When you set goals, do you set goals for and with your kids? In this episode, I want to talk with you about how you can help your kids set and keep goals. I have gathered together some general goal-setting advice as well as ways to support your kids in their goals. I also have some examples of goals that kids can set.
Goal Setting for Kids
It is important to involve children in the goal-setting process and to help them understand that goals are things we work towards over time. Here are a few tips for talking to kids about making goals:
Make it age-appropriate: Tailor the goal-setting conversation to your child’s age and maturity level. For younger children, it may be helpful to focus on short-term goals, such as completing a task or learning a new skill. Older children may be ready to set longer-term goals.
Involve them in the process: Help your child identify their interests and passions and encourage them to set meaningful and relevant goals.
Be supportive: Encourage your child to set challenging but achievable goals. Offer support and encouragement as they work towards their goals.
Help them track their progress: Whether through a chart or a simple checklist, help your child keep track of their progress toward their goals. Seeing their progress can help them stay motivated.
Celebrate their successes: When your child reaches a goal, celebrate their accomplishment and encourage them to set a new goal.
Overall, it’s important to approach goal-setting as a positive, empowering process that helps children develop important skills and confidence.
Supporting Your Kids with Their Goals
Here are a few suggestions for how to help kids start the new year off on the right foot:
Set SMART goals: Think about what you want to accomplish in the new year and plan how to achieve those goals. Make your goals specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.
Make a schedule: Having a schedule can help you stay organized and ensure that you are making time for the things that are important to you.
Take care of themselves: Make sure to prioritize self-care, such as getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and eating a healthy diet.
Reflect on the past year: Take some time to think about what went well for you in the past year and what you could have done differently. This can help you identify areas for improvement and plan how to achieve your goals in the new year.
Seek support: Surround yourself with supportive people who can help you stay motivated and accountable as you work towards your goals.
Overall, the key to a successful new year is to have a clear plan and to take consistent, deliberate action toward your goals.
Practical Goal Examples for Kids
Here are some practical examples to help your kids reach their goals:
Set a goal to read a certain number of books over a specific time period: Encourage your child to set a goal to read a certain number of books in a month or a year. You can help them choose books appropriate for their age and interests and track their progress with a reading chart.
Set a goal to learn a new skill: Encourage your child to set a goal to learn a new skill, such as playing a musical instrument or learning a new sport. Help them identify the steps needed to reach their goal and provide support.
Set a goal to improve their grades: If your child is struggling in a particular subject, help them set a goal to improve their grades. Work with them to develop a plan for how they will achieve this goal, such as seeking extra help from a tutor or teacher.
Set a goal to save money: Encourage your child to set a goal to save a certain amount of money by a specific date. This can help them learn about budgeting and saving and can also help them develop important money management skills.
Set a goal to help others: Encourage your child to set a goal to do something kind for someone else, such as volunteering their time or raising money for a good cause. This can help them develop empathy and a sense of purpose.
What goals are your kids working on? How are you going to help your kids set and keep their goals?
Our family has a wonderful announcement to share with the world! My son recently won an Emmy for cinematography for his part in a documentary called Challenge Accepted about a young girl named Faith-Christina. Every child is different, but I want to share with you some ways in which we went about raising a creative child who went on to win an Emmy.
This is the beginning of a series of episodes about raising different kinds of kids to adulthood and preparing them for their desired careers. In this episode, I’m going to share the journey of raising a creative child who became a videographer and ended up winning an Emmy.
There’s no right way to walk this path, but there are good practices and wise choices. I can share through what I know about Strengths Finders and personalities some of how and why we did what we did.
The Early Years
We noticed early on that my son had an affinity to make movies. He loved to read novels and do his writing assignments about making movies or related topics. This led to me encouraging him to start writing his own scripts. We got him a video camera and he started making his own movies. I’d help scout locations and his siblings and friends would be his actors. We’d gather costumes from our closets and thrift stores. And then he’d go out and shoot these movies.
High School
This bent for filmmaking brought with it related interests. My son started doing sound for our church. He joined a band and dig some gigs with his friends. But, everything he did was in the creative realm and brought him back to filmmaking and being behind the camera. I began to plant seeds of career paths such as having his own videography business or production studio.
Overcoming Adversity
Right about the time that my son was applying to college and competitive degree programs, our house was hit by lightning. His computer was fried and along with it, his whole portfolio of creative work. This was in the days before he knew to back up his files and before we had so many options for keeping multiple backup copies of files. His dream of going to film school was shattered. He pressed on and got some degrees in cinematography but more importantly, he kept working in the field.
Working with Others
We encouraged him to learn from others but give more than he takes. Tell good stories. Make good videos. Put in the hard work even when no one is watching. He ended up starting his own videography business. It was tough because as a small business owner, he had to put in a lot of hours covering all the different roles from sound to filming to editing to directing. He worked other jobs as needed to make ends meet while pursuing his dream.
The Results
After 12 years of working hard in his field, my son was ready to step in when his name was called. He had put in the hard work. He was faithful. He had integrity. So when there was an opening to work with this team on Challenge Accepted, he was invited to join them and ready to put in the work.
Important Lessons
Here are some important life lessons learned along the way:
You don’t have to participate the way the world tells you that you have to compete to get ahead.
Raise your children to be masters at their skill so their work stands out from the rest.
Don’t go along to get along if it means compromising your values.
Be watchful observers of your children. What do they spend their time doing when they don’t have to be doing it? Encourage and support those bents and interests. Maybe they’ll win an Emmy someday. Maybe they will send a rocket to Mars. Maybe they will change culture.
As we come to the end of another year, this is the perfect time to think about the year behind you and what you did or did not accomplish. Maybe you’re wearily thinking that something has to change for 2023. Maybe you’re looking forward in anticipation for this new year. Either way, I want to share with you some ideas for how to reflect and refocus for the new year during these finals days of this year.
As you wrap up your Christmas celebrations, the week between Christmas and New Year’s is a great time each year to reflect and refocus on your goals in various areas:
General life
Spiritual
Relational
and more!
Why Journal?
I’ve shared in the past that I’m a faithful journaler. I have found that when I journal and write things down, it helps me keep life in perspective. It allows me to pray over things in my life and give thanks when I see God at work in my life. It shows me where I need to make a change in my heart over time. I have a habit of journaling every day. Some days it is very short and other days my entries are more in depth.
Review and Reflect
During this transitional time, I like to go back and read my journal entries from the previous year. I reflect on what I wrote and look for patterns. I see God’s faithfulness. I gain perspective. I’m able to thank Him for what He did, including the hard things.
Refocus for the New Year
After I review and reflect, I begin a new journal for the new year. I start by writing about the blessings and faithfulness of God in the previous year. I write my hopes for the coming year. This helps me refocus for the coming new year. I write hopes and goals for things like:
My husband and our marriage
Each of my children and their lives, relationships, and struggles
My self-care and personal goals
My business and ministry related goals
Your Turn!
I encourage you to grab a journal or a notebook. First, list all of the blessings that God has given you this year. Include the simplest things to the biggest provisions. Include the good, the bad, and the hard. Then list your goals and hopes for the coming year, both large and small.
May this journaling be a reminder of God’s faithfulness in the coming year!
A friend recently suggested to me that I should talk to you about how God answers our prayers and specifically prayers of protection for our kids. Praying for your children is an important part of the spiritual development of your kids and for you as a parent.
I have a child who is a natural risk-taker. Do you have one of those? This momma I was talking to recently experienced a situation with a son who had been part of an accident, but his involvement or condition was unknown for a period of time. There’s just nothing that will drive a momma to her knees faster than something happening to her child! Those kinds of situations change us and remind us that God is in control.
Prayer is Action
Brooke McGlothlin at Million Praying Moms often says that the most effective thing you can do as a parent is to pray. Praying is doing something! Pray for your children consistently, not just when they are acting up or acting out, but regularly. If you don’t pray for your children, you’re missing out on deep communion with God and the testimony of being able to tell your child that you’re praying for them.
I’ve spent a good amount of time in the hospital lately between the birth of my second grandchild and supporting a family member in the hospital. One day I was in the waiting room area and met a mom whose toddler was going into organ failure. I felt overwhelmed as I listened to her story. I felt like I couldn’t take another another thing. But I could pray, and that’s exactly what I did for the momma.
I don’t know what your year has been like and I don’t know exactly what your future holds, but God does. Whatever your situation, ask God to give you some margin to enter into someone else’s hard place with them. Ask him to help you see the importance of praying with and for your children.
Pray Consistently
God cares for your children and he cares for you. He wants what is best for them, but sometimes that includes hard lessons. If you have a risk taking child like I had, you’re probably more likely to be praying for that child, but don’t forget your more compliant or less communicative kids too. Make a practice of praying for protection over your kids and praying consistently for them in general.
I pray that like the momma who suggested that I talk to your about praying today, that you’ll see God’s protection over your children and answered prayers.
We’re moving into the holiday season with lots of parties, gatherings, and festivities! In this episode, I want to focus on creating traditions and holiday rituals your children will remember. How you do create memories and create traditions that your children will want to continue to do as they get older and desire to implement with their own families?
When I was first married, I was very career focused. Having a large family wasn’t on my radar because of my upbringing. But, when I found myself with a growing family, I knew I wanted to do things differently. I watched what my husband’s mom and families in our church did and took cues from them for how to develop traditions and holiday rituals to implement with our kids.
Holiday Ritual Suggestions
Here are some ideas for things you can do as a family during the holiday season:
Celebrating Advent
Doing cookie decorating
Going Christmas tree hunting and decorating
Going Christmas caroling
Attending candlelight services
Feeding the homeless
Playing piano at the senior or assisted living facility
Reading books at the Children’s Hospital
Doing plays and reenactments
Reading the Christmas story together
Watching Christmas movies
Preparing and sending Christmas cards
Taking gifts to a friend
Sending handwritten letters and pictures to family
Matching outfit Christmas photos
Think about the ages of your children. What types of activities fit this stage? If there’s grumbling and complaining, try changing up the activity or doing something new. These traditions and holiday rituals don’t have to cost you a lot of time or money. The activities don’t need elaborate planning. The point is celebrating together and pointing your kids to Christ.
Making Memories and Passing Down Traditions
I’ll be honest. There was a time when I tried to do it all. I knew the day would come when my children would leave my home and trying to scheduled these activities would become a nightmare. I learned with activities held the greatest importance to my kids over time. We don’t do them just to do them because we’ve always done them, but we also don’t not do an activity if one child is complaining. Pray for discernment.
My kids remember these things we did together. The purpose was to bring our whole family closer together. These things are written on their hearts and they discuss their memories when we get together at family gatherings. I’m watching now as my adult children are taking some of these traditions and holiday rituals into their new families!
We’ve experienced a lot of change in the last few years. Everywhere I turn, I’m reading or hearing about someone else in crisis. I’ve had seasons of crisis in my own life recently. Today, I thought it would be helpful to talk about how to help others in a crisis.
Whether it’s the loss of a loved one, a medical diagnosis, the loss of a job, a wayward child, or just the concern about how to put food on the table this week, there’s someone near you in crisis.
Some people want to talk through these things while others want to be quiet. On either extreme, people want to know that they are not alone. They need to know that someone cares about them but not judging or giving three simple steps to fix the problem.
In this episode, I share some tips and thoughts surrounding:
The difference between internal and external processors
Praying for others in crisis
Giving and receiving advice
Giving grace
Asking for help
You don’t have the capacity to help every single person you know in a crisis. Lean into God’s leading to walk alongside those He puts on your heart. In the midst of helping others through crisis, He molds and changes you too!
