Recently I was asked
to write something for J-Star Magazine about encouraging your kids to be a
destiny walker. It really made me think! And reminded me of a great book I read
by Bruce and Darlene Marie Wilkinson called "The
Dream Giver for Parents."
Living in a world
that pressurises us to make the most money, wear the fanciest clothes and drive
the snazziest cars, it’s safe to say that our children can be influenced by the
superficial which in turn could motivate how they choose their future
ambitions. With suggestions that
it’s actually money that brings happiness and not walking in your destiny, it’s
easy to understand why there are so many unhappy people sitting in offices
around the world, not living life to its fullest potential and not daring to
dive into the big destiny that has been designed for them. This raises the question:
"Are we encouraging our children to dream with
God?”
As destiny walking mothers we honour God in our lives by allowing Him to reign
in the lives of our children. In the book of Samuel, Hannah dedicated her son
back to the Lord. This was a bold and public act of showing that she trusted
God’s Big Dream for him and was willing to sacrifice her plans for His. Don’t
ever give up on the Dream Makers Big Dream for you and your family – it comes
from God’!
Authors Bruce and Darlene Marie Wilkinson’s
book, The Dream Giver for Parents, explores the concept of allowing
your children to nurture their unique God-given dreams. The Wilkinson’s shared
seven principles which enable parents to assist their children in discovering
their dreams. They also aim to help parents find out how these dreams fit into
"God’s Big Dream" for the world.
Dare
Dare to allow your
children to dream of changing the world! By teaching your children that it is
possible for impossible things to change, you are allowing them to develop a
thinking pattern that could very well result in them bringing about change.
Dare yourself to surrender to God’s will. It is not up to you to create a dream
for your child but for your child to discover God’s dream for him or her.
Raise
Raise your children
with dreams that will bring meaning into their lives! God does things big, and
if the dream feels like it’s too big for you, it’s usually the one God’s dreamt
for you. When you dream with your children, always keep the Dream Giver’s Big
Dream in mind, talking to them about how their dream fits in with God’s.
Explore
Explore all the
life-areas that your children are good at or that excite them! Psalm 37:4 says
to delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.
God puts desires in your children’s hearts and as they draw closer to Him, so
He will begin to uncover and reveal those desires to them more and more.
Affirm
Affirm your own
belief in your children’s dreams by exposing them to all the available
information and experiences that will help them define their dreams! Teaching
your child the beauty of humility and self-worth and the thin line in-between,
holds a value like no other. Passion.
Make Use
Make use of every
opportunity to help your children learn from role models – both positive and
negative! A simple but important truth is that children learn from what they
experience. As a parent you are the first role model for your child and as much
as we want them to bear witness to our good experiences and character traits,
sometimes life happens and they see the difficult times and negative traits as
well.
Encourage
Encourage your child
to rely on the Dream Giver as the only guide who will show them how to shape
their dreams to fit with God’s Big Dream for the world! As a parent, it is so
easy to fall into the unintentional trap of playing God in our children’s
lives. It is so important to remember that we are not the architect of our
children’s dreams and cannot be everything to them.
Remind
Remind your children
that following a Big Dream requires perseverance, tenacity and creative problem
solving! No dream comes true by itself. In John 16:33 the
Bible says “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have
overcome the world.” We need to allow our children to dream but also remind
them that faith, hard work and determination are the waters that allow their
seed to grow!
