Remember your why.

For me, it is the picture of Blaine and me sitting in the hospital room holding our firstborn, Sallye Ann Hale. That image refreshes my spiritual memory and reminds me that God called us and entrusted us with this gift. It has fueled the flame of my walk with the Lord and anchors me in this truth: my spiritual fruit will always resemble the Vine to which I am connected.

So today, come alongside me as we dig into Deuteronomy 6 and discover why it matters so much.

“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” That opening word—hear—is far more than passive listening. In Scripture, to hear means to respond, to obey, to move. It is a call to action. It also establishes order: the Lord is personal—He is our God—and He alone holds first place. He is one. After the Lord secures His rightful place as number one, He gives the next directive: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” The call is to move from ritual to relationship. This is our highest calling—to love Him wholeheartedly.

I often notice the word whole in wholeheartedly. If we are honest, is it wholeheartedly or hole-heartedly? Too often we try to cram a thousand lesser things into a space that was designed to be filled by the Lord alone. Then He tells us that these commandments He gives us are to be upon our hearts. His Word is a gift, and we should not leave home without it. The surest way to carry it with us is to hide it in our hearts. As Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” That is where His Word belongs.

Memorizing Scripture has been one of my greatest blessings. It fuels my soul when I am running on empty. It gives the Holy Spirit truth to bring to my mind—a cue card reminding me how to respond with grace rather than react in the flesh.

And then comes the beautiful shift into parenting: “Teach them diligently to your children,” or as some translations say, “Impress them on your children.” Once God’s Word is in our hearts, we are called to impress it upon theirs. The most powerful impression is not merely spoken—it is lived. We are told to talk about His Word when we sit at home, when we walk along the road, when we lie down, and when we get up. That covers the whole day—from sunup to sundown. Parenting, discipleship, and devotion are not separate compartments of life; they are lived continuously under the umbrella of God’s calling. The home is designed to be the primary place of discipleship, and the parents are the primary disciplers.

I recently met with a community group made up of five couples. They’ve been together for more than ten years, and their oldest child is nine. Most of them have three or four children. At one point, I asked everyone a question: If you had to choose one thing you want most for your children when you send them off to college, what would it be?

As you might expect from couples jumping into a Christian parenting course, every response was faith-centered—walking with the Lord, following Christ, being a light for the Kingdom. I rarely hear a different answer. But my follow-up question usually lands a little differently: What effort or small action did you take today that supports what you just said you want most for your kids? The room fell silent.

Young families today don’t need many reminders to stay busy; they need reminders to be busy with what actually matters. This always brings me back to Psalm 127:4: “Children are like arrows in the hands of a warrior.”

More often than not, I’m reminded that the greater challenge lies not in the arrow—but in the one launching it. What I have discovered over the past thirty years is this: when a parent is rooted in God, the arrows they release carry not only direction but power. The most ordinary moments—meals, car rides, bedtime prayers—become the launching points for a generation that will know, love, and follow the Lord. God doesn’t call us to be perfect parents or to raise perfect children; He calls us to be faithful parents, connected to the Vine, letting Him do the work in their lives.

Millye Moment

Today it’s common to hit the follow button on social media. Influencers measure success by the number of followers they gain and the influence they have on people’s thoughts, trends, and behavior.

But Scripture gives us a very different picture of influence.

The Bible is clear—we are to follow Christ, and as His disciples we are called to make disciples. Parenting, therefore, is not merely a role; it is discipleship.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” And in Matthew 28:18–20 we are given the Great Commission—to go and make disciples, teaching them to obey everything He commanded.

Yet too often we treat following others like a casual, horizontal click. So often social media platforms distract us from the real work at hand.

Discipleship begins with a vertical decision. Our faith is tied to our feet.

The apostle Paul boldly said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” This is a bold statement. Could we honestly wear that verse across the front of a t-shirt? Here Paul is saying I am leading well and with confidence asks others to follow him.

So it is worth prayerfully asking: Who am I following? Are the voices shaping your life spurring you toward Christ and deeper faith—or just the next link to clothes, trends, and entertainment?

Jesus asks an equally sobering question in Luke 6:39–40: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.” Our children are following our lead, they are watching what we love, what we pursue, and who we follow. Day by day they are being shaped by you as their “teacher”. Most parents don’t see themselves as influencers, but the reality is we are all influencers. The question is where we are leading? Are you worthy of being followed? 1 Corinthians 4: 2, makes it clear for those entrusted to rear His children, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”We must prove faithful!

If we follow the world, they most likely will follow the world. But if we follow Christ—denying ourselves and walking faithfully with Him—we lead them to the only path that leads to abundant life in Christ.

Today is a great opportunity to stop, take two steps back and question where you are leading your people? Is your faith authentic and your relationship with Christ personal? Do you spend the majority of your week pointing your kids to a Savior or to things that will never satisfy their thirst, the world?

I’ll leave you to ponder one of my favorite anonymous quotes:

“Good instruction but a bad example is like pointing your kids to heaven while taking their hand and leading them down the road to hell.”