No Bragging, Big Brother!

Music lyrics, movie lines, video game strategies and most certainly commercials are all so easily memorized and internalized by our kids. Yet there are some Bible class teachers and children's church leaders who don't give them enough credit for being able to learn and process scripture. They need to play, do crafts, sing and dance. That's just how kids learn. Well, I beg to differ. We are creating another generation of kids with the inability to sit and think without having 5 different things to "stimulate" their senses. When will they learn scripture? When they are teens? Young adults? By then their hearts no longer belong to us and they most certainly do not belong to God because they have no real knowledge of him.

J and I do not rely on others to teach our children scripture. That is our job. Deuteronomy 6 tells us

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.

5 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.

8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.

9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Why is this on my mind today? Well, yesterday IJ was doing a bit of bragging about getting something right. JJ recognized it for what it was and called him on it. Did he yell at him or tell him to stop? No, he attempted to read Proverbs 16:18 to his brother.

Pride goes before destruction,a haughty spirit before a fall.

Now it had been at least a month since he read this verse, yet he remembered it and knew how to apply it. My 7 year old did as Paul did to Peter in Galations 2. He confronted him with his clearly wrong behavior, in love. We need to give our children credit for wanting to know what's right and more importantly we need to give God's word credit for convicting them just like it does us.

They Really Listen

Have you ever questioned your response to a situation? Did I do the right thing? Did I say that in the right way? These thoughts are always on my mind because well, I'm a mom. God has given "J" and I some amazing gifts (our boys) and an awesome responsibility (raising up Godly men). We don't take this lightly. If you are a parent then you know that what you teach your children early in life will greatly affect their world-view and their walk with God. I say this because on Friday the boys and I went to a museum of natural history. We wanted to go a few months back, but were unable to for some reason. We explored rocks, animals, Native American culture and our states regional resources. As you can see below, the boys were being "chased" by a brown bear. Aaaaaggh!


There was an evolution exhibit which I opted to skip. Well, wouldn't you know that we ended up having to deal with this warped idea anyway. One of the main reasons for our trip was to visit the planetarium. I had not been to one in years and I remember it being really cool. Unfortunately, I did not thoroughly check out the particular movie they would be showing. It included the idea the the first men were unintelligent beings and also the "big bang" theory. I was very uncomfortable to say the least. A couple of other families left. We sat for a bit longer, but once the "big bang" lie was presented I couldn't sit any longer. My boys and I left to explore the gift shop and began talking about what we had seen. I must say, I was very pleased with their take on the whole thing. My children knew that this was nowhere near the truth. "IJ" just kept asking, "how could anyone believe that the earth was made by a big bang?" Well, they couldn't wait to tell Daddy about it and Granny and anyone else who would listen. In fact, this morning "IJ" was drawing on our white board and this is what he did.



I'm kind of patting myself on the back. It feels good to see the fruits of my labor and to see the beginnings of the glory my young men will bring to God throughout their lives.