Seize Every Opportunity To Teach Kids Eternal Truths

As parents we’re building God’s kingdom one day at a time by shining God’s light to our children. It’s a great privilege to serve the Lord in our homes. As they grow we need to get creative in how we teach them God’s truths to make sure that the Word is instilled in their hearts.

How do we learn the most precious lessons in life?

Many of the lessons we learn are from making mistakes. Trial and error can teach us a lot. Unfortunately many don’t learn from mistakes and don’t listen to counsel.

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.” – Proverbs 12:15

Even though making mistakes can teach us many things- reading and talking about God’s truths can instill wisdom in our children’s hearts. We must do all that we can so that our children can learn God’s truths.

“And you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.” – Deuteronomy 6:7

It’s so important to teach them how to study read and understand the Bible so that they may always correctly interpret God’s Word and have a foundation to make right decisions in the future.

As a mommy I’ve found that there are many ways to teach our kids. Here’s a few ideas for you to teach the Bible to your children in a fun and meaningful way.

Tell your own life stories.

This is a fantastic way to teach them. Did you learn valuable lessons through making certain mistakes? What truths did you find in God’s Word that helped you get the right perspective though the trial?

If you can share those life lessons with your kids- it will mean so much more to them. It takes on a whole new meaning and they’ll always remember the lessons from those stories because it happened to their own parents.

Many times we categorize Bible time only as devotional time. The truth is that with a little bit of creativity we can incorporate teaching of God’s Word into every aspect of life.

Teachable Moments.

Seize the opportunities in real life situations to teach your kids God’s truths by applying His word to their daily lives.
This is by far my favorite way to teach because they are going through the situation and so it is much more memorable for them.

They may be going through certain issues and we can use those moments to help them get the biblical perspective on things.
Real life consequences to poor decisions are excellent tools to teach our children. It may seem very negative to deal with the consequences. However when we see these as opportunities to prevent worse problems up ahead we can be grateful in the midst of the trials.

Directly read Bible verses and talk about them.

I love to read verses that are uplifting and positive. Here’s a list of encouraging and inspirational Bible verses for you to reflect upon and talk about with your children at devotional time.

You may also choose to simply read through one of the books of the Bible and ask questions to your children about what was just read. When kids talk about things they will retain a lot more of the information.

The fact is that as parents we are called by the Lord to minister, train and teach our kids. We need to redeem the time and count our days to do this. Every moment of our lives is an opportunity to fulfill our ministry.

Eren Mckay is a WAHM to 3 boys. She loves to help others by providing homemaking and family resources.

How I Learned to Celebrate My Child’s Individuality and Still Teach Him Limits

Even before my second child began to utter his first words he showed signs of his candid sincerity. I can remember when he was just a wee toddler. He couldn’t even speak but a few words. Still, he was always letting everyone around him know exactly what he thought by imitating them.

When he began to talk, everywhere he went he entertained people because he was so sincere – people loved to hear what was the next thing that would come out of his mouth. On the other hand while it was “funny” at times this “tell it like it is” attitude began to get out of hand.

An Embarrassing Elevator Ride

Needless to say- when he began talking he would say the most embarrassing things to total strangers. One day we were all in the elevator with one of our neighbors (we live in an 18 story building). This neighbor was completely drunk and acting strange. My little 3 year old looked up at him then looked at me with his indignant look on his face and asked: “Do crazy people live in our building? I didn’t know we had crazy neighbors”

Trying to avoid an argument with my drunk neighbor I frantically began talking about some other totally different thing while hoping he hadn’t understood what my 3 year old had just said.

Episodes like these have been a daily occurrence in our lives.  No matter how many times I explained things to him he would blurt out what was on his mind. I tried everything possible for him to understand that he needed to think before talking but he just couldn’t comprehend.

Was this Characteristic Truly Negative or Could I see this as Something Positive?

While talking things out with a friend of mine, the Lord used her to ask me. “Eren – have you ever thought that maybe this aspect of his personality is what makes him unique?”
She also told me that she knew where he got his sincerity from. When I asked her- where he got it from, she said- “He got it from you!”.

I have to admit that I’ve always been the type to tell it like it is. But most of the time I have discernment to know how to “word” what I want to say without offending anyone. (I try to do it nicely.) My son on the other hand would just blurt things out without filtering anything.

A Change in Perspective on How I Saw My Child

But still, I began to see that I needed to acknowledge this aspect of my child’s personality as something the Lord put in him.  That’s what makes him unique and different. The Lord knit every little aspect of my son. Every part of him was projected by our awesome God as we find in Psalm 139:13-14:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (NIV)

For the first time I began to see this whole situation in another light. This change of perspective helped me to change the way I saw parenting my son. I thank the Lord for my unique son. Just like a snowflake each kid has something special, just their own.

Instead of being annoyed by it I began to see this as him being sincere. Of course I try to teach him to tone it down and use good judgment so it doesn’t sound rude. He will need the social skill of knowing how to express himself to as an adult.

Are There Traits in Your Children that You Find Irritating?

If there are think of them for a moment. Write a list of them down and take it to the Lord in prayer. Ask Him how you can see this in a different light and help your child grow and change what needs to be changed.

Talk it over

After you’ve have done this, the best thing to do is to talk to them about their best attributes and how they can make them better. Not only do I “put the foot down” by establishing limits but I also explain why those limits are there. My son has improved a lot because of the talks that I’ve had with him and mostly because of my change of perspective.

When we hear other people acknowledge who we are it gives us a higher sense of self awareness and self esteem.  By talking things out it with our kids it gives them a chance to ponder who they are and establish their true identity. They usually need help with respecting limits and realizing that there are consequences in real life for not honoring them. Help them understand that they can be themselves while respecting limits at the same time.

Eren Mckay loves to help others with spiritual growth and achieving Christian contentment. She’s a WAHM to 3 boys and encourages and provides resources for families at her website Embracing Home.