As we age and grow, many tend to reflect on all the things we learned as a child.  Everything from how to walk, how to ride a bike without training wheels, catching bugs, how to treat others with kindness and respect, grammar school, parenting.  I obviously can’t speak for others; I can however speak for myself.  As I am growing older and raising children; I’m finding that as I have found my way back to God, that my children have so much to learn, and I am, in large part responsible for teaching them so very many things.  Coping with troubles with friends and classmates, little tidbits on cooking (age appropriate), reading, and especially bringing the Lord into our home.  Recently we had a discussion about lying.  I pointed out that it is a sin and 1 of the 10 commandments.  They looked at me oddly.  I stopped what I was doing and sat to explain what those were and broke it down into words they can understand and relate to.  This was a bit challenging to find a way for them to understand.  This got me thinking about how we as a family can have the Lord in our Home MORE, outside of nightly prayer and Sunday services.  Hence this blog on teaching the next generation.  I see it missing in our home and I feel it is missing in most homes.  Sometimes, we don’t know where to start and how best to approach it. 

I love reading daily devotional books, they teach the word, share a way to relate it and encourage us.  But speaking honestly, I never feel like it’s enough for me.  I’ve sat to read children's Bible stories with my kids, but again; yes it teaches a story and morals, but I don’t feel it is enough either.  Recently I found a devotional book for girls (my kiddos at home are girls).  I thumbed through it and thought it might be a good start.  The devotional is “365 Days to Knowing God for Girls” by Carolyn Larsen.  My husband and I thought it would be a great way to start the day with them over breakfast.  My thought process to this is, if we send them out into the world first thing in the day with the lesson in the front of their mind, it may stick there longer.  I’m here to tell you it works.  We have been doing this all month in April.  The girls love it, they ask as soon as they sit for breakfast to do it.  Both have even come home after school and told me more times than not how they applied what we are learning.  This is so very encouraging.  I am of the crafty sort; I am working on a sign for our home with the 10 Commandments in words they understand. 

That aside, I believe deep down as a parent we set the role and example.  If you observe humanity, we tend to emulate the environment we are in.  Young siblings emulate older siblings.  They even love to play copy games with us.  If we take the time; even 5 minutes in the morning; to teach them something from the bible and make it relatable to them and what they are going through, it will make a difference.  Not just a difference, but THE difference.  It truly is our responsibility to teach them the morals we want them to live by.  Look at society, the Devil is infiltrating everything and breaking down those morals we were all taught.  So not only by teaching our young, but we are also reminding ourselves the importance of keeping God in our lives and homes.  Putting up the shield from evil.  The key thing here is that while teaching them, we are relearning and in this with the help and guidance of the Lord; he is our invisible training wheels and keeps us all safe and loved.  Keep teaching the next generation and anyone no matter their age when you see they need a little guidance.