Well, when I put up my Reader's Choice post a couple of weeks ago, I was anxiously anticipating what the topic suggestions would be. Unfortunately, I've only gotten one request. However, I've been giving this topic a lot of thought, and I have not come up with any revelatory ideas. I thought I would give my thoughts on the subject and then ask you for your input. My reader suggested that I write a post on activities that families can do to instill the knowledge of God in their children.
No pressure, right? I have been thinking about this over the last week or so, and I kept coming back to the idea that every day we have opportunities to share our faith with our kids. If we are committed Jesus-lovers, our faith is infused into everything we set our hands to do. Maybe I am just drawing a blank because I'm not very creative on this subject, but God has been speaking to me that rather than trying to invent or create specific instances of sharing my faith with my daughter, I should tune my heart in to the opportunities that He presents. I suppose I will just try to share the way I approach my responsibility of teaching Avari about our Father.
First of all, when we wake in the morning, I try to remember to start our day with a prayer - nothing fancy, just putting Papa first in our lives and asking for His presence and guidance. It doesn't always happen that way. Sometimes we launch right into other things, but that is my intent.
As we wrap up our day and put Avari to bed, we read out of one of her children's Bibles. We give her the opportunity to ask questions, try to pronounce the names of people and places and discuss the events that are taking place in the story. She has a particular affinity to the story of Jonah, the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and she loves to read about the garden of Gethsemane. Our goal is to make it a bonding time but make it fun too. Of course, if she decides she would rather have a storybook every once in a while, we don't force the issue. We do not want to make it a "religious requirement" that she has to fulfill. We want her to enjoy the Bible.
After we read with her, we say our prayers. She prays first, and then Mommy says a prayer. Last but not least, Daddy prays. Of course, her prayers still revolve around listing all the people who are important to her. Although there are times when she will mention someone we know out of the blue and pray for them. Those are the really cool times because we will often find out later that there was a reason they needed prayer. Oh, to have the faith of a child!
The reason we all pray is that we want her to realize that there is not a right or wrong way to pray - it is a conversation with Father. I know that when I was a child, I did not know how to make the transition from the "list of blessing" prayers to truly speaking my heart to God. By letting her hear our prayers she can see that there is no formula - you are just talking to Papa about what is on your heart. That is real relationship. I mean, if I said the same thing to my husband every day with no changes to the script and no real thought or feeling behind the words, it wouldn't have much meaning, would it?
The last thing we do before tucking her in is sing Amazing Grace. That may sound like a strange bedtime song, but it was the one that she always loved from the time she was a baby. We tried out all sorts of different songs, but that is the one that always soothed her. If we offer to sing something different, she still chooses the same song every night. What is sweet is that now she knows almost all the words to the verses, and she sings along. She always finishes by saying that it makes Jesus happy to hear us sing; I suppose telling her that repeatedly has made an impact.
Those are the only things in our daily routine that are actually planned faith moments. The rest of the time we use opportunities to teach as they present themselves. Perhaps since my daughter is only 2 1/2, I have not seen the need to create those experiences with special activities. I mean, as your children get older, I suppose there are all sorts of things like concerts and special events that can help reinforce the lessons you are conveying.
To be honest, I have found that as we model our faith before her, our daughter seems to be learning those lessons effortlessly. Father is the center of our lives, so He is just ever-present whether it be our conversation or our actions. For me, I am not so worried about imparting a knowledge of God to her. I think that is probably the easier part.
I am more concerned about conveying what it should be like to be in relationship with Papa. If I teach her nothing else in life, I want her to leave the nest with a passionate, loving relationship with her Father. My desire is to hear the voice of Father in my parenting so she will desire to come to know Him and walk with Him from a very early age.
Really, it boils down to hearing His voice. He will lead and guide us through this obstacle course called parenting. He desires to give us the insights we need to foster that bond between Him and our children. Ultimately, walking in His footsteps and modeling His love is the best way to gift our children with His presence in their lives.
Now it's your turn. What activities do you think are conducive to teaching our children about God? I would love to hear your feedback on this topic - Sound off!
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