“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”

I have read this verse before.  I know the story of Timothy.  But as I was reading this verse this week getting ready for KidConnect this Sunday I read it in a whole new light.  What kind of legacy am I leaving my children?  Will someone see my children some day and say, I know your mother had a sincere faith and I see that sincere faith in you too?  Boy do I want that!  Not for them to give me credit, but just to know that my children love the Lord, have an unshakable faith in Him, and want to serve Him in the ways he calls them too.  That is what I want!

Timothy learned about Jesus from his mother, Eunice.  I am sure that she taught him by telling him stories, but also lived her faith, which is always the best teacher.  Our children are watching us, what are they learning from us?  Are they learning the MOST important thing in life?  Do they see our jobs as the most important thing?  Our money?  Our stuff?  Or are they seeing us show kindness to all people?  Do they see how we trust God to provide in all circumstances?  Do they see us read our Bibles and pray?  I know I have some work to do, but thanks be to Jesus that he is walking beside me to help me through this thing called parenting!

I am also reminded of the verses in Deuteronomy 6:6-9:

“These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  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.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the door frames of your houses and on your gates.”

That is a ton of instruction from the Lord when it comes to our children.  It obviously takes a ton of extra work.  We have our jobs, our volunteer activities, our usual errands to run, our families and homes to care for.  Now we see truly what God wants, he wants us to sit at his feet and to teach our children, the next generation, to do the same.  To not fill our lives and theirs with all the extras if you aren’t taking care of our spiritual health.

The most important thing that we can do for our children is teach and instruct them in the ways of the Lord.  We cannot neglect that.  We only have them for a short time, but what we teach them now will be with them their whole lives.  Will our children be like Timothy, a faithful disciple of Christ?   A man/woman who learned about Jesus from their parents and who continue to follow Christ into adulthood.

My prayer is that we will be faithful to our calling as parents.  That we not give up when we are too busy or when it seems hopeless.  And may we not forget the promise in Proverbs 22:6:

“Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

I am going to list a few of the devotion books that we have used in our family.  By all means you don’t have to use a book, you could just use a verse from the Bible, but I find it easier with little ones to have a book that we work our way through.

1.  The Baby Bible Storybook, written by Robin Currie:  This is a wonderful board book for young kids.  It has super cute and colorful pictures.  The stories are very short and for example the story about creation has them close their eyes for darkness, open their eyes for when light was created.  There is even a little prayer to share at the end.  We have read through this Bible many times with the kids.

2.  The New Bible In Pictures for Little Eyes, written by Kenneth N. Taylor:  We have also enjoyed using this Bible quite a bit.  It gives many of the stories from the Bible from Genesis through Acts.  Each story is 1 page, with a picture.  It gives the book of the Bible the story is found in and asks a few questions after each story.

3.  Little Girls Bible Storybook (Fathers and Daughters), written by Carolyn Larsen:  There are many versions of this Bible.  Ours happens to be for Fathers & Daughters, but you can find it for Moms & Daughters as well as ones for your sons.  This devotion Bible gives a Bible story, but it is told more like a story and less like it is straight from the Bible.  It is very easy to read and understand.  After each story there is a part called, “Becoming a Woman of God” which relates the story to your child; and then there is a “Dad’s Turn” in which Dad talks about things in his life and how special his daughter is to him.

4.  Five Minute Devotions for Children:  Celebrating God’s World as a Family, written by Pamela Kennedy:  This particular devotion book is all about animals.  I decided on this one when I bought it because my kids love animals!  You read a short story about a certain animals, like Sea Otters, Penguins, Bears, Whales, etc…  Then there are questions to discuss as a family and a memory verse to learn.  We love this book because it also gives some very interesting facts about the animals.

I hope that this gives you a good starting point on devotion books.  I pray that at the end of May we can each have a story to share about how our families have grown this month during Family Devotion Time.

So how do we make sure we are living by faith and not by sight?  How do we make sure that our children are forming their own faith, and not just embracing our faith?  I think we need to create a loving, caring, spiritual environment at home, making sure that our conversations around our home are Gospel driven so that the Holy Spirit will do his work on each of our children.   Another way is to let them see you reading your Bible, by all means read with them, but it is also important for them to see your faith in action.  Praying at meal times and bedtimes, having them say prayers as well as you.  We spent some time earlier this year looking at praying aloud with our children, this helps them put their faith into action because we are praying to God, we can’t see him, but we can see how he answers our prayers.  Talk to your children about your faith, why you believe what you believe, maybe even write out a faith statement and share it with them.  If your kids are old enough, have them do the same.  I think also by making sure we put our priorities in the right place, making sure that we are worshiping the ONE who saved us, not the many gifts He has given us.  It is not bad or wrong to have stuff, we just need to make sure that we as well as our kids understand that they are gifts and they can be taken from us.  But our faith in Christ can’t be taken from us!

Do I have a ways to go with this and my children?  You Bet I Do!  But, what a great reminder this is to each of us in the importance of living by faith!

I wanted to just share with you some thoughts on praying for our kids, and not just for what may be happening in their lives at this moment, but also what will happen in their lives in the future.  We should pray for their relationships with friends, teachers, parents, and even future bosses.  Pray for their protection from harm and also for them to be able to make Godly choices in their lives.  Always give thanks for what they are good at and also for their weakness.  So many times it is through our weaknesses that God’s strength is shown!

A few other traits to pray for in your children may be:  honesty, integrity, self-control, respect, compassion, humility, faith, a love for God’s World, and a heart for those who don’t know Jesus whether it be here in our city or overseas someplace.  The other thing that I have started praying for is my children’s future spouses.  For Jenna and Molly’s future husbands that they would be loving husbands who will love and cherish them.  That God would be with him, that he would guard him, protect him, and that he would grow into a man of God.  ( I pray this for my sons as well, that they would be this type of man!)  For Jake and Luke’s future wives that they would be loving wives who will honor their husbands.  That God would be them her as she grows, that he would guard her and protect her from all harm.  (I pray this for my daughters as well, that they would be this type of woman!)

I think the most important thing to remember is that we should see our kids as the good and perfect gift that they are to us.  We should ask God to show us places where we should let go and let God protect, guide, and counsel our gifts from him.

This would be a great way to continue to celebrate Easter throughout next week!

Start off by reading Mark 16.

Our loving God sent his Son Jesus to live on our earth teaching and preaching, healing the sick and raising people from the dead, performing many miracles.  Then he died for our sins and rose again.  We can share this story, this miracle, this wonderful news with everyone we know.  Easter is a time to rejoice and be glad.  It is also a time to remember Jesus’ message to his disciples, and us:  The Great Commission.  “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.”   How will you share the Good News with your friends and neighbors?

Here are some fun ideas to help you continue your Easter celebration:

1.  Hand out Easter Treats to your neighbors.  Maybe you could make yummy cookies to hand out to them or fill some Easter eggs with candy and take them to your neighbors.

2.  Make Resurrection Cupcakes.  You will need a package of snowball cupcakes.  With a spoon carve our a hollow spot in one side of the cupcake to make a tomb.  Place it on a paper plate.  Around the “tomb” sprinkle a little shredded coconut that you’ve colored with green food coloring.  Now you have grass.  Put a vanilla wafer cookie in front of the hole for the stone.  Add “flowers” around with tomb with jelly beans.  Enjoy!

3.  Learn the Jelly Bean Prayer.

Red is for the love He gave,

Green is for the grass He made.

Yellow is for the sun so bright,

Orange is for the edge of night.

Blue is for the sky and water,

White is for the glory of the Father.

Purple is for His hours of sorrow,

Pink is for our new tomorrow.

A bag full of jellybeans colorful and sweet,

Is a prayer, is a promise, and is a wonderful treat.

Author Unknown

Easter Blessings to you all!

]]> http://watersedgeallen.com/blog/family/he-is-risen-he-is-risen-indeed-alleluia/feed/ 0 http://watersedgeallen.com/blog/family/take-time-to-rest/ http://watersedgeallen.com/blog/family/take-time-to-rest/#comments Thu, 29 Mar 2012 02:52:51 +0000 Tara Hartjen http://watersedgeallen.com/?p=3656 So, what Travis had to share on Sunday about being overwhelmed and just plain busy really hit home, and not just because we live in the same house!  I have been so busy with life that I am not taking time to just rest.  We hit Friday and I am tired, but then the weekend isn’t always restful with soccer, and other commitments.   We hit Sunday evenings and it is like, “Where did my weekend go?”  I know that I am not the only one that feels this, and I know many of you are more busy than what I am.

So on Tuesday when I got my Proverbs 31 Ministries Devotion, it was a true message from God.  It was just what I needed to hear.  It talks about making time for God, making time for our spouses and kids, making time for ourselves.  I would encourage you to really read this devotion and take to heart what Tracie Miles is saying.  I have found it to be invaluable!
Click here for the Devotion at Proverbs 31 Ministries.

Jesus found a man who had been blind since birth.  He made a paste of spit and mud and put it on the man’s eyes.  Jesus told the man to go wash it off in a nearby pool, and when he came back, He could SEE!  An amazing miracle, but everyone questioned it.  His disciples wanted to know who had sinned, the man or his parents?  Jesus said it was no one’s fault.  God wanted to use this man’s blindness to show his glory.  The Pharisees wouldn’t believe that Jesus could really do that.  They asked who did it and even brought in the man’s parents to ask if he really had been blind.  They just couldn’t give Jesus credit for the miracle.  Even his parents didn’t want to speak up, they said ask him what happened.  The man didn’t question it, he just knew his life had been drastically changed and he wanted to tell everyone how Christ had changed his life.

Sometimes we are blind to all the miracles of Jesus around us.  We like to ask why something “bad” or “difficult” has happened to us.  Let’s change the way we think, and ask for God’s glory to shine through all happens in our life, whether good or bad.

Questions

1.  Why was the man born blind?  (For God’s Glory to be seen by many)

2.  Why is it hard to see all of the miracles & blessings around us?  (We are too busy,  we want to have what others have instead of being happy with what we have)

Prayer

Lord, I want to use my eyes to see your miracles around me.  Open the eyes of my heart to learn more about you and to grow in love.

Lent Story Eggs

We are on our fourth egg this week:  This week put a thorn in an egg to remind us of the crown of thorns that was put on Jesus’ head when he was crucified.

Activity

Since we start Spring this week, take some time with your family and head outside.  Look at how creation changes in the Spring.  Make a list of all the fun things that you can do outside when it is Spring.

Bible Verse

One thing I do know, I was blind but now I see.  John 9:25

This verse can help us remember that the more we follow Jesus, the more we begin to understand all that He has done for us.  Our eyes are opened by him!

This week we are going to look at another miracle of Jesus.  This miracle is found in Mark 6:30-44.  The miracle is when Jesus fed the 5,000.  Read this passage with your children.  Jesus had spent the day teaching and dinner time had arrived.  There were 5,000 men that needed to eat.  There was a small boy who had brought 2 fish and 5 loaves of bread.  Jesus took that food, gave thanks, and they started feeding the people.  They ate until they were satisfied, and there were 12 baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish left over.

What seemed like an impossible task to the disciples because the human resources just weren’t there, became possible.  Jesus used a little boy and his food to show the people how he provides.  We should always turn to Jesus to help us through difficult or impossible times.   Point out to your children how Jesus used a little boy and his bread and fish to accomplish this miracle.  Make sure they understand that we are never too young or too old to be used by Jesus.

Jesus cares for us and provides all our needs for us.  How can we show people how God provides for us?  I think one thing that families can do is to collect food and take it to a food bank.    Here is another idea, ask your child, if you had $10 what would you do with it to help someone else?  Come up with some ideas, then give them the $10 to serve someone!  Talk about a great way to show them what Tangible Grace looks like!

Lenten Story Eggs

If you are doing the Lent Story Eggs this is what you should have so far:

Egg 1:  Dirt (For creation)

Egg 2:  Money (For Judas’ betrayal)

Egg 3:  Rope (For Jesus being bound and led away in the Garden of Gethsemane)

Egg 4:  Bread (This is for Jesus, feeding 5,000 with bread; he is the Bread of Life; he shared bread, his body, with his disciples at the Last Supper)

Extra Fun

Write this Newspaper Headline:

JESUS FEEDS FIVE THOUSAND

See how many other words your family can come up with using just these letters!

Bible Memory Verse

Serve one another in love.  Galatians 5:13b

Blessings on your week!

Recently in KidConnect we heard the story of Jesus Calming the Storm.  This week let’s look back at this story and talk with our kids about how we can turn to Jesus when our lives turn stormy. You can read the story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4:35-41.

Here are some questions to ask them:

1.  What makes you scared?

2.  Why were the disciples scared?

Jesus was testing them to see if they would remember their faith in Him.  When they didn’t, Jesus did another miracle for them.  With just His words he calmed the storm.  We fail to remember that God is always with us.  We forget to pray, forget that God is in charge of our lives and our world, and we forget that we are His dear children and He loves us so much.  When storms come to our lives, let’s always remember to turn to Jesus in prayer.

3.  What are some storms you may face?  (sickness, difficult test at school, kids who are not very nice at school, disappointments)

4.  What can we do when these storms come?

If you are doing the Lenten Story Eggs, here is what you should have so far:

Egg 1:  Dirt (for Creation)

Egg 2:  Money (to remind us of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus)

Egg 3:  Piece of Rope (to remind us that Jesus was bound and led away in the Garden of Gethsemane)

Another activity you can do is paint Terra Cotta pots.  Then plant a seed in them.  Talk about how the seed “dies” when it is planted, but then sprouts and blooms.  How is this like Jesus?  (He died on the cross, but then came back to life.)

A great Bible Verse to learn this week would be:

Trust in the Lord with all your Heart and lean not on your own understanding.  Proverbs 3:5.

This verse is a reminder to us all that we can’t possibly understand why things may happen in our lives, but all thanks and praise to Jesus because we have him to trust in and to help us though tough times.

Our family Bible story this week is taken from Matthew 4:1-11.  It is about Jesus’ temptation in the desert.  You see Satan thought that he could get Jesus to sin.  He tempted him with food because Jesus had just fasted for 40 Days.  He told him to throw himself down from a building so that His angels could save him and Satan said the whole world could be his if he (Jesus) would bow down and worship him.  We know that this isn’t true because the whole world belongs to Jesus!

Jesus resisted the temptations of the devil.  He was without sin.  He was what the world needed, a Perfect Savior.    May we pray each day for God’s strength to resist the devil.

Here are a few activities you can do with your kids this week for the Second Week of Lent.

Lenten Story Eggs

Last week we put dirt in one egg for the miracle of God’s creation.  This week we will put some money in another egg.  This is to remind us of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

The Ten Commandments

God gave us the 10 Commandments a very long time ago.  But they never change.  Take some time this week to write them down with your children.  Talk about what each one means to you.  Here is a version that may be easier for little ones to understand.

1.  Put God first.

2.  Use God’s name with respect.

3.  Remember to keep Sunday special.

4.  Respect your parents.

5.  Don’t hurt others.

6.  Be faithful in marriage.

7.  Don’t steal.

8.  Don’t lie.

9.  Don’t be envious of other people.

10.  Don’t be envious of other people’s things.

Yummy Snake Snack

The devil takes on the form of a snake, like in the Garden of Eden, we are going to make a snake, but this one is a yummy snack!

1/2 Cup Peanut Butter                                                             1/2 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 Cup Powdered Milk                                                           1/2 tsp. Chopped Nuts

1/2 Honey                                                                                     1/2 Cup Raisins

1 T. Cocoa                                                                                      2 T. Coconut

Combine the Peanut Butter and Dry Milk.  Then add in the rest of the ingredients.  (This will take lots of muscles!)  Put mixture on a piece of waxed paper and roll it into a thick snake shape.  Wrap it in waxed paper and chill.  Slice and serve.

Bible Verse to Memorize

This week a good verse to memorize might be:   Every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.  Philippians 2:11  What a great verse to remind us that everything out of our mouths should praise Jesus.

I hope you enjoy some of these family activities.  It is a great time to think about our sin and what it cost Jesus.  But all thanks to God for sending a Savior so that we can spend eternity with him!

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