What is Influencing Your Children?

Influence is a powerful thing! We all are influenced every day by any number of things and we all influence others every day in a number of ways. Even as a mommy, we are an influence on our kids whether we think about it as such or not.
Think about it!

How does your mood or attitude set the tone in the home? My mind immediately jumps to this very morning when I could not find the "right side" of the bed to save my life! I'm sure it had something to do with needing to be up with my sick mom until 2:30 and then up just shy of 8 AM hearing my son repeatedly asking for a "nack" (that's "snack" for those moms whose children are able to make the "s" sound!) It goes without saying that I was not a happy camper and foolishly wore that mood out there on the sleeve of my robe for all the world to see. No, I didn't yell at my son but there was no mistaking the fact that I was not the least bit happy to be up and about. How do you think it affected my son's mood and attitude? How has this same scenario played out in your home?

What do we do that influences our kids either positively or negatively?

* mood/attitude in general
* relationship with God
* habits of spiritual disciplines such as Bible study/reading, prayer, worship, service, etc.
* our responses to people and circumstances
* how we treat others
* what we choose to make a priority
* how we take care of ourselves
* how we take care of our possessions
* etc., etc., etc.

The list could be endless! Because of that, it is quite humbling to realize that we influence our children in profound ways. Does that make you want to pay closer attention to what they see and hear from you every day? I know it makes me want to!

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

What kind of influence do you WANT to be?

What would that look like?

How can you BE that influence?

Surrender the answers to God and allow Him to mold and shape you as you seek to mold and shape your children for His glory!

Tara is a mommy & Christian Life & Parenting Coach with iBloom, an organization dedicated to encouraging women to connect with Christ & have a significant impact with their lives. Tara's passion is to equip Christian moms to live their spiritual legacy in front of their kids every day. Sign up for her free e-book "Raising Godly Children: What Every Christian Mom Should Know" at her website http://www.taramcclenahan.com/.

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