THE JOYFUL LIFE
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
    • HEART
      • Faith
      • Bible Study & Theology
      • Marriage
      • Motherhood
        • Motherhood (ALL)
        • Parenting Toddlers to Tweens
        • Parenting Teens
        • Parenting Adult Children
        • Raising Boys
        • Raising Girls
      • Divorce | Single Motherhood | Blended Families
      • Adoption & Foster Care
      • Infertility & Miscarriage
      • Friendship & Community
    • HOME
      • DIY Projects
      • Family & Home Management
      • Fun for Kids
      • Homemaking
      • Homeschool
      • Hospitality
      • Recipes
    • LIFE ISSUES
      • Anxiety
      • Difficult Family Dynamics
      • Emotions
      • Health
      • Identity & Purpose
      • Loss | Suffering | Grief
      • Work & Life Balance
    • REVIEWS
      • App Reviews
      • Book Reviews
      • Product Reviews
    • FEATURED INTERVIEWS
    • SEASONAL & HOLIDAY
  • Daily Devotions
  • About
    • Meet the Team
      • Management & Staff
      • Editorial Team
      • Blog Contributors
      • Devotion Writers
      • Photographers
    • Statement of Faith
  • Work with Us
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise
    • Employment
  • Contact
  • account
The Joyful Life News
Sign up to receive Joyful Life Community news, weekly blog post updates, shop announcements, and more.
A QUARTERLY COLLECTIBLE | Heart & Home Inspiration
THE JOYFUL LIFE
  • Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
    • HEART
      • Faith
      • Bible Study & Theology
      • Marriage
      • Motherhood
        • Motherhood (ALL)
        • Parenting Toddlers to Tweens
        • Parenting Teens
        • Parenting Adult Children
        • Raising Boys
        • Raising Girls
      • Divorce | Single Motherhood | Blended Families
      • Adoption & Foster Care
      • Infertility & Miscarriage
      • Friendship & Community
    • HOME
      • DIY Projects
      • Family & Home Management
      • Fun for Kids
      • Homemaking
      • Homeschool
      • Hospitality
      • Recipes
    • LIFE ISSUES
      • Anxiety
      • Difficult Family Dynamics
      • Emotions
      • Health
      • Identity & Purpose
      • Loss | Suffering | Grief
      • Work & Life Balance
    • REVIEWS
      • App Reviews
      • Book Reviews
      • Product Reviews
    • FEATURED INTERVIEWS
    • SEASONAL & HOLIDAY
  • Daily Devotions
  • About
    • Meet the Team
      • Management & Staff
      • Editorial Team
      • Blog Contributors
      • Devotion Writers
      • Photographers
    • Statement of Faith
  • Work with Us
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise
    • Employment
  • Contact
  • account
0

How to Live Out Your Faith As An Example for Your Kids

  • Jenna Marie Masters
  • February 1, 2023
Live out your faith
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
Live out your faith

As believers, we long for our children to trust God wholeheartedly, no matter what life throws at them. But are we modeling to them what real faith looks like—doubts, disappointments, and all?  And if not, what are we inadvertently teaching them about God? This article by Jenna Marie Masters demonstrates that by intentionally choosing to live out your faith authentically, and in full view of your children, you are giving them permission to be vulnerable before God and modeling to them that no brokenness is too great for their Great Physician to fix.

I’ve been drooling over extraordinary pillows for the past year. Yes, there is such a thing as extraordinary pillows. They live at Anthropologie, where it smells like a magical forest.

I want them. However, they’re a gazillion dollars. You can’t always get what you want, but Target came to the rescue with some adorable knockoffs. So, for Mother’s Day, I pointed them out and mentioned, “They would be a great gift from the kiddos!” (Wink wink.)

I see them enthroned as jewels on my decade-old stained couch, and I smile. They’re pretty. It’s as simple as that. Or is it?

It seems these lovely pillows have awakened some alternate ‘Type A’ personality in me:

“Do you really have to mash it behind your head like that?”

“Please don’t use the pillow as a food tray.”

“Why is every single pillow on the floor?!”

I’m dying inside, and my poor family is no longer allowed to relax. It might disturb the decorative pillows.

Of course, I’m being ridiculous. What’s the point of having pillows if I’m worried they’ll be ruined at the slightest touch?

Questions of the Faith

I’ve found myself asking the same question about my faith. What’s the point of claiming faith in front of my kids if I’m too afraid it will fall apart when life leans hard against it?

Do they see my shoulders tense when the dirty cleats of life tread on it? Do they sense that, deep down, I sometimes question if my faith can be destroyed? And, if so, what will this model to them about my trust in God?

But in the moments I’ve dared to pick up my faith, stomp on it, wrestle it, and punch it with questions and bitterness, I’ve realized that real faith is for real life. And real life doesn’t smell like Anthropologie. God doesn’t want us to be afraid to throw all our junk at it full force. The faith He gives is not a cheap knockoff; it’s the real deal. 

Paul tells us, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9, NIV). If we’re taking our faith along for the ride, it will endure the same refining. And, let’s be honest, everyone who lives under the same roof will have a front-row seat—if we let them.

PURSUING PERFECTION

You can’t scroll through social media or flip through a women’s magazine and not find a list of ways to be a better mom. We are a generation of mothers who can Google anything and find out how to do things ‘right’, which implies we think we’re doing something wrong. Our children see us posting our ‘perfect’ life on social media. They aren’t allowed to eat the freshly baked cookies until we’ve photographed them from three angles. I mean, really. Who are we trying to impress? 

When they see us strive this way, we normalize this behavior for them. They will grow up putting the same pressure on themselves, thinking something is amiss if they don’t portray perfection to others, translating this into their spiritual lives.

And the most tragic result is that if we try to hide our failings, fears, doubts, insecurities, and faith-faltering from our children, they will hide theirs from us. They may not want to get the pillows dirty and upset mama.

If we try to hide our failings, fears, doubts, insecurities, and faith-faltering from our children, they will hide theirs from us.

Jenna Marie Masters Tweet

A BETTER WAY

I learned the hard way to be vulnerable and honest with my kiddos. Being a foster family introduced me to waves of emotions crashing at unexpected, inconvenient times. At first, when tears ambushed me, I’d rush to wipe them away or run into the bathroom and shut the door. Then I’d come out and my kids would ask if I was okay, and I’d answer like a ‘good’ mama, “I’m fine.”

My kids started to push back: “We can see you’re crying!” 

I’d lie once more: “I’m fine.”

This is what it had come down to—I’d rather lie to my kids than tell them I’m struggling. And even worse, they knew I was lying. Ugh. This didn’t feel like being a good mom to me. I had to turn my heart toward Jesus and ask Him for a better way.

OUR KIDS NEED TO KNOW GOD’S OKAY, EVEN IF OUR FAITH IS NOT

I’ve fallen face-first into my faith and sobbed. I’ve thrown it powerfully against my closet doors and cursed it as a liar. But Jesus showed me that the real lie is thinking broken faith isn’t fixable. Maybe I didn’t want my kids to see when I was sad because, deep down, I didn’t trust that God could bring me out of it. What if God didn’t come through, and my kids saw Him let me down?

But God has never let me down. I wasn’t shielding my children from my struggle but from my testimony. We’re told that the enemy is overcome by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony (Revelation 12:11). How could I not model this for my children?!

Jesus helped me to break out of my pattern. If emotions hit me in front of my kiddos and they asked if I was okay, I began to answer with things like: 

“I’m worried right now, but I’m going to take a minute to pray about it in my room.”

“It’s hard when I don’t understand what God is doing, but I know He loves us so much.”

“I’m feeling sad. Would you pray for me?”

I was beginning to see that clinging to Jesus in front of my children was an act of worship.

OUR KIDS NEED TO KNOW WE’RE OKAY, EVEN IF THEIR FAITH IS NOT

I began to ask my kids if any struggles were going on in their faith. I wasn’t sure what I expected, but it wasn’t the full handwritten page presented to me by one of my kiddos while I was washing dishes. A full page!

The wonderful thing was, I didn’t panic. Instead, I was at complete peace, my heart rejoicing. I had officially become a safe place where my kids could wrestle with their faith. And I knew God would meet them like He’d met the faith heroes that came before me. They were seeking Him, and, just as Jacob wrestled with God, my kids also would see His face.

GOD CAN MEND ANYTHING 

We can lift our faith to the Lord, even if its tattered, dirty, and horribly misshapen with stuffing pouring out at every ripped seam. He sees the mess and doesn’t worry. He knit us together in our mother’s womb; He can knit our faith back together, too.

We must approach God with our brokenness, so we can experience Him as Healer. And when we do this in front of our kids, they will learn to do the same.

15 SIMPLE WAYS TO ADD JOY TO YOUR DAY IN LESS THAN AN HOUR

15 simple ways to add joy

Need a little extra joy in your day?

Our team has put together this FREE printable for our readers to help you infuse joy into your life quickly.  Enter your name and email below and we’ll send this fun printable right over!

Share This Post

5
0
1
0
  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Print
Jenna Marie Masters

Jenna Marie Masters is a Jesus follower, held together by prayer, coffee, and paper plates. Holding a Masters/Seminary Degree in Christian Ministry and Pastoral Counseling, she’s passionate about leading women to intimacy with Christ. She runs her race alongside her hubby, their three bio kids and precious foster daughter. They’ve been pursuing adoption for seven years and have learned to adopt God’s will in the waiting. His ways are always better! See more from her on her website!

4 comments
  1. Leslie Glass says:
    February 1, 2023 at 7:14 am

    Really encouraged by this article and hope to come back and chew on this wisdom more. Thank you for writing and for sharing.

    Reply
    1. Jenna Marie Masters says:
      February 1, 2023 at 1:42 pm

      Oh! This makes my heart so happy. I’m so happy you are encouraged. Hugs!
      Jenna:)

      Reply
  2. Kathy says:
    February 2, 2023 at 6:24 am

    So important and well said….how wonderful that vulnerableness has translated into your children understanding that faith does not always look faithful on our part but He is and can handle our stumbling. I sometimes wonder how many people have walked away because all they saw were “super believers” not real ones. And we need needs to practice this with our other relationships as well

    Reply
  3. April Ballard says:
    February 3, 2023 at 6:42 am

    This message is speaking directly to my heart. I’ve been praying to God about communication with my kids and our time together. I feel like the day to day can weigh us down. The wisdom found here has given me a way that I’ve been praying for to connect with my kids when life is heavy.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

TRENDING POSTS
  • Good manners 1
    We Don’t Talk That Way in Our House: Teaching Kids Good Manners
  • How do i forgive myself 2
    How Do I Forgive Myself for My Mistakes in Parenting in Light of Grace?
  • Personal bible study 3
    How to Transform Your Personal Bible Study Time With An Easy Perspective Shift
  • Valentine’s day with kids 4
    6 Unique Ideas for Celebrating Valentine’s Day With Kids
  • Prayers for a broken marriage 5
    5 Prayers for a Broken Marriage: Praying Scripture For a Hurting Heart
RSS Daily Devotions
  • Person Not Perception March 31, 2023
  • The Appearance of Growth March 30, 2023
  • Wisdom from the Fog March 29, 2023
  • An Act of Surrender March 28, 2023
  • Seeking a Mentor March 27, 2023
VISIT OUR SHOP
  • The CULTIVATE Issue | The Joyful Life Magazine Issue 04 | CULTIVATE | Fall 2019
    Rated 5.00 out of 5
    $28.00
  • Issue 07 | DELIGHT | Summer 2020 $28.00
  • Issue 14 | SIMPLIFY — Digital Version $14.00
The Secret Society of Salzburg Book Cover
The Joyful Life News
Sign up to receive Joyful Life Community news, weekly blog post updates, shop announcements, and exclusive offers for our subscribers.
Follow Us on Instagram

AMAZON AFFILIATE PROGRAM DISCLAIMER | The Joyful Life is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon offers a small commission on products sold through their affiliate links. Every purchase you make through our Amazon affiliate links supports our ministry at no additional cost to you.

  • BLOG
  • SHOP
  • WRITE FOR US
  • EMPLOYMENT
  • ADVERTISE
  • Terms
  • ACCOUNT
  • Contact
© 2022 The Joyful Life Co., LLC

Input your search keywords and press Enter.