Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength.
The commandments I give you today must be in your hearts. Make sure your children learn them.
Deuteronomy 6:5-6 nirv
Overseas introductions
When you live over 5,000 miles away from your grandparents and you don’t have email or FaceTime or texting, it’s hard to get to really know them. Yet when I was little and lived in Brazil, I felt like I did know them.
That’s because my parents showed me pictures of my grandparents back in the United States.
Grandma Ruth & Grandpa Lyle – left; Grandpa Rich & Grandma Carol – right
They talked to me about my grandparents. And once a month a letter would arrive and I’d sit on Dad and Mom’s bed and listen to them read the letters out loud. My Grandma Carol’s letters read like a newspaper. They were about who did what and when it happened. Grandma Ruth’s letters read like an exclamation mark. She oohed and aahed about the lilacs and the loving kindness of God. I loved hearing them both!
Through those letters, the stories my parents told me, and pictures I started to get to know my grandparents. When I stepped off the plane in the United Stated several year later, I was well on my way to doing that.
Keeping it simple
Some day your son or daughter will know God personally and give their life to Him. In the meantime, knowing God starts with the introductions you make to Him.
Doing that doesn’t have to feel complicated or overwhelming or time-consuming. Just think of it as creating an environment conducive for that relationship to develop and coaching your kids in God’s ways.
Most of our kids’ days are made up of everyday “stuff”—doing homework, brushing teeth, eating dinner. So one of the easiest ways to introduce your child to God is taking advantage of those everyday opportunities.
But How?
Leveraging everyday opportunities and giving you ideas is what this blog is all about. But here are a few suggestions for coming up with your own ideas.
- Write down 2 ordinary things your kids see every week (e.g. a banana, pencil)
- Write down 2 places you visit every week (e.g. Kindergarten classroom)
- Write down 2 activities your kids do every week (e.g. brush their teeth, practice basketball)
- Then pray. Say, “God, I really want my kids to know, not just about you. Show me how can I connect each of these things to you and your Word.”
- Over the next day or two, jot down an EXAMPLE, COMMENT, or QUESTION you can pair with the everyday things above.
When those everyday things/places/activities come up during your week, go to it!
A Few Ideas to Get You Started:
THING paired with an EXAMPLE
You’re outside in the snow and compare the snow to what God does for us. “When we ask forgiveness, God covers our sin and makes us white like snow (Isaiah 1:18).”
A PLACE paired with a COMMENT
When you’re in the produce section at the grocery store, pick up or point out a couple different fruits and say, “Isn’t God creative?! He made so many different flavors and shapes of food.”
ACTIVITY paired with a QUESTION
When you’re bundling kids to head out the door to school ask, “Did you know Jesus went to school when he was a boy? How do you think Jesus would like your school?”
They’re ALL opportunities to introduce your child to God and his world and his truth and his love!
What other ideas do you have? What things have you done? Share them here so we can all learn together!
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