By Mike Harvey, Kids Pastor
As I was preparing for this week's blog, I was reading one of the blogs I follow and came across one that was spot on and said exactly what I wanted to communicate. So, I wanted to share it with you. Check it out below:
Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all the changes in the world? How will you ever raise your kids to love God in this culture? Cell phones, social media, music, and so many things can make the most confident parents unsettled. You’re already time-starved and can barely keep the laundry done and dinner on the table (And some days that doesn’t even happen). Does it seem impossible to fit in one more thing? You are not alone!
As Christian parents, we know the importance of discipling our kids, but what does that look like? We must remove our inhibitions that talking to our kids about God is too hard. Deuteronomy 6:7 guides us on how to talk about God—when you are getting up, when you’re eating, when you’re going somewhere, when you’re going to bed. In other words, find ways to talk about God as you go about your day.
Truthfully, many Christian parents want to talk to their kids about God, but don’t feel qualified or know where to start. We don’t have to be experts. For too long we’ve outsourced God talk to the church. We felt safe knowing when we took them to church each week, the “experts” will teach what they need to know. God has always intended for parents to be the primary disciplers of their kids—after all, who knows them best and loves them the most.
But where do you start????
Start by building some good faith habits in your life. Good habits help us do the right thing without having to make a decision about it. If the whole family has the habit of going to church every Sunday, there won’t be arguments about whether everyone is going or not. At least there wasn’t in my house growing up. We knew we were going, so we went! Our parents modeled service and worship. We never considered it as legalism or mean spirited
Pick and choose some other good habits:
- Read the Bible or devotion after dinner or at bedtime
Eat a meal together
Say a simple prayer with your kids before they head out the door for school
Memorize a Bible verse (If you do one every week, that’s 52 verses a year!)
Play Christian music or podcasts in the car
Visit a nursing home facility or help an elderly neighbor
Plan a family night each week to do some of the activities in the book
Good habits are not a magic bullet, yet they help us remember to do the things essential to Christian growth—prayer, Bible reading, loving God, and loving others.
*** This is an excerpt from a D6 Family Blog called “Family Faith Talks” by Sandy Atwood. View the full blog here: https://d6family.com/family-faith-talks/
