Our own Jay Allen and his wife Kailey are having a baby this upcoming January and let's just say, we're a little excited around here!


Of course, I know Jay and his wife will be great parents but I wanted to share with them some advice that really changed the way I parented my kids early on, specifically 5 words. These are five words that you should say to your children and you've got to find reasons to mean them so you'll have to find specific things to pick out. But here are the words:

I am proud of you.

Your words to your children have so much power. I think about this all the time that we are made in the image and likeness of God. God creates with his words and we have that same power. Obviously, we can't speak universes into existence so it's not exactly the same type of power, but we do have that same power with our words to create a future for our children.

Let me just tell you what my mother has done in my life. I told her the other day that she's got to stop predicting my future. My mother has told me since I was a little girl that I would work in radio and where am I at right now? A radio station hosting a Morning Show. My mother also told me that I would write books one day. Today, I've written two books and now I've added a Bible study to that. My mother told me that I would teach one day. Now I have the privilege and honor of teaching the Bible at churches all around the area, but also in my home church. I'm actually starting to teach a Bible study through the book of Philippians that I wrote in just a couple of weeks.

At every major juncture in my life, my mother and father have spoken life-giving words into me and my sisters and it has been a gift. If you remember anything today, know that you have all the power to speak life into your child.