Being Intentional in the things that Matter to us Most

I wrote last week about being intentional with our kids when it comes to helping them know who God is, and how much He loves them. I want them to know Him so deeply and personally so that one day, if they find themselves feeling alone, they know that God will never leave them, nor forsake them (Deut. 31:8).  One way for them to experience God is through us, their parents. For us to model our lives after Christ, and to have those spiritual conversations with them.  To teach them about this awesome God of the universe that made them and loves them so much.

Saturday night, Kara and I played golf in a fundraiser with our husbands (on a side note, we won second place...yay us!).  During dinner, the conversation turned to football. Kara is a diehard Broncos fan and Kameron (her husband) is a diehard Dolphins fan. Ty, my husband, is a Vikings fan, but I decided long ago that the Vikings weren't for me (sorry honey!). 

Kara and Kam both gave me their arguments as to why I should be a Broncos or a Dolphins fan. I won't go into who had the more compelling argument... That's for another time. 

But what interests me about the conversation is how little I know about football. I realized at that moment that I didn't know a lot about football because my parents weren't really into sports, so football was never a topic of discussion at our dinner table.  People talk about things they are interested in all the time. They talk about what they fill their minds with most.  They talk about what they are knowledgeable about because it's comfortable to them.  Whether it's the latest movie or show they watched, a book they're reading, working out, nutrition, sports, politics, the latest fashion trends, the best sales going on in town, home remodels... You name it.    

But as a society, rarely do we bring God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit into our conversations. Sure, we call on Him in times of need, but, I'm guilty of it too... we don't always bring Him with us to the dinner table.  And I just saw a statistic in a recent Barna study that Waterloo/Cedar Rapids was ranked 88 out of 96 of America's least Bible-minded cities (I read this on the first page of The Challenge workbook my church is doing together for the next 10 weeks.)

On another side note, if interested in digging deeper, check out the following link and let me know if you'd be interested.  A group of us are doing this together and it should be pretty fun!

The Challenge...Go Deep. Read Big.

Anyway, back to what we were talking about... One of the most precious things to me is hearing my kids throw around words like heaven, baptism, grace, Michael (the angel), Lucifer, sneaky snake, Adam and Eve, etc.  Some of the conversations you'd hear out of my 4 year old's mouth are hilarious!  Just the other day we were driving to church and Ty and I were talking about the baptisms we were about to witness, and Cooper  pipes in: "Dad, remember when I was in heaven, and you, and sissy, and mommy all got baptismed?  I was in heaven and didn't want to get baptismed because there were sharks in the water".  No, baptismed isn't a typo...that's just what he called it.  What a fun conversation we had about baptisms, and since his curiosity was peaked, we let him watch the baptisms at church that morning.  He was seriously in awe.  What an awesome experience for Ty and me as parents!

You know I love analogies.  If you love golf, and you decide you want to become a golf family, your kids will suddenly start learning words like: irons, woods, driver, back 9, front 9, chip, slice... You get my drift.  You start practicing golf, and you start speaking golf.  You go to the driving range.  You play 9 holes.  You start hanging out at your local golf store.  You start watching you tube videos on golf, or you watch "Golfing for Dummies" (I'm not kidding.  My friend Shannon and I are totally going to watch this with a group of our girlfriends pretty soon).  You re-prioritize your time to make room in your life for golf and you form new habits to get better at the game of golf.  

If you are a new Christ follower, or maybe you're a parent new at this, and are wondering how to incorporate talking about Jesus with your children, bringing these life giving words into your daily speech, it's pretty simple.  You have to do the same thing as you would learning to play golf.  You'll add  new habits to your day; at first unfamiliar and uncomfortable.

1.  Grab a children's bible.  Read from it to your kids every night, from beginning to end.  Then start over and go through it again.  I promise you'll learn something, and you'll start bringing these stories into your daily life. 

  2.  Find a bible teaching church with a great children's ministry.  Go every week.  Make it a priority for a year.  I guarantee it'll change you.  By making it a priority, you are showing your children that God is a priority.  You're also exposing them to biblical teaching catered to their ages.  You can take that bible teaching and use it during the week to help you with starting the habit of talking about God during the week, not just on Sundays.  

3.  If you have someone close to you that is a Christ follower, ask them if you could jump into a bible study with them.  If they aren't currently doing one, maybe they'd start one with you, or maybe they'd be able to give you suggestions to help you.  As believers, we were never meant to walk alone.  When Jesus sent his disciples out to teach, he sent them out two by two (Mark 6:7).

4.  Listen to a Christian radio station.  There are some really amazing songs out right now by Christian artists that are so uplifting and beautiful.  As I started to grow, I started realizing that a lot of Christian lyrics were written from verses straight out of the Bible.  What an awesome way to learn!  And it's something you can do so easily while getting ready in the morning with your kids, while driving them to school, or in your car on your way to work.  How sweet a sound when your kids start singing along with you!  

5.  Just do it.  Take what you are learning and start practicing talking with your children.  At first, it'll be really awkward, especially if your child is older.  But the more intentional you make it, the more you practice, the more natural it becomes. I promise!

Start in the morning when you wake up by thanking God for 10 things.  I thank God for my warm, comfortable bed and warm showers every morning.  Being thankful for the simple things helps me start my day with the right frame of mind for my family.

With your kids, you can simply say: "Wow, God made a beautiful sunset tonight!"  Or when your 4 year old says: "I was fast running today, mom", your response could be: "You know why you're fast?  Because God made you fast!".

You can make a habit of praying with them in the morning...simple things like: "God, be with Isabella today in everything she does, and help her be a blessing to others".

You can simply be intentional about thanking God for every meal you eat.

At bedtime, you can ask your kids what beautiful things God brought into their day.  What are they thankful for?  One of Cooper's tonight was: "I'm thankful for my play date with Thomas and Kellen".  So simple and sweet!!!

When it comes to obedience, if your child is making bad choices, you can say something like:  "Do you think God would be happy with that choice, or sad with that choice?"

There is so much I could share, but these are just a couple of suggestions.  Don't try to do it all at once.  Maybe incorporate one at a time, and add on when you feel you can handle it.  Just be intentional, and don't quit!!!

Incorporating God into the fabric of our lives has been challenging, fun, and rewarding.  I pray that these tips will help you and your family as they've helped us.  And remember, these aren't things I came up with on my own.  I learned them from more mature Christ followers when I was just starting my walk.  I practice all of the above now, and these simple things help me learn new things every day!

Love, C.