, they see all we proclaim to be and all we actually are. What we do and show will bring them to the heart of Jesus to sit at His feet or drive them in the other direction. If you are not purposed in allowing God access to everything in your life and intentionally living for Him and teaching His truths to your children daily, the world will erode your dreams of your child walking in submission to Jesus. Our culture makes it extremely difficult for your child to draw nearer to God moment by moment because it is in direct opposition to what God desires for them.
When Jesus was asked (in Matthew 22) what the greatest commandment was, he did not respond with one of the Ten Commandments. Instead, He quoted Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, will all your soul, and with all your strength.” As Jesus walked this earth, His lifetime was wisely spent teaching the way to Him. As He mentored how we are to think, respond, and react, what we are to seek and find important, Jesus lived the perfect example. As we draw nearer to Him, we find the ways to teach our children how to find, respond, and love God.
Every part of our being is to know, seek, honor, and obey the Lord through our attitude, thoughts, words, emotions, hope, trust, purpose, and talents. God’s very image is crafted within each of us, whether we seek and know Him or not. Because of that, we are designed to worship Him. When we do not honor Him in the way God desires, when we do not listen and obey, or sacrifice our time and life to Him, we never find the joy and peace we crave. A sense of purpose and belonging will always be lacking within us. None of us want that outcome for our precious children.
I want to share some questions that you might like to ponder.
How do you desire to impact the life of your child or grandchild? Is leaving a legacy of faith a priority? God promises that repercussions for certain sins may extend into the third and fourth generations, but that He keeps a promise, a covenant for those who keep His commandments that extends for a thousand generations. Which do you prefer for your family?
What is your attitude when teaching your child or grandchild? What habits, words, or actions do you possess that they are or will be mimicking in the future? Is it pleasing to the Lord?
Do you follow the whims of your child or respond to their behavior, parent in the moment, or expect to be their best friend?
Are you constantly soliciting the opinion of your child or finding your worth through them and their accomplishments instead of in the Lord?
Would you like to discover positive, connected parenting instead of resorting to authoritative or reactionary discipline?
Children suffer a variety of issues unique to this generation. Only the Lord and a God-directed parent and parenting style will reach their heart and soul. Some of the topics and issues we will discuss in future “Purposed Parent/Connected Child” episodes will include how to:
Recognize each child as a unique individual from God (not your “mini me” or bff)
Release control
Parent under submission to God and for each of your unique children
Have relationship with Jesus
Enjoy relationship with your child
Dig deeper (beyond behavior) with your child
Create Connection
Express Emotions and help your child to do the same
Model Christ (in words, actions, and reactions)
Pray for each other and with each other
Be a living example of grace
Be the mentor for your child that leads to the Master
Protect your feelings and emotions (find the reason behind behavior instead of taking everything personally)
Correct, not punish
Teach obedience, love, and trust for God, and guide your child to love, trust, and obey you
Nurture attunement with Jesus, yourself, and your child
Avoid gender Confusion
Prevent childhood depression
Handle cultural trends and the effects on your child
I invite you to reach out to me at info@terrihitt.com to let me know what you would like to hear. One of my favorite topics to discuss are ways to recognize and reach the unique individual under your care. God specifically planned that you would parent each of your children. Nothing is a surprise to Him.
God knows that we are not capable of successful parenting on our own. As we rely on Him, as we release doubts and expectations, and humbly bow to His guidance and experience, we find greater clarity in parenting and a wondrous walk with our Creator that will extend to our children and those around us for generations.
Dear Heavenly Father, we praise You! There is none like You. Thank you for the love You pour on us, even when we don’t feel it or when we doubt or forget You. You are constant. You are steady. Help us to be purposed in our relationship with You. Help us to be the mentor You purpose us to be for our children. Generation to generation can shine or hide You, Father. We have failed in many ways to let our children and grandchildren see and intimately know You. Rectify our mistakes and cleanse our spirit. Renew our intentions for self and our offspring under You. Show us the way to shining You with a pure heart. Allow us to live on guard, with an intense passion for You so that we seek and follow You in visible ways that do not provoke our children or cause them to turn from You, but draw them ever nearer to You with joy and depth. May their character shine You and their heart mimic You. Keep us from turning from You and press us into You with intention and love. In the precious name of Jesus we pray. Amen.
Thank you for listening to this episode. The Purposed Parent/Connected Child podcast is available at terrihitt.com, where you can access the episodes housed in one convenient location, receive access to blog posts, read transcripts, and find additional resources designed to mature your walk with Christ and equip you to raise or influence connected children through Him.
I pray this podcast helps you parent with purpose and deepen your connection to Jesus and your children. Strive to place Christ above culture or self. Allow Him to work through you for true connection that will draw your children to Him and build a maturing relationship that lasts for eternity.