Your children are the only thing you can hope to take to heaven with you.
As a Christian and a Mama there is nothing I want more than to see my children come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. Nothing…
The weight of the privilege to raise these blessings is heavy… make no mistake…but it is the most joyous burden we can carry!
Before we get into the meat of things though…I want to reassure you first…
You are not powerful enough to screw up God 's plan for your children.
This truth has continued to sustain me through my decades of being a Mama! That’s not to say I don’t try…and try hard…but it takes away the fear and overwhelming weight that “it’s all up to me”….because the Good Lord knows how flawed I am, and I am well aware…it is a great comfort to know that His will for my girls will not be altered by my shortcomings!
So with that truth as our foundation- what can we do?
There is no fancy program… nothing you can buy to just make it happen… no 10, 12, 20 step plan… The Bible actually tells us exactly what we need to do…(I love that God gives us the answers if we just ask the questions!)
And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
What words?
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,
The most important thing you can do as a mother is teach your children scripture!
It is inevitable that our children will grow up and not do what we think is best at some point…and it’s a sad fact that some of them will seem to go in the opposite direction completely…But no matter how far or how fast they stray- they can NEVER pluck out the seeds of Truth we plant in them!
And so while they are with us… we must plant plant plant!
It is never too late to start… but starting early can certainly help ingrain things in our children during their most formative years.
Your child’s development is happening at warp speed during those early years, and they literally have new connections forming in their brain constantly! (You can read more about it HERE if you’re curious. The way God has formed us is really fascinating!) If we can help those new connections form with the Word of God helping to shape them- Praise the Lord!
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
Our children absorb values and truth from a very young age- often long before we think they're paying attention. Waiting until they’re “old enough” often misses their most formative years.
Another really important reason we want to start as early as possible is…
Early discipleship roots their identity in Christ before the world can define them.
As children grow they will ask 52.7 billion questions… which may only be a slight exaggeration lol… but if we can train them to look to the Bible for answers when they are young, they will be so much more likely to do the same thing when they’re teens and young adults trying to figure out the world!
We have one big obsticle in our way though...
I hope you are seeing the importance of teaching your child scripture by now…but I want to bring up a very real, and very common, reason so many Christian parents aren’t doing more of this…and that is they don’t know the scriptures themselves.
This is NOT to shame you or make you feel ignorant or bad… I come from this place – I know it well! I wasn’t saved until I was 26 and my oldest was already 7…I was not raised in a Christian home that discussed the Bible or ever went to church. I knew nothing. How could I teach my daughter what I didn’t know?
And I guess I was surprised at first that so many people that were in the church were in the same boat I was in…I had this imaginary idea that if people went to church they just knew all this stuff that I didn’t…but after decades of walking with God I am now sure that Biblical literacy is the biggest need in the American Church!
Dear Sister, we have to be willing to admit we are not where we should be…or where we want to be… and we need to be honest in our prayers that God would forgive us for taking the Word that He has given us so lightly up until now and ask Him to help us diligently grow in not only knowledge, but in understanding.
The Good News... We can learn *WITH* our children!
Here’s a confession from a Homeschooling Mama…. We don’t remember all of this stuff from school… We are learning with our kids all the time! (You don’t have to tell them you don’t know…shhhhh lol )
Picking out story books that reference Bible verses is a great place to start. I’ve listed a few that I like here…
(these are affiliate links-if you purchase one I may earn a small commission at no cost to you. It does help pay for things like this website and I thank you!)
Just grab your kids for story time!
They will love this…you will love this…and most imporatantly the Father loves when we spend time with Him!
It’s easiest to incorporate this into a routine part of your day. At breakfast, before dinner, at bedtime…whatever works for your family…just do that! And if your child asks questions all you need to do is say “that’s a great question…lets search and find out!” Then Google together…
When you are learning with your child not only are you learning and teaching them something now…But you are also sparking their curiosity and inquisitive nature AND teaching them HOW to learn…which is much more important that all the stats and facts they might memorize for awhile and then forget.
Turn on faith-filled music and shows-
Everything that we hear and see effects us- either for good or for harm…So when it comes to teaching our kids scripture and the truth of God’s word we can reinforce what we’re reading in the Bible together with music and shows that share the same message.
Here are a few links for DVDs and Music that we have loved. With small children, and even older, we prefer DVDs because they have no commercials or ads that pop.
Have the Word all around you!
You may have a little one who can’t read yet…but they will, and until then it will do your soul good to be surrounded by the Word…to have it before your eyes constantly.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The Lord who formed us knows us…and He knows how easily we forget things. In ancient days they would actually tie scrolls of scripture to themselves so that it was always with them. Writing them on your doorposts and gates was to have the Word before your eyes as you come and as you go. We are forgetful, not because we want to be, but by our very nature…So surround yourself with the Word!
Write it on mirrors with dry erase markers.
Place post-it notes all around with verses.
Buy or make wall decor with scripture.
Wear a bracelet that has a verse on it.
