parenting 101

"Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your heart. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up". Deutoronomy 6:4-7

so straighforward, so basic, so simple. so not the focus most of the time. i love these verses because they remind me what i'm supposed to be doing. i'm sure those Isrealite mommys and daddys got caught up providing for their kids, taking care of things around the house, working hard in their jobs/slave labor, loving their families, etc. all very good things, but not the things God chose to command above the rest. no. instead, he says "love me with your entire being". "talk about me and make me known". isn't that what we were created for? to love God, to know Him, and make Him known?

i want to share an article that my husband found on the Gospel Coalition website. great website and a wonderful resource for numerous topics. anyways, this particular article is about talking to your kids about the sermon. sounds simple, right? i realize this is a bit premature for where i am as a parent, but i thought it was a good habit to get into, so by the time our kid(s) are older (and born, haha!), we have made this a part of our day. i don't know about you, but some weeks i forget what was taught before i've even left the church building! my favorite thing about this article is that discussing the preacher's sermon not only encourages dialogue and relationship with our kids, but it causes me to internalize the Gospel as well. and, the more i preach the Gospel to myself and hide its Truth in my heart, the more i am able and desire to discuss it (as i sit down, while i walk along the road, when i lie down and when i get up...)! check out the article here!