It is amazing how the things that we do in life are picked up by our children. All to often our actions, reactions, words, attitudes, emotions, feelings, and beliefs are repeated back to us by our children. I have often heard parents talk about how their children said a certain word or phrase and wonder where they heard that from. What they don't realize is that they themselves often have used that very same word or phrase. So if your child is mimicking back something unpleasant you might want to check the mirror for the source first.
This being said I wanted to brag on my kids a little. In this process of stepping into and activating the callings and giftings that God has given me I did not realize how much my thought process and thus my speach had changed. It has recently taken me by surprise, when I have accidently hurt myself, that both of my children will come to me and say "Daddy can I pray for you"? They don't run to get a bandaid or ask if I need some kind of medicine or a doctor. They ask if they can pray. The awesome thing is that a majority of the time God answers their prayers. They are young and no one has wrongfully told them that "God does not heal" or "it dosent work that way". I did not realize it until recently but the reason my children respond that way is because they are mimicking our responce. When one of them gets hurt our first responce is "let's pray for that" and in our house hold we believe that God will and does heal.
What blew my mind about all of this is hour the mindset of our family has changed. About 3 years ago we would have responded first with aspirin, medicine, doctor visits and so on and then afterward remember that we should ask God for help. Through some of the training we received, under one of my mentors, in preparation to stepping into the ministry God has laid before us that mindset began to change for us as a family. It was a complete shock to me when I realized that they were mimicking us and that we indeed had changed that much. I don't say all of this to blow my own horn but to say I am proud of my children for turning to God first.
Just today my 4 year old daughter found a scratch on my back and she asked if it hurt. I said it did and she responded by saying "I am going to be your doctor and pray for you to be healed". After praying a simple prayer she asked "is it all better?". I responded yes because it did stop hurting immediately. She then jumped up and down and said "I am the best doctor in the world because I prayed for you and God healed you". I wanted to share that story with you partly because it is a cute story about one of my princesses but also to demonstrate how your kids see and believe what they see you do.
I encourage you to take charge of the atmosphere in your home. Speak life into your spouse and kids and they will mimicking it back to you. Continue to build in them and it will become a life style. Put yourself in the word and let God change you and you then will also begin to see a change in your family.
