Two opportunities to share the gospel before 7am!

We get up early in our household, actually make that 5 out of 6 of us get up early!. By early I mean between 5 and 6 am. I am usually the first up, then the dog, then our youngest, and then the others start coming out anywhere from 6am onwards.

The other morning during my devotions I asked God to help me be patient, self controlled and unconditionally loving towards my family.

It didn't take long before He allowed an opportunity to answer my prayer! Before we got to the breakfast table (which is around 6:30am) I gave warnings to my son who was not responding to my answers with a 'happy heart!'. This attitude carried over to breakfast time and it wasn't long before he was sent to his room to think about how he was responding. During this time, I talked to him about his heart, in particular his selfishness, and I told how this was sin, and then reminded him why Jesus came and shared the gospel message with him.

In his book Shepherding a Child's heart Tedd Tripp writes,

You need to shepherd your children in the ways of God at all times. There is, however, no more powerful time to press the claims of the gospel than when your children are being confronted with their need of Christ's grace and power during discipline. When the wax is soft during discipline, the time is right to impress the glories of Christ's redemption.

The gospel message is so powerful and I need to recognise the many opportunities I have been given as a parent to present and impress this into the hearts of my children.

It was only minutes after I had spoken with my son that I had to take my 4 year old daughter into her room and talk to her about her disobedience, another opportunity to share the gospel of Jesus Christ!

All this happened before 7am!

There is such joy in seeing selfish and disobedient hearts turned into ones that have been forgiven and restored.

Needless to say I was incredibly thankful to God for granting me the patience and self control I asked for!

Scripture memory revived!

We have been rather neglectful with scripture memory in our household the past year. I'm not sure why I dropped it off, just got out of routine I think. But the past few weeks I have been resurrecting verses we have learned over the past few years, and I can't believe how awesome they have been.

I lent a chart called Wise Words for Moms by Ginger Plowman to a friend the other day. It identifies 22 behavior problems in children (such as disobeying, lying and tattling) and offers examples of Scripture passages that help address heart issues. I was going through it with my friend and I thought I hadn't used it very much, but upon review I realised how much I actually did use it in the past. A lot of what I say to my kids has come from suggestions from this chart. In particular we have learned a lot of the verses she refers to.

Seeing this again inspired me to get my kids back into scripture memory, not just so they can rattle off a bunch of verses to sound 'spiritual' but so that they can hide it in their heart and for it to help formulate their way of thinking about how they should respond to their day to day events.

I mostly did it with my older two kids who are 7 and 5 now and they remember parts of the verses, but the younger two never really got into it, they are 4 and 2 and 1/2 now. In the past I use to sit them down before going out in the morning and do a devotion and go over a memory verse together, but now I have just put them at the dinner table and try to integrate them into our conversation at the table. I try to pull the verse to bits and get them to really think about what it means and how they can apply it. I love being able to bring things back to the word of God.

We are reviewing Ephesians 4:29 at the moment,

Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

This verse has been great because when they talk unkindly or rudely to each other, I remind them of this verse and ask if unwholesome talk is coming out of their mouth, and encourage them to think of words that are helpful and that will build the other one up.

It's a huge challenge for me as well, I love the power of scripture, it cuts so deep into the heart!

Striking the first blow in the battle

I love holidays, but I also love routine, and sometimes those two don't go together all that well! I have been in holiday mode ever since Christmas and consequently have missed my early morning times with the Lord.

I have really felt the difference. Instead of waking up to the subtle beeping of my alarm clock, I am awoken to little voices asking if they can get up now, and then those little voices turn into louder voices as more little people wake up. And then starts the requests for milk, food, silly games, quarreling and so on.....!

When I get up early I have at least 20 minutes after showering and dressing to just sit in my comfy chair and stare into space, in absolute quiet! I then feel ready to proceed into reading my bible and prayer. But I have missed these times, the past two weeks, and I can feel myself being attacked from many different angles!!

John Piper helped sum up how I was feeling in his book When I don't desire GOD - How to fight for Joy. Under the heading, How important is early-morning prayer? he outlines 5 reasons to rise early for prayer. I related well to the first two.

"First, it signals conscience that this is of first importance in the day. That witness from our action to our conscience has a joyful effect on the Christian mind. Second, early morning prayer strikes the first blow in the battle of the day, instead of waiting till we are besieged from all sides.Third, what we do daily and do early shapes the spirit of our minds and brings us into a disposition of humility and trust that will bear better fruit than anxiety or self-reliance..."

I didn't realise how much my early morning times prepared me for the day, especially when it comes to interacting with my children. When I have not prepared for the first blow in the battle of the day, my first reactions to quarrels, demands, spilt milk are done in short temper and frustration, instead of love and grace.

I guess the good thing about holiday time is that I can still get up early and spend time with the Lord, but because we don't have to rush out anywhere, I can take it slowly and find a relaxing spot to curl up on the couch later in the day.

And, after reading a few pages of John Piper's book, I feel inspired to read it again this holiday time, that book changed my devotional life 2 years ago, and I am looking forward to being challenged once again!

O satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Psalm 90:14

Devotions for Children

A couple of years I was inspired by a friend who went through the Shorter Catechism with their young children. I was amazed that at the age of 2 and 3 her children could answer 20 questions like, what is God? who made the world? what is sin? what are the 10 commandments?

So I went looking in Koorong for a similar list of questions and answers. I came across this book, My 1st Book of Questions and Answers by Carine Mackenzie for around $2.50. There are 114 questions, each question has an answer and a bible reference.

I started going through this book with my children and I was amazed at how easily they were able to remember the answers to these questions. One of the first questions our children learnt was question number 1.

Who made you?
God
Genesis 1:27

This is what the author says about her book.

Children of past generations were brought up with the immense benefit of learning the Shorter Catechism. A basic knowledge of Christian doctrine is vital in our day too.

This simple summary of some of the essentials of the faith compiled as a set of questions answers is aimed at helping a young child learn what everyone needs to know. ....

The learning of doctrine is not salvation by a good foundation of truth is valuable in combating false ideas which so easily divert young minds. Remember God's promise to his people, "I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts."

Teaching the children is our responsibility. Applying that truth to the child's heart is the Lord's work.

There are 3 other books the same size which we use for our morning devotions.

My 1st Book of Bible Promises

My 1st Book of Memory Verses

My 1st Book of Christian Values

Each day we usually go through a bible promise, a Christian value and revise a memory verse for the week. I am particularly enjoying going over the promises of God, they are such a wonderful encouragement and reminder of the security we can have in God.