God's Recipe for Godly Children

I like using a recipe because I know if I follow the steps that my food will turn out right.  When it comes to parenting, we as parents seek "recipes" to ensure our children will turn out to be wonderful, loving, godly people.  Unfortunately, we often leave it to chance or we hope that they will turn out right.  What if we knew of an actual recipe to turn out godly children? Would we follow it? Such a plan does exist and I didn't write it nor did any other person.  This plan is found in Scripture, the very plan of God Himself.  Let's examine this plan found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

The first ingredient is found in v. 5. We as parents are the key ingredient! We are instructed to be fully committed to the Lord.  You see we often tell our children that they should be living their life for Christ, when we do not do it ourselves.  They need to see wholehearted, genuine commitment to the Lord.  This means we keep our eyes solely on Christ.  This is difficult because we typically serve the Lord through a local church which is filled with imperfect people and when those imperfect people offend us we turn our backs on service altogether.  Our service to people is really for the Lord and we need to keep our focus on Him.   We need to show our children that Christ and His Kingdom has first priority in our lives.

The second ingredient is found in vv. 7-9.  We are to keep the Lord and His Word always before our children.  It says when they are at home, away from home, going to bed, and getting up.  We are to even write His Words on the walls of our house and tie them to the children's hands.  The key here is to put the Lord in every part of their lives!  A true disciple is made when they stop compartmentalizing their life.  We need to teach our children that Jesus permeates every part of our lives and He is NOT just reserved for church and Sunday school.

When we make Christ real in our lives and we stop playing games, then our children see that and want a part of it!  Children who see hypocritical parents grow up to want NOTHING to do with Christianity.  Two ingredients that seem simple yet they are so significant.  Let's stop offering our children as sacrifices on the altar of the world's agenda.  

Comfortable?

Our church is currently hosting our annual missions celebration.  Last Sunday, I heard someone ask what giving to missions through "Faith Giving" has meant to me.  My first thought was that it didn't matter what it meant to me or to our family, we give simply out of obedience.  Why should it "mean something to me"?  God is not a department store! We do not give to the Lord in order to get something! We give because this money we have is His to begin with! He has blessed us with a job and a paycheck and He can take that away at any time. 

After that initial thought, a passage of Scripture began to come to my mind: Haggai 1:3-11.  At that time the Israelites cared more about their own houses and their own comfort than the Lord's house. The Phrase used in the NKJV says that they "dwell in their paneled houses" while God's house lies in ruins.  I guess that really hit me where it hurt.  I sit and look at all the "panels" in my house and then think of all the missionaries serving so faithfully who sacrifice so much to reach the lost.  I recently had the privilidge of seeing into the heart of a dear missionary wife and mother. Her words have rung in my heart day after day.  We asked her what she would want children in America to know about their lives as missionaries.  This is a portion of her response.

"I guess the most important thing that kids can know about overseas missions is sacrifice. Many American kids know nothing of that word. I being one formally, know that life was pretty easy there in the US. We are brought up with a feeling of entitlement to the finest things in life and instant gratification. We are taught that waiting is wrong.. that is why we have microwaves and drive thru windows, etc.
When a person is thrown in the middle of a 3rd world country, it is an incredible sacrifice. Of course of material things, there is no more instant satisfaction. Things here take LONG. Even wanting a certain food is no longer a simple trip to Wal-Mart, but now I have to wait 6 months for a shipment box to come. Modern conveniences are a world away.
Then, of course there is the sacrifice of family and normalcy. Everyone and everything you once knew and loved and held as normal is gone. Every word that once flowed from your lips is now transformed into another language, which requires deep thought before you speak.
I am not complaining, because I love this life and through time have not only adjusted to the life here, but have embraced it and became part of it. But, it's still incredible hard at times, because my American brain is still in tact and the daily sacrifices do take their toll on me. The people think different, act different and the work load is incredible...this is in the middle of tropical heat. It wears you down physically, emotionally and mentally.
I would love for American kids to be taught about the meaning of sacrifice, because it really isn't a normal part of life there. Sadly, even in some churches...people even serve the Lord conveniently, as it fits into THEIR schedule. Americans are taught to never be uncomfortable. So, it would be nice to have those kids learning a whole different way of life which is a daily sacrifice.
It would be a huge blessing to have a group praying specifically, for not just the financial needs ( which most people pray for) but the daily problems that arise which attack us more than the budget we missionaries are on. Ask them and teach them to pray for our minds as well as our bodies as we have to overcome daily the struggles of being far away.  I would cherish every little prayer they offered that would help our family's emotional, mental and spiritual well being.
I appreciate you wanting to do this. I wish more kid's groups would. I want them to not have a feeling of pity on missionaries because we are "poor" and work with brown skinned people in huts, etc. I want them to see that we have a high calling, but we need their prayers because everyday, Satan wants to discourage us and make us give up."

After reading this, I am moved to do something and since right now God has not called me to leave the US, I can GIVE through Faith Giving to further the Gospel! I don't ever want to be "comfortable" in my "paneled" house while God's house needs to be built!

Backpack of Burdens!!!!!

Galatians 6:2 and Matthew 11:28
Occasionally our family enjoys hiking.  Back in the spring we would go with our two kids on some easy trails and catch bugs and enjoy nature.  We would often use my phone to calculate how many calories we had burned on our hike so we could have a piece of cake later:) Several times, my husband Jeremy, would carry our 2 year old on his back in a special hiking backpack.  Whenever Jeremy hiked with that pack on his back, he would have burned considerably more calories than I had.  I almost wanted to carry the extra weight so that my hike would be more effective towards my exercise goal. 

As a pastor's wife, mother, ministry leader and friend, I cross paths with so many burdened and hurting people.  Let's face it, our world is NOT getting better!  Today, I especially feel extra burdened with friends who are hurting, people who are making wrong choices, with an enormous task list, and the list goes on.  With this heavy weight on me, I kept asking God the same question, "how can these burdens be blessings?"  As I was cleaning a toilet at the church today (I do my best talking with God while I clean), I remembered our hiking trips and how much stronger and healthier Jeremy was becoming because he carried extra weight.  Sure it was hard while he did it and it was heavy and uncomfortable on the journey, but at the end he had used more muscles and had built much more stamina than I had!  Why can't our burdens be blessings!!!!????? They cause us to exercise the "muscles" of our faith and they build our stamina in our Christian walk.  They also give us better insight to others who are hurting so that we can love and help them in their time of burden.  Next time you feel heavy with your burdens or the burdens of others, imagine yourself on this "Christian hike" we call life and you are just getting "fit" much faster than everyone else!