Let the Lord Establish Your Household

For an in-depth study of what it means to let the Lord establish your household, and how to train your children in the wisdom of the Lord, we recommend Entrusted with a Child’s Heart by Dave and Betsy Corning. They have many years of experience and wisdom that you will benefit from. One of my favorite resources in the book is a concept called “ Full Circle Discipline.” Betsy teaches other moms how to walk their children through repentance and forgiveness during a discipline event. It has been so helpful in our family!

We also recommend Parenting by Paul Tripp and Give them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson. 

We at City of Joy Church believe it is beneficial to include children in our worship services. There are many reasons for this. Here’s a few articles that outline some of the major reasons why we feel convicted in this area.

1.           5 Reasons Children belong in the main service regularly by Tamera Kraft

https://churchleaders.com/children/childrens-ministry-articles/261362-5-reasons-children-main-service-regularly.html

2.           Why we embrace children in our worship service by Chance and Mary Austin Faulkner

https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/article/why-we-embrace-children-in-our-worship-service/

One of the earliest influences for our (the Maldaner’s) family as it relates to how we view worship services and why we include children in them is this article by John and Noel Piper. It was written many years ago, but there are some principles that have benefited our family greatly as we train our kids to worship the Lord together with us.

The Family: Together in God’s Presence by John and Noel Piper

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-family-together-in-gods-presence