Recap of Sunday - 3/30

For those of you who missed, here is a recap of the lesson and discussion

We opened with discussion of what we fear in being new parents. Here is a sampling of answers
- that I will be a bad role model
- that I will have to do it alone
- that even if I do things right my child will still turn out ... somehow wrong
- that I will, even through my most earnest efforts, pass on only a cultural Christianity.

We then looked at the life of Jesus, and were encouraged to see Christ...
- did not fear the world around him (Mark 4:35-41)
- did not fear the future- instructed us to do the same (Luke 12:22-24, & James 4:13-17)
- did not fear the expectations of man and his responsibilities (Mark 1:35-39; 3:7-11).
hear we mean that Christ did not allow his "responsibilities" to get in the way of his desire to rest and rejuvenate in quite time alone with God and his friends.

We then tried to see if our fears mentioned at first reflect a life different than Christ's example
- We seem to fear the future alot : I think God tells us to leave that to him.

Are you trying to train your child in the way of the lord? That is all you can do, I think God is telling us to keep going, but leave the results to him. The future is not ours to govern. Let it go.

We then had a quick few ideas of how to "let it go", how to let go of our fears of parenting and such.
- I think you need to actively engage in things that confront your fears
Are you afraid of finances... give money away... tithe more, give to the poor - start small, give $5 away to the first good cause.
Do you struggle with work/responsibility controlling you. - Make a point to dismiss the work you "should" take home and calmly tell the boss that "I just had to spend time doing X (with family, etc) , I'll get it done as soon as I can."
Do you have a consistent fear that your parenting strategy is, though good, not going to be effective?.... Don't really have a strong suggestiong here.. sorry, ... pray! Tell God that this is your fear. Make plans to tell yourself that you don't know the future, aren't suppose to.

So that makes for a long recap. Next time I lead the discussion we'll talk about the paucity of biblical instruction in parenting. We get about 4 verses... honestly... we'll talk about it.