As we inquired and sought the Lord for His will for the church family in 2023, He put on our hearts Kingdom Parenting. I wish I could tell you exactly what this means and the 5 steps to accomplishment this assignment – but the reality is that as we learn and grow in Kingdom Parenting, the Lord will reveal aspects, tools, insights, for us to grow in it. Whenever there is a God-given Purpose there will always be God-given Provision.
As Jerry was speaking this past Sunday, I felt the Lord highlight one of his slides. He shared that one of the first applicable steps in learning to be a parent is to make sure that your children know that they are safe. I felt the Lord remind me that many of us here at Lifespring continue to be faithful because we experienced that Father (Parent) God loves us with a relentless, pursuing, and deep love for us. Even though we have made many mistakes, even though we have turned our backs on Him, even though we have run from Him, even though we are not worthy of Him – He still loves us and desires to be face to face with us. This is what we have come to understand what the Father’s Heart is to our own lives.
As a church family, having received this Father’s Heart – the Lord began to challenge me to give this love to the world. And as I asked how – I felt God remind me that we need to be a people who Genuinely Care for Others. When we care for others, we don’t do so because we are supposed to, we do so because our hearts genuinely care for the wellbeing of our families, co-workers, employees, etc.
This past year we made friends with another family in the events/festivals world – the crazy part is that this family is our direct competition! But as we grew to know each other, we found ourselves genuinely caring for one another. We were praying for their children, the well-being of their business, their families – we genuinely cared for them. In the midst of a busy summer, they started to share that things in the marriage were falling apart. As Karyne and I prayed for them and helped to intervene – the marriage shifted and with adjustments, the marriage started to get better.
The only reason that Karyne and I were able to be a part of their lives (especially in crisis), is not because we are amazingly qualified or advertise on google. I believe the only reason we were able to be a part of a solution is because our competition felt that we Genuinely Cared for Them and therefore knew that they were safe with us.
I believe the Lord is challenging the Lifespring family that the Father’s Heart that has been poured into us is the first step in reaching the world. And the first step to being Kingdom Parents is Genuinely Caring for Others which creates a safe place for those who may not have a safe place.