Guidance: Listening to the caring words of God and those who love us

The first way we as parents offer guidance to our children is by listening to their concerns. Practice listening. Remembering that a word fitly spoken is like gold, and a clanging gong is just plain annoying. (Easier said than done, for sure, which is why we parents must practice.)

Invite your children in on family decision making. Invite them to help you pray and discern where God is leading. Admit when you struggle to hear clearly. Listen when they say that they have heard from God.

When discerning the guidance you hear from God, check the answer by 1Cor13. Is the answer you heard consistent with the character of God we see in the Love Passage?