Moment of Hope

A daily dose of encouragement from David and Marilynn Chadwick.

Our Favorite Parenting Tips: Build a Team Around Your Child

David and Marilynn Chadwick
Dec 9, 2024
2 min read

by Marilynn Chadwick

Let us consider [thoughtfully] how we may encourage one another to love and to do good deeds (Hebrews 10:24 AMP).

We are in a two week series of how to raise great kids. Even if you are not a parent, there is a good chance that you play a role in someone else’s life who is younger than you. I pray these parenting tips will give you tools to lead the next generation.

Every dreamer needs a team. Build a strong team around your child who will inspire them. Bring grandparents, coaches, friends, teachers and church leaders into your circle of friends. They can be some of your biggest allies in helping your children reach their dreams. Prayer partners are also key, along with the parents of your children’s friends. It really does take a village.

I supported our children’s teachers and coaches and volunteered whenever possible. Coming from a family of educators, I deeply admired the many adults who poured their lives into our children. I prayed for them, encouraged them, even befriended them.

But there were also times when I had to go to bat for our children. On a couple of occasions, I asked a teacher or coach to consider giving a second chance or a harder challenge to one of our children. In each case, I knew the child was ready. And in each case, the teacher or coach agreed, so I was glad I spoke up.

I want to add a brief word here about what I call “dream killers.” David and I were more intentional about protecting our children against dream killers than we were against drugs. Children usually recognize the stupidity of drugs. But they may not always see the subtlety of a dream killer. Dream killers can come in the form of peers or even adults at times.

This is sometimes called “the crab-pot syndrome.” When one crab tries to crawl out of a pot, the others will pull him back down. Not everyone will see your child’s dream as clearly as you can.

Again, that’s why David and I prayed fervently for God to guard our children’s dreams. To use those dreams to draw our children close to him, and then to open doors for their calling to make an impact for Christ on this broken and hurting world.

This Moment of Hope is adapted from Woman of Valor by Marilynn Chadwick (Eugene: Harvest House, 2017). Click here to download a free PDF copy of Woman of Valor. If you enjoyed today's Moment of Hope feel free to forward this email or share this link with a friend so they can sign up to receive a Moment of Hope every day.

Our Favorite Parenting Tips: Teach Your Child to Work Hard

David and Marilynn Chadwick
Dec 6, 2024
2 min read

by Marilynn Chadwick

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters (Colossians 3:23).

When our kids were younger, I made up a song based on Colossians 3:23 to help them remember this truth. We would sing it together all of the time. It was not just to remind them of these truths, but to remind me.

I’ve had to learn some parenting lessons the hard way. I am not a naturally self-disciplined person. But I discovered early on that it was nearly impossible for me to take the kids beyond where I had gone myself. If I was undisciplined, it was hard to discipline them. If my schedule was inconsistent, it was hard to help them follow a schedule. If I quit before I reached the finish line, it was hard to teach them to persevere.

When an airplane loses cabin pressure, we’re told to administer oxygen to ourselves before we give it to our child. There are some lessons we have to “administer to ourselves” before we can teach them to our children. Hard work is one of those.

We always encouraged our children to see all work as honorable—whether it was waiting on tables, doing weekly chores, or even folding laundry. Sometimes I would point out those who appeared to be “working with all their heart,” like the guy who loaded up our groceries with an especially cheerful attitude.

Hard work is vastly underrated in today’s culture. We live in a culture that is easily distracted and chooses the path of least resistance more often than not.

If you know me, you know how vital I think it is to talk about the importance of big dreams. But without plenty of hard work, they remain just dreams.

What are some small habits that you can build into your everyday life that will be passed on to your children? Morning worship time? An afternoon walk? A time each day to practice gratitude? Daily time in your Bible? Ask God to show you small steps you can take to instill discipline into your life and watch as your kids learn the same.

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Our Favorite Parenting Tips: Challenge Your Child to Dream Big

David and Marilynn Chadwick
Dec 5, 2024
2 min read

by Marilynn Chadwick

Blessed are those who fear the Lord…Their children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed (Psalm 112:1-2 NIV).

Since they were born, I’ve prayed our children would be “mighty in the land.” I believe God created us to dream and placed the seeds of those dreams in our hearts—even as children. Our children are who they are, in large part, because they followed the path of their dreams. I noticed over the years that around age ten, somewhat of a lifelong dream began to emerge. Other parents have told me they noticed the same thing with their children.

So we took those childhood dreams seriously. David and I tried to identify, invest in, and protect those early dreams. We believed their dreams could be the pathway to God’s destiny. After all, He’s the one who gave them the gifts and talents to reach their dreams. One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is to believe in their dreams and invest in whatever you can in the development of those dreams.

Dreaming is as natural as breathing for children. What’s not so natural is the self-discipline it takes to reach their dreams. David and I helped our kids experiment until they found something they loved and were good at. Then we’d provide structure and discipline to help them stick with it for a mutually agreed upon length of time. At least until their efforts brought some measure of success.

For example, all of our children loved sports. But at different times, each would have chosen to skip out on practice, especially those grueling early morning workouts. That’s when our role was to provide that little extra push. As they got older and developed a passion for their dreams, their own self-discipline kicked in with a fierce determination. Dreams energize effort. And over time, we saw how small but faithful habits helped our children accomplish those dreams.

Maybe you need to sit down with your kids and revisit some of their dreams. Ask them questions like, “What do you love to do?” “When do you feel most alive?” “What brings you joy?”

You might even need to sit down with a journal and ask yourself some of those same questions. We all need to dream. Whether we are 9 or 99, we must always find ways to dream!

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