There is a woman in my church who is famous for her saying,
“They will become what you tell them they will be.”
She is referring to our kids and how important it is to speak life into their precious ears.
Because if you’re fed a steady diet of, “You’re a bad boy,” “You’re not good enough,” “You are impossible!” “You are naughty,” “You make me crazy!”, “You always/never…”, “What were you thinking?!”, etc., then your inner voice gets programmed into believing those statements are true {{WHICH THEY ARE NOT}}.
Our kids sin because it is a part of their fallen nature. But don’t forget that their sin does not define them. The precious blood of Christ does! Nothing – not even that tantrum they just threw in the supermarket – can separate them from our Savior’s love (Romans 8:28) – thank you Jesus. <3
The Bible says that “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” (Proverbs 18:21).
As mamas, we get the high calling of being the voice our kids hear the most while they are little. The older they get, the more voices they will hear (and this world carries a lot of voices that sound like death), so I am trying to focus now on speaking words to my boys that bring life to their hearts. I want them to learn now how to rehearse truth-filled phrases in their minds when tempted by the enemy to head down a destructive mental path.
I want my boys to know who God says they are, to Whom they belong, and how to take hold of the abundant life He has for them.
Here are some of the little life-giving phrases I have used with my boys over the years, as well as a few others I gathered from some of my dearest mama friends. I truly pray this resource blesses your happy home!
20 Life-Giving Phrases for Kids
- “I see God working in your life.” (You can read more about this phrase and how I use it HERE.)
- “I love you and Jesus loves you most of all.” (I speak this over my kids every night! You can see a video and find details about it HERE.)
- “God is always with you!” (Matthew 28:20)
- “You are a beloved child of the King!” (1 Peter 2:9-10)
- “You are a gift from God.” (James 1:17)
- “You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength!” (Philippians 4:13)
- “God has a good plan for your life.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
- “You are strong in the Lord!” (Ephesians 6:10)
- “With God, all things are possible!” (Matthew 19:26)
- “You are fearfully and wonderfully made.” (Psalm 139:14)
- “You are loved – no matter what. There is nothing you can do that will change that.” (Romans 5:8)
- “Jesus loves spending time with you and so do I.” (Luke 10:38-42)
- “Let me pray for/with you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
- “Trust Jesus with (insert here – this situation, this fear, this desire, etc.).” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
- “I love that God helped you (insert here something that your child did – be creative, work hard, think of others, do the right thing, bless someone, sacrifice something that meant a lot to them, be kind to a sibling) today!” (Psalm 28:7)
- “God is concerned about every detail of your life.” (1 Peter 5:7, Matthew 10:30, Psalm 139:1-3)
- “There is so much grace for you.” (Hebrews 4:16) I say this one while hugging a child who is broken over his/her sin.
- “I’m sorry – will you forgive me?” (1 John 1:9) This is for when WE make mistakes and sin against them – our kids NEED to know that we are sinners and in need of a Savior – just like them, and “It is finished.” (John 19:30)
- “Thank you, God, for this precious boy/girl!” (Isaiah 43:4)
- “I am so happy/proud/honored/blessed that God made me your mama.”
As I was texting with my pastor’s wife about this topic, her teenage kids chimed in and said that the thing they hear their mom say a lot when they make inaccurate observations about themselves or situations they face is a passionate, “That is a lie from the pit of hell! Get behind me satan!” (Of course not referring to your child as satan but to the one who brought up the lie).
It sounds extreme, but our kids need to be extreme when it comes to mental paths that don’t glorify God or honor His heart for His precious kiddos. We have to nip those lies in the bud and point them to Jesus!!
How do you speak life over your kids?
– Julie 🙂
Thank you so much for this list of 20 phrases
I will definitely incorporate them into my daily conversations with my two beautiful children. I am a firm believer in we are a product of what we hear and are told. And being a 43 year old womAn and momma who struggles with her self esteem on daily basis i am very mindful to nurture my kiddos constantly as they form their self esteem that will too follow them for LIFE!!! It’s like I have told them from birth that beauty is in their heart and no matter how much beauty is on the outside unless their heart is kind and loving and helpful then beauty is not seen In new to your blog and I am LOVINg it. Thank you soooooo much for helping me and all is other mom as on this glorious journey and PRIVELEDGE of motherhood
Hey Jenn! Thank you for this encouragement! It sounds like you know exactly what you are doing loving and nurturing your kiddos’ hearts for Christ! God bless you!!!
These are great for kids to hear. I think adults would be blessed by them also. You are a blessing.
Thanks, Beth. I agree! I speak these reminders often to myself and my husband!
My son is almost seven and he has a best buddy in the hospital who was in a very serious boating accident. He is going to be okay but had a long road of recovery ahead. I am going to forward this to his mom because I think these will bring great joy to her and help her find the words she needs to continue to pray over her son. Thank you Julie!
Autumn! You are a good friend… Mamas need SO much support and reminders of His love when going through something difficult like your son’s buddy’s mom. Thank you for letting me know about this. Saying a prayer for comfort and the peace of His presence!
The timing of this post couldn’t have come at a better time! I have a 6 year old girl and 4 year old boy, and wow, my little gal is giving me a run for my money. We have had the hardest summer, and I have definitely filled her little ears with some pretty negative statements. Thank you for this encouragement that I so needed to hear!
Molly, your teachable, open heart is so pleasing to the Lord. He loves you!! You are a wonderful mama!
These are great for the grandparents to vocalize also!!!! Thank you, dear one, for letting God lead you in speaking truth, faith and love to our precious children!!!!
Thank you for sharing…. I am a single mom of a 16 month old and i try to speak life into him. His bio father is NOT in the picture and I NEVER ever want him to feel like it was his fault or unloved or whatever the enemy would try to bring up. Thank you for this list. It’s awesome!
Wow, Betsy, I LOVE your heart to speak truth to your son! Keep at it, girl! The enemy has been defeated! He is in the hands of a loving Savior! God bless you, sister!! 🙂
I love this and that you included scripture to back each one up. Wondering if you’ve thought about making it into one of your amazing printables? 🙂
Thanks Julie! Reblogged this: https://papergiftsforestefany.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/20-life-phrases/
re Leeanne: Yeah, I was just thinking the same thing. If you don’t, Julie, I will. : )
Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful thoughts!!! I have sent this to each of my 3 daughters (2 who already have children and one who has been a foster mom), have copied it off to share with some of our clients at our local Pregnancy Center, and saved it for myself so that I can use these kinds of thoughts for my grandchildren. Wish I would have done better with these thoughts/words as a mama, but now I “get a second chance” with grandchildren and others around me. I already work at not saying “you’re so cute” or “what a pretty dress” and try to focus on the child’s character, but I really, really love these thoughts you have shared. Thank you for sharing so more of us can gain this thought process and begin using these kinds of words!!!!!
Goodday. I was so blessed in reading this article, it is my prayer to raise my little girl in the footsteps of our Savior Jesus. This article was so inspiring and a real blessing to me as a mother. Do you perhaps have a group where mommies share this type of knowledge with other mommies?
May the blessings of God overtake you.
Best Regards
Monique
Hi Monique! Where do you live? If you reach out to your local church, I’m sure you will find something! And MOPs is also a wonderful group that encourages and equips precious mamas like you! 🙂 God bless you!
As a single mom of a baby boy, I am doing this mommy thing on my own. It can be so overwhelming most days, but I have never felt the presence of God in my life like I do now. This post means SO much to me. I have tears in my eyes. Speaking these words over him every day and truly BELIEVING them is so powerful, so humbling, so necessary. My son does have a Father, and He loves us both so well. Thank you for these precious words. God bless you!
Love this! Pinning now! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Caroline!
This is EXCELLENT!! Thank you!! Printing it out and keeping it with me at all times.
Thanks, Nat!! 🙂
Thank you so much for your post. After read about this, i’m realize sometimes i speak negative things to my 2 years old daughter without thinking, especially when she fuzzy when her meal time. I felt regret and so guilty afterwards. Forgave me Lord, I pull back what i said. From this moment after just words that build and bless my kid will come out from my mouth. Thanks Jul. Gbu
We all do it, girl. Thank Jesus for GRACE! Repentance and then seeking Him are the answers here! He will provide for your growth and bless you as you look to Him to guide your words. 🙂 You’re amazing! <3
I love a lot of the ideas here and I do think it’s very important to encourage our children daily with truths about God’s love for them, and our love for them, and to encourage them to turn to God with their troubles.
I also think it’s important when we have those teachable moments (perhaps our child is in need of some correction or training) to share with them the truth that they are sinners in need of a Savior. And that we are too. Too much “self esteem” and only positive given them and they will not understand their own dire situation and their need for the Lord Jesus. This should be done in gentleness and love, and not just because we are angry that our child did something we didn’t like.
I couldn’t agree more, Melissa! It is so important that we understand how great our need is for Him! <3
This is a great, great post. I was just doing a google search for an article like this written for kids. I try to encourage my children to speak blessings into their lives and to understand God’s unfailing love for them. This post highlights so many of the phrases I say to my children and have been for all of their lives. I’m so glad to know that I am on the right path.
Great article Julie,
Thanks for always speaking life over Gavin when he was in your class. No wonder he still wants to walk the long way to see you in the mornings! Last night my husband and I got into a conversation about “things we love about Gavin” and we took turns going back and forth saying things we love about Gavin while he sat in between us… after about 20 Gavin said- “lets say things we love about Travis” and the 3 of us took turns naming things, then it turned into “things about daddy, and then things about mommy”, and we ended with another round of “things we love about Gavin” It was soooo fun and such a great way to verbalize our love for each member specifically!
Love these and would REALLY LOVE and adorable printable version…hint, hint 😉 What great affirmations for parents and children!
What an excellent post. I plan to use these nuggets with my grandchildren and the children in my Sunday school classes. Thank you for this wisdom.
Thank you for this 🙂 it really helps for me how to praise my kids! God bless you!
God bless YOU! You are an awesome mama!
I love this list! Are you feeling crafty and motivated and wanting to turn this into a great free printable to help me work these into my daily language, please and thank you?!
I like this. I have found the HS really works with a blank slate and given the way His voice moves through our evening Veggie Tale devo time, I may just make a jar of all these edifying statements and pull them out at random. Thanks for the jump-start! Love your site. Def need more happiness and less yelling (two boys too and it’s always about keeping everyone alive – James Dobson, Bringing Up Boys – “greatest challenge may be just keeping them alive through childhood and adolescence.”) 🙂
Great post! I shared this with my children, who are great parents with 3 young children. As a single/young Mom, I said things out of ignorance. Simply not knowing and being weary some days as a single Mom who worked mandatory 58-68 hours work weeks (no excuse). My son and daughter in love are great godly/professional people. Thank God for grace that even though my son has self esteem challenges, he thrives to be great in whatever he touches. I simply shared this with them so they don’t repeat the cycle! I don’t want him to say, well I turned out ok and it didn’t affect me but did it????
God bless you for a super great post!
I know I am a bit late to the party but speaking life into my childrens’ hearts has been a goal of mine (especially since my oldest just turned four and entered a preschool program). It can be scary the amount of negativity that can be spoken over our children (whether by us or by people they encounter) and the best way to combat it is to be sure they have positive programming in place. Hopefully it will help them discern the Truth from amongst the lies. Thanks for sharing these phrases! I’ll probably print them out and keep them handy until I’ve made them a habit!
I don’t know you, but you’re my sister in Christ, for sure!
This article came up while I was doing a Google search, and I’m so glad the LORD prompted me to click on it!
I’m a mom of two teenagers; I desperately seek to lead them to a life of loving their Savior with ALL of their hearts, souls, and minds (Matthew 22:37); these truths you shared bless me!! It’s so easy to just say how we are feeling in the moment.
What hits me, right now, is that all of these truths require me, as a believer, to “submit to God and resist the devil…” (James 4:7) myself, first, in each moment. This is the only way the devil (and any ugly words or lies) will retreat. It’s through this submission that the Life (Jesus) within me will speak through me!
Thank you for your encouragement and pointing women, including me, to Truth! The LORD has used you to sharpen me.