Castles and Strongholds: Guarding Your Grandchild’s Heart

September 15, 2026|Gayle Veitenheimer||Misc, Perspective

When it comes to home security, my husband takes a very different view than I do. When Russell is home, the doors are unlocked and, if the weather is nice, open.

And because he’s home, I’m okay with it, because I trust his ability to protect me. Although last year during a bear sighting in Colorado Springs, he took off while I took pictures. Hmmm.

But when he travels? I lock every door and keep our Belgian Malinois, Blaze, close at hand.

Why? Because as a female at home alone, I recognize my vulnerability.

God’s Word reminds us vulnerability doesn’t start at our front door. It starts with our hearts.

Garage doors, locks, security systems. All are designed to keep the bad guys out.

But as the people of Troy discovered, the greatest danger may come from what we let in.

And what about our grandchildren? Our grandchildren are under attack from culture, from opposing worldviews, and from the enemy. How can we help them to guard their hearts? We help them secure their castle.

In ages past, castles served as fortresses. Strongholds. Places of safety.

As such, they were constructed with specific defenses in mind.

Many castles had a barbican, an extra gatehouse before one crossed the drawbridge.

A second layer of protection was the drawbridge itself.

Third came the iron portcullis, followed by a heavy set of double doors.

Guards had the ability to fire arrows or to pour hot oil on attackers from a second gatehouse over the double doors.

Note the multiple layers of protection. If ancient castles needed multiple layers of security, how much more our hearts.

1. How’s Our Castle?

Our hearts (and feelings) are not to be trusted. This is one of the biggest truths we can teach our grandchildren.

Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

Though we may grapple with fear or anger, that feeling may not reflect the truth of the situation. When my emotions are high, the prayer “God, show me truth” has kept me from following a feeling that, though genuine, was leading me in the wrong direction.

Romans 7:15 says, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.”

As a new creation, we have the Holy Spirit and He helps us when our flesh would fail.

2. Our Castle’s Content

What’s in our hearts right now? How do we know?

Psalm 139:23-24 reads, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.

The psalmist tells us to simply ask God.

But then, Jesus gave us a clue: our mouths.

Matthew 12:34 says, “For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

So, what’s coming out of our mouths?

What’s coming out of our grandchildren’s mouths?

And what needs to change? When we change what goes in, we change what comes out.

3. Guard Duty

Proverbs 4:23 says, “Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”

How do we guard our hearts?

We stop and check everything that wants to enter before we grant admission.

Remember my locked doors and my Malinois? No one approaches my house without my knowing.

Blaze hears everything and he sounds the alert.

I decide whether to open the door or to leave it locked.

Entry points: Eyes, ears, nose, fingers, mouth.

What are we watching? Reading? Playing?

To what are we (and they) listening?

Even what we touch, smell, and taste must be evaluated.

Sound exhausting?

It doesn’t have to be. God helps us.

4. Our First Layer of Protection: The Barbican or Gatehouse #1, God’s Word

Psalm 119:11 says, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”

Knowing God’s Word, hiding it in our heart, helps us know what to allow in and what to deny access. Let’s encourage our grandkids to memorize Scripture.

Philippians 4:8 reads, “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.”

Quality children’s literature, I’m talking general market now, often comes packed with biblical principles. Christian fiction gets better every year. (Like The Kingswell Kid Detective series, Book 1, The Mystery of the Missing Falls.)

5. Our Second Layer of Protection: The Drawbridge, Holy Spirit

Proverbs 3:5-6 reads, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways, submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”

Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it.’”

The Holy Spirit guides us. When our ears and hearts are tuned to His voice, He can stop us with a gentle check. Or give us the go-ahead. Let’s challenge our grandchildren to dialogue with God rather than approach Him like a vending machine. We can also share how God speaks to us and encourage them to listen for His voice.

6. A Third Layer of Protection: The Portcullis, God’s People

Lots of God’s children are seeking to guard their hearts too. Parents, grandparents, and friends from church. Teaming up for accountability helps us guard our castles because we can share struggles and victories. We can pray for each other. We can help in those tough decision-making moments.

The enemy storms the gates of our castles and those of our grandchildren regularly. Through culture. Through opposing worldviews. Through distractions.

Let’s equip our grandchildren to guard their hearts, starting now.

Let’s pray: Father God, help us to be faithful in manning our own castles and to model what guard duty looks like for the grandchildren. Use us to equip them to secure their hearts for You and You alone. In Jesus’s name. Amen.

I’ve included some fun knight and castle activities below to start the conversation. Let’s help our grandchildren secure the castle of their heart.

Resources:

Don’t forget to check out The Kingswell Kid Detective series. Book 1, The Mystery of the Missing Falls, is available now for readers ages 8-12. Kid-sized mysteries. God-sized truths.

Check out The Mystery of the Missing Falls on the Children’s Book Review tour.

Scripture To Help Grandparents