Impressive Parenting: How to Impress Faith On Your Children.

By Mark A. Holmen

As a parent you are leaving an impression on your children that is going to last them their lifetime. The question becomes, what type of impression are you leaving and is that impression going to lead them towards or away from having a lasting faith in Jesus Christ? At the end of the day, the most important thing we can lead our children to have is faith in Jesus Christ because through faith in Him they can have eternal life. So, how do we lead children to have faith in Christ? That's what Pastor Holmen will reveal based on the work and research he has been doing for over 15 years. Pastor Mark's desire for parents to be "impressive" parents who succeed in leading their children to have faith in Christ is evident as he shares many practical ideas as well as personal letters at the end of each chapter written to a parent who was struggling, as all parents do, to practice this in daily life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Aug 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781483412672

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Holmen

Copyright © 2019 Mark A. Holmen.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1342-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-1267-2 (e)

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Lulu Publishing Services rev. date:  07/24/2019

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would first like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for blessing me with the opportunity to be a husband, father, pastor, speaker and author. I am truly humbled everyday as I feel, much like the Apostle Paul, that I am less than the least when it comes to being qualified to write a book like this. Yet I praise God for the way He brought Deuteronomy 6 into my life and for the way He continues to reveal things to me through it as I work with churches and parents around the world.

I praise God for my wife, Maria of over 20+ years and my wonderful daughter Malyn who both allow me to share openly our experiences as a family. I love you both and I thank you for the way you have inspired me and empowered me to serve this greater Faith At Home movement that the Lord is leading.

I would also like to give God thanks and praise for the churches I have served and the people I have had the privilege to learn and grow from through the years. Many of your stories and examples are in this book as they not only blessed me but will now be a blessing to others.

And finally, I want to thank all of those who have faithfully supported Faith At Home Ministries over the years. It has been quite the journey as the Lord has given us opportunities to serve churches and families literally all across the world. May this book be the next tool God uses to inspire, motivate and equip other parents to be impressive in how they lead their children to know, love and follow Jesus.

INTRODUCTION

Deuteronomy 6:7, Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. This verse, as well as the entire chapter of Deuteronomy 6, is very personal to me because I have devoted my life to teach, preach, write, and speak about it literally all over the world.

In Deuteronomy 6 we see the reality that God ordained the home to be the primary place where the Christian faith is to be lived and nurtured because the home is where life makes up its mind. In Deuteronomy 6 we also see that parents are the be the primary spiritual influences in the lives of their children and that it goes so far as to provide very practical ways that parents are to do this. Unfortunately, for many church goers today, the church has become the primary place where faith is being discussed and lived out and the professionals have become the primary people responsible for supposedly teaching the faith to children and youth. And that is a big reason why Christianity is declining because kids raised in that way are not impressed. Or probably better stated, true faith has not really been impressed on their hearts because it was seen as something you do at church rather than a lifestyle that is lived, talked about and nurtured at home.

I have the opportunity to travel all over the world preaching and teaching Deuteronomy 6 to parents and church attendees and it has been truly amazing to watch thousands of people make personal commitments to be more Faith@ Home-focused as individuals, couples and parents. Yet, in saying that, I want to be clear that the message they are responding to is not my message…it is the message of Deuteronomy 6.

Therefore, I feel it is important for me to express that I firmly believe the words I write or speak have little or no power or authority to change or impact anything in your life. Yet God’s Word has the power to move mountains, which means that His words and instruction not only can impact your life, but also the lives of your children and grandchildren! If anything in this book impacts you or your family for the better, give God the credit because God alone deserves all the praise.

As the one that God has called to write this book, I am very excited to take you on a journey into a passage that has literally changed me as a man, husband, father, youth pastor, and senior pastor. This passage has also changed tens of thousands of men, women, mom’s, dad’s, grandparents and singles all across the world as well and it will continue to do so because God never intended for His people to simply be one-hour church goers. My prayer is that God will use the words on these pages to speak His truth into your life in a way that only He can. All I ask is that you remain open to hearing what God has to say in the pages that follow.

I don’t believe in coincidence, and yet, I am a firm believer in Godincidence. Simply stated, I believe God has a plan and purpose and there is a reason this book has ended up in your hands at this time. I don’t know where you are in your parenting journey. I don’t know where you are in your spiritual journey either. You may have come from a Christian household that lived out Deuteronomy 6 in your home; but more likely you grew up in a home where there was little or no spiritual conversation or behavior at home. You may have a strong family that is functioning well right now or you may be struggling to simply survive. You may be a two-parent household, a single-parent household, a grandparent raising grandkids, or you may have just had your first child. You may be a strong, devoted, life-long Christian or you may simply be someone who doesn’t know much about God at all but you’re at least willing to see if He has something to offer you. At the end of the day it really doesn’t matter where you are in your parenting or spiritual journey because it’s a new day and God has given you this book to read now. Why? I don’t know, but God does. So, that being said, let’s take this journey through Deuteronomy 6 together and see where it leads!

P.S. -—Letters to…

As an author, you are instructed to have an audience in mind when writing a book. Recently, God put someone in my path who has truly impacted my life and given me the person to whom I will be writing.

My friend is a great guy in his early-to-mid thirties. He is married with two young children under the age of six. He has been a successful businessman, but then found himself, like many, having to downsize and diversify in order to maintain a sustainable income. Unfortunately, in the midst of these trying financial times, he has also found himself going through marital difficulties. The trauma in his marriage is excruciatingly painful for him; yet