Denise shared on "Three Things Moms Need to Know," and in Part Two of her message she shares on three things Moms (and parents in general) need to tell their children.

WHAT WE NEED TO TELL OUR CHILDREN
1. That we love them and God loves them.
It's so important for a mom to tell her children and their dad that she loves them every day or as often as possible. And to tell them that God always loves them. They will doubt both of those many times in their life, but it is the truth and we need to reassure them.

WHAT THE WORD SAYS
God is Love (1 John 4:8)
He loves our children.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

His love is shed abroad in our heart (Rom. 5:5). We have the ability to love like He does!

2. Never give up or quit.
We need to teach our children to finish what they start. For example: Let a two-year-old help straighten their room and pick up toys. When they get sidetracked or overwhelmed, we should help them. We need to show them how to finish. One day their abilities will be to a level that they can finish by themselves. It's important to start early and train them to finish. Make their beds, pick up dishes and to do age-appropriate chores. They will appreciate this when they are older!

WHAT THE WORD SAYS

The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again. But one disaster is enough to overthrow the wicked. 
(Prov. 24:16)

(This is the nature of the righteous.)

3. Obey God's Word.
We want to raise a wise child, and wise people fear God (reverence Him) which means that they obey His Word. When our children obey God's Word, they are building a strong foundation for their life that even storms can't topple. They need to know that God is good and the enemy is always bad. This has to be done at age appropriate levels of course, but it's important to make sure our child's guiding voice is the Word of God.

WHAT THE WORD SAYS

Wise men obey God and His Word and build their life on the Word of God. (Paraphrase)
(Matt. 7:24-29)

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
(John 10:10)

WHAT MOMS WISH DADS KNEW...
1. "Don't leave all the parenting up to me."
Dad’s need to show their God-given responsibility of leadership in parenting. You are partners in this and together you'll be able to help each other.

2. "I need your support."
Moms need support from dads. Like we talked about in the first point, you guys are a team and should use your strengths to help build up each other's weaknesses. Together, you can work at keeping balanced and seeing things from two perspectives to parent to the best of your ability. It's important to talk and support each other so that you can be on the same page and have a united front.

3. "Our kids need to hear you say,'I love you.'"
You may think it, but it's important that children have their dad say, " I love you. I'm proud of you." Don’t just think it, SAY IT and KEEP SAYING IT. Give lots of hugs too! Dad’s are very important to kids. Moms want dads to know just how important they are to their children and what an impact their behavior has on them for the better!

Remember (according to Philippians 4:13) that through Christ, we can be the mothers that God has called us to be!

For Families,
Denise McGee