Little Eyes

A while back, Kate shared a story with us of a child who had wanted to leave his mom a special note. He thought about where he could leave this note where his mother would be sure to find it that day. He chose to leave it in her Bible, certain that his mom would be reading it that day and would be surprised and blessed to find his gift to her.

If your child wanted to do the same, where would he/she leave that special gift? Would it be by the television remote? Perhaps in the laundry basket (goodness, doesn't it feel like it is a never ending process)? Maybe in a cigarette package or tucked inside your i-pad or laptop? What is that one place or item you go to every day, several times a day?

The question posed really weighed on my mind. What do my kids see as important to my daily life? I read Scripture several times a day, but rarely from an actual book. I read daily blogs and an e-mailed daily devotion on my computer in the morning, and at night my husband and I do a couples devotion on the Kindle once the kids are down. Just before bed, I do a Scripture study on the Bible app on our i-pad. In this age of technology, my kids do not know the difference between me reading the Bible or checking e-mail. Little eyes are watching, studying. I am making it a point to let them know that Mommy's technology time is actually reading the Bible and talking to God. I am also trying to pick up my hard copy of The Word more often.

Since making this change, I have been blessed to see the fruit! Last week I had a rare moment to have some quiet reading time while the girls napped. My 3 year old woke up and found me reading and asked if she could "read the Bible with Mama". What a special moment! Though I was reading a Christian novel and not the Bible, she still knew that was Mommy's book of choice. 

As we reflect on this question today, let's look at how we can be intentional about what our children see as important to us.  Let that special place/object that Mommy frequents be one that honors and reflects the Living God and His importance in our daily lives.

Father, today I seek your help in being intentional about what my children see as important to me. Please forgive me for the things I have set before You as idols in my life that have not set a good example for little eyes. Please give me a heart after Yours and a love for what You love. When my children reflect on what is important to me, may it be Your Word, Your will, and Your ways. Please continue the work You started in me and see it through to completion as You promise in Your Word. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

Education at its Best

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 1:7

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10

I do not want to be a fool! I don’t want to do foolish things, and I don’t want to my kids to act like fools! I want wisdom, I crave understanding, and I desire to do what is right and best for me and my family. Many of you may know that I am in the process of homeschooling my four year old. Being that this is his preschool year, I am doing a hodge-podge of various curriculums to make sure that this year is fun and challenging for him. There are so many curriculums to choose from, and while I experience great freedom in selecting one that suits him best, I want to be careful to put Christ at the center of his education.

One curriculum that I really like for building a Biblical foundation for learning is My Father’s World. I by no means want to seem like I am advertising for them. There are pros and cons to this curriculum, and I often find that I have to supplement it with other things like math, phonics, etc. However, one thing the preschool and kindergarten curriculum really emphasizes is building a firm foundation in God’s word as well as exploring God’s wonderful creation. For example, one lesson is about leaves—there are science projects, art projects, songs, and letter recognition activities that center around leaves. BUT the one thing that stood out to me was this activity.

The gist of the activity is as follows: Go outside and collect a branch with multiple leaves on it. Bring it inside and talk about how the leaves are nourished by the nutrients in the branch. Then, we are supposed to talk about how the branch in our lives is God and his word, the Bible. We are supposed to remain connected to him so we can grow. The next part of the “experiment” gets really good. Next, we are supposed to ask our kids what they think will happen if the leaf decides it want to do its own thing and leave the branch. What if the leaf doesn’t want to be obedient anymore? What if the leaf thinks it can do better on its own…without anyone telling it what to do?

Notice here, we are just supposed to ask and not supply the answer. After they supply their own answers we pull a leaf off and observe. At first it looks just like the other leaves—healthy. As the week goes on, we observe the leaves on the branch versus the leaf by itself. Naturally, the lone leaf starts to shrivel and dry out. The other leaves that are connected to the branch still look pretty healthy. Then we discuss how when we decide that we know better than God, or we want to be God, or we don’t want to listen to God and the parents he gave us (i.e. we want to do our own thing) we suffer natural consequences for our rebellion. So while we are learning about leaves, enjoying God’s beautiful creation, and creating leaf collages, and making textured leaf paintings and drawings, and learning about the letter “L’, we are also learning how God holds everything together and that we should stay connected to Him.

I just want to encourage you to reflect on what the Bible tells us: No education is complete without knowledge of the Holy One. Our children’s every day education needs to point them to the awesomeness of an all-powerful Creator—thus giving meaning and relevance (i.e. what does this have to do with me?) to their education.
My agenda in homeschooling is to bring up kids with strong character, strong family support and relationships, and a love for learning. This is the route of schooling that God has placed on my heart. Your path may be a bit different, and that is OK. God may have directed you in a direction that looks far different from mine. I love that our walk with the Lord is so personal. So that being said, your kids may be in a public school, a charter school, a magnet school, a Montessori school, a secular private school, or a Christian private school. Whatever schooling route the Lord has placed upon your heart, I would encourage you to put Christ at the center of your child’s education—regardless of whether or not their school does so. This may require a lot of extra work on your end, but I guarantee you that you will reap the benefits of this and they will too.

Some Biblical Principles to consider:
Math—God is constant. Just as 1 +1 is always 2, God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Science—True science points to a highly intelligent, omniscient Creator.
Literature—God uses stories to teach us his truths
Grammar—God’s word is perfect. Clear language helps us better express His truths.
Social Studies—History tells us His story. When we veer from God’s plan, big messes happen (which we should not repeat). When we stay close to Him, beautiful milestones are left behind for others to follow.

These are just a few ideas. I encourage you to add to these and put them into practice.

Prayer:
Dear Father,
Thank you for the knowledge of you, the Holy One. May we seek your face in all things and put you at the center of our children’s’ education. Please guide us in the path of truth, and draw us closer to your heart. Change the way we think so that our thoughts please you. Help us make disciples of the next generation. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.