There's no doubt about it.  Parenting is important.  The way we steer our children, spiritually, emotionally, physically and academically really matters.  We have the ability to set them up for success, however you define it, or leave obstacles in their path.  If you've read any other entries in this blog, I would hope you recognize my belief in this fact.  

As my children grow older, I recognize more and more that regardless of the direction that their father and I set them up on now, ultimately it will be their decision how to manage and lead their lives once the time comes.  As I read through 2 Kings (BIBLE BOWL 2020), I see this over and over.  There are godly kings who end up having kids who turn out to be evil kings and vice versa.  In so many ways this confounds me.  I want there to be a simple formula that says, "Teach your kids God's ways.  Read the Bible to them.  Take them to youth activities and pray over them.  Then you will have godly kids."  Sadly however, there isn't one.  I'm sure you know people who did all the "right" things with their kids and still ended up with kids making heart breaking decisions as adults.  Here's the king & father duo who brings this out most of all, Josiah and Manasseh.  Take a look,

"1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath. 2 And he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left." 2 Kings 22:1-2, KJV

Josiah is one of only 5 kings listed in the combined books of 1&2 Kings as doing right in the sight of the Lord.  There are almost 40 kings listed in the whole book!  Josiah at the tender age of 8 is listed as one of the good kings.  Here's how this gets even more interesting.  His father Manasseh is considered by some as the worst king in all of Judah.  He was incredibly evil. Child sacrifice and idol worship were just two of the sins that he committed.  And yet somehow his son became one of the best, in the sight of God!

Now don't misunderstand me.  By no means am I saying throw caution to the wind and stop trying to teach your children about Jesus or all the many other lessons we know we need to teach.  However, I am saying (to me, and you just get to listen) that we can relax the pressure that we place on ourselves to ensure that we raise godly children.  One of the lessons that I'm learning more and more is this is all in His Holy, just, and more than capable hands.  My job is to do the absolute best to the absolute best of my ability and allow Him to make Himself known to them.  He adds the increase!!  Thank You, Lord!!

 ()Across the country (and truly the world) right now we are dealing with a varying degree of social distancing.  Because of this many churches have followed the advice and recommendations of the CDC to close their doors.  However (and here's the awesome part!), churches around the country have began flooding the internet with Bible studies and worship services in an effort to continue ministering to their flock, neighbors and community.

Now we have a choice.  We get to choose where we place our focus.  We can either focus solely on trying to quell the cabin fever we will inevitably begin to feel, or we can focus on the beautiful opportunity we have before us! 

As Paul was closing out his letter to the Church at Phillipi, he wanted to remind them to focus and think about the right things.

"In conclusion, my brothers and sisters, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable.", Phillipians 4:8, GNB

So your focus matters!  Lets take a look at some of the things you can do as a family to keep Jesus central to your quarantine.

1.  I have suggested this site to you before.  Here's your chance to try them out for free!  Because they know many churches are closing their doors, they recognized that families will possibly no longer have access to children's Bible study and worship services.  It may be hard for younger children to focus on an adult worship service.  To that end, they are offering some of their worship and devotions for free.  Here's the link: https://www.gominno.com/lp/church-at-home/

2. Use this time wisely!  One of the reasons so many of us busy parents don't have Bible studies with our kids at home is time.  We are always on the move so we don't have the time to plan and read scripture with or to our kids.  During this time that everyone and everything is shut down we have nothing BUT time!  Let's use it to God's glory!!  Since Easter is coming up, you could start there.

3. SWAG FB page.  We have started two different video series.  Molding the Clay is our series for our youngest SWAG members (Clay: preschool).  A number of guest readers will read a Bible story from Jesus Calling: Storybook Bible by Sarah Young.  You can use this as your bedtime story for your little ones.  For our elementary (Fearless, k-5) aged members, we've started Fearlessly Focused.  These videos are about 10-15 minutes in total.  During these we will walk through a Bible lesson.  Feel free to use the video as a starting point for a deeper conversation about the truth of God's Word.

4. Get your kids up and moving!!  SEEDs is another ministry that I've suggested to you before.  They have many videos on YouTube of worship music and scripture set to music.  

5.  Google!!  Easter is one of the holidays that makes me concerned as a parent.  I've always wanted to make sure my kids know the importance of what we celebrate on this holiday.  It isn't about chocolate, or bunnies, or spring or even eggs.  It's about the resurrection of Christ!  The tomb was EMPTY!!  Use google to find easy crafts and Bible studies to focus your minds on this truth!

6.  As a family, set a goal of how many verses you'd like to memorize together.  Set up a chart on the refrigerator with everyone's name on it.  As a family member is able to recite a verse, place a mark next to their name.  See who can recite the full number first!

These are just a couple things that your family can hopefully use to bless your time together.  Don't forget to discuss GRACE.  With families being this closely packed in with each other, it will be easy for everyone to lose grace and kindness toward each other.  Use this time to discuss the beauty of God's grace toward us and how He expects that we respond to each other the same way.

During our last family devotion we studied the rebellion of the sons of Korah in Numbers 16.  Our conversation fairly quickly turned to the lack of respect these men had for the authority dictated to Moses and Aaron by God.  We started talking about ways that we quite often will disrespect those in authority over us.  Great conversation for sure!

As the kids later began getting ready for bed, I began to think about how often I (as a role model for my kids) don't respect those in authority over me.  The times that I fail to give them their full due or rather than build them up and make their jobs easier, I backbite, complain or only begrudgingly submit.  God's response in this story to these disrespectful Israelites, was swift and unmistakable.   Throughout scripture we see that even when the person in authority seems to not get it, or they seem to be doing the opposite of what God would want, we still are expected to honor the authority given them by God.

Flip over to 1 Samuel 24,
"3 He came to the sheep pens along the way; a cave was there, and Saul went in to relieve himself. David and his men were far back in the cave. 4 The men said, “This is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, ‘I will give your enemy into your hands for you to deal with as you wish.’ ” Then David crept up unnoticed and cut off a corner of Saul’s robe.
5 Afterward, David was conscience-stricken for having cut off a corner of his robe. 6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.", NIV

So prior to this David had been annointed to be the next King of Israel.  For this reason (among others), Saul was not a fan of David and wanted to take his life.  So David was on the run trying to keep from dying at the hands of this current crazed King of Israel.  Saul gets an intelligence report saying that David was in the area.  While out looking, he pulls over to use the restroom in a cave.  This is when David finds him.  This man who was out to kill him was indisposed in his presence.  Rather than using self defense as the reason that he killed Saul, David cuts off a piece of Saul's robe and immediately feels bad for having done this.  Take a look at why,

"6 He said to his men, “The Lord forbid that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord’s anointed, or lay my hand on him; for he is the anointed of the Lord.” 7 With these words David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went his way.", NIV

Clearly, David was not in agreement with all that Saul did.  His conscience wasn't stricken because of Saul, but rather the fact that Saul was God's annointed.  In other words, because God had raised this man up to be in authority over him, David honored him and for this reason alone.

I want to model that kind of honor for my children.  I want them to be the kind of people who honor and respect those in authority for no other reason than God placed them there.  

Homework:  Numbers 16, 1 Samuel 24, Romans 13

Have you ever felt insignificant?  I mean just think about how many people currently live on Earth, (according to google, you are 1 in 7.8 BILLION).  We don’t even have the capability to estimate how many people have ever lived on Earth!  I constantly struggle with feelings of insignificance, and yet for some reason I’m still here.  I choose to believe that this is by design, not accident.  I choose to believe that God has a specific reason for my continued existence, and its bigger than just me.
I thought about this the other day as my son and I were doing some study in preparation for the upcoming Bible Bowl.  (Shameless plug, start reading 2 Kings with your kids now!  We can win this thing!!)  So as is the story throughout most of the Old Testament, Israel had sinned continually by turning away from serving the one true God; so God allowed their enemies to oppress them.  Because they were His, when they cried out, He came for them even though He knew they hadn’t truly repented of their wrongs.  They were primarily crying out in their pain.  Anyway, back to the saving part.  Take a look at this verse,
“The Lord provided a deliverer for Israel, and they escaped from the power of Aram. So the Israelites lived in their own homes as they had before.”,
2 Kings 13:5, HCSB
I’m so used to seeing the heroes named that I passed over that verse the first few times that I read it.  Eventually, however, I noticed that this person who did a magnificent work for God’s people is not named in scripture!  When we get to heaven and this person introduces themselves to you, you will have no clue who they are in history!!
There are probably a great many reasons as to why God the Spirit didn’t illuminate this name for the writer.  One I can think of, is that this (along with all the great stories in scripture and life) are really about God’s ability, not some human who’s just following orders. However, regardless the reason, we can’t miss the fact that they did a marvelous work on behalf of God’s people!
Are you a nameless face?  Perhaps to some.  But you’re not nameless to the One who created you.  There is a great work placed before you.  If you are a parent, I believe that at least part of that work calls you “dad” or “mom”.  So let’s get to work!!
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Hello everyone!  I'm excited about today's post for a number of reasons.  The first is that I'm always excited to bring you easy hands on activities for placing Jesus before your babies!  Also, this is something I heard about not too long ago and have wanted to share with you ever since! 

This will be a quick post as it's a super simple activity!  All you need in the way of supplies for this is a writing implement and a surface upon which to write.  

The Lesson:
What are the Psalms? Simply put, the Psalms are songs and prayers that either lament or praise to the Lord.  They are full of imagery, comparisons and lofty language.  These poems are masterfully crafted.  Let's read one:

"Psalm 100

Be Thankful
A psalm of thanksgiving.

1 Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the Lord!
2 Serve the Lord with gladness;
come before him with joyful songs.
3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God.
He made us, and we are his--
his people, the sheep of his pasture.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving
and his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good, and his faithful love endures forever;
his faithfulness, through all generations.", Psalms 100, CSB

This Psalm is a praise of thanksgiving!  Being grateful to God for all His many blessings should be a natural posture for each of us as followers.  Discuss each verse with your kids and talk about the different actions the writer expects followers of God to do throughout this chapter (Shout, Serve, Come, Acknowledge, Enter His gates, and Give).

Once you've discussed each of these items its your turn!!  As a group decide on a attribute of God that you would like to praise.  Once you've done that, begin writing your psalm to the Lord.  It can be as long or short as you'd like just try to make it full.  

When you're done, we'd love for you to share it in the comments or on social media!!  We'd love to know how your kiddos enjoyed this activity!  Please share!!

So I'm kind of cheating today, but I promise its a good thing!  These posts are generated by my life, things I read and other things I see and hear.  A few weeks ago I read something I just loved.  Instead of me rewriting it, I'll just link you to it.

Before I do that, though, I want to frame it.   Throughout scripture, the Lord has consistently given us the choice between two options.  This is so vitally important to teach our children.  The world around them will tell them they get to choose from among many, many options.  However this is not what Jesus says,

"6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.", John 14:6, NKJV

He doesn't give a couple different choices (though the world around us will say that there are many choices).  He is THE way, THE truth and THE life.  The choice is between Him and the wrong choice.

Our job as parents is to point our children to Jesus, recognizing we can't make the choice for them.  Just like the star that led the wise men to Jesus in the manger, it is our job to lead them to the risen Savior so they can choose Him.  Leading them to Him means placing the choice before them and helping them know that not choosing Him means choosing death.  Choosing Him means choosing life!!

"See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction.  For I command you today love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to Him and to keep His commands, decrees and laws;  then you will live and increase and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.", Deuteronomy 30:15-16, NIV

Without further ado, here's the link I promised.  Please take a read and be blessed!!

https://renew.org/the-bible-number-that-keeps-confronting-us/

I'm not sure if you missed it, but this week marks 75 years since the prisoners of Auschwitz were liberated.  Such a dark time in the recent past.  Citizens watched (and too many sat silent) as their fellow citizens (friends, neighbors, teachers, grocers etc.) were first marginalized, then forcibly ostracized from the communities they had help to build.  Too many other countries sat silent as such a dark evil was allowed to sweep across Europe.  Such an important time to remember and NEVER forget.

As I was watching some of the coverage of the memorials and events marking this day, I was awestruck by the story of one survivor in particular.  Mrs. Tova Freidman was 5 when she and her family went got to Auschwitz.  At such a young age, I'm sure she didn't immediately fully understand the horrors that awaited her, her family and the other prisoners.  This didn't stop her mother though.  Tova spoke about how her mother protected her by telling her the truth!!  She said that her mother didn't ever hold back.  This shocked me.  I can only imagine my young children being there and how knowing what was likely to happen, how I would try to pretend that all was ok.  This is not the choice Tova's mother made.  She didn't hold back and always told her daughter what was happening and why.  This would allow her to respond accordingly.

After hearing this interview, I started thinking about my kids.  My first thought was this world and the conversation that Paul has in Ephesians 6.  Its easy for us to think it wise to not tell our children that they are in the midst of a war.  But it is a spiritual battle.  Take a look at 2 Timothy 2:22,

"Flee  from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace,  along with those who call on the Lord  from a pure heart. ", HCSB

There can't be "youthful passions" (or "adolescent cravings" according to another version), if it was only adults in the war.  Scripture also talks about satan setting traps for us; some of those traps are specific to the youth of the day.  

Now, obviously I am not saying that we should terrify our children with stories of devils and demons lurking behind every corner, but we shouldn't shy away from talking about the great deceiver either.  Especially in light of one of my favorite verses,
"...the One who is in you  is greater than the one who is in the world.", 1 John 4:4 HCSB

Remember the one who is in the world is that old liar from the start.  The One who is in you, died on Calvary for your sins and mine.  And NEVER forget, He got back up!!

Take the lead from Mrs. Tova Freidman's mother.  Tell your children that they are in a war.  They are in a battle.  Then prepare them for war against an enemy who has already lost.  As long as they get on the right side of the battle, they will be victorious!

Its the start to a new year and change is in the air! This is the time of year that everyone's best intentions are on full display.  Even my son's elementary school is getting in on the action.  Each of the almost 400 students had to answer about five specific questions about themselves with an eye toward personal improvement.  This got me thinking, why not do the same around my home?

I'm sure you've seen how many churches, organizations and even individuals will choose a specific theme or trait for the year upon which they'd like to focus.  This is what we're doing in our home.  So we've decided on a theme for the year.  Something we all (parents included) need to be working on anyway.  What is our trait/theme that we've decided to work on? Gratitude!!

So step one, after deciding on the theme (get your kids involved in this part), is making sure both of our young kids fully understand what this is.  Step two was to find a memory verse that would be the basis of our focus for the year.  (Ours is 1 Thessalonians 5:18: "Give thanks in all things, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.")  Step three is to help them see how they get to show and experience gratitude day to day.  This one is an on-going, throughout the year type process.  The final step (another on-going through out the year type thing), is to hold each other accountable for living this gratitude out.  If your kids are anything like mine, this will probably be their favorite!

There are so many aspects to this type of activity that are great learning tools for our kids!  We've got prayerfully considering a decision together as a family.  You've got scripture memorization.  This has become a favorite of mine.  As I get older I recognize the benefit of having scripture at the ready in my head/ heart.  You also have the application of scripture lived out in real life.  And last but not least, we've got the accountability piece of living in a village.  As the Lord's church, this is part of our job description.  One of the benefits of the local church is the fact that each of us has folks that we see on a least a weekly basis who can speak life into us and call us out when we're messing up.

I'll check back in with you guys over the next couple months so you can see our progress attempting to live out gratitude in our lives.  I'd love to hear about your experiences!!  Have you had a family verse or theme for the year before?  How'd that work out for you?

My husband and I have a three-year-old.  For some reason this is an intense age.  Since she is very strong willed, we but heads daily on who’s will is going to win.  I am not one who believes a strong will is bad.  As long as your will can be brought into submission to His will, this can be good!  (We are still working on the submission part with my daughter.)
​
We often have “girls” devotion time while her dad is at work and her brother is in school.  During this time, I try to help her see a principle that is evident and repeated in scripture.  Each time I walk through a story with her, we discuss the same three questions at the end.  “Who did we talk about in this story?”, “What did they do?” and “Did they follow God’s directions?”.

Turn over to Judges 2:1-5, CSB,
“1 The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bochim and said, “I brought you out of Egypt and led you into the land I had promised to your fathers. I also said: I will never break my covenant with you.  2 You are not to make a covenant with the inhabitants of this land. You are to tear down their altars. But you have not obeyed me. What is this you have done?  3 Therefore, I now say: I will not drive out these people before you. They will be thorns in your sides, and their gods will be a trap for you.”  4 When the angel of the Lord had spoken these words to all the Israelites, the people wept loudly.  5 So they named that place Bochim and offered sacrifices there to the Lord.”

Up to this point, God had told His people a number of times that they needed to follow His directions.  Here he is telling them that they will be punished through the Canaanites for disobeying.  This is the principle I want my daughter to learn early.  Let’s compare.

Flip over to Genesis 6:22, CSB,
“22 And Noah did this. He did everything that God had commanded him.”

In Genesis 6 we learn about the instructions that God gave Noah about the ark.  We see at the end of the chapter that Noah did follow His directions.  Then the rain came, and everything that breathed air died.  After the storm, we see what happens when we obey God.

Head over to Genesis 8:1-4, CSB,
“1 God remembered Noah, as well as all the wildlife and all the livestock that were with him in the ark. God caused a wind to pass over the earth, and the water began to subside. 2 The sources of the watery depths and the floodgates of the sky were closed, and the rain from the sky stopped. 3 The water steadily receded from the earth, and by the end of 150 days the water had decreased significantly. 4 The ark came to rest in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.”

Because Noah did “everything God commanded”, “God remembered Noah” by saving him from the flood!  The juxtaposition of these two stories shows us the principle I’m praying she learns (soon).  On the other side of our obedience are the blessings of a just and loving God. 
What this shows me, is that teaching my children to follow my directions is more important that just having well mannered children.  Teaching my children to follow directions (or obey), is preparing them for life in the Kingdom of God!  If we want good Kingdom citizens for children, we need to broaden our thinking in these areas.  They need to know that the best way to live joyfully in the Kingdom, is to walk in obedience to the will of the One and Only King of Kings and Lord of Lords…. Jesus!!

“23 However, I did give them this command: ‘Obey me, and then I will be your God, and you will be my people. Follow every way I command you so that it may go well with you.’”, Jeremiah 7:23, CSB

“22 But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was. 25 But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer who works — this person will be blessed in what he does.”, James 1:22-25, CSB