To encourage means to fill someone up with courage; to put courage “into” them.
That is so powerful to practice! We need a crazy amount of courage to succeed in this discouraging world we live in!
In the little years of raising kids, encouragement is like the foundation you’re building as a parent. In the teenage years it is the safe haven they as a retreat. Using your words to edify and encourage your kids establishes strong family connection that will build them into might men and women of God. When they get older, and the world gets mean and then they will come back to you because you are safe. You are safe because you invested in encouragement more than correction. It might seem harder in the moment, but it will make a lasting difference in your kids.
If we choose to encourage instead of correct, it creates space for our children to be who God says they are instead of becoming who the world says they are.
Today’s challenge is to take a moment and replace your correction with encouragement!
“We encourage extravagantly and correct carefully to open up the hearts of our children.”
- Don & Suzanne Manning
