The only ‘normal’  that our young children know is what they see, feel and live out in our care. I was challenged several weeks ago when our pastor asked the congregation how involved we were with people who hadn’t been told about’ the secret of eternal life and the news of a Savior who came to offer that life with Him in Heaven. He asked if  we  were  raising our children to be responsive to the hurting world around us? It’s easy around Christmas time to share God’s love and our wealth and time, but how about February 29th? It reminded me of a time, years ago,  when my 4 sons were 5 years old and younger. I was too tired to even think about adding any extra activities to share the good news.  Looking back, I’m not sure why I thought it would take activities outside of my house to evangelize.  In that season of my life, leaving my home would not have been best for my family.  But, we did make some changes! One of the things that we incorporated into our daily lives was to pray for the people in the 10/40 window.   We used a wonderful book called Window on the World by Daphne Spraggett and Jill Johnstone. Each week we prayed for a country, and then learned more about it. We colored flags and pinned them on a world map.  It became a geography lesson, and SO much more! We can preach to our children until we are blue in the face  about making a difference, and sharing the good news of Jesus, but if they don’t see it carried out in their own home, they will not be fooled. I’ve shared in an earlier post that my brother and I thought that every child went on vacation with one or both sets of grandparents, and that every family went out of their way to help those with mental and physical challenges, and that everyone spent hours and hours a year helping to raise money for the local volunteer ambulance and fire company.  My parents never said a word about it, they lived it. As I heard my pastor’s words, I felt convicted to do more.  I’ve become too comfortable!  Maybe God has been trying to get my attention and I’ve been too out of tune to hear. Tomorrow I’ll share some other things that we did as a family when our children were very young! I’m linking to:
http://womenlivingwell.org/
http://raisinghomemakers.com/

http://wearethatfamily.com/