Heart Coaching 101
A parenting approach that focuses on coaching the heart with the gospel
Let me guess, you're feeling burdened with the responsibility of parenting your child?
Let me guess, you're feeling burdened with the responsibility of parenting your child?
I have been where you are deep in the trenches, feeling ill equipped to parent the various challenges of my kids, and not knowing how to pass on biblical truth.
Do you feel ill equipped to raise your children? Do their needs overwhelm you?
Are you constantly clashing with your kids? Do you have a headstrong kid?
Does your child’s behaviour puzzle you?
Are you sometimes afraid to admit that you don’t even like your child?
Are you frustrated with your own harsh responses and don’t know how to change?
We struggled with standard parenting advice not fitting the bent of our kids or reflecting the true character of our Lord Jesus.
We remember welcoming our first child into the world and feeling this overwhelming responsibility to take care of her needs and not knowing how. We were bombarded with parenting advice from every angle. I consumed books on Christian parenting as I wanted to parent well. But the sheer volume of parenting advice from books, and well meaning family and friends was bewildering, as well as conflicting.
I felt like I was the only mum in the world who had kids with challenges. I loved my kids, but everyday felt like a battlefield, a constant juggling of meltdowns, and illnesses. I believed being a stay at home mum was exactly where God wanted me but I wasn't enjoying it. How was I meant to disciple my kids when they were so perplexing and needed so much from me? How was I supposed to train them in the way they should go when they seemed incapable of controlling their own emotions?
We wanted a formula that would tell us exactly what to do. But when we relied on formula based parenting we were missing the heart of the issue.
After having more children, we realised that they are all so different and what works for one, often doesn’t work for the others. The one-size-fits-all approach did not work with the quirkiness of my kids. I no longer wanted to ask others for advice because I felt that my concerns were belittled, or condemned that I was not doing it right and if I just followed certain advice my kids would behave.
We were committed to being the best parents we could be. But it was fast becoming obvious that we could not do this job. Why? Because of our sin condition and brokenness we could not raise kids how we envisioned. I was surprised and frustrated with how I could respond harshly to my child. I needed to be transformed in order to be the parent my kids needed.
What changed the course of my parenting was a paradigm shift. I didn't need the situation to change - although of course I wanted it to change. I needed a change in my heart, and in my thinking.
I needed Christ and to take my focus OFF the situation and ON to him.
It is Jesus who gives us the strength we need to face the challenges of today but I had not been relying on His strength, I was deep in the trenches trying to do it all on my own steam.
My Groundhog Day didn't go away. Kids still got sick and needed lots of attention, dishes till piled up, kids behaviour needed addressing, laundry was just never ending but I began to enjoy my kids. I felt more connected to my kids. The greatest treasure of connection was that they engaged with me on a deeper level and became more responsive to my parenting. I was able to coach their hearts with the truth of the gospel.
As parents we have the amazing responsibility and privilege of being able to shape the hearts of our children. No two families will or should look alike in how they do life. But all families should base their lives upon Jesus and his word to help them navigate their unique personalities and circumstances.
Check out what's inside Heart Coaching 101 course:
Heart Coaching 101
is an online parenting course to encourage and equip you with tools for the important journey of reaching the hearts of our children with the gospel. This approach is based on God’s Word as authority, and parents being the representatives of the gracious heart of Jesus for our families.
Module One: HEART IDENTITY
Our own hearts need to be shaped by the truth that Christ says about us.
This is about understanding what has shaped us as parents. You will consider experiences from your family of origin, other heart shaping experiences, evaluate wrong beliefs you need to put off and biblical truth you need to put on.
Module Two: HEART CONNECTION
We will look at ways we can steward our relationships with God, our spouse, and our children.
We will look at areas of:
the fundamental heart needs we all have
our commitment in our relationships
how we communicate
the culture we can create in our families to support heart coaching
some challenges we may face
Module Three: HEART COACHING
This will give you, not a formula, but guidelines for how to cultivate strong connections with our children in order to be able to speak truth into their hearts. We must coach the heart to navigate life according to the authority and truth of God’s word.
Module Four: HEART GARDENING
Heart Gardening is about establishing the heart habit of regular review to put heart coaching into practice. This is an important module because this is all about action.
4 modules
18 videos
Each module includes downloadable and printable Heartbooks to help you on your journey.
Downloadable Heartbooks include:
Heart Formation: Stewarding our minds
Heart Connection: Stewarding our relationship with God
Heart Connection: Stewarding our relationship with our Spouse and Children
Heart Commitment
Heart Communication: Communicating to the heart of your spouse and child
Heart Culture: Cultivating connection through a culture of freedom and grace
Heart Challenges: Cultivating awareness, acceptance and support
Heart Coaching: Communicating to the heart of your child
Heart Gardening: Cultivating the garden of our children’s heart through habits
You will come away being able to:
Identify lies you need to put off and replace with biblical truth
Understanding how God sees you
Be aware of how you can steward your marriage relationship
Have tools to engage the heart of your child
Create habits to foster heart connection and shape your children's heart with biblical truth
Heart Coaching is for you if you desire to:
Face your own patterns of behaviour and false beliefs with truth
Build connection with your spouse and children
Be heart focused in your parenting
Shape your children’s hearts with biblical truth
Are you exhausted from following all the Christian parenting books to a tee but it just seems to be the wrong manual based on the quirky offspring God has given you?
Do you feel like you are not doing enough or you are doing it all wrong?
Does the responsibility of teaching the faith to your kids seem overwhelming?
Are you frustrated with your own harsh responses and don’t know how to change?
Are you struggling to connect to the heart of your child?
How would it feel to...
How would it feel to…
Engage the hearts of your children
Have tools to identify areas where you need to grow
Reflect the gospel of Jesus to your family in an organic way
Navigate life together based on truth
I have been where you are deep in the trenches, feeling ill equipped to parent the various challenges of my kids.
I have not arrived. I am not the perfect parent and I definitely am not an expert. I am not a qualified counsellor. However, I am a work in progress and I can testify that God has used my children and experiences to educate me and mould me as a piece of clay in his hands, to construct something that ultimately gives Him glory. It is all about Jesus.
Only Jesus can transform hearts.
My job is not to be perfect or legalistic. Rather in my imperfections, and sinful state, I can point my children to my need, and their need for Jesus.
Together we can pursue and grow to maturity in Christ in front and alongside each other.
This course contains the wisdom that we have gleaned so far on our journey and we are passionate about seeing others live to their potential in Christ and to walk in true relationship with their loved ones. We truly believe that strong families are the cornerstone of a healthy society and the way in which God has ordained us to learn about him.
Heart Coaching takes you through the biblical process of growing wholehearted yourself first. Our focus in parenting is not about changing our kids but on allowing God to change us to be who we need to be, so we can reach the hearts of our kids.
Frequently Asked Questions
Heart Coaching 101 is a parenting approach that focuses on coaching the hearts of our children with the gospel and biblical truth as authority.
Content is from a Christian worldview that holds Jesus Christ as Lord and the bible as His word that gives us wisdom to navigate life.
Not at all. This is a parenting approach that focuses on coaching the heart with the gospel, therefore this course is applicable to all Christian parents.
Heart Coaching takes you through the biblical process of growing wholehearted yourself first. Our focus in parenting is not about changing our kids but on allowing God to change us to be who we need to be.
We cannot control the choices that our spouse and children will make. There is no one-size-fits-all approach that can guarantee a certain outcome. But we can control our own choices. Our children do not need perfect parents, but they need parents that are pursuing Christ and addressing their own behaviours with biblical truth.
This distinctive approach of Heart Coaching is based on God’s truth as authority, and representing the gracious truth of Jesus for our families. We focus on pursuing wholeness in our own life first so we can grow to maturity in Christ, in front of and alongside our kids.
Heart Coaching 101 will give you principles for engaging the heart of your child so you can coach them with biblical truth.
Heart Coaching 101 is self-paced so it can fit around the demands of your family life.
This distinctive approach of Heart Coaching is...
based on God’s truth as authority, and representing the gracious truth of Jesus for our families.
We focus on pursuing wholeness in our own life first so we can grow to maturity in Christ, in front of and alongside our kids.
to put off your own false beliefs and to put on biblical truth?
to become the parent your child need's?
to connect to the heart of your kids?
to shape your children's heart with biblical truth?
God designed the family as the best place
for hearts to be nurtured.
As parents we have a great privilege and opportunity
to help shape our children’s hearts with truth.
© My Heart School