Precious Conversations

I'm so thankful the Lord gives us parents instructions on how to raise our children! In fact I LOVE wisdom from the Old Testament. The stories are filled with applicable wisdom for today. Moses instructs the Israelites to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." He also goes on to say, "These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit along the road, when you lie down, and when you get up. " Deut 6:4-7.

For six years now I've tried to incorporate this into our every day life. We'll talk about the Lord when we eat, when we drive and notice the beautiful sky He made us, when we see witness His hand in our everyday situations and more... Actually at first it was kind of weird. This was not something I had really done before. I didn't just outwardly praise the Lord for others to hear. However, as a mother I knew that I needed to teach my children to praise. They needed to see faith in action.

I have two stories that show fruit of this scripture when practiced in homes. Our oldest, Isaac, who just turned 6 had the privilege to witness baptisms for the first time. We explained before the service that people who love Jesus show their faith by getting baptized. He also got to hear each of the 11 people's testimonies of faith. I could tell that he was really paying attention to this during the service. Afterwards I asked him what he learned. He said, "That people who love Jesus get baptized." And then he just looked at me sort of sad and said, "But Mom, I love Jesus and they didn't call my name to get baptized..." What precious words to hear! Jeff and I want his baptism experience to be one he fully understands so when that time comes his name will be called. :)

The other was last night during our first storm of the season. Isaac was a little afraid (much like his mother!) and Kaleb kept reassuring him that "Jesus will take care of you. Don't worry, Isaac, Jesus will keep us safe."

I don't know what the future holds for my children, if they will decide to test their faith or turn away for a season but I do know that scripture promises that when we train them in the way they should go, they will not depart from it.