Parenting with Peace - Lesson 4

Rev. Michele Owes: Welcome, welcome, welcome back to the Teachable Woman Podcast. We are really excited today. I'm Reverend Michele Owes. I am with the one and only Reverend Mrs. Deanna p Cherry, and together we are teachers of good things. Mrs. Cherry, say hello.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hello, Podcast family. we might seem like we have forgotten you or that we're a little slow getting the podcast posted, but trust us, we are doing our very best to be as timely as we can be, and you have to believe that you are in the center of our hearts, our thoughts, and we love you dearly.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. I want to start this podcast off by thanking everyone who sent us that one or two liner that says, I am joining you for the 37 days and 37 seconds [00:01:00] of praying the Our Father prayer, which it is. It is also known as, we are so excited and we know that God is gonna do some tremendous things as a result of our obedience.

Rev. Michele Owes: So thank you. And for those of you who, sent us email that said, I just heard podcast yesterday, or I missed a couple of days, don't even concern yourself with that. Whenever you start, just count 37 days away from that and you are there. So we're excited about that. We're excited about. Our obedience to the Lord, and we are looking for God to do some great things.

Rev. Michele Owes: Look, be in expectation and trust that God will perform his will in the earth. Mrs. Terry, what have you got to say about the 37 day? 37 second challenge?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I think that after the 37 days are up, there are gonna be enough of us who started at a later. 37 day time that it's gonna be going on and

Rev. Michele Owes: Oh.[00:02:00]

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: and on. So perhaps for an entire year we should have somebody praying. So if you came in late, think that you're too late. But think about the fact that you're like a stream, and you are just adding another week and another week, and it is my prayer that we'll end up having different 37 days for the entire year; we need prayer. The nation needs prayer. The thing that's gonna make a difference in the life of the nation is prayer. As I recall, II Chronicles 7:14 states, 'If my people, look that scripture up. 2 Chronicles 7:14, and I look forward to this being a year-long event, at least, because we need it to be.' Continuous. And there will be some of us who will join [00:03:00] next week. Some of us might join next month. Some of us might have travel that we think would interfere with our making that commitment. whenever you start and when you do the Lord's Prayer, remember the example of prayer that Jesus gave us. Remember, don't just say it, but when say our Father, I stop and I say, God, I thank you that you're my father.

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: that you're God of. Also add to that prayer. It's just an example. Lead us not into temptation. Add to that, Father, strengthen me. Especially if you're going through a challenge in a particular area. prayer can last for an hour or more, even though if you just pray it by reading it. obeying. But for me, I can't just read it. I have to, I have to expand it because it is my example of prayer for that [00:04:00] day.

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: be encouraged. Join us, tell your friends about it, tell your family about it,

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: try to have 37 day increments for at least a year.

Rev. Michele Owes: Oh, I think that's beautiful. I never even thought of that. And you are absolutely right. This can be continuous and go on and on and on. I love that idea. Thank you so much for sharing that. Well, we have, we have embarked up on our. Parenting series and we have learned so much. Mrs. Cherry has been sharing with us the parenting tips, and I have been infusing the fruit of the spirit in the parenting tips because the fruit of the spirit is the character of God.

Rev. Michele Owes: And God entrusts us with his children and he expects us to demonstrate his character. With them. And, so as parents, oftentimes we don't really think about the fact that I need to be exercising the fruit of the [00:05:00] spirit with my children, but God as every expectation that we would raise his heritage in accordance with his will.

Rev. Michele Owes: So, we've covered the fruit of the spirit of love. We've covered the. Through the spirit of joy, and today we're going to talk about peace. But first, Mrs. Cherry is going to give us some, parenting tips. We have, talked about training up the children in the way that they should go. That is God's assignment to us.

Rev. Michele Owes: We also shared from Deuteronomy. That we're to talk with our children when we, rise up in the morning, when we lie down at night, when we walk, by the way, when we sit at the table. And so there is, the time that we are with our children. God has an expectation that we are sharing his commandments and his statutes and his judgments with.

Rev. Michele Owes: Hist heritage so that they might know their Heavenly Father. And so today, Mrs. Cherry is going to [00:06:00] share with us about how to keep the standard that God has set for us.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah. You know, sometimes in my heart is so profoundly, Contrary the way the country is,

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: to the way that we think, to the reality of God's word. And it's so important for us to realize that God does not change, his word does not change. And as we parent these lovely gifts from God as we parent. This heritage of God, must realize that with everything that is within us, we must strive do the word of God. To do the will of God to not [00:07:00] what God would have us to do, what God would have us to say. And so to that end, I really want you to know that I share anything. I really do share it with a sincere, a sincerity of heart and whatever I share, I share it because know it's what's best for us. I wanna share just a little bit about the importance of us as parents who. We want our children to become, our children unchanging, unwavering, totally committed parents who will be an example for them. And it's so important for us to realize that our children are only going to [00:08:00] do. What they see us do. Our children are only going to say. they hear us say, children are only gonna be who we are. I know sometimes it might seem like our heart bitter pill to swallow, but it is the truth. We're the most important beings life of our children it's imperative. That we be non, we be non compromises and we teach the truth of God's word. has a responsibility to perform his word, not us, if we teach truth, if we be truth, and if we do truth, we're gonna end up raising truthful children. But our children can only be who we are. They can only do. they see us do, they can only say [00:09:00] what they've heard us say. I know it sounds like a heavy, but it's what God would have for us to do and to be.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: So I really wanna encourage our parents to not be persuaded, to be disillusioned, not to be so influenced by the world. what the world teaches that we, fail to be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. We must get back to basics. We must teach our children who they are according to the plan of God, the love of God and the word of God. And I know. I know that we could raise up a generation of children who would be, my heart's desire, which is that they would not be like the world, but there would be a generation of children who would be none like them, which is the name of a [00:10:00] fellowship that I started for the children. In our church many, many, many, many years ago. So my desire is that our parents would be committed to raising up children that the world would see and would proclaim, my God, where did those children come from? For surely they are none like them. So that's kind of just a tidbit that it has burdened my heart for years and years and years and years and it has not changed. And my fervent prayer for our parents is that we be strong. We don't have to give them everything that they want. We don't have to keep them, connected to all of the latest devices. I mean, even the word device. To me has a negative connotation. We don't have to do that. So parents, be strong, holy, be [00:11:00] righteous, and make sure that we're walking in obedience to the word of God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Sometimes we, justify things for our children because it's really what we want,

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: it's what we wish we had had when we were children. But always remember God has not changed. He will not change. And we have a responsibility to raise these children up in the nurture, but also the ad, admonition of the Lord. So the nurture is fine, but you have to also remember the admonition. So that's my tidbit.

Rev. Michele Owes: And thank you so much for that. Mrs. Cherry, you hit so many, key points. One is about being an example before our children. And I first just wanna say that parenting is difficult. It's not an [00:12:00] easy job. It's not one that we have the answers to every moment. It requires energy, it requires thought, it requires money, it requires, there's so many.

Rev. Michele Owes: Different requirements. It requires our time and to raise our children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. the fruit of the spirit is so clear.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: the nurturing part is raising them the way that God has nurtured us and he's nurtured us with love. And so we have to make sure that our children know that they're loved.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: they're behaving the way that we want them to or not, they still need to know that they are loved. And even in our correcting of our children, love is part of that correction. We also need to make sure that there's some joy in the home. They need to know that their lives are God [00:13:00] directed, that they, they're just not accidents that occurred.

Rev. Michele Owes: The situation has not happenstance that there is a God who wants them here in the Earth, who created them with purposes and plans for their lives, and a God who's going to love them and protect them and oversee the issues of their lives as long as they'll yield. in addition to that, now we are talking about peace and peace.

Rev. Michele Owes: In the, it, it starts in the inner man. It's not a outside situation. It's not the absence of strife or the absence of turmoil or, the absence of war. peace is an inward job and Jesus said the kind of peace that he was leaving was his kind of piece. And so it's not what we've typically learned the word means in the dictionary.[00:14:00]

Rev. Michele Owes: But God wants us to have an internal assurance and an internal confidence that we have a God that loves us, that we have a God who protects us, that we have a God who provides for us, that we have a God who will position us. We have a God. And so we are not subject, if you will, to the things of this world.

Rev. Michele Owes: Because as soldiers of the Lord, we're not to entangle ourselves with the affairs of this world, but oftentimes as parents, without us knowing it, we, we become entangled because we want our children to either have what we didn't have, or we want our children to enjoy a life in a way that won't cause them to be ostracized or to be an outsider.

Rev. Michele Owes: Or, and so we will do [00:15:00] things or buy into things or participate in things that we might not otherwise do. So and, and God is saying that he wants us to be strong in the Lord. He wants our children to be strong in him. And what breaks my heart more than anything is I meet people who don't even know there's a God.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I know.

Rev. Michele Owes: Which tells me that somewhere there were some parents who didn't do their job or who believed that maybe what they knew of God they weren't supposed to share. Their children were supposed to figure it out by themselves or learn by themselves. And when we do that, we have not given them a place to turn when life gets difficult.

Rev. Michele Owes: When we give them everything that they want, we've not given them an opportunity to pray to a Holy God and see what his will is for them. [00:16:00] What is he going to provide?

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: When we do those things we. We don't give our children a chance to have a life of peace in him, and we wonder why children commit suicide.

Rev. Michele Owes: We wonder why children run away from the home that God birthed them in. We wonder so many things, why is my child so depressed that why are they always in the room? Why can't I talk to them and some of our children, rather than being raised in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord? They've been raised in the nurture of devices and the nurture of the internet, and they've come up with thoughts and behaviors and attitudes that we know we didn't teach.

Rev. Michele Owes: And sometimes we've let the world teach our children and we don't know that the world has taught our children something.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: And I may have shared this story before, but I remember my son once we were at church and he was [00:17:00] probably about three and a half, four years old. And a young lady touched the top of his head and he said, you idiot.

Rev. Michele Owes: And I'm thinking, oh my Lord, I'm so embarrassed. And I looked at the, I looked at the face of the young girl and she was so hurt because she really loved him as a toddler. And the way he said, you idiot. I, I, I, I didn't know where he got it from. He never heard it from me. He never heard it from his father.

Rev. Michele Owes: Where did he get this from? And so we taught him, we chastised him. And then one day I was in the house and I was folding clothes in another room and he was watching a Disney movie. And it was actually a, a 101 Dalmatians. And it was exactly what the lady in the movie would say. Now, he used to mock the characters and he used [00:18:00] to, translate, try to be like every character and memorize every line.

Rev. Michele Owes: And it was something that we bought, we brought it in the house. We thought it was gonna be safe for him. And whenever. One of the men that were working for her didn't do something she wanted, the first thing she would say was, you idiot it. And she said it exactly the way that he said it. Now we did that, right?

Rev. Michele Owes: We bought that. We sat him in front of that. We even watched it with him, but we had no idea it would make that kind of impression in his life. And so there are things that can cause our children damage. And then I, I, I, I'll never forget, I can never forget the look on the little girl's face that he called a idiot.

Rev. Michele Owes: And I'm profusely apologizing and you, but I did that. I'm the parent. I bought that and I thought it was a decent [00:19:00] movie. Enjoyed watching it. Had no idea the kind of, Planting that the enemy was doing with a movie, right. I'm saying as parents, we have to watch and we have to be mindful and we have to be vigilant.

Rev. Michele Owes: And sometimes we send our children to their room with devices and televisions with the remote in their hand and the right to serve the world wide web, and we don't know where they're gonna end up. We don't know who they're going to talk to through these computers, and so we are raising the heritage of the Lord,

Rev. Michele Owes: and I made a grave mistake on a day that I thought I was doing something good, a little family movie we were all gonna enjoy together with some popcorn.

Rev. Michele Owes: I had no idea the kind of impression that the enemy was trying to make in the heart of my son. [00:20:00] And so I am saying. We have to be vigilant. We have to know that the enemy wants every shot at our children that he can get, and I promise you he will take it while we're sleeping at the wheel. I was sleeping at the wheel on that movie.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: I am telling you that the enemy is doing far more and far worse than that, which occurred 34 years ago.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yeah.

Rev. Michele Owes: God wants us to be mindful of his will for our children. He wants us to have the courage to raise them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord, which means that some things we just can't put in front of them.

Rev. Michele Owes: Some things we can't trust. We cannot trust the world to raise our children

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: we want a few moments of peace.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes, yes. And peace is an internal, [00:21:00] attribute. My husband used to teach that The spiritual realm is like pain in the natural realm. If we're having some kind of. Inner turmoil. It's a lack of peace, it's an indication that something is wrong. Something is out of kilter in the, in the spiritual realm, just like panion is an indication that something is out of whack, something is out of kilter in the physical realm. But if we want our children to have peace, we have to. peace. We have to work on getting peace in our own lives and the peace that we have in ourselves will flow out to them. Instead of, as my mama used to always say, flying off the handle. stop and think about what you're getting ready to [00:22:00] say to your child. Stop and think about what your response to the situation is going to be at a parent to tell me the other day. Her little one, little, little, little one was chasing a bug and the bug kept, of course the bug flew away. That's what bugs do. she said to the bug, bring your a back here. And the mom almost fell out in embarrassment, but. She didn't fly off at the child. She didn't scream and yell at the child. She said, we don't speak like that. Where'd you get that from? that mother had Fussing and cussing and acting out of character. telling what that little one would've done, but the mom says, that's inappropriate behavior.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: We're Christians. We don't do that. so that. because that [00:23:00] mom had some form of peace on the inside, and I don't think she was really feeling too peaceful, but she dug real deep to get that appropriate response. And that's what we have to do with our children. We have to have peace before we can give peace to them.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: the inner turmoils are in our lives, know the power of prayer. We know how to intercede. We know how to pray in the spirit. I pray we know how to pray in the spirit. So before we expose our children to turmoil meanness, in the spirit, realize that their children, and it's our responsibility to teach them the appropriate responses in life. And that's done through our example. What we have to do is just dig deep on the inside of us because we [00:24:00] have the peace of God that passes all understanding. If we have the peace of God and we have to, we have to show that we have. we have to live peaceful lives. We cannot be in constant turmoil.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: We might be in a situation where we are separated or divorced or perhaps a mom or a dad having a, a child outta wedlock. we can't get so upset with that other parent that we let those children hear.

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: I all things come out of us.

Rev. Michele Owes: Right.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: to dig deep on the inside of us. And let the peace of God keep our hearts.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: No matter what the challenges are, God's peace and God's grace. They are greater than anything that we could face any challenge. And don't forget to pray in the Spirit

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: have not had the [00:25:00] opportunity to receive the baptism with the Holy Spirit. if you're a member of a church that might not teach that, then. Find a church that will teach and will, lay hands on you so that you can receive the power of the Holy Spirit. It's one of the greatest gifts we have operating in us, and the peace of God flows from inside of us. not something that we can pretend to have. It has to be real in our hearts. And so I encourage you, Pray more fervently. Join the 37 second Prayer Group.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Pray without ceasing. Pray that prayer all throughout the day. Sometimes I just take a line of it the morning time and then like today, in the middle of the day, out of nowhere I just said, God, your will be done. Your kingdom come in me in this situation.

Rev. Michele Owes: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: want your kingdom purpose in my life. I want your kingdom [00:26:00] presence in my life. I want your kingdom peace in my life so that. Lord's Prayer, that example. We can pray it all throughout the day. It does not have to be one concentrated time in the morning or at night, but we can pray it all day long.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: One line of it, we can take one line of it and and pray for 5, 10, 15 minutes from that one line. It's enough stuff going on lives and in our families We can pray all day long a year. You know that the

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: seconds is great, but it doesn't, we're not legislating how to pray to God.

Rev. Michele Owes: That's true.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: example of prayer as it meets your needs, as it fits your schedule as you want to do. trust me, if you start praying that prayer, you will have a [00:27:00] manifestation of the peace of God in your

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: know that for certainty.

Rev. Michele Owes: Amen. Amen. Mrs. Cherry is absolutely right. 37 seconds is the start. It's not the finish, it's the start. And the greater our relationship is with the Lord, the longer those moments will be because we'll want to spend that time with him. I do want to share that we are. Talking about a parenting series, but I, I don't want us to misunderstand and think that what we are sharing with you only applies to small children.

Rev. Michele Owes: For some of us, our children may be older, may be young adults, but if we have yet to demonstrate the example of Christ before them, we still have a job to do. Some of our children, we may not even be in communication with, but. Whenever we go to God in prayer, he's there to receive us. He's there to hear us.[00:28:00]

Rev. Michele Owes: And so we want you to know that this is, we're not just talking toddlers here.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: We are talking about the fact that God has trusted you with a life. God expects you to raise that life in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord, and it's never too late. Sometimes our grown children end up coming back home because we, we didn't finish the job and we can continue.

Rev. Michele Owes: As we live in Christ Jesus, as we rely on him, as we ask him the questions, and just as careful as we want to be in responding to a child, we want to be that same level of careful in responding to our adults because our words can either build them up in their most holy faith or it can tear them down.

Rev. Michele Owes: And so we don't want to be destroyers. the Bible says that a wise woman builds her house, but the foolish plucked [00:29:00] down with their own hands. In other words, it's our own doing.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Yes.

Rev. Michele Owes: we wanna make sure that we are building our children and helping them to know that God created them to be somebody.

Rev. Michele Owes: The kingdom of God, somebody that God can rely on, that he's entrusted with gifts, talents, and abilities. And even if this didn't turn out well, we still don't give up because we still have a God that has a purpose and a plan for us. And so just to let our children know that they have a God who created them, who loves them, who has a plan for them, whose arms are outstretched for them, just to know that.

Rev. Michele Owes: It can bring some peace to their hearts and minds.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: Mm-hmm.

Rev. Michele Owes: It can bring some peace to their hearts and minds. we want you to know that God's peace is not what the world gives. And so we're not looking to to make peace with people. We're not looking to make peace with [00:30:00] the world, per se, but we start off making sure that we're in a oneness with God.

Rev. Michele Owes: If we get into oneness with God, then we can be peaceful with other people and end other situations. Mrs. Cherry, I believe that brings us to our time with this podcast. We are so excited that you joined us. We thank you for allowing us to share with you. Thank you for listening. Thank you for continuing to share the podcast and may God be glorified in what we do for these 37 seconds in the next 37 days.

Rev. Diana P. Cherry: May the peace of God keep your hearts and your minds till we meet again. God bless you. We love you dearly.