I want to put something here...but nothing comes to mind. And why would you want to hear about my boring day of sorting receipts and then watching rain/light snow fall outside?! How many days in a row can I tell you about the kids playing well together and Gami's passion for Thomas the Train and Friends? How many times do I have to say that Brandon works this week plus going to school full-time? And how often do you want to hear that my kids love to help me bake & today I made cinnamon rolls?
The same old can seem boring when someone inquires about how we are doing and what we are doing. At the same time, I am grateful that there is nothing eventful happening. If it were, I would be going crazy and not writing a blog right now.
Hmmm...what to tell you??...
Oh, family devotionals have been fun. Our children like to have their own Bibles (Bible story books) while Brandon reads from our family Bible and we sing various songs together, as well as pray for our day & each other & others we know. I am so glad this is a part of our daily routine. I mean, how else can we instill the Word of the Lord into our children unless we "...teach them diligently to [our] children, and shall talk of them when [we] sit in [our] house, when [we] walk by the way, when [we] lie down, and when [we] rise up. (Deut 6:7)"?! To us this means that we are living it out daily from the moment we wake until the moment we are asleep. There is no "break" and no "vacation" from this if we are to instill the Word of God into our children, as the Scriptures say. It is exciting to see our children happily sit at the table or gather at the table for this time together. It is our goal to always make family devotionals a pleasant & happy time. Wouldn't God want His children to always come to him smiling, even if we don't all the time?
Deuteronomy 6:4 says "“Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.' " Yeshua (Jesus) later adds to this in saying "...and with all your mind... (Mark 12:30)" When we say strength or, in Hebrew, m'odecha to our children, they both show us their strong arms. It's the cutest thing to hear Ahna go "RRRRRrrrr" as she puts her arm and fist forward.
How can we or our children live out this verse unless they KNOW the God in which they are following after? The ONLY way to know Him is to read His word, Pray, and Study His word. We are instilling this habit into our children staring at an early age. Just as they learn from a young age to love us, their parents, and each other, we wish that they learn to love the Lord starting at an early age. We pray that their roots will be deep & not be up-rooted.
Jesus tells the story of the Sower in Luke 8:5-8, " 'A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.' When he said this, he called out, 'Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.' "
Jesus explains in Luke 8:11-15 that, " 'This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.' "
As keepers of God's seed (our children), we seek out good soil for them to grow in and we seek to nurture them as God instructs us and guides us to. How else, can we as believers raise our children but with the full guidance and instruction from the Lord. We only have our little ones for a while...may we be found faithful like the servant in Matthew 25:14-26 and how he was faithful to wisely invest what was given to him so that he could bring forth a double blessing for his master. Brandon & I pray that we can be faithful to wisely invest into our children that which is good and bring forth a double blessing for the Lord through God-fearing and God-loving generations.
May you, as parents be encouraged today in knowing that this season of God-guided working of the "fields" (your children) will produce a bountiful blessing. I've been told that children don't come out with an instructional manual. That is true, but it is also true that they don't come out with one because God already gave us one--HIS WORD.
May you delight in your children today and seek to see them through God's eyes.
~Blessings!
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