Scriptures: Matthew 22:37, Psalms 42:1-4, Philippians 3:10-11

Heart, Soul, and Mind 

According to one theory, the left side of our brain helps us perform analytical reasoning for math, reading, and processing facts. In contrast, the right side is the center of creativity and feelings. These centers of thinking are still being researched, but any teacher will tell you that information sticks in our long-term memory better when the senses are involved. They have also found that we think more quickly when emotions are attached and that being in community brings us joy. Both areas—the left brain and right brain—work together to help us reason and make decisions. 

So which side of the brain, if any, would help you love someone? Which side of the brain drives your compassion? Jesus showed us we need to go beyond just the brain to be fully in relationship with one another. 

Jesus answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.”

Matthew 22:37 (CEV)

Reflecting on what is included in your “heart, soul, and mind” reveals how all-encompassing this command is. Many of us have not been good at loving the Lord with all of ourselves—emotion, action, and thought. Too often, we compartmentalize our spiritual journey to Sunday school and reading a Bible story. But the Lord wants to be in every part of our lives. And for the sake of our children, God’s Word must be seen as more than a set of rules to memorize. 

When you love the Lord God with your whole being, he becomes part of your every moment. Watch the clouds roll in and voice your awe of a mighty God. Turn on the Christian radio station and dance along to it in praise to the Lord. If you’re having a difficult day, stop right where you are, and ask your child to pray for you. Talk about what moves you to love God and what he teaches you. Enjoy works of art and entertainment together and discuss spiritual themes. Bring every little and big thing to God in prayer immediately. Let them hear you talk to God about your concerns and joys. And create a Christian community where your kids see you praying, weeping, and rejoicing with fellow believers. 

PRAY

Oh, Lord God, help me love you with my whole being—heart, soul, and mind. Help my children see you through me and grow closer to you every day. Amen.

TIME TO TALK

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s): What do you do when you love somebody? When you really love someone, how often do you think about them? 

Apply: What are your kids’ entertainment interests? Can you find any spiritual themes in the lyrics or plot line to talk about, even something as simple as a longing for purpose and meaning? 

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day.

Psalm 42:1-4

Philippians 3:10-11

Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 13:4, Proverbs 19:11, Ephesians 4:2

Love Is Patient 

In the book of 1 Corinthians, God uses the apostle Paul to teach us about love. It’s funny he has to explain it to us. Even more interesting is his first definition of love: it is patient. Apparently, we miss this point a lot. 

Too often, we think of love as a quick, elusive feeling. We believe it comes as easy as the 90-minute romantic comedies we stream on Netflix. We believe it’s something to grasp and then ride its magical tide before it disappears. And when the feeling falls flat, fizzles out, we despair. When the work gets hard, we fear we’ve done something wrong. 

But God’s Word tells us love is patient. Love is in it for the long haul, ready to do the work and wait for the reward. If we want the steady, deep love we see in older marriages, we must hold on through the awkward, exhausting, irritating first years of learning to get along. 

If we want our child to become a calm, well-adjusted young person, we must work through our three-year-old’s tantrums. 

If we want a confident, undeterred teenager, we have to meet the emotional needs of the elementary kid. 

Love is patient and kind.

1 Corinthians 13:4a (CEV)

The Lord loves us where we are and patiently pushes us to what we can become. To grow in love and exercise patience with our children, we only look to the master of love, God. We can ask him daily to fill us with his patient love. 

PRAY

Father of patient love, help me to love my family more like you do. Please help me to be in it for the long haul, celebrate the progress, and have hope for positive results. Fill our home with your grace. Amen.

TIME TO TALK

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s): What do you think love is like? 

Apply: With younger kids, brainstorm animal characteristics together to explain love. For example, love is as strong as a bear, faithful as a dog, etc. With older kids, talk about examples of love, good and bad, from friends and entertainment. Then discuss which of these examples represents patient love. 

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day.

Proverbs 19:11

Ephesians 4:2

Scriptures: Ephesians 4:32, Romans 13:8, 1 Corinthians 13:3-4

Love Is Kind 

Let’s go—let’s go—let’s go! Do—do—do! Run—run—run! The busy days of raising kids can catapult us into the mindset that our family members are just cogs in a machine that is or isn’t running efficiently. We can be so obsessed with getting through the day’s tasks that we miss the moments of the day. We can have the checklist done, the kids asleep, the house clean, and fall into bed exhausted . . . and miserably alone. 

Are you so busy making everything “perfect” that you have no energy to enjoy your spouse when they are at home? Do you value your spouse more for the help they can give than for their presence? 

To be like Jesus, we must show love and kindness as he did. Sometimes it’s easy to neglect the people closest to us and forget we must show them kindness each and every day, too. We can become so used to asking and tasking that we lose the love behind it all. 

If you pause long enough to think about it, it becomes clear that people are more important than the busyness. Be honest with yourself. You’d rather be in a messy house where you and your family feel comfortable and loved than in a spotless house where you feel unwanted and alone. You’d rather your kid be content in an average job than be miserable in a fancy, corporate job. You’d rather earn less money but have time to build a strong marriage than be rich in a loveless, strained relationship. 

Still, the calendar siren screeches. If only there were a way to mute these notifications, so they don’t haunt and control you… 

God has the way! Fill yourself with God’s Word that shows the right way to love: the way God loves you. Being like Jesus spills into all areas of your life—even what you choose to do throughout each busy day. 

Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.

Ephesians 4:32 (CEV)

So add yourself a to-do at the very top of your list: show your family kindness. Look for moments in your day to delight in each family member and let them know you love them. Find the action that speaks to them—be it an encouraging word, an extra hug, a look that says “you are so cool,” or a specific time you listen with complete attention. The rewards will fill your home for generations. 

PRAY

Father God, thank you for your kindness. Thank you for loving me and seeing my worth beyond what I can do. Help me to show that love to my family. Amen.

TIME TO TALK

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s): How do you know I love you? 

Apply: Make a date! Try to squeeze in some one-on-one time with each of your family members. It doesn’t have to be a big outing or an expensive date. A board game, a favorite TV show, a pop-up manicure spa, or a pick-up basketball game. Make it fun! 

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. 

Romans 13:8

1 Corinthians 13:3-4

Scriptures: Romans 8:32, Psalms 103:13-14, 1 Corinthians 13:5

What Love Requires 

He had to travel for work; she had to comfort the kids. 

She had to miss a birthday; he had to handle everything. 

He had to work; she took crazy kids to the zoo. 

When it comes to work travel or training, hopefully, you’ve already heard the advice: Never compare who has the tougher job between you and your spouse. No one wins that game. Who can really say what is harder than having to walk away and having to stay? 

In a loving marriage and parenting, 50-50 doesn’t exist. Everyone must be committed to giving everything, regardless of whether the other person is living up to their commitment or is even capable of doing so at a particular time. For Christians, seeing who can serve the other first should be a race. 

Feedings at 2 a.m., staying up waiting for teens to come home, lost and broken tools because of a curious 10-year-old—we understand the sacrifices it takes to raise children. And we know that our investment won’t make a full return for years to come. 

God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?

Romans 8:32 (CEV)

This is not to encourage being a doormat to a child or spouse. A child must learn to reciprocate love and the sacrifice that goes with loving. They learn by our example, just as we all must learn to love the way God loves us. He gives and gives and gives, regardless of whether we deserve it or even notice. We need to keep working towards being like him. 

So show your children how to love, and talk with them about your heavenly Father who loves us so much he was willing to sacrifice his Son for us. 

PRAY

Lord, grow my desire to be like you and squash my selfishness so I may love the way you do. May our family grow in your love. Amen.

TIME TO TALK

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s): What is something people do for you that you appreciate? 

Apply: At the dinner table, thank each person for something they have done for you. 

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day.

Psalm 103:13-14

1 Corinthians 13:5

Scriptures: Psalms 52:8, 1 Corinthians 13:7, John 13:34

Love Endures 

A father and his little girl were waiting at the pharmacy. 

You know how this story is about to go . . . 

The little girl climbed into a chair, under a chair, crawled through a few more chairs, dropped magazines on the floor, got close to people, tried scaling a shelf, etc. 

“You’re such a nightmare!” her dad finally huffed in exasperation. They locked eyes briefly, but she continued with her activities when he looked back at his phone. 

But she doesn’t want to be his nightmare. She wants to be his princess, the star in his eyes. She wants to be loved beyond her faults and her weaknesses. She wants to be loved with an everlasting love, unfailing, unconditional. A love that protects, hopes, trusts, and perseveres. She wants to be loved like Jesus loves us and calls us to love each other. 

That kind of love is seen in our words and actions. 

But I am like an olive tree growing in God’s house, and I can count on his love forever and ever.

Psalm 52:8 (CEV)

Dealing with children in public requires awareness of age-appropriate behavior, patience, proper expectations, and humility. At the base of every parental discipline, especially with our words, needs to be the solid ground of love that believes in the potential the Lord put in them. 

And to give that kind of love, we must receive it from God. Our hope is not in being perfect or having perfect kids. Our hope is in a perfect God who loves us perfectly and endlessly despite our failures. 

PRAY

Lord God, thank you for believing in me and helping me to be better. Help me show this kind of love to my children. Our hope is in you. Amen.

TIME TO TALK

Conversation starter for kids: Provides you with questions and prompts to facilitate a time of applicable discussion with children to lead them towards knowing God and His Word more deeply.

Question(s):What embarrasses you? Do you think we embarrass God? 

Apply: As you read or talk about Bible stories, discuss how God loves his people in each one. 

KEEP IT GOING

Related passages: These additional verses will help parents expand Scriptural knowledge and place on the armor of God’s Word to tackle each day. 

1 Corinthians 13:7

John 13:34