LAF (Love, Accept, Forgive) is not just a cute acronym. It’s a God centered spiritual practice that children can easily understand and incorporate into their daily lives. Prayerfully choosing love, acceptance, and forgiveness provides measurable results while teaching children exactly why and how to rely upon Jesus.

Salvation is not found in forcing the world and those in it to agree with you, or accept you. Ultimately, validation of one’s self-worth comes from within…from God. Joy and inner peace are the result of practicing self-love, self-acceptance, forgiveness, and compassion for others.

LAF with God demonstrates how kindness, love, acceptance, forgiveness, prayer, and God reliance lead to a joyous life. Our curriculum provides an opportunity for children to experience this truth firsthand without judging or criticizing other’s beliefs and life choices.

The LAF curriculum is based on 5 basic spiritual principles

How we treat others has a much greater influence on a person’s life experience than gender, race, or skin color. Yes, there are times when people are subjected to rejection. Everyone encounters mean spirited, hurtful, and hateful people. Even in these unfortunate situations, it is how we treat others that determines our happiness.

Believing that the world treats us unfairly based on factors beyond our control can influence how we treat others in a very negative way. If we unconsciously begin treating other people with suspicion or anger as a result of this attitude, they respond in kind. Their response then validates the mistaken belief that something other than ourselves is to blame for our undesirable life experiences.

Displacement of blame, which is prevalent and even celebrated in many parts of today’s society leads to apathy, removal of personal responsibility, emotional disorders, immorality, and even criminality.

The solution to all this is astonishingly simple. True lasting joy comes from focusing on how we treat ourselves and others, not how they treat us. If we wish to be accepted and loved, we must learn to be accepting and loving!

Jesus says – first, we should love God with all our heart, mind, and soul; and second, we should love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus says there is no other commandment greater than these.

To understand the nature of love is to know God, because love comes from God. Persistent devotion to love & truth is the bridge to developing a trusting relationship with God. Acceptance and forgiveness are the keys to the vehicle that allow us to cross this bridge!

Turn the other cheek does not mean to submit to abuse. It means not to add to it, or make it worse by being like it. In practice, turning the other cheek requires acceptance, and forgiveness. Acceptance, like love, is not forceful, threatening, or judgmental. Like forgiveness, acceptance does not condone bad behavior, nor mean agreement.

Acceptance leads to compassion, love, and understanding, by recognizing that we are all the same kind of different.

The willingness to forgive and seeking to understand others with compassion is one of the most powerful tools in spiritual development. In reality, it is the forgiver who benefits the most. Forgiveness does not condone bad behavior, but does release the forgiver from the event or person causing harm.

Wishing that the past was different is a hopeless exercise that blocks us from God’s love. The process of forgiveness and acceptance are an invitation for God’s love to enter into our hearts.

LAF with God uses love, supported by scripture and Jesus’ teachings to provide the children with a spiritual practice that will help them recognize the “wolf in sheep’s clothing”.

Ironically, many of today’s negative societal influences practice the exact opposite of love. They often contain hateful, intolerant, and vengeful undertones that are easily recognizable given the proper spiritual foundation. Once the children know what God’s love is, and how to experience it, spotting the imitations becomes easy.

Love is The Goal.       Accept, Forgive & Pray is The Way.       Joy is The Result!