Christian Parenting: PurityWorks by Jennie Bishop
  • Home
  • About
    • Meet Jennie
    • PurityWorks >
      • Planned Purity
      • Five Doors
    • Blog
    • FAQs
  • Media
    • Videos
    • Photos
  • Nicaragua
    • The Kings of Sabaneta
  • DONATE
  • Books
  • Contact Us

Proactive Parenting: Tending the Heart

1/27/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
At the risk of causing alliterative anxiety, let me say this: Planned Purity is simply proactive parenting.

At the sight of a newborn baby, very few parents think of the importance of forming the child’s heart. Yet this is the key to avoiding so many problems as a full-grown human develops.
We serve meals, we change diapers, we (try to) instigate a sleeping pattern, we potty train, we introduce foods, we teach the use of utensils, proper dress, physical health and even well-being.

But many of us have not been taught to tend a child’s heart. And that is proactive parenting.


By paying attention to all our child’s outer, basic needs, we are not parenting. We could do the same for anyone, or even a pet. But a child needs an internal compass.

Some parents use stories
to teach selflessness, the difference between right and wrong, the joy and necessity of serving, how to act honorably, practicing honesty, the purpose and pride that comes from a strong work ethic, etc. There’s much wisdom in this, as it was Jesus’ main way of teaching. His parables can still form good-hearted people today.

Our personal examples, however, are even more powerful—life-changing, in fact.

The Five Doors of the Heart were created to help. What we choose to look at, what we choose to listen to, how we choose to honor life, what we say (or don’t) and how we touch--this input moves through feeding tubes to the heart, creating us from the inside out. As a wise person once put it, there is a black dog and a white dog fighting within. When asked which one was winning, the person replied, “Whichever one I am feeding.”

The Five Doors can be taught in the complete context of Planned Purity. The emphases can be specific to the preschool years, then the elementary years, then the teen years, the single years and/or the married years, preparing us to leave a legacy of goodness, truth and beauty. But without that foundation, we fumble through life, wondering where healthy lines are drawn.

Give your child (and yourself) the gift of a well-tended heart from the time they are small. Don’t despair if they are older. Set the example in yourself now, before it’s too late. Begin with the transformation that can only come from God. Ask him to give you the clean heart to begin with. Then maintain that heart with good choices and a great deal of grace as you ask for forgiveness in times of struggle and failure.

​But give yourself to virtue. Give yourself to truth. And give the same to your children. You will receive the gift of being a less reactive parent with a child that understands the importance of a pure heart and true goodness. Purity works. It’s as simple as that.
0 Comments

True Identity

10/5/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
Sitting in a gazebo all weekend at a local family event, I got to do a lot of people-watching. The most enjoyable part was seeing people use our standees for pictures (above). An old-fashioned carnival kind of attraction, these forms where kids (and adults) could stick their faces in and get a picture were an irresistible draw to our booth.

Since we had The Princess and the Kiss, The Squire and the Scroll and The Three Gifts of Christmas available for kids, we also had a table of toys – a plastic sword, a tiara, a dragon and a mirror with a crown built in to make the viewer an instant princess.

It’s always fun to take on an imaginary identity – we love masquerade parties and dressing up like superheroes. But when PurityWorks hosts a Planned Purity event, even our simple interactive play is designed to draw participants back to their TRUE identity.

We are royalty.

We were made for honor, nobility, service, goodness, truth and beauty, nothing less. Boys and men are meant to be protectors. That’s why the Squire sets out to conquer a dragon and free a kingdom.

​Girls and women are meant to be treasures. That’s why the Princess courageously saves her kiss for a Prince and no less.

We were made to care for others more than ourselves. That’s why the little princess in The Three Gifts ends up giving her Christmas gifts away.

Unfortunately, our dangerous world coaxes boys into being predators and girls into being willing targets. It teaches us that we should selfishly pursue everything and enjoy instant gratification without self-control. This foolishness must stop immediately, and we must fight
​our own personal battles with all our hearts to change it, checking ourselves and putting others first.


Nonetheless, this weekend I saw many people step into their true identities and smile – even one older lady and her husband. She knew she was a princess, and so did he. What a gift!
Picture
​When we walk like royalty, talk like royalty, and act like royalty and set our hearts to serve as humble benefactors, fighting for the good, defending the weak and needy, we find who we were truly made to be. Our virtue is restored. We can put the past behind us and operate more like human beings and less like animals.

​In fact, when we see ourselves truly, our world can be restored as we regain a culture of honor. That is what PurityWorks fights for, and always will.
1 Comment

Only Two Kinds of Hearts: Which Are You?

9/22/2015

1 Comment

 
Picture
A good friend once told me that there are only two kinds of people, and they can be discerned by the way they walk into a room. One walks into a room and says, “Here I am!” and the other says, “There you are!”

What a perfect way to explain our heart condition. We choose by our actions to be one or the other--the person who sees others, or the person who sees only himself.

Any kind of virtuous living has to do with the decision to be unselfish—to look out for the good of others. In parenting, that means that we can’t just focus on behavior or we won’t get far. The root of the issue is with the heart.

How do we choose an unselfish heart? Well, since humans tend to be self-centered, we need some help from a Power bigger than ourselves—something truly transformative. And then we must accept the responsibility to guard the heart. Everything we do flows out of our heart condition.

Many of us truly want to be unselfish at some level. We want to do good to others, raise good kids, and be good citizens. How do we maintain a life like that?

The heart has five “doors” that we personally govern. We choose what to look at, or how we see things. We choose what and who we listen to. We choose to treat life as sacred and honor others first. We choose what we say. And we choose how to use our hands, our volition, to do good towards others and in the world.

Look at your own choices, and then think about the fact that your life is an instructional video for your children. What choices can you make today that will form both your own heart and theirs? It’s two for the price of one! As you grow a virtuous, pure heart, your child is very likely to follow.

Today, choose how you will look at life. Choose what to listen to, and what to shut out. Choose to honor everyone in your path (even the tough ones). Choose to speak out or keep quiet for the common good. And choose to use your hands, your will, to do right, every time.

What will our days (and future) look like when we set our intentions this way? I think they’re going to be a good ones—both for us and our children.
1 Comment
<<Previous

    Follow Us

    Get Blog Posts by Email:

    Archives

    June 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Boys
    Children
    Clothing
    Culture
    Families
    Fathers
    Girls
    Hate Pornography
    Honor
    Internet Safety
    Marriage
    Married Sex
    Media
    Modesty
    Parenting
    Planned Purity
    Purity
    Technology
    Virtue
    Women

    RSS Feed

Home  |  About  |  Media  |  Blog  |  Store  |  Contact Us  |  Donate

PurityWorks E-letter


PurityWorks-Logo
Email Us

Picture
Sign up to receive the the PurityWorks electronic newsletter with tips, training and news from our mission efforts in Nicaragua and worldwide.
E-letter Sign Up

© 2014-15 PurityWorks - All Rights Reserved  | International Speaker and Author Jennie Bishop
Store icons created from work by Freepik; licensed under CC BY 3.0
New-Sky-Websites