Rejoicing in the Right Choices
When you think about it (when you have time to think about it), our lives whirl around with so much business. We go to work, run errands, cook, clean, go to sleep and the next day it starts over. When we throw children in the mix, our whirlwind can turn into a veritable tornado with shuttling to school and activities, tracking homework and chores not to mention playmates and playtime. It's understandable, then, why we resort to reactive instead of proactive parenting. When the kids are behaving, getting good grades, and the house is quiet, the reactive parent sits back and relaxes from his role. But when grades slip, trouble arises, or the quiet home is in chaos, the reactive parent steps in to "fix" the problem then steps back again. The problem is that often the child notices the best way to get some attention is to do something bad.
You may have heard the phrase “parent driven” as it refers to our Children’s Ministry. The focus is for parents to become proactive about their children’s spiritual development here at Pulpit Rock Church. But we want to help you in this process. What if we could help your children to develop character more like Jesus, not because you told them to, but because they wanted to? Rejoicing in Right Choices is a 3-week PRC preschool program taking place in April that will focus on 3 Christian Character qualities based on the fruits of the spirit in Galatians 5 and character qualities in Colossians 3. Read more about it in the article posted in this newsletter.
Dr. Bryan Davidson is a parent of four very active, beautiful children here at PRC and he is a Clinical Psychologist. He has noticed many benefits of using past Rejoicing in Right Choices programs. First, he says, the child was changing from “don’t do this, don’t do that” to focusing on positive attitudes and actions on his own. Second, he says, the parents changed from reacting to the normal daily routine to identifying and affirming virtuous behaviors and attitudes.*
The Christian walk is not about a system of dos and don’t,” Dr. Davidson says, “but about rejoicing in the positive aspects of a walk with God.” So, look for Rejoicing in Right Choices in your preschool child’s room in the coming weeks.
*Egeler, Kathy. ”A work in Progress: one parent’s response.” Christian Early Education. September, 2006 vol. 8, issue 1.