I had SO much fun a couple of weeks ago with a friend at an event. We got to give a short talk for a back to school effort; and ended up randomly mulling over some of the phrases we often use with our kids. She’s got all girls, and the way she is shaping them and considering what they need to hear, why, and how is super intentional. She is this incredible blend of authority and honest delight over her kids… so I’m listening. Honestly, I love phrases too. There are few things I really want to stick with my kids, so we’ve developed a few favorite phrases that we say a lot. This is especially helpful when you have boys that don’t have capacity to listen to mom offer a sermon… My word capacity is not their word capacity… The ancient Greeks took pride in using few words to capture big meaning, and I think they were on to something. And honestly, aren’t there a few quips that hold enough weight beckon your heart than a 30 minute podcast on the topic?

Once our talk was over, these phrases we threw out became more of a point of interest than maybe anything else we said… isn’t that just humbling? Maybe you have some “go-to” phrases you want your people to remember as you launch them into the world. Here are a few of the ones we compiled:

Phrases for the Kids

“Did you know I love you?”

“You are beautiful.”

“Hey… who are you?” Answer: “I am a child of God, loved by God, and nothing can change that.”

“That’s not true.” 

“You can do hard things.”

“You are a gift.”

“I am on your team.”

“Life is hard.”

“It’s not about you.”

“Boys think about themselves, men think about others.”

“I can’t wait to see what God is going to do with your life.”

“You are a delight.”

“Did you talk to anyone besides your friends today?”

“Who do you want to be? Do what that person would do.”

“You should pray about that before you respond.”

“Do you think you handled that well?”

“You have the Spirit of the living God living IN YOU.”

“Team Taylor”

The truth is… I believe God inserts phrases into our hearts and minds that become sticky for us as adults too. I can remember a tricky year when I sensed “I will sustain you,” come up in our time regularly. “Come to me,” is one that I revel in often.

What does your heart need to hear regularly? What do you think your kids need to hear regularly? Even as you ask God to speak to you, you can offer life-giving quips and phrases to those looking at your face and asking the same thing.