Full confession here. In a family full of artists, I’m not very artistic. I do however, have a love of all things connected to art…the finished works of art, but all those fun supplies as well. If you have kids, you probably have all sorts of markers, crayons, paints and other art materials around your house.
Did you know you can use the art supplies you already have at home to help your kids grow spiritually? There are some fun types of art projects you can give your kids that will help them learn more about God and who He wants them to be in life.
Here are some of our favorites.
Memory art. Studies have found that drawing something can help you remember it better. Have your kids illustrate Bible stories. Encourage them to double check the elements of their design with scripture to make sure their drawings are accurate.
Scripture art. Illustrating specific verses of scripture and writing the full verse on the work of art can serve multiple purposes. First it is a variation of memory art in the very creation of the piece. If you display the finished products, the constant exposure to that scripture can also make it easier for your kids to eventually memorize it. If you regularly point out the scripture and how your family applies it, scripture art can help eventually help them understand how to use that verse in their daily lives.
Psalms art. The Psalms are a great example of people expressing their faith and their emotions to God. Over the years they have been used as songs and prayers. Your kids can create their own works of art that serve as Psalms. Have them draw how they are feeling and what they would like to say to God. Studies show art is a great way to help people process events and emotions. What better way than by including the idea of talking to God in the process?
Service art. Whether it’s a mural for an orphanage or a drawing for a lonely older person, your kids can use their art to serve others and point them to God.
Comprehension art. Art can help children process the application principles in a Bible story. After you discuss an application principle, have them illustrate what that would look like lived out in their lives.
So pull out those art supplies and use them to help your kids grow spiritually. It’s a fun way to help them learn how to become who God wants them to be.
When I was young, almost every Sunday school teacher made you memorize scripture. Not those little one verse deals that come with the curriculum. These adults were seriously motivated to have us memorize large chunks of the Bible.
In third grade, my Sunday school teacher made us memorize John 1:1-14 and John 14:1-14. It took a lot of practice, but I finally memorized them (in King James English I might add!). To this day, when anyone starts quoting either passage, I’m there by barely glancing at the text.
Memorization of scripture has become a lost art. Those quick little verses some children are given are glanced at two seconds before saying them to the teacher and just as quickly forgotten.
Your kids need God’s words tattooed on their hearts (metaphorically speaking of course!). Their minds should be able to quickly think of the passage of scripture they need when in the midst of making a pivotal decision. They may not recall every word perfectly years from now, but they should at least remember the gist of the passage.
Putting scripture into the long term memories of your kids, requires in part a lot of repetition – especially meaningful repetition with memory hooks. There are some fun ways to help your kids practice important passages of scripture, while also giving them those little hooks or tricks to bring those memories back when they need them most.
Here are some of our favorites.
Paint it. Writing by hand and drawing can help children remember things. Grab the art materials around your house and encourage your kids to create scripture art. Create a display area where you have a rotating exhibit of their works of scripture art.
Sing it. Singing makes memorizing anything easier. There are plenty of great songs available that contain important scriptures. Go one step further and have your kids write their own scripture songs. If they aren’t particularly musical, they may want to use a familiar tune and substitute the scripture for the normal lyrics. (This works best when you match the Bible verse syllable for syllable with the original lyrics.)
Rap it. For kids who prefer rap music, they may want to create a rap using the Bible verses as lyrics.
Use it decoratively. Our daughter has a pair of Toms shoes with her favorite Bible verse on them along with other decorative elements. Or have a child that enjoys needlework or sewing create a pillow or wall hanging using the scripture. Paint scripture on a plate. The more your kids see important scriptures daily, the more they may become engrained in their hearts and minds.
Tape it to the mirror. Write down important scriptures on note cards and tape them to the mirror your kids use multiple times a day.
Work it into everything. Have you ever known anyone with one of those word a day calendars? It’s fun to watch them try to create opportunities to use the ridiculously difficult word in casual conversation multiple times during the day. Why not challenge your family to do the same with the Bible verse or at least the gist of it…perhaps for a week instead of a day. It’s okay if it gets a tad silly, because in this case you want them repeating it a lot. A funny memory attached to the scripture may also help them remember it better even years from now.
Play a game. Have your kids create a game using a lot of different Bible verses. The more fun you can make it for your family, the more often it may get played…giving your kids more necessary repetitions.
Make connections. Help your kids connect scriptures to familiar objects. God gave Noah the rainbow to help remind Noah of God’s promise to him. You can give your kids similar memory hooks to help them remember important scriptures. What if they connect Psalm 23 so strongly with the image of a sheep, they think of it every time they see sheep? Many scriptures have similar connections to objects. Remind your kids periodically that every time they see a particular object, they should think of that passage.
Your kids will find it easier to make godly choices when God’s words are firmly in their hearts and minds. Taking the time to help them memorize scripture will make it much more likely they will know the verses they need for any occasion.
Priorities and time management are important for any young person to learn. They take on an added dimension though for children being raised in Christian homes. Without properly aligned priorities and great time management skills, it is easy for the things Christians need to do to be strong spiritually and to do the good works God has prepared for them to get lost in the shuffle.
So what are some good ways to help your kids establish good habits in prioritizing their lives and managing their time?
Examine the ministry of Jesus. Jesus accomplished a lot during his relatively short ministry on earth. He was able to do that because he had his priorities straight and managed his time well. Point out how Jesus didn’t try to make a lot of money because that would have distracted from his ministry. He didn’t waste his time trying to convert Caesar, but focused most of his teaching time on people who wanted to learn what he had to teach them. He also didn’t work non-stop, but took time out regularly to rest and connect with God.
Constantly reevaluate schedules. Part of the problem with setting priorities and time management is that we rarely analyze what is on our plate. We just keep piling new things on without considering the wisdom or practicality of it. We don’t regularly look at our schedules and see what priorities may need to be shifted or if some things need to be removed our added to our days. Teach your kids how to do this. Schedule a regular time when your family gets together and looks at individual and family commitments and decides on any needed changes.
Have them help plan vacations and outings. There are always plenty of options for ways to spend time on a vacation or outing. What are the best ways to spend that time? What will everyone enjoy and benefit from doing – even if it is just sleeping in and getting needed rest? The more you involve your kids in making these every day choices, the more practice they can get in setting healthy priorities and practicing good time management skills.
Practice Sabbath type rest. Good time management doesn’t mean you are working every minute of every day. Unfortunately the way most young people “rest” when they have free time doesn’t really help them restore their energy. Jesus set a great example. Real rest often requires quiet, scripture, prayer, music, exercise, creating something and of course sleep. Real rest will not come from watching a screen. Christians aren’t required to practice rest on a specific day…which means you can rest like Jesus – on any day or a little every day. It’s important that it be regular though. Don’t wait until your kids get cranky and stressed before encouraging a healthy rest. Setting aside time to rest in spiritually healthy ways as a family can help you all establish healthier habits.
Play games with timers. Young children struggle with the concept of time. Even older children aren’t particularly aware of how long a specific period of time lasts. Teens may struggle with estimating how long something will take to complete. Playing board games with timers can help your kids have a better concept of time and what might realistically be accomplished in a certain amount of time.
Run races. There are plenty of 5k races your family can run and many also have 1k distances for children. Running races and trying to improve your times is a great way to understand how little things can make a huge difference in how long it takes to complete a task. What modifications result in a faster completion time? How can those principles be applied to other things that need to be completed by a deadline?
Take advantage of the current mandatory homeschooling. Parents of homeschoolers will tell you one of the benefits is that their children learn how to self manage their time very well. In fact, elite universities often appreciate former homeschoolers because they are able to handle the independent schedule of a college student better than many young people who attended public or private schools. Use whatever time you have in the current homeschooling caused by the pandemic to encourage your kids to manage their own schedules. Talk about what is working and where they are struggling. If your children return to school, encourage them to manage their own schedules rather than having teachers or you micromanage it for them.
Teaching your kids how to prioritize and manage their time well takes effort on your part. It is worth it though, when they can use that time to serve God and become who He wants them to be.
Self control is a fruit of the Spirit with a definition that is the same for both people who are secular and Christians. The one twist is that a Christian’s self control can lessen the chances of temptations leading to sinful behaviors.
Did you know that a famous longitudinal study found that self control is a crucial predictor of success in school, careers and relationships? Have you noticed it seems to be less valued and practiced in our world today than even a few decades ago? (Or at least people aren’t trying as hard to hide their lack of self control).
Because of the current climate in our world, you will need to help your kids understand WHY self control is so important to God. Otherwise, they will get caught up in a world view that says it’s important to “live your truth” and express it loudly to anyone and everyone.
Samson in the book of Judges is a great example of a person who seemed to have real self control issues pretty much his entire life. God was able to use Samson in spite of his lack of self control, but one can only imagine what Samson’s life might have been like if he could have controlled his words and actions.
The Apostle Peter is another great example of someone who at times suffered from a lack of self control. Point out to your kids that as Peter learned some hard lessons from Jesus, God was able to use him more and more…to the point where he became an effective evangelist and author of two books in the Bible.
There are some fun ways to help your kids practice self control. It’s important to understand a huge part of self control is self awareness. What is my body getting ready to do? What does my mouth want to say? Recognizing the warning signs that they are about to lose control and walking away instead is huge. It’s much easier to stop ourselves from beginning a sinful behavior than it is to stop when we are already sinning.
Creatingawareness. You can start by asking your kids to show you how you act when you are happy, sad, mad, etc. Have they figured out the warning signs that they are about to get in trouble? Make this light hearted and fun. If you have trouble laughing at yourself, show photos of people expressing different emotions and see if your kids can correctly identify them. After you have had some fun, ask them if they can tell when they are beginning to get angry? When are other times they tend to get in trouble for not having self control? Have they noticed warning signs right before they make a bad choice? Give them strategies to use at the first sign they may soon lose control. Help them practice them and provide gentle reminders (like a secret hand signal) when you see warning signs, but they seem oblivious.
You can’t eat just one. Is there a temptation your kids seem to have trouble avoiding? It doesn’t have to be food, but that is often more fun. How long can they walk past that chocolate chip cookie (or whatever) without giving in to the temptation to eat it? Who in your family can avoid eating their favorite treat the longest? At some point, you can declare a winner and allow everyone their treat. As you enjoy, talk about strategies they used to resist the temptation a little longer. Could any of those strategies help them in other situations?
Baking and serving. Nothing is more tempting when cooking than fresh baked goods! Get your kids to help you make a dessert or bread that smells great when baking. Then take every morsel and give it to someone else. Afterwards talk about how hard it was to share and not keep at least a little for yourselves. How can they remember to deny themselves and serve others when they have the opportunity? (Putting other’s needs before your own is both scriptural and a way to practice self control.)
Controlling words and thoughts. Controlling their actions is easier for some kids than others. For kids who seem to have self control, begin discussing the need to control our words, thoughts and attitudes in addition to our behaviors. Since much of this is between only them and God or can be easily hidden or justified in their minds, this is a deeper discussion for older kids and teens. Have them look for people in the Bible and in the real world who seem to have good behaviors, but their words and attitudes indicate their heart may not be as self controlled as their actions. What are things they can do to be aware of any issues they have in these areas and address them? Can they benefit from others helping hold them accountable in some way? (This is a great way to also point out some of the possible benefits of being in a healthy Christian community.)
Self control is so important to living the Christian life, you must spend a lot of time working on it with your kids. If they have poor self control, they will have a very difficult time obeying God.
Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit that seems somewhat straightforward, yet we don’t talk about it very often. The technical definition of gentleness is the quality of being kind, tender, mild-mannered, softness of action or effect.
The original word in the Bible that is translated as gentleness in English has a deeper meaning though. It is more closely correlated to power in restraint, particularly in regards to God’s power. It is understanding the power we have through God, but choosing to be restrained and exercise that knowledge and power without undue harshness.
At times Christians will allude to gentleness when they discuss the need to speak the truth in love. Teaching the lost they are lost is often best received when we approach them with love and kindness along with God’s truths.
So how can we begin to teach our kids about gentleness when it is so much deeper than the secular definition implies? Because the original word includes the normal definition of gentleness with an added dimension, you can start at the beginning.
Restraining strength. If you have a toddler and a new baby, kitten or puppy in the house, you understand this dynamic very well. Teach your kids their words and actions have power…power to encourage, help or destroy. They must make wise choices about how much strength and power they need to use in a given situation. Often the best idea for young people, because of their lack of life experience, is to start slow. This is more fun when practiced with animals. How gently should they touch a baby animal versus an adult? Should they be firmer with an animal with a tough hide than an animal with very sensitive skin? As they experiment, talk about what happens. Older children can begin drawing comparisons to how they interact with people.
Gentle or harsh. Find examples in film, children’s books or other places of people being gentle or harsh. Can your children correctly identify the people who are being gentle and those who are being harsh? Older children may be able to find ways those being harsh could have accomplished their goals in a more gentle fashion.
Gentle or weak? Young people can become confused by the biblical concept of gentleness, especially if their environment seems to require a tough exterior to survive. Find examples in the Bible when someone chose to be gentle rather than harsh, but in so doing showed their strength more than if they had acted differently. The life of Jesus is filled with these examples. Even when Jesus might have appeared to be harsh with the Pharisees, he was being gentle…he had the ability to have them struck dead on the spot, but gave them opportunities to change and grow spiritually instead by using milder actions to make them aware of their sins. Have them find examples in their own environment of ways they can show their strength better with their gentleness than being harshly “strong”.
Don’t break them. Have your children handle fragile things very gently. When demonstrating how to be gentle, drop something fragile and let it break (an egg works well if you can tolerate the mess). Somewhat frantically ask your kids to help you “fix” the thing you broke. Even if it is something you can glue back together, point out the cracks and how it will never be as strong or as perfect as it once was. Point out that when we are harsh with others our words and actions can have the same impact on them. We can break people and leave them more fragile if we aren’t careful with them. Talk about ways we break others and ways we can accomplish important goals without destroying others in the process.
Delivering “bad” news. Often we think of being gentle in a more biblical way when we have to tell people something they don’t want to hear – some sort of bad news. Show your kids a film clip or passage in a book when someone had to deliver bad news. We’re they gentle or blunt? Have them notice that although the person is still saddened by the news, they feel more loved and/or supported when someone told them gently and provided comfort or help after gently delivering the news. Role play giving the types of bad news they may have to deliver to their friends. How can they give the news gently? More importantly, how can they show love and give support after the bad news is given to someone?
Teaching your kids how to be gentle in biblical ways can improve their ability to serve others well and share their faith effectively. It’s worth taking the time and effort to discuss gentleness and help them practice it.
