The Heart of It All

by Lydia Rule

While Christians have known for centuries that parents are a main force in guiding their children’s education, national statistics are beginning to reflect this reality. Several years ago, the National Center for Education Statistics found that a father’s involvement has a positive effect on his child’s education.

Believers who follow Scriptural principles are clearly instructed to play a role in nurturing their children on spiritual, relational, and academic levels, according to Mark Holden, a pastor and national speaker based out of central New York. "In order to help kids, parents must be plugged into the heart of their children," he said in a telephone interview. "I believe the greatest danger in parenting is to be satisfied with externals. Parents need to focus on the child’s heart."

 

Speaking Out

Mark Holden is a featured speaker for a family-oriented seminar called "Releasing the Arrow," geared to parents interested in raising their children to spiritual maturity. Holden said that the seminar addresses the relevant topics of youth culture, raising children according to Biblical goals, living with an adult child in the home, as well as many other family-geared topics.

 

Pathway to Creating Goals

Holden says that the relationship between involved parents and goal-oriented children is "very closely related." As a father of seven, he urges today’s parents to "remain in the driver’s seat and to guard it." Holden and his wife homeschooled their children, investing time into their children’s lives on a daily basis. As a result, Holden says that his children have turned out "more socially rounded," and do not have peer-only friendships.

 

Encouraging Education

T. Suzanne Eller, author of The Mom I Want to Be, feels that the most important factor in raising children is encouraging them to find meaning in their lives. "It's awesome to help your teen find their passion," she said. "I was raised in a home where education wasn't fostered, and yet I loved to write. I had to find my own way, and I almost gave up because I didn't know the next step to take."

Eller purposed to nurture her children in ways she didn’t experience during her growing up years. "One thing I wanted to do differently with my children was to help them discover what they loved, and where they could use those gifts, and to support them as they learned more," she said.

 

Lydia Rule has been published in NextStep magazine, Long Story Short, The Torch, Aboite Independent, Around the Bloc, Acceleration, Real Teen Faith, CollegePlus!, and Fundsforwriters. She is also working on her fifth novel as well as a variety of other writing projects.

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