from the mom
Spiritual training is probably THE most important task of a Christian parent. And somewhat daunting when you think of it that way. We don't want to create a legalistic "ohm, ohm, now we are going to be spiritual" home but we also don't want our children to grow up rootless or without an understanding of what forms the center, the meaning of our lives.
Church and the Church calendar give us a rhythm. Ben has started to participate in the responses at church and Kyri even adds her "amen" now. Twice a month friends come to our home and we participate in a musical Evening Prayer with them. Ben loves it and has learned to sing a long. He has learned the Lord's Prayer and is learning to pray for others in his life. We are in the midst of Epiphany and headed toward Lent. As Ben grows we talk more about what these seasons mean to the church.
We were blessed when Kyri's godparents sent us a devotional for preschoolers. Ben and Kyri both love reading through it and Ben has welcomed the characters (Jack, Zoe, Kaitlin, and Parker) into his life. Slowly but surely different subjects are introduced into his life. And the thing that must be done at all cost before bedtime is to read his devotion. He is well aware of the calendar and will say "Read January 15."
Motherhood has played havoc with my own routine devotions. I collapse exhausted into bed and pull out my devotional only to hear a wail from the other room. But somehow as I guide my children through this season I reap benefits from what I teach them, be it ever so simple. Because really the foundation is simple. And that's where it all started.
1 comment:
Most of all, they'll learn from your excellent example. But I agree-it's overwhelming thinking about trying to instill a love of God in our children. It's more the things I might forget to do than the things I'll do wrong, although I'm sure I will do things wrong at points.
We were encouraged recently to keep family worship very simple for Meredith, and not make it seem like it's something that's for adults and she's just supposed to be quiet and listen. It's the best advice we've got so far. She loves family worship because she knows it's for her.
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