"The Gospel" - on a child's level

Wednesday in The Word for Families

We just celebrated the Easter Season.  I bought a couple of really neat books a while back, but have kept them put up until we could spend some time on them during Family Worship.

I LOVE this book!

We spent the entire week using it to learn about salvation.  It has really cute pictures and good theology.  :)

I wrote up 25 discussion questions for the girls to be sure they were learning the truths communicated in the story.  They were able to go back through the book to find the answers if they didn't remember.  If you want a copy of my questions - just message me and I will send it to you!

One of the cutest things happened while we were doing this study.  We were talking about the page that shows how the Bible teaches us that God is going to give us all a home in Heaven...and that we want to go there and be with Him forever.

...to which Mia clapped her hands and said in a squeaky little voice, "I can't wait to die... so that God can show me my new house in Heaven!"

Not quite what I was going for - but at least she understands that Heaven is wonderful!

You can order the book here:
Christianbook.com

Family Worship

Wednesdays in the Word for Families

We have started having "Family Worship" time at least 2-3 nights a week.  We all pile in the living room floor and get out Macy's Bible.  Our first MAJOR lesson was:

We memorized Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength".  We did motions to help remember it.  We rehearse it EVERY time we have a Family Worship night.  I ask them, "What is the MOST important thing for us to do in the world?"  Then they chime in saying this verse.  I LOVE IT!

God has given US the Responsibility

Wednesdays in the Word


Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 
Deut 6:4-7


I am sure that most of us have read this verse many times.  But I have been reflecting on it this week.  Breaking it down... asking myself... what does this REALLY mean... and am I obeying God to the fullest in this task He has given me as a parent?


Am I Loving God with ALL of my heart, soul, and strength?  AND am I TEACHING these things to my children?  


The Lord has really been impressing on my heart that it is NOT enough for the kids to go to church...it is NOT enough for us to have family prayer each night....  BUT AM I TEACHING THEM TO LOVE GOD WITH ALL THEIR HEART, SOUL, AND STRENGTH? And HOW am I doing that?

I have been reading a book lately that is really challenging me.  It is called "Shepherding a Child's Heart" by Ted Tripp.  In it he challenges the methods and motivations we as parents use to get our children to behave.  We focus so much on behavior.... and employ many different TACTICS to get the results we want.  Tripp challenges us to deal with our children's HEARTS when they disobey and misbehave....why they are doing things...and to teach them to do right - not b/c they will get a reward...or not because we will punish them... but because they love God and choose to obey Him and do what is right.

Ouch.  I like every other parent have gotten really good at bribing, having charts, giving rewards for good behavior.... but the truth reveals itself that when I am not in the room - I see a lack of fruit of the Spirit in their lives.  They only obey when Mom is watching to be sure they walk the reward/punishment line correctly.  Are the girls kind to each other b/c God wants them to be kind?  Do they tell the truth b/c they want to please God... not b/c they are afraid of being in trouble?

The only way they will ever get to this point is if I TEACH them that the only thing important in life - is to LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, ALL YOUR SOUL, AND ALL YOUR STRENGTH. They are not going to just somehow pick it up at church or through just family prayer time.  God, in these verses above, instructs us as parents to teach our children what it MEANS to Love HIM.  To talk about it at HOME (not just church), when you walk along the road (for us it could be car time), when you lie down, when you get up....

I don't know about you - but I am being challenged in my Spirit - to find a WAY and a TIME to TEACH my children Spiritual truths.  This requires that we be INTENTIONAL - doing it ON PURPOSE!

What really is TRUST?

Wednesday in the Word

"Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for God's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; He's the one who will keep you on track."
Proverbs 3:5-6 The Message Bible

I confess.  I am one of those people who try to figure out everything.  In my mind I think everything has to make sense...it has to be LOGICAL!

But through this journey we have been on the past couple of years, God is teaching me that this shows that I don't really TRUST Him.  The first time He dealt with me about this - I said, "What do you mean, Lord, that I don't trust you?!  I have given my life to you.  I have given my life to ministry!  One of my greatest strengths is being able to think through things and figure them out!!!"

Then God so gently brought to my heart and mind the fact that I wasn't willing to take a leap of faith onto the mission field... because I was trying to FIGURE it out.  I was trying to make it all LOGICAL.
The truth is - I was trusting in MYSELF to figure it out...and if I couldn't figure it out - then I wasn't willing to do it!

That day...over 2 years ago now...I surrendered to the Lord my logic.  I surrendered CONTROL.  Me being in control of my life.  Abandoning being able to KNOW how it was all going to work, and TRUSTING Him...REALLY trusting Him for the first time in my life....WITH my life. With my everything.

Do you also try to figure out everything?  What area is God calling you to trust Him in?

Ignite a Fire

Wednesdays in the Word

I love how The Message puts this verse in Matthew 3:

[Jesus] will ignite the kingdom life within you, a fire within you, the Holy Spirit within you, changing you from the inside out.

That's what I want.   He lit a fire within me when He radically touched my life 20 years ago.  But I want that fire to stay fresh...and I want to be continually changed from the inside out.

Lord, please ignite a fresh fire within all of us.  Holy Spirit, fill us anew.  And please, change us from the inside out, that we may be more like You.  Less of ME, more of YOU.

Your Source

Wednesday in the Word...

Do we look to others to meet our needs?  Do we look to our job?  Or do we look to God?

Phillipians 4:19 says, "But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

What is our source?  Sometimes I have been guilty of thinking if I can just think hard enough to come up with the best financial plan that everything will work.  I am learning to trust God with every day.  It's not up to me to figure it out.  It's up to me to be faithful...and to trust Him.

Wednesdays in the Word

We must learn to be REALISTIC, not IDEALISTIC.  Idealism says, "I can do it all!"
Realism says, "I can do everything God asks me do do."
-Joyce Meyer 

"...I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of Christ who give me the strength and power." - Phillipians 4:13 TLB

I will be honest.  I tend to be idealistic.  I ALWAYS have more on my daily to do list than I can possibly humanly do.  Then I am bummed at the end of the day that I didn't accomplish more.  I have to CHOOSE to celebrate  the 2 or 3 projects that I did complete or I will just feel defeated.

How about you... Are you idealistic in the pressures that you put on yourself?  Or are you realistic?