Henry Blackaby is the author of the best-selling book Experiencing God. He and his wife Marilyn raised five children as pioneer missionaries in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
The four boys have all earned PhDs, one is a seminary president, another a pastor in Norway, and two others serve in churches in North America. Their daughter Carrie is a career missionary serving in Germany.
I once asked Dr. Blackaby, “How do you account for the fact that all your children have followed in your footsteps and are serving the Lord?†He thought for a moment and replied: “Two things – we stayed focused and stayed close to them.†That was his formula and it worked!
To drive a car, to practice medicine, to serve as an architect requires a certain level of proficiency that is demonstrated by licensing; but raising a child, one of life’s most important responsibilities, if often a haphazard affair.
Staying focused means your objective is to raise children to know God, to embrace Christian values, and to have godly character. Staying close to your children means you take time to be part of their lives.
The time to get serious about parenting is not when your teenager is already rebelling. Parenting begins long before your child ever comes into the world when you as a couple decide, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.â€
The Blackaby parenting formula works: stay focused and stay close to your children. And someday you too, like Dr. Blackaby, will look back and say, “Thank God! I’m humbly grateful.â€
Used with permission from Guidelines Philippines, Inc. To learn more about Guidelines and the ministry, please write to Box 4000, 1280 Makati City, Philippines or e-mail address box4000@guidelines.org. You may also visit our website at www.guidelines.org.