Resounding questions among mothers who want to raise their children in the ways of the Lord often sound like: what can I do? how do I do it? where do I start? I get that. Brad and I are learning daily what it means to grow our children up in knowledge and truth. I'm a novice mother. With less than five years of experience, I constantly ask the Lord for insight. I claim to know nothing. But, like most of you, I know the One from whom it all flows. Praise the Lord that he isn't leaving us mothers behind as we journey. Amen? Even Isaiah 40 reminds us that
he gently leads those that have young. It is a beautiful thing to be on a new adventure with the one who wrote the story. You know what I'm sayin'?
In that, I would be wrong in saying that I don't use resources. I do. We do. God has allowed me to 'stumble' (I use that term very loosely because it was his placement that led me to them) upon some great resources. And I have several favorites that I would love to share with you. But before that I think it is vitally important to remind myself (and you) that our children learn mostly from our faith; the way we interact with others, handle adversity and stress, the words we choose to use in our home, the way we speak to and over our children, the way we love (our spouse, our family, our children, our neighbors) and the value that we place on people. I mess up a lot as a mother. I choose to give way to my flesh, but I am journeying in surrendering my flesh to the Lord and carrying the cross of my calling, motherhood. It's a cross, no doubt. No a burden, but a cross. A role set out for women to step into so that we can train up disciples. And that is my role. Simply put,
my home is a place where disciples are being trained... me included. I use that as my mental reference point when it comes to discipline. The purpose of discipline is to make a disciple. Does the discipline used in your home reflect your heart's calling to make a disciple of each child? That is what I ask myself. I can attest, firsthand, that when my mind wanders from that point of reference, the answer is no. But when I can ask myself that, I choose words and ways that are in line with the Lord. Just like in Jonah 4, the Lord reminded Jonah that he should not be angry with the vine that he did not tend. If I am not tending my children: leading them, teaching them, and pruning them, then what right do I have to be angry with them when they make poor choices?
So without further rambling, here are a few of our choices of favorite resources to use at home.
~~I really like and most often use
The Village Church online resources:
It's good stuff. They have it laid out clearly and with a new year rolling, now would be a good time to jump on board. They have Developmental Guides that you can use to teach age appropriately. They have a fun, colorful Memory Verse Calendar that is great. My favorite part of it is that they put each month's verse to music. We love singing our scriptures. Trust me, we are all thankful that I'm not making up the songs anymore. Our church,
Hillside Christian Church, is fabulous and the pre-school department gives great resources to parents. We always aim to stay caught up with what our children are learning in church and reiterate those values. It is very important to me that we intertwine everything learned within the walls of my church with what takes place in my home. I know other churches give great resources, also. Stay up to date. Ask questions, recite scriptures and sing the same songs that they sing at church. One reason that I chose to share The Village Church resource is because it is online and accessible, making it easy for anyone to use. Plus, the months ahead are clearly mapped out and I like that. We deviate from it some, but overall, it's great!
~~Our Bible of choice is a new one. My fabulous sister in law gave it to Emery for Christmas and I am so glad that she did. We now use it most.
It is the Jesus Storybook Bible. It is written in a beautiful, flowing story, like scripture was/is intended. I've been asked by friends what to do if a mother isn't a trained teacher. All I can say is that I wouldn't consider myself to be a trained teacher. In fact, there isn't much I would consider myself adequately trained in so my encouragement would be to let scripture come to life while you read with your children. Scripture is living and active, allow it to be so in your home. Talk about, pray through it, allow it to be age appropriate and let the Lord speak to the hearts of your children through scripture. We aren't reading about a God who is distant and inaccessible. Remember that and act as such while you read. Another important thing is our home is to acknowledge the Bible as 'God's Holy Word.' That is what it is and I want my children to revere that.
~~Though I don't read many parenting books, I have read a few. My favorite: the Bible. Seriously. My second favorite was told to me by a great friend.
Loving Our Kids on Purpose by Danny Silk. It's a good read. With all parenting books I say, take the good nuggets, leave the inapplicable and use it to open and shape your heart to be for your child.
~~ Be for them. Allow your heart to connect to theirs. Know them and let them know you. Then, and only then, can you guard one another's hearts.
And these are a few of my favorites. I could talk about this subject all day. But for the sake of sounding redundant or like I know any more than God's grace has allowed, I choose to stop there. What about you? What are your family favorites? Teach me, teachers!
