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“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things” Philippians 4:8.

Let’s just face it.  There is a battle for our minds.  There is a spiritual battle taking place all day long in the mind of each follower of Christ.

How many times as an adult have you said or thought, “I’m so glad that I grew up in simpler times” or “I’m so glad social media wasn’t around when I was growing up?”

What does this say about the battle for our kids’ minds?  This is a bit frightening!  Our kids are battling even more than we had to.  Our simpler lives may have naturally been a bit more innocent.  We just weren’t exposed to the “world” with devices at our fingertips, all day, every day.

As parent, grandparents, and teachers today, we have to be intentional about creating boundaries and about exposing our kids to things that are NOBLE and PURE.  That is just not going to happen naturally in today’s culture.

It’s okay to limit screen time and to monitor it.  It’s okay to take phones and devices away at dinnertime and at bedtime.  Even as adults, we should probably be better at monitoring our own screentime.  Guilty here, for sure. Why do we feel like we have to be available 24/7 and what is that modeling for our kids?  I put my phone aside now at several times throughout the day and just do not respond; while I’m exercising, writing, and during meals … while I am just LIVING.

And, since I’m focusing on “Booking time with our Kids”, dare I say that some of that time can be filled with reading; reading about things that are good and pure and worthy and admirable.  There’s a lot of good stuff out there!  We all probably have much of it in our homes and on our shelves.  It’s just so easy to get out of the habit.   

I believe we have to equip our kids; there is a battle for their minds.  I also believe that the ONE who can best equip them is the ONE who created them.  Read to them.  Read them stories of God’s creation, of Biblical heroes, of people in history who have fought for good, and of stories of people who exhibit kindness and generosity.  Read them stories about how much they are loved and how they are purposefully created. 

How do we help them win the battle for their minds? A special friend recently prayed “The ARMOR of God” (Ephesians 6: 10-20) over me; what a powerful and needed gift it was. And I keep going back to it… as an adult. Our children need to be protected by the Armor of God as much, if not more than we do.

• Belt of truth: protects against lies from the enemy

• Breastplate of righteousness: protecting our hearts
• Shoes of the gospel of grace: protecting us as we go forward and share
• Shield of Faith: quenches the fiery darts of the wicked
• Helmet of Salvation: protects our minds
• Sword of the Spirit: the Word of God, allowing us to take offensive against the enemy
• Prayer: drawing spiritual strength from God

I found an ARMOR PRAYER FOR CHILDREN written by Pastor Paul Anderson at SubstanceChurch.com. If we want to wisely BOOK TIME WITH OUR KIDS and fill their hearts and minds with pure and good thoughts, why not use God’s very Word? We can remind our children of their identity in Christ and pray over them. We can train them in basic spiritual warfare and send them into the world powerfully protected, thus focusing on “these things” that are noble and true.

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