Older women, what does Titus 2 teach us we are to do as we grow older with wisdom and age?  We are to “teach the younger women to be loving wives and mothers, temperate, chaste, kind, busy at home, respecting the authority of their own husbands”.  How are you doing?  Because more is caught than taught, are you exhibiting these things in your own life?  Are you striving to be a loving wife and mother, temperate, kind, chaste, busy at home, and respecting your own husband?  And how about that life poolside?  Are you there?  Have you cashed in for a life of ease now, when really the race is not yet finished?

I recently read an email from Elisabeth Elliot stating that the statistical abstract for the US for 2000 says that 22.9% of the population is between the ages of 45-65.  Assuming that half of these people are women, what a pool of energy and power for God they might be!  We live longer than we did 40 years ago with more mobility, more money, better health and strength- resources which, if put at God’s disposal, might bless younger women.  Where are the women, single or married, willing to hear God’s call to spiritual motherhood, taking spiritual daughters under their wings to school them?  You don’t need training; you simply need to love God and be willing broken bread and poured out wine for His sake.

May I make a few suggestions?

In one church we attended, I faithfully received an email from an elderly church member reminding me of the needs of our church body and to pray for them.  Shortly after we made public the fact that we were expecting another baby, I received a beautiful and encouraging hand-written note from her in my mailbox that edified me incredibly. Yet when I saw Pearl at church I saw a body that was failing, that needed an arm to support her as she walked.  Had Pearl retired?  Never!  She had been a willing vessel for God’s service even as her own body grew frailer.  How can you do the same?  Here are some suggestions that Titus 2 woman Elisabeth Elliot shares:

•    Pray about it.  Ask God to show you whom, what, and how.
•    Consider writing notes to or telephoning some younger woman who needs encouragement in the areas Paul mentioned.
•    Ask a mother if you can do her ironing, take her children out, babysit so she can go out, make a cake or casserole for her.
•    Invite someone to tea, find out what she would like you to pray for, and pray with her.
•    Start a little prayer group of two or three whom you can cheer and help.  You’ll be cheered and helped too!
•    Organize a volunteer housecleaning pool to go out every week or once a month to somebody who needs you.
•    Have a lending library of books of real spiritual food.
•    Be the first in your church to organize a Women of Titus Two group and see what happens… something will!

There are many, many more ideas, all of which can be shown to you by God if you take the step to ask Him.

Remember my friend Anne who went to be with the Lord?  I’d like to share with you a portion of an email she sent out just two weeks before her death:

Dear Friends,

I'll have lived 44 years on Tuesday the 22nd.  Yesterday evening we were told by my cancer doctor that because of the swelling in my liver he expects that I have only about two or three weeks to live.
 
I don't like this.  It's shocking.  But I'm continuing to pray that our Lord will extend my life, if it's His will.

Remember Jehosaphat?  He praised the LORD in song in what looked like an impossible situation, and God provided the victory.  I want to do that too.  I don't know what God has in mind, but I sure would value your prayers.
 
God's not finished yet,
Anne

Did you read that?  “God’s not finished yet”.  Even up until the last weeks of her life, Anne prayed that she would do God’s will and that He not be finished yet.

We are called to be obedient servants who put others above ourselves.  Someday, Christ will return for us and we will see paradise!  Forever and ever!  Until then, let’s encourage one another and spur each other on to faithfully finish the race so that someday we will hear Him say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

Mark 9:36  “And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them: and when He had taken him in His arms, He said unto them, ‘Whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receiveth Me: and whosoever receiveth Me, receiveth not Me, but Him who sent Me.’”

John 21:15 “Feed my lambs.”

Moms in the trenches as I am, how are you doing?  I know that when it seems all we do is change diapers and clean runny noses and drive children to and fro, it can be burdensome to think of doing anything more for anyone else.  But are you called to be your children’s helpmeet or your husband’s?  Are you creating a peaceful home for him to return to each evening?  

This is our career.  God has called us to be a helpmeet for him, not the other way around. It is not his job to change diapers when he gets home, although of course asking him to bail you out isn't a sin. 

Have you ever asked him what is the one thing he would like upon his arrival home?  I was once challenged by a friend to do this, and I have to admit, I was very afraid.  What if he told me that he wanted the house spotless, the kids showered and in jammies, and dinner fully prepared?  It was with fear and trembling that I approached him one night and asked, "Hon, what's the one thing you'd love to have upon your return home each night?"  Know what he said?  A cup of coffee.  That's it.  That's it!  What a simple way to bless the man I love more than any other. 

I asked some other friends what their husbands said, and you might be encouraged to know that at the time Lisa asked her husband they were living in a home with a kitchen counter that was seen immediately from the front door.  He asked that she just have it cleaned off.  Caroline's husband wanted their girls to greet him at the door, and Susan's husband asked for the opposite of what she had assumed- a tidy house but not necessarily a prepared dinner.  So what do you think?

Ask your husband how you’re doing.  Husbands are so good at giving us a perspective different from our own.  Sometimes his view can be painfully honest, but when given in a loving spirit, his words may be just the insight you've been looking for.

If the idea that your husband is your career is abrasive to you, especially because of our society’s “liberated” view, ask God to give you a heart for your husband.  He will give you the desires of your heart.

How about your prayer life?  Is it alive and vivacious, or is it something you barely manage as you push yourself out of bed in the morning, stumbling toward the shower? 

James 5:16 "The fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Young women, you have before you the potential to be wives and mothers for the glory of God.  How are you preparing yourselves for that role?  Are you faithfully soaking up God’s Word daily so that when the tough times come as they inevitably will you are armed with the sword of His precious Word?  How about determining to read through the Bible this year?  Or copying it word for word?  This has been a tremendous blessing in my life; as I have copied the Bible, I have been shown things I never knew existed, and this after a lifetime as a follower of Christ.

Several years ago I attended the funeral of a friend who died of cancer, leaving her husband and 11-year-old son behind.  Anne knew God intimately, and when I would talk to her I would come away with the realization that I do not know my Saviour as she did.  At Anne’s service, someone shared that she and her husband were on their 8th time through the Bible together.  Does that inspire you?  Do you understand the correlation between her intimate relationship with the Lord and her faithfulness to hiding His Word in her heart?  When the tough times came this past year, when she was so ill she couldn’t move from her recliner, when she stopped being able to provide food for her family and had to rely on friends to do so, Anne had the promises of God’s Word repeating in her head, feeding her soul and nourishing her tired heart.  

Are you coming alongside your mother, grandmother, or other adult women and learning how to do the practical stuff that comes with keeping a home?  Let me put it this way: if you were thrown into my home tomorrow and told you had to feed, dress, teach, and otherwise care for my seven children, could you do it?  Do you know how to plan a meal?  Change a light bulb?  Budget for a one-income family?  Repair clothing?  Plant a kitchen garden?  Change a diaper?  Bathe a baby?  Take meals to the sick?  You don’t?  Well, then you have some work to do!  Because a life of purpose entails all of these things and more.  Even if God never brings you a husband, did you know that you will still be called to love children and be a keeper of your home? 

We serve a faithful God who keeps all His promises.  There isn’t one in Scripture in which He hasn’t come through.  His Word is filled with promises of everlasting and eternal glory for those who surrender to Him, those who put their complete trust in His faithfulness, those who understand what it means to take up their cross and follow.

Isaiah 33:17 “Thine eyes shall see the King in His beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off.”

Matthew 5:12 “Rejoice, and be exceedingly glad: for great is your reward in heaven.”

Luke 12:32  “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom of heaven.”

John 10:28 “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”

John 14:2  “In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.”

But how many of us are looking for that eternal glory, that paradise of rest here on earth?  How many of us are seeking to put down the plow, so to speak, and lounge the afternoon away? 

Early on in my journey of motherhood I learned an important lesson: God does not allow us the privilege of a life poolside.  Does that make your heart sink?  Does it make you feel squirmy, like a child trying to get out of doing his chores?  Thankfully, we also serve a God who is patient, long-suffering, and kind.  He will teach us obedience if we surrender to His call.

Psalm 25:10  “All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenants and His testimonies.”

Psalm 112:1  “Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in His commandments.”

Psalm 119:2 “Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart.
vv.4-6 Thou hast commanded us to keep Thy precepts diligently.  O that my ways were directed to keep Thy statutes!  Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all Thy commandments.
v. 10 With my whole heart have I sought Thee; O let me not wander from Thy commandments.

Psalm 143:10 “Teach me to do Thy will; for Thou art my God: Thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness.”

In my next post, I'll try to spur you on to greater service, to give you ideas for ways to serve the Lord with gladness until the day He takes you home.   This life is hard, and I think that in America we tend to forget that God has placed us on this earth to serve Him, not ourselves.  Much as we want it to be, it’s not about us!  Can you believe it?

 

Debbie recently wrote me the following letter, which made me stop and think about our view of the day-to-day in the light of eternity. 

My mom used to say that phrase a lot- "in the light of eternity"- referring to any choice we had to make however weighty or inconsequential.  "Will this matter, in the light of eternity?", she would ask.  I find it a good gauge when I need to make a quick decision, such as allowing a child out in public with a gel-induced mohawk and an indian costume; will this matter in the light of eternity?  Of course, a costumed child isn't a big deal, but when the question is posed in response to a choice I must make about a child's education, or how I have shown or not shown my husband respect during the day, it can put a spin on it that I wasn't expecting, in the moment.

Kendra,

I was listening to a podcast last night about a homeschool mom whose husband was diagnosed with cancer in Nov. 04 and died in July 05.  She spoke of God's faithfulness to her and also of all the things she did not realize her husband took care of for her while he was still living.

My husband is a pastor and it sure made me think of his message on Sunday from Genesis 23 about Sarah's death.  His main point was that life is temporary and we should live for eternity.  We do this by pursuing holiness ("for without holiness no one can see the Lord") and we pursue holiness by trusting fully in Christ and obeying him.  We know that we are believers if we love God, love other believers, and we obey God's commands.  We cannot obey perfectly and that is why we must trust in Christ who did obey perfectly.

The reason I got up this morning and sent you this e-mail was because I was laying in bed thinking how that we, as women and managers of our homes, should prepare some kind of list that details the things that we do each day so that if we ever have an absence from our family, for what ever reason, our husbands and children would know what to do.  We are called to be their "help mates" and this is one way we could help them.  Just a thought!

Debbie

It's a good thought, isn't it?  Having enough forethought to leave our husbands and children with a play book, so to speak, would be a huge blessing and could influence them long after our death. 

May I share with you some wisdom my husband emailed to me at a particularly stretching time of my life?  I have edited some of what he wrote for personal content, but I thought the remainder might bless you, too, today.

So, somewhere along the way you got the idea that you can do it all.

Here's your reminder:  you can't do it all... stop trying.

Expect to not accomplish much today!

Expect frustration!

Expect both sets of workers (we were renovating bathrooms at the time) to show up late or not show up at all.

Expect the tile guy to call with bad news.

Expect H, N, J, A, and C to act like they are the only child in the world.

Expect your faith to be tested and stretched.

Expect to be utterly exhausted by the time I come home.

Expect to want to run away from all of your responsibility.

Expect to believe that you stink at all you are doing.

Expect to believe that you are not making a difference and that what you do is never enough.

Expect no one to be appreciative of you.

Expect Satan to sell a lie to you today that "your life would be better if..."

Then when you are done expecting those things, remember a few others:

Remember that Christ sits on the throne.

Remember that He takes pure joy in you and wants you to take pure joy in Him, even in the midst of trials and temptations.

Remember that even if they don't say it, every kid in this house loves you and would be hopelessly lost without you.

Remember that I love you and would be hopelessly lost without you.

Remember that you and I only see each other during the crummiest part of the day.

Remember that Barbara Bush was from deep oil money. (I was reading her biography at the time and wondering how she did all she did)

Remember that H is smart, N is strong, J is sweet, A wants to be like you, C is pure joy, and A needs everything you can give her.

Remember that you could be working at my office and hear about dysfunctional families, corrupt marriages, that “men are p*gs”, and the rest of the stuff I hear...

God tells us that "He KNOWS the plans that He has for us".  Not only does He know them, He wanted them for us.  It's more then just allowing them; He sovereignly chose them for us, so whatever He brings down the pike today- expect it.

Phew!  That gave me a good shot in the arm.  How about you?

2 June 2007

My Dearest Friend-

You asked me to write how I am managing to stay above the emotional line of raising these children and so tonight I am setting to the task of at least beginning to do so.  It is difficult to sort out; so many facets, so many things coming together at once, but I will try to allow the Holy Spirit to use my words to bless you, too.

This has been years in the making, years of struggling with my own selfishness, my own drive toward accomplishing tasks rather than building relationships, years of sighing about the interruptions each child brings to me each day rather than embracing them as the most important features of my life.  Somewhere at some point, I came to believe that life must be smoothly run and annoyance free, filled with daily conveniences.  But that has never been nor will it ever be my reality.  It will never be your reality, nor any other human being’s reality. 

I had heard and nodded in agreement at great quotes like, “Life wouldn’t be so hard if we didn’t always look for it to be easy”, and “Be hard on yourself and life will be easier”, and I had even repeated them in my talks to MOPS and other moms.  But daily, I wasn’t living those truths.  I was still being dictated by what actually lay in the back of my mind unacknowledged but looming like an elephant in the parlor: If only (insert name, situation, annoyance, interruption) would stop interrupting me, I could get (insert task, project, list, accomplishment) done.

The fruit of my constant annoyance and frustration was a loss of joy in the journey, a loss of relationship with the children (oh! my poor children), and worst of all, a great chasm between God and me.  The really pathetic thing is that all of those tasks, projects, and lists don’t ever go away.  14 years into parenting, I am still doing laundry, still knitting, still cooking, still picking up after people.  And 14 years from now I will still be doing laundry, knitting, cooking, picking up after people…

But isn’t it just like our patient, loving, shepherding God to throw me several lifelines?  First, He kept me ever aware of my sin.  You know how I have cried out to God over the years to just take this sin from me?  To free me from my snippiness and outbursts of anger?  He has not lifted that struggle, but He has kept it ever in front of me.  He has not allowed me to stuff it away and pretend it doesn’t exist.  He has forced me to fall down before Him every single day and confess my struggle, before I even roll my body out of bed.

Secondly, He sent mentor after mentor, godly woman on the path after godly woman on the path, either in person or via the internet or CDs.  He has faithfully brought me to the very place I am now, but it has been a slow and painful process.  Still, I am so very, very thankful- really utterly speechless over this one when I realize how many women there are like us who would give anything to sit at just one godly woman’s feet.

And then as you know, several months ago He sent me Cathy Arndt.  I have never met her but watching her mother her children struck a huge chord in me.  We’ve talked about this- she manages her household, she doesn’t get emotionally involved, which means she doesn’t allow the frustrations and annoyances and interruptions to waylay her day.  Bingo!  I felt like the answer had somehow miraculously been given to me.  And it had, because our great God is ever faithful.

Before I get into how I am putting “management” into practice, I don’t want to miss the last tool God has used in me to help me change my whole approach to life.  Six months ago my brother Jeff sent me Mike Mason’s book Champagne for the Soul: Celebrating God’s Gift of Joy.  He didn’t send it for my birthday or for any other reason than that I mentioned I was lacking joy these days.  And while I’ve always been a Mike Mason fan, I have literally wept while reading this book.  Here’s the key for me:

“Happy times may come to anyone haphazardly, but if happiness is to be a part of the character, one must resolutely take hold of it.  One must choose joy, and keep on choosing it under all conditions, until gradually it becomes a habit, a self-sustaining reality.  Lives change not through having some colossal experience but rather by making small, hard, daily choices.”

So, here we are!  Choosing joy!  Every single day.  And these are the “small, hard, daily choices”:

1. As mentioned above, I am laying my sin area at the foot of the cross every single day.  I remember learning in BSF once that we don’t have to die to sin all the time, but I don’t believe it.  I need to approach the throne of grace every single morning of my life and acknowledge my weakness or else I find I don’t have the strength to fight it.  I lay it there at Jesus’ feet, and then I go on with the day.

2. I am not a natural smiler- not because I am unhappy, but because it isn’t a habit.  So I am retraining myself to smile all the time, even when no one is watching.  At first I felt silly, but now I am happy to say that not only is it becoming a habit for me, it changes my entire outlook.  In the midst of some crazy circumstance that would have formerly been a joy-robber for me, I am smiling.

3. I am making a conscious choice to eliminate anything from my life that interferes with the daily joyful management of my family.  If organizing an event for church pushes me back into my old habits, then that activity must go.  If answering the phone or checking my email comes at a bad time in the day, then the answering machine picks up and the email waits.  If commitments, classes, and activities outside of our home mean that I am unduly stressed or that I can’t even get the kids in the car without raising my voice, then I seriously evaluate whether or not those activities and commitments are worth it.  Our summer classes for the boys will be a huge test in this area for me, so I’ll keep you posted.  Feel free to ask me how I’m doing because I can always use the accountability.

4. I am actually thinking to myself at any given moment of the day, “Manage them.”  I literally picture myself staying “above” the circumstances.

5.  I am making a conscious effort to look each child in the eye when they talk to me or ask me a question.

There is nothing deep about what I am doing from day to day, but perhaps that’s why I am finding some success in changing what has been ruling me for far too long.  I cannot, will not allow the tyranny of the urgent to dictate my relationships with each child.  I want them to want to be in this family, I want them to know they are each loved uniquely and that no matter what they do, they still make me smile and still have intrinsic value, assigned to them by God.  But most importantly, I want them to want to be in God’s family, forever.  I want them to know joy in the journey, too.

And you, too.  I’ll be praying for you!

Love you always,

AMBERLY!

I posted late last night on an educational board I frequent.  I asked for help because I have a difficult time being a kind mom when the pressure is on.  Are you surprised?  I hope not.  Those who know me well know I struggle in this area and have asked for prayer.

Several things were mentioned.  Jodi reminded me to take my own advice (thanks, Jodi!) and to re-evaluate my goals.  Point well taken.  MFS reminded me to both acknowledge the fact that my children are getting a superior education (and thus to relax) and to embrace the moment I am in.  In other words, give the child I am with my full attention, give the laundry my best work when it is time to do the laundry, and throw myself into dinner preparation when it is necessary to take on that task, as well, but not to fret about the things I am not doing when I am not doing them!  In other words, as she so succinctly put it, “One of my parenting mantras works well as everyday advice: Focus on the moment you're in. If you're in that moment, in that transaction with your child, whatever it is, the phone and the laundry have no place.”

Others agreed.  And they’re right.  As I re-evaluate the goals we have for each child and for ourselves individually and as a family, I will remember to take each thing as it comes. 

“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”  Matthew 6:34

Recently my boys and I watched Chariots of Fire.  One of the story’s main characters is Eric Liddell, a Scottish missionary’s son, raised in China.  Eric desires to return to China to serve God there but at the same time is trying to reconcile the fact that God has given him great speed as a runner.  I was so struck by the counsel his father gives him in the movie:

“You can praise God by peeling a spud if you peel it to perfection.  Don’t compromise.  Compromise is a language of the devil.  Run in God’s name and let the world stand back and wonder.”

Indeed.

  Some of you have been reading this blog since the beginning, and you have joined me in making a 101 in 1001 list.  How are you doing?  I pulled mine out this week and saw slow progress, but progress nonetheless.  Here it is:

101 in 1001

Begun 4 March, 2006

Growing Spiritually

1. Complete Quiet Rest series

2. Do not complain verbally during this pregnancy  (I’ve worked really hard on this one!)

3. Close my mouth- I don’t always have to be right

4. Watch Raising Godly Children DVDs (April 2006)

Blessing My Husband

5. Clean his desk regularly

6. Schedule twice-monthly dates, including surprise lunches

7. Be involved in the hiring process   (March 2006)

8. Plan romantic nights

9. Trust he’ll accomplish what he’s promised

10. Find a really great lounging chair for him

11. Finish reading Portofino aloud to him

12. Make his favorite meal- shish kebob, pilaf, cucumber salad twice in the summer

13. Take him to Morton’s

14. Book spa weekend in Napa

Blessing Our Children

15. UK with H

16. Williamsburg/DC with boys

17. Visit Adams with girls

18. Teach A to Sew

19. Teach C to knit

20. Finish creating cooking course (April 2006)

21. Begin cooking course

22. Swim with the kids 3x in the summer

23. Keep up with Scripture memorization

24. Teach Jack to do laundry (March 2006)

25. Put one-on-one dates on the calendar (April 2006)

26. Verbally praise more than verbally correct

27. Have a pool party for Ab’s birthday (July 2006)

28. Soak and massage their feet in the winter

29. Focus on manners

30. Treat them to the LaPalooza at the Ice Cream Company

31. Have a pajama ice cream raid on a summer night (Summer 2006)

32. Have a poolside movie night

33. Take them for Shamrock Shakes (March 2006)

Being Busy At Home

34. Remodel schoolroom (April 2006)

35. Re-organize books (March 2006)

36. Keep up with summer house list; get help if needed

37. Remodel kitchen (2008)

38. Drip system in veggie boxes (May 2006)

39. Decks re-done (2006)

40. Plant grass and trees in pasture

41. Can summer bounty (freeze what I can’t get to)

42. Keep scrapbooking updated

43. Find bench for pond

44. Find table and chairs for deck (April 2006)

45. Build arbor for kitchen garden entry

46. Refurnish family room

47. Hold a garage sale; donate money to charity

48. Sort, de-clutter, re-organize craft stuff in laundry room

49. Clear dead plants out of sunroom  (March 2006)

50. Get a new box for girls’ clothes and sort (April 2006)

Blessing Our Extended Family

51. Visit Grandpa B as much as possible

52. Anniversary party for Joe and Cookie

53. Encourage Kelly as she begins to homeschool

54. Invite Casey to stay a week or two with us

55. Keep in touch with Rebekah
56. Plan TX trip

57. Finish Mom’s wrap

58. Pray faithfully for extended family

Blessing Our Church Family

59. Encourage another mom weekly at church with my words or a card

60. Meet regularly with the women A shepherds

61. Joyfully give A in service and time to the church body

62. Surprise three families with ice cream in the summer

63. Take children for three families for an overnighter

 Growing as a Learning-Teacher

64. War and Peace

65. Create a music history curriculum

66. Continue with classics

67. Finish books in the bedside basket

Growing in the Arts

68. Take the kids to the SF Opera

69. Take the kids to the Brubeck Festival

70. Take the kids to each local museum once

71. Plan and execute another Christmas or Easter program

72. Record again

73. Plan and perform recital

74. See Sara Groves live

Seeing God's Creation

75. Take the kids to the beach by myself each summer for a do-nothing day at Capitola

76. Walk with the kids every day during third trimester

77. Pack picnics and head to the park to sketch the ducks

78. Ice skate in Curry Village

79. Go to Forestiere Underground Gardens

80. View the next lunar eclipse

81. Pull out the telescope and leave it on the deck all summer

82. Book a weekend at Costanoa or Treebones Resort

Completing My Tasks

83. File the “To File” stack, summer 2006

84. Slim in Six after the baby is born, and complete all six weeks

85. Power 90 after SI6

86. Complete all school paperwork by August

87. Get kids’ passports

88. Finish book

89. Publish book

90. Make sure all TOS reviews are in under the three-month mark

91.Complete funeral plans

92. Finish family tree

93. Frame and hang family tree

 Managing Our Finances

94. Turn Upromise savings into 529 account

95. Save 4k for UK trip

96. Record spending for two months and come under budget

97. Give $50 each month to some unsuspecting soul (ask God’s guidance)

Miscellaney

98. Go one weekend a month without checking email

99. Take the kids to a UOP basketball game

100. Travel somewhere by train

101. Take care of my nails

No, I am NOT Super Mom.  And because I am not, I need a little help.  So I take Super Mom!  This is the first pregnancy in seven where I feel really terrific at the end.  I have to believe that some of that is due to the regular chiropractic care I’m getting, but I also believe Super Mom is responsible for my high energy, great skin (for me), and lack of any swelling.  No bulbous nose!

Elisabeth Elliot's devotionals are so rich and thought-provoking, it's difficult to single any one out as really great.  But this is yet another one that I think speaks directly to us as homeschooling moms.

Daily devotions for 12-04-2006:

Title: Teaching Children
Author: Elisabeth Elliot
Devotion: Elisabeth Elliot
Book: Keep A Quiet Heart
Do you enjoy this devotional? Send it on to a friend!

____________________________________________________________

Title: Teaching Children

How many times between the ages of three and ten
do children have to answer the only two questions
adults can think of to ask them: How old are you?
and What are you going to be when you grow up?

The second question may seem innocuous, but is
it? In the first place, many children may be
distressed at being required to make a choice
which is far beyond them. In the second place, it
implies that the choice is theirs. This can lead
to great confusion later on. The child will grow
up physically, but spiritually he will not have
begun until he learns that Jesus died not only to
save him from sin but in order that he should
live not for himself but for Him who died (see 2
Corinthians 5:15 and l John 3:16). If a young
person has been taught from childhood that he
ought to "be something" without at the same time
being shown that nothing is better than being
God's servant, he may be preoccupied with
ambitions and ideals he has gotten solely from
the world. If his conception of "where it's at"
has nothing to do with the Kingdom of God, he is
in for trouble when it comes time to discern the
Will of God. He will be setting limits to his
obedience, defining the terms of his service.
"For My sake" is a concept children can grasp
much earlier than we generally suppose. A little
boy wrote to me that he was learning to lay down
his life for others. To him this meant that
sometimes when he would rather play he lay down
beside his little sister to help her go to sleep.


Pray that God will show you how to teach your
children that life is meant to be lived for God.
"You are not the owner of your own body. You have
been bought, and at what a price! Therefore bring
glory to God in your body" (1 Corinthians 6:20,
PHILLIPS). Help your child to understand that the
Lord is his Shepherd, and he is a little lamb.
The Shepherd will gladly show him the right
pathway if he is willing to follow.
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