Bringing Kids Up God's Ways - What an Awesome Responsibility

Howdy!!! It's been a long while since I blogged... Taking a short break right now to read and came across this short article written by BooMama... and boy do I identify with her...

I too have this incredible notion that I can sit the kids down and do a proper devotion... I highlighted that part in bold... hahaha... but how difficult it can be... Both Sal and I tried on many occasions... with our eyes closed and heads bowed and hands clasped... only hear in the midst of our prayers - a small voice almost whispering... "Holy Holy"... in total reverence... Sal and I opened our eyes immediately and stared at JoeJoe... watching him say it in total seriousness... and then, both of us burst out laughing... and Megan will be rolling on the floor almost in tears... and of course Joseph is relishing the fact that he was able to crack all of us up... laughing at himself and at us... Haha... Sorry I have no idea how to describe this except that you would have to put on your sanctified imagination... Ever since then, we are not able to have a "decent" devotion/prayer time without Joe trying to make everyone laugh...

So, we've taken the path of imparting nuggets of truth and wisdom whenever possible - be it in the car, worshipping God while driving to Grandma's for dinner singing the Rainbow in the sky to show God's promises are true, during dinner, watching VeggieTales or even Transformers (when Optimus Prime wanted to sacrifice himself and destroy the Cube), at Cold Storage/NTUC, etc.

I guess it worked for us... cause the other day, Joseph came and told me that he just talked to Jesus... way cool! I should have asked what they talked about... There were couple of other occasions, Joseph walked and stopped all of a sudden and clapsed his hands and prayed - God! Thank You for our new car!!! or thank You for our new house!!! Sal and I just stared at each other with our mouths wide open... Joseph certainly had audacious faith... and so we just said a loud Amen and agreed with our son whom we think has a prophetic anointing. :-)

Indeed, the greatest gift we can ever give our kids is the love of God, that they know that Jesus is their Saviour and He loves them very very much. So much that it compelled Jesus to go to the Cross. I recall very vividly the day when Megan came up to us to say that she wants Jesus to come into her heart. We were amazed and we led her in her salvation prayer right in the bedroom. That was more than 2 years ago while we were still staying in Farrer Road.

Sometimes we may wonder if the kids get what we're trying to teach them. Well, rest assure that it is definitely getting through into their hearts/spirit and head... (sometimes, it may take a few reminders... :-) ) So, we'll continue to sow and impart those nuggets of truths into their hearts and God will in His time cause them to bear fruit.

Blessings!
My Daddy

To Know This Love That Surpasses Knowledge, by BooMama


I'll probably never know exactly what was going on in Alex's heart and mind that day in the grocery store when my son screamed, "JEEEEEEEEEEEE-SUS! COME INTO MY HEART!" and then a bit later said a prayer for my toe cramps -- quite a mixture of faith expressed for the grocery store. But, I do know that he's been chock-full-o-curiosity ever since. So we've spent the last few weeks talking through all sorts of four year-old questions about God. And while part of me thinks that four is too young for a child to have any real grasp of sin and sacrifice and atonement and resurrection, a much bigger part of me knows that there is no faith as simple and profound as the faith of a child.

I also know that this is the time to plant those seeds of faith and then water them as much as we possibly can so that the little man's roots will grow deep, so that one day he will be able, as Paul wrote, "to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses knowledge -- that [he] may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:18-19 paraphrased).

So we answer Alex's questions. We talk about God. We talk about the joys of knowing Him, of serving Him, of trusting Him. We pray that he sees evidence of those joys as he watches his mama and daddy work out their faith every single day.

And it has been, quite simply, one of the sweetest times of my whole life.

Before Alex was born, I imagined that this child whose face I had not yet seen would sit with me at a desk while I carefully read passages of Scripture aloud. Everything would be Perfectly Orderly; I would Teach With Care while my child Listened Attentively. Then we would clasp our hands together and begin the walk toward faith with lockstep precision, only stopping long enough for him to surrender to whatever calling God might have on his life.

Because I wasn't idealistic or anything.

But the reality, as anybody with a little one knows, is absolutely nothing like that. The daily process of teaching and leading a precious little heart is about as methodical as herding a room full of cats. And you know what else? It is hard. On every single level. So much of parenting uncovers our own imperfections, and we are constantly being humbled, broken and refined in our own lives while we try to nurture the little lives that have been entrusted to us. Did I mention that it's hard?

There are days when I'm really disappointed in myself as a mother; I get so tired of struggling to balance the things I need to do with the things I want to do, and as a result of that I am confronted with the reality of my selfishness over and over again. It's a mighty good thing indeed that I don't have to parent in my own strength, because I'll tell you right now that I couldn't do it. I wouldn't last a day.

They're immeasurable.

But the rewards of parenting? They really are huge. They're immeasurable. They're eternal. And the longer I'm a mama, the more I find that the most teachable moments in terms of faith don't require much organization or planning on my part. They don't necessarily happen while we're sitting in a church service or when we're Reviewing Memory Verses With Great Intention, though certainly I believe that God uses those things.

For me the most breathtaking moments -- the times when David and I are both able to share our faith with the most sincerity and transparency -- are when Alex picks up a maple leaf from the ground and then says, with wonder, "GOD MADE THIS!" Or when he runs into the house after being outside and says, "Mama! I missed you! And I talked to Jesus while I played!" Or when he's sick with a stomach virus and says, through his tears, "Mama? Will you always take care of me? Will God always take care of me?"

Or even when he puts his hand on my shoulder in the middle of a crowded grocery store and prays for my toe cramps while we stand next to six different brands of sour cream.

In many ways motherhood is absolutely nothing like I imagined, but so much more than I expected. And for me, right now, the greatest joy is sharing the Greatest Joy with a four year-old who may get a little cloudy on the theological details -- but whose heart is wide open.

I cannot imagine any greater privilege.
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(c) 2007 boomama