Christian Grandparenting Blog

As a grandparent you are the second most influential person in your grandchild’s life – more than teachers, friends, clergy, neighbors, coworkers, and other family members. Only their parents have more sway with your grandkids than you do. Did you know that you had that kind of power?  Today, grandparents are called upon to fill many different roles for their grandchildren. Here, at the Christian Grandparenting Network, our mission is clear: to encourage, equip, and empower grandparents to pass a legacy of faith in Christ to future generations. 

Our Gregorian calendar marks February 14th as a special day, similar to Thanksgiving and Christmas. We set Valentine’s Day aside to celebrate and commemorate our love for one another. However, unlike the other holidays, most Americans are not familiar with the origin of Valentine’s Day. This is through no fault of our own. The history and legends surrounding Valentine’s Day date back to Ancient Rome.

The Bible’s definition of love is active, based not on human emotions, but rather on what we do. Scripture tells us God’s definition of love is the outward flow from inward growth of the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). It transforms us and shapes us into the likeness of Jesus. Instead of a sweet, sentimental, or romantic feeling, it is self-sacrifice, putting others’ needs before our own, following Jesus’ example and humbling ourselves as servants.

Most Christians who attend church with any regularity have heard the Great Commission passage in Matthew 28:18-20, “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I [Jesus] have commanded you…” Have you ever wondered what it really means to “make disciples”?

Do you try to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love” (Ephesians 4:1-2, ESV), only to discover that the harder you try, the more you fail? Do you feel as though there is a battle of wills raging inside you? If so, you aren’t alone. 

I love wooden train track sets. The more curves and straightaways, bridges and tunnels, junctions and turn-stations, the better.  Each of our grandchildren started with the small toddler Brio set. Over the course of the years, we bought more pieces. The networks formed between individual tracks remind me of human relationships. With that in mind, I want to introduce you to Christian Grandparenting Network’s new Chief Operating Officer (COO), Jay Bell.

Today, “passing the torch” conjures up images of the Olympic Games. We’ve all seen the runners carrying the Olympic flame around the globe and passing it from one to the other until the last one reaches that final destination at the current Olympic venue. In the earliest days of the Christian Grandparenting Network, our tagline and logo included such an image. You can see the figure of an older adult (grandparent) passing a torch much like the Olympic torch to a younger person. We used this visual as a way of reminding grandparents of the biblical mandate to pass the torch of God’s Word and the Gospel to their grandchildren. 

The Apostle Paul presents nine attributes of a godly life: the fruit of the Spirit. These are evidence of a life led by the Holy Spirit. His purpose is to encourage those who belong to Christ to no longer be slaves to their sinful nature. When a person chooses to follow Christ, they receive the Holy Spirit, and desire to develop the character of Christ. The character of Christ is manifested by the fruit of his Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV).