Teaching My Children

One evening, not too long ago, I walked into the living room, and this is what I saw.

It was a rare, quiet moment in our house...because, everyone was reading! Well, the 4 year old was pretending, but she would be highly offended if she knew I let you in on her little secret. We have a whole family of readers. I guess they inherited that trait from their parents.

 I love to read aloud to my children and every morning in devotions, I read a chapter to them. Right now, we are going through the "Little House on the Prairie" series again. I think it's the 3rd time I read these books to my children. I'm also on book 10 of Uncle Arthur's Bible story books. The girls were just captivated by the story of Saul/Paul this morning.

There are few things as rewarding as teaching my children, whether it be teaching them Scripture, Bible stories, how to read, how to do laundry, make a bed, or clean the house. However, I can think of a few things that I'd rather not teach them.

• potty training
• riding a bike w/o training wheels
• tying shoes

Some of the most difficult things to teach them are the things I'm still wrestling with and learning about, like:

• how to forgive again and again and again
• how to say nice things when you feel ugly inside
• the Golden Rule
• how to forgive yourself
• how to extend grace to others
• how to be unselfish
• how to pursue Jesus w/ all your heart
• how to encourage and build up others
• how to be a servant

Someone said, "More is caught than taught," and I often think of that in regards to teaching my children. I can say whatever I want about loving others, but if they don't see it in my life daily, my words are empty. My heart's desire is that they would go beyond what we teach them and learn so much more about God and Who He is by their own personal experience. I want them to not just know God, but to experience God.

TEACHING MY CHILDREN-

The most challenging thing I've ever attempted,

The most rewarding experience I've ever had,

The most needy-for-God  position it put me in,

The most amazing thing to watch unfold right before my eyes.