Ron + Hope: Unfiltered: Leading Kids to Christ With Guest Paula Houston

Foreign. Hello, everybody. It's Ron and Hope. Unfiltered, real raw and relevant. And doesn't Ron look different today?

Hey. I remember when I first came on staff and I walked into a staff meeting and. And nobody told me anything. I went in, I sat down, and I'm like, okay. And I tried to get the chair that was the farthest into the room so I could see everything going on. And I was sitting there for about three minutes before one of them said, that's Pastor Ron's chair. And I was like, oh, gosh.

See, you were destined to sit in the chair. Pastor Paula, we are so glad we got Pastor Paula here today. If you don't know her, you're going to fall in love with her because she has been with our ministry over 20 years. Been in children's ministry for how long?

About 40.

40 years. I know she. I mean, she looks 25. She looks 25. But just that whole spunkiness about her, the energy she brings, the joy of the Lord, the vivacious spirit for what she does. And it's her love for children, her passion to see children come to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and be on fire for him.

Amen.

Amen. And it's possible, isn't it?

Oh, it is so possible. It's kind of hard not to. When you share the good news.

That's right.

When you're sharing the good news of Jesus Christ.

That's right.

Kids catch that.

That's right.

And they want it.

Yeah. If you're not passionate about it, how can you expect them to be passionate about it?

Absolutely.

And we're going to talk about that today. So, you know, kids are going back to school right now. We were having a conversation earlier about getting on a program, getting in a rhyth, the newness. It's so funny to me. I remember when summer was almost over, I was like chomping at the bit, ready, can't hardly wait. These kids, we got to get them back in school. Get them out of my hair. But then when, when it was probably May, I was like, I'm so ready for school to be over so we can get out of this schedule. But you know, kids are a handful. They really are. And it's a full time job. It is a full time job. And the more you have, the busier you are. But I want to talk today because it's so important that school doesn't raise our kids.

Come on.

That other people. That the Internet doesn't raise our kids.

Please.

That TV and videos don't raise Our kids, that we raise our kids, and the most important thing we can ever teach them is to love and serve Jesus.

Amen. And, you know, for traditional and religion, they think, where's the age of accountability? When can a child get saved? I think when you start talking to a child about their problems, like when they start disobeying, you know, because they want to please their parents. Most children want to please their parents. So why aren't they? Because they got. They got to be told that you've got to see in nature that, you know, I know you want to do right, but you probably got a problem.

But you got something on the other side making you want to do wrong.

That's right. Yeah. And so when they realize that it's not just them, but it is this.

Human kind, it's human nature.

Right. And you start talking to them about that, they're like, how do I do better?

How Help me only Jesus.

Amen.

And it's our. It's our role to explain that to them. What about your kids, Pastor Paula? You had a handful of them, didn't you? I did. Had a handful of kids in your house. And they're all different, right? Each one. All of mine are totally different. We taught them the same way. They respond totally different. What about your children? How did you raise them? In the fear of the Lord? Understanding salvation as littles?

Well, first of all, we did devotions.

Yes.

We did devotions with them every night. I mean, when they were two years old.

Yes, we did, too.

Okay. Before that, we were praying over them as I rocked them. I didn't sing the traditional nursery rhymes. I sang the word of God over them. And if there was Rockabye Baby, you know, even that one, I was like, oh, my gosh, that's horrible.

Horrible.

I'm going to put a child to sleep and they're going to worry about falling.

No.

You know, so. So I changed the words to that to make it that God's watching after you and he's going to watch over you while you sleep. You know, so even then, you have to be intentional.

It's a lifestyle.

It's intentional. And realizing that your words matter when you speak over them, when you speak, it matters to me about them. About them. Right. When if they hear you, you talking to a friend, say, oh, he's getting on my last nerve.

Oh, please.

Come on. You know, speak about them like they are the gift that God gave them. Yes. And they're going to. They're going to do exactly what I just said. They might get on your last nerve.

Yeah. But don't say it to them and don't speak it over.

That's right.

Go in your room and punch a pillow if you need to.

Yes, yes.

And cry if you need to. That's right.

Don't say it to them.

I did all of that. I did too. Yeah.

But whenever they were, you know, two and three, my husband would always. Because I got to be with them all day long. I didn't work out of the home when they were younger and he would go in and he would do their devotions with them and it was based off of what they had learned in church that day.

Oh, that's good.

Right. Because I started writing devotions for them because I was teaching the two and three year old classes at church. So anyway, so he would do these devotions with them and then he would start praying over them. They would say their prayer, then he would pray and then he would start praying in the Holy Spirit. Praying in tongues. Well, my children spoke in tongues early. Natural.

Yeah.

They didn't know, like, this is something different. They just started praying with him.

Yeah.

So that was how it was when they were very young. And then as they got older, I homeschooled my children until they got to high school. You know, middle school is like, everybody's totally confused.

Right.

I heard that.

Especially today.

Right. So I put them in, in high school and. Because I felt like I wanted them to experience the world without me being close to them.

Yeah. Give them a little bit of the leash.

Right. Like letting out a kite. Right. Little by little, let the kite out. Let the kite out. And when you see the wind blowing, I could watch the.

Yeah.

Because when I was picked them up from school, I was there to hear what had happened.

You could see their body language, you could hear their conversations. Psychology calls it individuation, where you're allowing them to individuate, to become an individual little by little, but with your oversight.

Right. Yeah. So. And when I saw the wind blowing, I would. That's why, though. Exactly. I didn't wait until they went off to college because I was like, then they're going to be out there and there's going to be no home base with no help. No home base. You know, so we brought them to church every Sunday, every Wednesday, because we have Wednesday services too. Right. They were on football teams and cheerleading teams and stuff. And I would be like, that's fine. But on Wednesday you have to leave practice early enough for us to get to church.

Now what about. And I Know, we've told our story a hundred times about our kids, and they get frustrated because we tell it, but we tell it because we're trying to help others. People. Did your kids ever stray even though you did all these things and you taught them and you prayed over them and you spent time with them?

Yes, they did stray, and that's normal.

I think we need to understand that that is normal, that they're not bad people, because that happens. I think they're just trying to work out their salvation.

Exactly. Because they got to find their own.

That's right.

You know, that's why they were under the protection of. Of our home, you know? And then when they went out, their faith was challenged. So I say, give them the tools they need to fight that, to know where they stand and why their faith is real, because it'll be challenged when they get out in the world. I remember my daughter actually was going to a fine arts school, and she was taking other subjects there, and boy, oh, my God, she'd get so upset. She'd come home, she'd be so mad. They're talking this. She'd stand up and she got to defend her faith. Yeah, she defended her faith. But if we don't give them opportunities like that, you know, to be out there and to come back and say, oh, my goodness. I remember even in high school, them being challenged by walking down the hall and somebody calling you a name, you know, and one of my kids turned around and said, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus. They're like, these kids didn't know what rebuke was. What they said, you did what?

To me, that was the Houston coming out. You loved that, didn't you? I love that.

But they did stray. I think that my oldest son probably had the hardest time, and I would. But he. He was the intellectual. Yeah, we got that firstborn. Yeah, he was intellectual, and he just was out. I don't know. And I've said to him later in life, I said, what did I do? What did I do that caused you to do this thing and that thing? And he's like, you didn't do anything. I just always had to try it. I just had to try it. I had to. I wanted to see what this stuff was like. So he did try drugs, you know, he did try alcohol. Praise the Lord. They came back from these things. But those. That's not. I don't know. I don't want to say. You can't say. God can't be kept to an equation.

Okay.

You'Re going to live your life by faith.

Yes, that's right.

And right now I have a son who is not walking that walk. I have four children, and three out of four are walking with the Lord.

He's not walking yet.

Come on. Amen. I say, you may not know how.

And you may know how, you may not, but, child, in the way.

Amen. He's got. He'll bring them back.

Yes, he will. He will. We got a promise in that.

Hallelujah.

We got a promise in that. We've done our part. And, you know, I. I think about so many parents, you know, and there's probably parents listening right now who. Who feel like, man, I. I feel like I did everything I knew to do. I. I did the devotions, I did the prayers. I. I took them to church. And my kids aren't serving the Lord. And that guilt that sets in as a parent, it's real. It's very real. And we have to keep that guilt off of our shoulders.

Thank you.

We just have to keep it off and say, you know, God, it's not my job. I'm not the Holy Spirit, you know, I'm not the. I'm just a guide.

That's right.

I'm just their guide. I'm supposed to live by example. I do what I know to do. But it's the Holy Spirit's job to woo them and to draw them, and it's the kindness of God that draws them to repent. It's not beating them over the head. It's not telling them how bad they are. It's not, you know, bringing up their sins or, I raised you right, or I. Why are you acting like this?

Right.

Our job now as adults is just to pray. We just pray. We pray, we believe, we stand firm. We're there for them. We want to go choke them, right?

Yes.

Hold them down and baptize them till the bubbles stop. But, you know, we are not the Holy Spirit. No, we are not. And so anybody who's listening right now, who has that guilt, who might be listening, saying, I feel like I did everything I knew to do, but my kids are not loving God or not sold out to Jesus. I just command that guilt to be broken off of you in the name of Jesus right here. Amen. And I just pray that you reposition yourself as a prayer warrior. You're no longer their. Their father. You're no longer their mother and daddy. You're their father or mother. You're in a position now almost of looking at them like this equals because you're both adults, Right? So now your position is not to train them and to lead them. Your position now is to stand in the gap. So you reposition yourself as a prayer warrior. Listen, your prayers do not go. The Bible says the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous person avails much. It gets the job done.

Amen. And the word doesn't return. And the word has been sown in the hearts of your children if you did train them that way. And that's what I'm, that's what I'm trusting God for. That the word that's in my kids.

Because it is. It's in them.

It's in them.

It might not be active.

Yeah. But it's in them saved and filled with the Holy Ghost.

Yes.

You know, they, I mean, and, and out of. I just keep saying, wake him up, wake him up, wake him up, wake.

Him up, Stir them.

Because out of the belly is going to flow rivers of living water. That thing wasn't put in there to be a pond or reservoir. The Holy Spirit was came in as living water bubbling up fresh. Yes. Hallelujah. So all we need, all we need is that, that stirring to happen.

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I think taking Advantage of Teachable Moments is one of my favorites. That's like, you know, all along the way, the Bible says when you sit, when you stand, you know, all along the way, all along the way. I can't remember. I think it's in Deuteronomy, but. But it says that to speak and talk of the Lord and remind them of the things that he's done, you know, so. And that's your own personal kind of testimony. Just not like the heavy, heavy stuff, but just like, look how God provided this for us today. I remember letting them pray about little things like, you want a bicycle? Well, let's pray and ask God. Because that's how they learn faith.

Yeah.

You know that. You know, whenever they fall down, and I know a lot of parents like to let Mommy kiss it and make it better. I'd be like, I'll lay hands on that thing and pray for it. And then they start doing it for themselves.

Chandler was so funny when she was little. She would always, when she got like her stomach was hurting and she thought she was going to throw up, she hated to throw up. And she'd go, mama, Mama, Mama, Ma, my jaws are sucking in. You know that feeling of when your mouth's watering? And she'd go, my jaws are sucking in. Pray, pray, pray, Mama, pray, Mama. So I'd lay hands on her, I pray. She'd go, it's doing it again. It's not better. Pray again. Do it again. Pray again. They were the cutest thing. So they knew, you know, when they were sick or when something was wrong. The first thing we did was to pray. Go to the pray, Mama, Pray, Mama, pray.

That's right.

And if it didn't work that time, pray in tongues, Mama. Pray in tongues.

Yeah.

So cute.

I remember Matt and Paige were crying over one of our. Their pets, our dog Princess. And Princess had not been able to get up. We didn't know what was wrong with Princess. All day long, this had been going on, and Mike was on his way home from work, and I had called and told him, and he's like, well, when I get there, I'll just have to take her to the vet. And whenever the dog still wasn't moving, and I was like, have y' all laid hands on that dog and prayed for that dog? Cause God cares about everything you care about. That's right. Is that true? They said, yes. I said, well, get out there and lay hands on him. So they did. And Mike, they got the dog in the back of the truck, and they got about five miles from the house and looked around, and that dog, Princess was up. Yes, Princess was up in the back of the truck walking around.

See?

And what a faith builder for children.

It is. Like you said, he cares about everything we care about. And it's teachable moments.

Yes.

Everything in our lives. Yes.

But you really can't do the teachable moments if you haven't done, like, you were talking about some of the basic things, the devotions, the prayer, and teaching them some scriptures. Yes.

They got to have a base. They got to have something to pull on. They got to know what the scripture says about healing. They got to know what the word says about faith. They got to know what God says when you're afraid. You know, our middle son, our middle child, Chaz, struggled a long time. You remember that Pastor Paula, with anxiety.

Oh, my goodness.

He wouldn't even come in children's church. And we had so much. And, you know, it was such a assault even on our faith. It helped to build our faith. Going through that with him because he was so afraid. And we were like, what is he afraid of? There's no reason. We knew it was spiritual. And we would tell Chaz, we would say, God has not given you a spirit of fear. We would put all these scriptures up in his room. And he'll tell you today he still remembers every one of those scriptures that we taught him concerning fear, concerning anxiety, all of those things. Think on these things, Chaz. Don't think about how you feel. Don't think about how you feel. Scared. Think on these things. Whatever is true. And we would make him list what's true. Whatever is noble would make him list what was noble, what was praiseworthy. Chaz, what can we praise God for today? And we would make him list what can we praise God for? And the Bible says, chad, you think on these things. You don't think on the other things. And he still says he practices that.

I know. I listened to that podcast, and I was so proud of him.

Yes. Oh, overcoming fear and anxiety.

Praise God. But that you had to instill the Word in him to take advantage of those moments whenever he was facing that challenge. And then he could pull on those. That word.

So it's important for us as parents. Listen, we can't expect our kids to do anything we're not doing. We cannot. And we are their role model. We are their example. If we want them to love Jesus, we got to love Jesus. If we want them in church, we got to be faithful in church. If we want them to know scripture, we got to know scripture. We want them to have a habit and a discipline, a prayer life and praying. Where's our discipline of prayer? Life and praying? And we lead by example.

Let them catch you reading the Word. Let them catch you watching a Christian podcast or TV show or preaching on tv. Let them catch you praising the Lord when no one's supposed to be watching, when you're not supposed to be setting an example for them, but when you're just out of your own personal, private worship giving praise to God.

Absolutely.

Let them catch you doing those things. And you said. You just said, don't. We can't expect them to do things we wouldn't do. How many parents expect their children to go to school and witness to the goodness of God, but they don't share it in their workplace, Right?

Or anywhere. Right.

We've got to. We've got to teach that. They've got to see and see by example that whenever we're going out into the world, we're sharing Christ, and so they will.

It's a huge responsibility to be a parent. Yes, it is a huge responsibility. And, man, we. We don't get it right all the time. And like I said earlier, that's a weight of shame and condemnation that the enemy wants to put on you. We're not perfect, but, man, we sure do have to strive to lead our kids, and we can't expect the church to do it. I remember so many people used to come to redemption because Pastor Paula and Pastor Mike, you know, were the best children's pastors. But I always wanted to say, well, what are you doing at home? Are you bringing your kids here To Pastor Paul and Pastor Mike, expecting them to throw pixie dust on them and get your kids. All right. No, it's not the children's pastor's responsibility. It's our responsibility.

And that's why at Redemption we would put the tools in the parents hands. But how many times? You know, half of the kids are not bringing their devotions back because we're trying to see how many they're not.

Being a doer of the word.

Come on, be a doer of the word and not a hearer only.

Amen. But because you would give them instruction to take home, you'd give them a piece of paper. These are your scriptures you're supposed to memorize for the week. This is what you're supposed to do, your Bible reading, all of these things. Bring your Bible back next time. Yes.

Yeah. And we give you prices. I'm not above bribery.

I love it.

If it'll put the word in them.

Yeah, that's right.

Let them see you go crazy for Jesus.

That's right. Let them see.

See what you are living in your home.

I love that. We are not above bribery. No, I mean they'll do a lot of things for skittles.

Oh yes. Amen. Our offering would go up greatly when we put those little starbursts in the offering bucket.

When it would go around there. It's funny.

Oh my gosh.

I love it. We are. We are. What's reward Driven. All of us are. Yeah, all of us are. I remember Ron said one time in one of his sermons, he said, how many of you would really serve Jesus if there wasn't a heaven?

I remember that.

That is a head scratcher, right? To sit and think about. Would you really do everything you were doing if you knew that eternity did not matter?

And you know it does make our life here on earth much better. I know it's not a promise of.

Oh, living by the precepts and concepts of the Word.

I apple pie and ice cream every day.

It does make this here on ear much better. Because God's reward oriented. He said that whatever you sow, you will reap. Right? So he rewards us for our faithfulness. He rewards us for our obedience. He rewards us for our faith.

I believe though that if we only give children the Bible stories, okay. And that's what has happened through the years in church and parents. I would say to you the same thing. If, if you're teaching a Bible story, you've got to give them a today's practical application of the truth that is in that Story. And remember, it's not just stories. These are real things that happen. These are real accounts of faith in the Bible, of faith and failures.

It is our history book. It's our faith history book.

So we need to make sure that we're not only giving a Bible story.

But teaching how it applies today.

Yeah, yeah. Because if I only. I knew that there was. I was saved at an early age, but. And I knew all about the love of God. The love of God. The love of God. But at my home. And this is not something to be proud of. But. And I might step on some toes here, but in my heart, I wouldn't expect anything less. Pastor Paula. There was a horoscope book on the coffee table and there was the Bible.

The Bible. Yep.

Those are two opposites. That is not right. That is not.

Here we go. Now this is Pastor Paula. This is what she gives our kids.

You can't do that. No.

A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. Yes. James 1.

Thank you. So. Thank you. I didn't know that scripture, but it's so true. Because what was I learning? I was really, I was one of those kids who was memorizing scripture. But I was opening that horoscope book to find out what's happening today. And they don't know, that is, I'm not ruled by the stars. I'm ruled by the Son of God, by the Holy Spirit living inside of me. And I've had adults come to me and say, what's your sign? And I said, oh, I don't play that.

You should have went peace.

But how many people, they say, what's your sign? And that used to be the first thing I wanted to know about people.

Wow.

Even as a Christian.

Yeah.

A Christian teenager. Because you know, all of that double mindedness will throw your kids into doubt.

Yeah, absolutely.

And it made me doubt, you know, whenever I lost people who I loved so dearly and I thought, oh no.

Well, you know, our little kids minds and hearts and us growing up, we are whatever you put in it is what you're going to get out. Period. We are soil. The heart is soil. So whatever we put in by what we see, what we hear, what we say, it's going to produce, it's going to produce in our life. So we have to be so careful. You can't let your kids watch any old YouTube video they want to watch. You can't give them free reign to watch these cartoons and shows and podcasts and Netflix and they can't. They are soil. Your children's heart is soil and you have to guard it because it's going to produce in them. You can't let them listen to any kind of music they want to listen to.

And as parents, you know, as parents, you are the ordained, ordained agent of identity and destiny in your child.

Pastor PAULA So good. The Bible says that fathers are. Shoot their children like arrows into their destiny. They shoot their children. That you are aiming your children into their destiny.

Yes.

By what you allow and what you don't allow.

Right.

It's a huge responsibility.

And yes. You know, the Bible also says in, I think it's Proverbs 4, 23, says to go above all else, guard your heart. So they don't know how to guard their heart.

They don't.

Out of the womb.

No.

Okay, so we gotta do it for em. Right. And so you need to be, as a parent, you are the guardians of their heart until they, until you see like that kite I was talking about, that they can handle some wind and oh, you're gonna have, you do let go and you have to. That's God's intention. But there's a period of time and when they're young that we have to be the guardians of their heart, you know, guard their hearts and their anointing that flows out of that.

Pastor Paula before we leave today, I know there's, there's parents out here probably feeling convicted, probably feeling challenged, probably excited about man, I'm going to get myself together, I'm going to get my board out and we're going to have our stuff to do and we're going to get our house in order. The basis is knowing Jesus. How do you present the gospel to a little.

Oh, really?

How do you present the gospel? How do you explain Jesus died on a cross for your sin?

The wordless book.

So good.

That's, that's my favorite.

And they can get that anywhere, right? Yeah, they sell them on Amazon. You can make it.

Yes. I got saved at 8 years old in a hospital bed. When my uncle. I had been to church, I had, I had drank the Kool aid, I had eaten their animal crackers. I had made their crafts.

Yes.

Boy, they all about them crafts, aren't they? Okay. But you know what? In all the stories I had heard at church, no one had ever presented the gospel to me. And he presented the gospel to me with that little wordless book. And the wordless book just says, you know, I did this yesterday. I said, gold stands for heaven. And do you know why gold stands for heaven? Because the Bible Says that in heaven we're going to walk on streets of gold. The streets are going to be made of gold. And you know who lives in heaven? God lives in heaven. Who else? Jesus. That's right. And all the people who have left here who loved God, they are up there in heaven with God and Jesus waiting on us. Waiting on us. But you know, there's one thing that can't be in heaven. One thing.

Sin.

And this dark page reminds me of sin. Sin is the one thing that can't get into heaven. Do you know what sin is? And most of the time, children will give you examples. You know, they'll say, like lying, beating people, like killing somebody. They get real big ones like stealing and oh, okay. And disobeying your mommy and daddy, that kind of thing. But sin is anything, okay? And I would have them do it with me. That you think or say or do that breaks God's heart because it breaks God's laws. And God knew you were going to sin.

Yeah.

Yeah. You know what the, you know what the punishment or the consequences of sin is? The Bible says in Romans 3, 23, I think it's or 6, 23, that the wages you get, what you going to get paid for that sin is death. But you're alive. And have you ever sinned? And they'll. So I've had a few say no. So we really had to go deep and go, okay, wait a minute. No.

You know, kids are so cute.

Yeah. No. Now think about this. You never. It takes a minute for some, they.

Don'T want to admit it.

So anyway, that is, I say, that's, that's sin. And so you, most of them will say, yeah, I, I did this or I did that. And you say, well, you know what? God knew you were not going to be to live your whole life and never do anything wrong. And that's why he sent his son. And this red page is the blood of Jesus. And because somebody had to die, that means their blood had to be spilled. Jesus spilled his blood for you and for me because he knew I wouldn't get it right either. And then I'd even say, how old are you? And they'll seven, eight, whatever. Say Jesus was that old and he had never sinned. What about that? Wow. He had brothers. Because some people say if my brother didn't bother me all the time, I wouldn't have sinned. But you know what? Guess what? Jesus had brothers and he still had never sinned. They said, take out the trash. I guess he just did it. What yeah. So sin, that sin thing. God sent his son, Jesus, who never sinned. Got it. All right. And he got it right for you and me. And he prayed with his blood. Isn't that good, good news? And I say, yeah. And I say, and if you want to ask Jesus to come and live in you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, he'll come and live in you, and he'll stay there. He won't leave. I think it's in Hebrews 13, 5 or 6. It says, and I'll have. Make a fist and start with your pinky. Say, I will never leave you. Your thumb's pointing to you. And that's what God said. I will never leave you. He's not ever going to leave. You're never going to get out there and do something so bad that he said, I'm out of here. Nope, he's staying. He will be with you. So now that you have received Jesus, have you done that? Yeah, I'll pray with them. And then I'll say, well, guess what? The next page is white. It's clean. And that's what you are on the inside. You're clean now. You're ready for heaven. But, oh, there's so much more living to do. How about, you've got to grow up with Jesus, Just like you don't expect to be 4ft tall when you get to be 20 years old, do you? You've got to grow in your spirit with Jesus. And we spell grow. G, R, O, W. G is for go to church. This is how you're going to grow with Jesus. And R is for read your Bible and pray. And O is for obey. Obey your teachers and your leaders and your parents and God and God. Hallelujah. And then W. You see the W I made with my fingers? This is for witness. That means go tell people what God has done for you and be a witness of his goodness. Amen. Now that's how I lead a child's cross.

Oh, my goodness.

Pastor Paula, it's easy.

You make it so easy. It is. Yes.

And it is God. The gospel is easy. It is. And like I said, when you start realizing as a child that you have sinned, so many of them don't. You know, they don't realize that's not.

Just because it's been normal for them, because we're born into sin. So that is our norm. That is our. That's what we do. We show out, we hit each other, we take your stuff, we slap you, we tell on you. You know, we talk about People, we. We don't like this little girl. That's our norm. So Jesus comes in, we invite him in, and everything changes. But do we stop ever wanting to hit sometime? Do we? That's the grove.

Because we're the spirit, soul and body.

That's right.

They later learned that they're three part beings, right?

Yes.

That they're not just this body is not who they really are even. They're just their thoughts are not who they really are. They are a spirit created by God.

I am a spirit.

I am a spirit. What's the next part? I am a soul and I live in a body.

Pastor Paula writes all these worship songs that teach our kids. It's so wonderful. Pastor Paula, we got to shut this down. We could talk all day long. But thank you so much for coming. I know you have had so many people. I just want to encourage you parents out there. I know sometimes it feels daunting. I know sometimes it feels overwhelming. I know you're tired. I know you got laundry. I know you have bills. I know you got to get up and go to work. I know you have marital problems. So many things that just seem so overwhelming in your life. But the most important thing, the most important treasure you will ever have are those children in your home. And it is your responsibility to raise them to love the Lord, to serve the Lord. And you know what? They're going to leave. They're going to live their life by your example. If you don't love him, they're not going to love him. Come on, get your life right so that you can lead your house right. And I know that you're going to raise mighty warriors for Jesus. Amen. You might not see it now, and you might not see it when they're 15 or 22 or whatever, but if you've raised them right, you've raised them to love Jesus, it's going to come back. We got a promise.

Well, Pastor Hope, you know, when. When an adult gets saved and they go out and they smoke another cigarette or. Or they cuss somebody out, we don't say, I don't think they really got saved. And so I say kids get saved and they'll come back to their seat and kick somebody. They might do that.

Yeah.

You know, because their body didn't get saved. And the Bible says to renew your mind daily.

Yes.

It's going to take renewing.

We're all on a journey. I always tell people we're all on a journey of becoming more like Jesus. And some of us are just at different mile markers than other people.

Oh, I love that.

We just. We just. Some of us been traveling longer than others, and, you know, we're just trying to be like Jesus. We really are. I love you, parents. So until next time, it's Ron and Hope. Unfiltered, real, raw, relevant. And listen, stay tuned. We've got I Kids Redemption. I Kids podcast for children and parents coming out in 2024. You don't want to miss it. Love you.