The Struggle is Real

This week my sister bought my Mom a sign stating the obvious, “The Struggle is Real.” As the kids have returned to school and we’ve worked to relearn the school rhythm and routine in our house, I’ve thought of this phrase a dozen times. My hunch is that I’m not alone in feeling overwhelmed with trying to balance the demands of the outside world and creating a safe home where our kids can be who they are as we steer them towards who we hope they will become. A few years back after reading a bunch of books in a short period of time, I was inspired to figure out the goals for my kids.

1. Love God
2. Serve Others
3. Want to Come Home

It often seems that the most important things in life are really simple. Parenting with the end in mind, has offered grace in the times that we have messed up and gotten lost in the struggle; this mantra reminds me what’s important. For instance, this morning my toothless child came bounding into my room telling me that she heard the tooth fairy in her room and was excited about the dollar but confused why her tooth was still under her pillow. We talked about how the tooth fairy that visits our house is pretty terrible, sometimes she even forgets to show up for a couple nights in a row! While this magical part of childhood is fun, it’s not critical to the adult I want my daughter to become, and reminding myself of that allowed me to let it go.

On the other hand, we see a direct connection between finances and faith and therefore actively teach that to our kids though example, conversation and intentional learning opportunities. We want our kids to love God, and part of building this foundation in their lives comes from recognizing that all that we have has been entrusted to us to manage for God’s Kingdom. These conversations are just as important as attending regular worship services, participating in youth events and serving with the church.  

We are offering a new class at Augustna Lutheran Church starting in October called Smart Money Smart Kids which focuses on the values behind having a healthy relationship with money. The class is designed for parents to gain new insights about topics such as responsibility, patience, giving, honesty and contentment and how to encourage those traits in their children. These traits all fall within the Sanford end game goals, and learning and teaching about fostering this in our children will be awesome.

If you are local and interested in attending you can learn more about the details and sign up here. The cost for the six week class is $60 and will be held Sunday mornings October 2nd - November 13th at 9:45. Sign up by September 18th so that materials can be ordered.