While I hope we cultivate a lifestyle of faith; we truly learn faith from our children more than we teach faith to them.
The best way my husband and I can teach our children about faith; is to position our lives in such a way that God is our only option.
Too many times we want the results of a faith based life; but we don’t want to position ourselves to live that way because it’s very risky and the American Dream is comfort driven. Our pastor said something to that effect one time something like .. . the reason we don’t see God do impossible things is we don’t want to put ourselves in a position to need the impossible miracle.
Along the way here are some stories of ways we cultivated Faith in our children’s lives:
First we looked inward at our own lives.
We wanted our children to be free to run without the bondages of our families past. We listed every sin pattern we could see for as far back into the generations as we could see. We prayed and cried out to God asking him to forgive us, wash us clean, and empower us to live Holy. We used the bondage breaker and the seven steps to freedom by Niel Anderson to help facilitate the process. http://www.amazon.com/Bondage-Breaker%C2%AE-Neil-T-Anderson/dp/0736902414
AS INFANTS:
When our children were babies I would pray and sing over them as I nursed them. I played worship music in the nursery and read the Bible outloud. When I didn’t know what to do with them I would ask Jesus before I went to a parenting book or a friend. I figured he knitt them together and knew them intimately and would know best. Amazing ideas would come to me and it worked well. I believe this cultivated faith in my heart for their lives.
By thier first birthday’s they had board books and we developed “God time”. A time and space every day where they would sit and watch a bible video, or look at a beginner bible. We read the bible together, prayed at bed time, over ouchies, and everything in between. We didn’t want them to grow up with a religous habit. We wanted to cultivate a lifestyle; a relationship. A relationship is where you give and are given to; where you hear and are heard. It’s alive. It’s interaction with another person.
AS TODDLERS:
As they because toddlers we would ask them, “what does Jesus tell you when you pray?” and we tried to plant the idea deep in their hearts that they can hear God. We loved Samuel in the Bible who heard God call him by name. At night we would pray out loud over them asking Jesus to visit them even in their dreams. Note of clarification…. sometimes their answers would be silly when we asked them what Jesus would tell them… sometimes it was serious… sometimes it was I heard Jesus loves me… everyday for weeks and weeks. We weren’t after a response and it wasn’t our faith measure stick. It just gave an opportunity to validate in them, that they hear God.
Singing songs about faith and Jesus were a part of our everyday lives.
AS PRESCHOOLERS:
We introduced nations prayer cards and started exposing them to Jesus around the world. Any time we could use a visual of Jesus, or someone in need in another country we did.
We tried to make faith who we were no what we did.
One day when our daughter was 3.5 or so she was fighting with her brother. I scooped her up in my arms and said lovingly, “sis. You two have been fighting all day. We are going to ask Jesus what he says.” So we all sat down and with faith in my heart I said, “let’s ask Jesus what he wants us to do today and listen because he wants to tell you something.” After a few minutes she had bug eyes and she said, “I saw a picture of a rainbow and under the rainbow there was a motorcycle.” (we all laughed). “You heard from Jesus. What do you think he means?” to which she replies these exact words… ” the rainbow means Jesus loves me so I want to love my brother. The motorcycle means he wants us to have fun together under the rainbow of His love.” She heard from Jesus that day and I know it because of the joy and laughter that was in our home. IT was fun because she’s an artsy little things and Jesus spoke her love language. I could have disciplined her all day long. By living and believing that Jesus wants to speak to children all I had to do was facilitate it and life could come to her heart… and all our hearts.
One day I was at the mall with our older son and he was 5ish. We walked by a man and he said, “Mommy I think we should share Jesus with him.” so we walked over and we shared something simple like ” we just want you to know that Jesus loves you and he died on a cross so you could know him and we want to know is there anyway we could pray for you.” with tears in his eyes he shared that a family memeber had died and we prayed for comfort and went on. I think it cemented in our son’s heart the compassion of God. He knew he heard God. All I had to do was facilitate it.
We try to take advantage of every opportunity we can to cement in their hearts a lifestyle that loves Jesus, hears his voice, then go and do the will of the father.
In the preschool years several moms would get together each week for an evangelistic playgroup. We wanted our kids to see us reaching out in bold ways. We knew that if we lead by example it would validate the importance of our faith to them.
So every week we would get together and pray and wait on the Lord to give us a location. Then we would go and share Jesus. IT was a rich time in our life and God used it powerfully. Our kids saw people pray to know Jesus, added to the church, and ministered to every week practically. It wasn’t always pretty as our kids through fits, or were needy, but it was worth it.
My favorite thing to do with the kids is take them out of the country. For each of them expieriencing other cultures has been the biggest Faith factor in their lives.
In third world countries where medicine is not available all you have to call on is the name of Jesus. It’s in these places our children have had pictures of people, later met them, prayed for their healing and seen the miraculous happen. They have prayed with people who never before heard the name of Jesus. They have fed the hungry, and prayed with the sick, and brought hope to people’s lives.
We took our oldest son when he was 2 and we’ve gone when ever we can since then. It’s not always easy lugging babies across borders and into germy places. But I think we declare something in the spirit world that says, “people matter to Jesus” when we do.
Taking them overseas gives them a broader perspective and has helped them own our vision and values.
Last summer our daughter had pictures of the locations she went to in the morning before she had ever seen them. She would describe them to people in great detail, and when we would get there we would see what she saw. I think she knows with confidence that she can hear God. She doesn’t wrestle with that. She will be free her whole life to do God’s will because she hears his voice.
In their preschool years we also let them listen to the NIV Bible on CD as well as read through the Bible chronologically.
We started memorizing scriptures with Sing the Word from A-Z, scripture rock, and used a book called parenting with scripture as well as a memory box (a systamatic way to memorize scriptures).
The kids memorized 1 cor. 13 thier kindergarten year, and the 23 psalm, the beatitudes. They are amazing. They can always do more than we think.
We also took them to church with us, and sat together as a family the first sunday every month so they could see us worship.
We listened to worship music, had praise bands, wrote our own psalms, painted worship pictures to Jesus and engaged in service projects as much as possible. (buying food for food pantries. making sandwhiches and delivering them on the street. filling shoe boxes around holiday for samaritan’s purse ect).
SCHOOL AGED:
Now they are all school aged with one innermediate. We think in terms of discipleship more now. Life on Life.
They are leading us in a lot of ways, jumping into what we are doing. Every year D. reads through the Bible in a different translation and all three kids asked if they could do it with him.
We provide journals for their quiet times, talk with them about what they sense from thier “God times”.
We love to read missionary stories to them and find supernatural things that are happening to broading their faith view and truly believe… with God all things are possible. We buy broadcasts from focus on the family with missionary inner views and testimonies of faith.
We look for media to reinforce our values. We love the series where the Bible is acted out visually. The Nativity Story, One Night with the Queen are some of our favorites.
Last year the van ran out of gas while we were driving. As I sat there with the kids one of them said, “let’s pray and ask Jesus to make the van run without gas.” So they prayed and sure enough the bone dry, stopped van started after not starting for some time. We drove home on an empty tank. It’s thier story not mine… and they share it all the time. Something deposited in their hearts that day when Jesus was our only option.
I believe the best way to teach faith is to expierience it every day, facilitate it’s opportunities in a way that’s practical and life changing out of relationship with Jesus.
Resources:
Sing the Word from A-Z ( my kids loved this despite it’s high church feel ) http://www.singtheword.com/listen.htm;
Scripture Rock http://nilssonmedia.org/album.php?album=scripture-rock-1-cd;
The Bible memory Box… a home made systematic memorization tool… ask me about it.
Parenting with Scripture http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Scripture-Topical-Teachable-Moments/dp/0802465420
Stories of Faith… Aunt Vera’s bedtime stories http://www.sunshineacres.org/Pages/Books/story_1.htm… Antioch Children’s Bed time stories sold at our church… Children that change the world…
DC talks rendition of the foxes book of maryters (older kids) http://www.google.com/products?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4SUNA_enUS253US253&q=dc+talk+revolutionaries+book&um=1… missionary stories like david livingston; jim elliot; http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Almighty-Testament-Elliot-Lives/dp/006062213X
Filed under: "It's How I See the World..., faith
What an inspiring post. I love what you said about asking God first before going to a friend or a parenting book for answers. My Little One is only 18 months old, but I find myself in need of answers often. Jesus really does want to speak to us, doesn’t He? What a good God. Thank you for sharing your heart! I look forward to reading your blog more!
That is one stinkin’ useful and inspiring post, my friend!! This is exactly the kind of stuff I need.
She CAN NOT is NOT allowed to be 18 months already because she came in yesterday for one year old pics!!! It’s not allowed I tell ya!
Believe me not to be misleading I owned all the parenting books too. I did decide early on thought that I would ask Jesus first. Worked most of the time. Fasting is great too. The books were helpful too.
Kat… I”m glad to play ping pong inspiration with ya! Seriously it means a lot that you wrote that because you inspire me so much! A heart felt big fat hairy Thankxs goes to ya my friend.
journey on ya’ll you can’t relive today because there’s tomorrow.
Those are great ideas!! Thanks for sharing.
Awesome link!
Thanks!
http://nilssonmedia.org/album.php?album=scripture-rock-1-cd