Have you ever wished you had some gift from God you don’t have? Personally, I would love to be able to compose music and have an awesome singing voice. God however, to this point, has not put a single original song in my brain and I am learning to be content with just a passable singing voice.
Now, I could get really obsessive about those musical gifts God didn’t give me. I could become envious of those who have those gifts and make them feel guilty about using their gifts instead of allowing me to show them I am almost as gifted as they are in those areas. I could whine and complain, beg God, force others to pretend I have those gifts or even convince myself I have gifts I clearly don’t have. Or, I could focus on the gifts God did give me. I could develop them to their fullest potential and find all kinds of creative and fun ways to use them in service to God.
Unfortunately, I think we are subtly teaching our children that instead of focusing on the “page” or gifts and opportunities God gave them, they should compete with others to have the “best” gifts. There are a couple of messages our children are learning, which frankly I think are lies satan is promoting to undermine the Church.
Continue reading Teaching Kids to Focus on the “Paper” God Gave Them
This probably never happens in your home, but have you ever had one of those parent miming conversations? You know, when one parent is taking a very strong conversational path with the kids while the other parent is desperately signaling to switch topics immediately. Which, as the signals are ignored, get more obvious and often end with the signaling parent muttering “don’t you know ‘this’ means stop talking?”
Our daughter had a teacher who made a habit of thanking her students at the end of every class. She also expected them to thank her in return. It was interesting to watch the process over time. At first the students looked a little stunned a teacher was thanking them. For a little while she needed to remind a few to thank her in return. Pretty soon though, all of the students sang out thank you’s which were very heartfelt.
Gardens are one of the best tools for teaching kids about God. The plants themselves hold lessons from Proverbs, parables and other places in scripture. Working in the garden can help kids practice lots of godly characteristics from patience to “working as if working for the Lord.” The resulting produce can be used to serve others in lots of ways.
by Karen Newcomb. Even though I was raised with a very large one half acre garden in our yard, much has been forgotten over the years of living in inner cities and suburbs. This book fills in any gaps for those who have forgotten things and has everything a true beginner will need to know to succeed.