The Joy of the Morning

Hey There! So I missd the entire month of November with the business of the season, but our family was focusing on Joy for October so here's one of our memory verses from way back then.;-)

Psalm 30:5 "For His anger is but for a moment and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may endure for the night but joy comes in the morning."

There's something about a new day. I've only recently started getting up before all of my kids and getting Some time for quiet and prayer (and a workout) before encountering the first mishap, request or basic need of the day. With young children, those mishaps can come very early in the day! It took me having 5 children to make this change. I wish I would've made it sooner, because for a few moments, I haven't made any mistakes in a new day. I haven't yelled, given a short, snippy answer, chosen my own agenda over my little one's needs for attention. That all faded with yesterday. I find joy in that! On the flip side, I've had nights filled with sorrow so deep that the morning seemed to bring no joy. Only heartache. That is when I have to trust in His plan and his favor! His favor is for a lifetime... how sweet is that! I'm not really sure how to engage my kiddos young minds with this verse. What I'm thinking is instilling that God  is for them (to communicate His favor). I think I will just keep it that simple. As they mature I'll be able to introduce the concept that His will, not YOU, are what He is ultimately for but what an amazing blessing to be invited to be a part of that!

No Greater Joy

Hi Friends! It's been such a beautiful, chilly fall day in southwestern PA. I got to enjoy coffee with a sweet new friend today. It's amazing what a couple hours out of our home and in someone else's can do for me. It's a cycling lesson in my life. The more we focus on caring for others and reaching out to others, the happier we become. That's where some of our deep joy can be found... serving and doing life with others. I say that to say that I was encouraged by my friend and her precious kiddos and felt excited to write today, so here comes week 3!:-)

Our memory verse for this week gets at the core of why we're raising our kids the way that we are... Why we're teaching them to memorize God's word, why we long to teach and train them well in who God is and why that matters.

Our verse for week 3 of this month is, "I have no greater joy then to hear my children walk in the truth." 3 John 1:4 

The truths in the scriptures are timeless. The principles, unchanging. The life-changing movement of the Savior in our hearts, undeniable. We long to look at our children in 25 years and be able to say, they're walking in truth. A good family friend of ours, Pastor Chris, likes to call it C.A.S.H... Character, authenticity, substance and humility... but that's for a different post.:-)

 As we hide His word in our hearts and minds, our prayer is that TRUTH shines through in our lives! When we walk in truth, we are able to impact every single human being we encounter because, at base level, we all need the same things. Under all of these layers, it becomes quite simple. So simple, that people tend to doubt the truth of this "gospel" because it seems too easy. It's too straight forward to actually be true. The fact that Jesus came and lived a perfect life, died for our sins and rose again for us; all we have to do is believe in that to be saved to an eternity in heaven with God, our creator and Father? No, it couldn't be, right? Yes, it is. But it's not too simple to be true. It is too simple to deny. If you've been denying it, it's time to believe. Today is the day! It's time to be forgiven, handed a new life to live and live it on purpose... for Him. The One and only Lord of all. It's time to walk in TRUTH and swim in grace. If you want to read about when I made the decision to believe with all of my heart and surrender my life, you can read the My Story post here.

There is no greater joy!

 

 

Week 2

Memory Verse: Psalm 16:11

"You make known to me the path of life; in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

I absolutely love this verse! It's so true! At one point in my life, I thought I had everything I needed to be happy. Then The Lord opened my eyes to the depth of joy and purpose found in Him and let me tell you there is nothing better... nothing even compares to the pleasure His presence!  When I realized who I really was and who He really was, I was heart broken over the amount of time I had lived without knowing Him and being on His agenda, rather then my own.

 

  You have probably heard it before...that J.O.Y. stands for Jesus, Others, You. You remember in our verse from last week that Jesus tied joy and love. Last month when we focused on love we learned that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and the second is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. When we love as Jesus loves, not only will we have Him first, but we will prefer others above ourselves. In doing so, we will have joy, which we define as, "being excited no matter what." All of our definitions will carry an unconditional quality because we are talking about the fruit of the Spirit, and His production is not based upon our circumstances. Therefore, we want our children to know that God's presence is the first place where they need to find joy. If Jesus is not first, others are certainly not second, and we forfeit our joy. But when Jesus is first, we will desire to see the best in life and in others, regardless of the circumstances.  

I've got this one down! Psalm 16 is one of my favorites so it was very familiar to me. The kids are super close. Today will be the last day for them to get it!:-)

 

I'm curious to know if anyone else has strategies on scripture memory that are working for you? One other thing that has been great for us are scripture songs! We love Steve Green's "Hide 'em in your heart", Linda Biery's "Living Lyrics" and Jamie Soles "The Way My Story Goes". I'd love to hear and learn from you!

The Joy of October

One of my dearest friends is named Joy... I love it! Hopefully I'll get the chance to use it as one of my children's names in the future. :-) I have to remind myself not to get it confused with happiness. Happiness is circumstantial. Joy runs deeper than circumstances. It's unavoidable when you run into it. I find myself thinking, "There's just something about... so and so..." There's a peace that goes along with it and a touch of humility. Joy is not something we look outward for, but something we reach inward for. As Christians, we have UNLIMITED reasons for joy and hope in our lives.

October is the month for JOY! We will focus on teaching our children that we can possess joy, even when we aren't happy and the things going on around us aren't what we would like them to be. We have joy, simply because of who Christ is, who He says we are, and the future that He promises. Nothing can take that away. It's protected by God's covenant with us. We'll spend our time pointing them to the reality that when we love one another, as Christ has loved us, and abide in that freeing love, JOY will flow freely.

Some questions I'm asking... What does joy look like? When you think of joy, what do you see in your mind? How does Jesus love us? What can we do to show others that same kind of love?

Some cute answers I've gotten... What does Joy look like? GOD (Kayla-with the Sunday school answer;-)) Jumping up and down and smiling.... it looks really nice. (Simeon)

October - JOY
Definition: "being excited no matter what."

Week 1

Memory Verse: John 15:11-12
"These things I have spoken to you that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you."

When Jesus said this, he had just finished teaching about abiding in Him and His love, keeping His commandments and bearing fruit. We have the most joy when we abide in Him. During that time, I feel the most free and the most loved. They haven't been the easiest times-not by a long shot. But they have been the best. Jesus shares His love for us and reminds us that when we abide in that love that our joy will be full and complete. When I start looking elsewhere for joy, I may find some happiness, but will always end up lacking in the end. In the deep places of my heart, there will be no joy. Joy is completely wrapped up in knowing Christ and His love. As the pastor at our church said, "We mistake a pursuit of pleasure for happiness. And in our pursuit of pleasure we often forfeit our happiness."

This week, the kid's were not successful at memorizing the verses completely, without prompting. They were very close! But, guess what, I GOT IT DOWN... and I got my candy.;-)

The Plan-Here's How We're doing it

If strategy is not your strong suit (it is not mine), I hope these types of posts are helpful. If strategy is a place you thrive, you can be even more diligent in this. Here we go...

As I shared in yesterday's post, September's focus is LOVE. We define love as "the decision to give at all times no matter what to have a right relationship." We use one memory verse per week. Keep in mind the age ranges of your children. Ours are all under 8 years old, so we pick verses that are manageable for them to learn in a week, but not too easy. We used some of 1 Corinthians 13 last year. God's Word is packed full of verses about love so take your pick! Below are our verses and some examples of questions we might ask. I love this because it also challenges me to deepen my knowledge of the Scriptures in order to explain them thoroughly to my kids. Not to take them out of context, but teach them each according to the full counsel of God's Word.

Week 1

Memory Verse: Mark 12:29-31

"This is the most important, Jesus answered: Listen, Israel! The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. The second is:Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these."

We discuss briefly what it means to love the Lord with all you are and love other people as much as you love yourself. I ask them things like, what are some things we can do to show God that we love Him? How do we love Him with all our hearts? What are some things we can do for other people to show them that we love them... specifically family, teachers, students and those we cross paths with each day? We also talk about showing others preference before ourselves.

If your kids are a little older or you want to go further, my husband uses 4 "D" words to explain loving God with ALL the...

Heart: That's our Desires. How do we love God with what we want?

Soul: That's our Delights. How do we love God with what we enjoy or take pleasure in?

Mind: That's our Decisions. How do we love God with how we make choices? When given an opportunity to make a choice ask 3 simple questions. Is it wise? Is it best? Does it please the Lord? (Our kids actually made this into a small song)

Strength: That's what we Do.

Week 2

Memory Verse: 1 Peter 4:8

"Above all, maintain an intense love for each other, since love covers a multitude of sins."

This week we covered loving people SO much that even when they hurt us, we can forgive them because of our great love for them and having received God's grace toward us. We address loving another person when we're hurting and don't feel like loving and loving another person enough to apologize when we have hurt them. Ask any questions that may further your children's understanding of the verses and define terms they may not understand. Definitions are very important for our children to understand and for us to explain them to make sure we understand.

Week 3

Memory Verse: John 13:34-35

"I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another. By this all people will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."

We focused on how this command is distinct from loving your neighbor as yourself and loving as Christ loves. When we love our neighbor as ourself, we do for our neighbor as we would want to be done for us. "But God demonstrated His love toward us, in that, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us," (Romans 5:8). We expanded upon the idea from the previous week of loving unconditionally, being willing to give up our lives for others regardless of who they are, where they come from, what they look like, or what they have done.

Week 4

Memory Verse: Romans 13:8

"Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law."

This week we focused on two major questions: 1) What does it mean to owe someone? 2) How does love fulfill the law? We rehearsed the Ten Commandments and specifically asked the question, "If we love God and love others would we do the things God has said not to do? Would we do the things God has commanded us to do? We described owing someone as someone providing a service or doing something to you or for you and you having the burden, responsibility, and duty to pay or repay them. We linked that to discussions about finances and the reality that being a Christian provides us the righteous duty of giving to others. After all, "It is more blessed to give than to receive," (Acts 20:35).

My prayer is that we would be faithful in communicating the wonders of The Lord to the next generation and that starts in our homes. I hope you'll join us in doing the same! In October, we're taking a look at Joy!:-)

Day Two - The What

My husband directs a Christian sports camp for urban youth, which means our kids are saturated in ministry during the summer so with a desire to teach them God's Word day-to-day, we asked what might fit our schedule best, as well as be practical and befitting children under 8 years old. In the fall of 2014 we decided that September through May provides us 9 months and there are 9 attributes named in Galatians 5:22-23,

Source

"But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law." 

We chose this passage to remind ourselves of how we are able to live because God's Spirit lives in us! Our three oldest children have professed faith in Jesus Christ and we want them to know that they have the Spirit of God living in them to produce that fruit. This exercise also provides them the opportunity to practice living out these passages, as well as provides an immediate standard when they live outside of the expectations. I've noticed that it doesn't only help my children, but it helps me stay focused on the Lord and His Word each day.We decided to take 1 attribute a month and 1 passage of Scripture each week. It went really well in 2014, so we're doing it again this year. We changed the scriptures in order to broaden their knowledge base of God's Word, and plan on changing most of the verses each year. Obviously, we will repeat some because it's all beneficial.

I have a small chalkboard in our entryway. I use it to write the fruit focus for the month. This month, Love is the focus. We go in order of the text. I also have a dry erase board in our kitchen where I write the verse for the week each Sunday. We rehearse the verses at the breakfast table and on our drive to school and most of the time, the oldest 3 (and ME!) have them memorized by Friday! So cool! Whoever gets it memorized gets some sort of reward. Candy is a hot commodity at our house because we don't eat it often, so last week it was gummy worms! Whatever you use, make it something special and different and make sure they know they are receiving it for learning God's Word. And don't forget that if YOU also learn the memory verse, you can demonstrate enjoying the same reward you give your children. BUT, if you do not know the verse it may cheapen their experience if you find yourself indulging in the reward. I'm talking to myself as well.;-)

It's such a fun way to make sure I'm still growing and hiding God's Word in my heart and demonstrating that for my kids. God's word WILL bear fruit in our lives AND our children's! You can take that check to the bank and cash it.;-) Tomorrow we'll detail the nuts and bolts even more so you can have a strategic monthly plan.

Why God's Word?

In my "And Then There Were Three" post about the kids heading off to school, I confessed some fears I have as a public school momma. While I am praying and trusting The Lord with my children being at the school, that's not the only thing I'm doing. We want to hide the word of God in our children's hearts because the Lord commands parents to teach children about Him wherever they are and throughout each of the days activities. This helps calm my fears as well. : ) As they're learning math, spelling, and reading, I want to feed their little spirits with the life-giving food of God's word. I'm sharing what we're doing to provide a framework for anyone who would like to do the same, but first I want to give you other reasons why this is so important to us.

We believe God's Word is "alive and active" (Hebrews 4:12), but never changes and will always remain the same. I know that sounds redundant, but in today's world, where the stories change and people think that they are the same, or people change the ageless stories to put their own spin on them, I thought it worth saying. God's Word teaches, guides, corrects, and challenges us throughout life. His Word will never pass away (Matthew 24:35) and is like a mirror showing us how we spiritually look (James 1:22-25). God's eternal truth lies within every page of the Bible, including principles, laws, wisdom, and the history of His chosen people. Most of all, it's the greatest love story ever written about an everlasting Father who created a perfect world for humans to use to bring Him glory, a fallen people who loved the creature, more than the Creator, and a fallen world waiting, hoping, and longing for a Savior (Romans 8:18-25). Even after Jesus came, many rejected Him, but others saw the glory of His miraculous signs and wonders (Acts 2:22-24) including His life, death, and resurrection. Because of Christ, those who believe in Him receive His grace...His unrelenting grace (Ephesians 2:8-9). 

As David said in Psalm 19:7-10, "The Law of The Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of The Lord is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of The Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of The Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgements of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they then gold; yea, than much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb."

For these and many other reasons, we are passionate about our children knowing God's Word inside and out, and desire to see them enjoy it for the rest of their lives. Over the next two days, I'm going to share a few of the ways we are teaching our children how to hide God's Word in their hearts. Check back tomorrow!: )