To Parents: Discipleship

I heard sermons on discipleship today and last Sunday.  Discipleship has become a very big emphasis at my church, but with all the emphasis on discipleship, a particular component has been strangely lacking: the discipleship of our children.

I’m feeling more and more strongly about this all the time.  It’s an often unspoken assumption that parents disciple their children, that a child’s spiritual formation begins at home.  But I’m beginning to think more and more that although its assumed we do it, very few of us parents actually set aside a specific time each week to spend one on one time with our children to read the Bible and talk together about what it says.  I think that its far too easy in the midst of our very busy lives to not schedule time with our kids and when we don’t have time to do it, we think to ourselves, “They have Sunday school and youth group; its ok if I didn’t have time this week.”  And as that becomes a pattern, we don’t even give a thought to discipling our kids, and we believe they’re covered by what they get in church.

I think we’ve been lulled into believing a lie.  That our children don’t need us to disciple them because there are programs that cover that.  I had a big wake-up call a couple of weeks ago, which I posted about, when I had an ‘M-study’ with my 5 1/2 year old.  We spent 45 minutes reading the Bible and talking and he wasn’t even getting bored.  It is so very important to disciple our children.  I need to take seriously what it says in Deuteronomy 6: “6And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands I am giving you today. 7Repeat them again and again to your children (italics mine). Talk about them when you are at home and when you are away on a journey, when you are lying down and when you are getting up again.”

I think one of the roadblocks people encounter when it comes to discipleship is that they themselves have never been discipled and so don’t feel qualified to disciple someone else.  Maybe a person has not been discipled but don’t let our children say the same thing when they become adults.  I hope my kids will be able to say that their parents discipled them and so they don’t have to feel intimidated to disciple someone else.  The other roadblocks to discipleship (time, fear, etc.) should be the easiest to overcome when discipling our own children.  This should be the least scary form of discipleship because we already have a relationship with our children; we live in the same house so we should be able to find time somewhere; we may not feel qualified, but how many of us feel qualified to parent and yet we do it anyway, trusting God to give us the wisdom we need to raise our kids up in His ways.

Lastly, if we disciple a number of people throughout our lifetimes, but didn’t disciple our own children, haven’t we missed the most important part?

Posted in Church || 4 Comments

Supermom’s Kryptonite

I’m now approximately 11 weeks into my pregancy and have encountered much ‘prego brain’.  As my husband puts it, “Pregancy is like kryptonite to supermom”.  Where once I could tell you where almost everything was in our house (even the stuff I hadn’t last put away), I can’t even remember where I put something yesterday, or even remember if I put it away or if someone else had.  I’m also much more emotional.  I was emotional at times before but now it’s lasting over a much longer period of time.  I think I scared my oldest the other night - I was just about in tears over something he’d said and all I could think of to say was “You’re being mean!”; he’d never seen me quite like that before (I don’t think he knew how to respond to me). It’s going to be an interesting journey.  I like to feel like I’m capable and in control which I don’t feel so much now.  And my husband is going to have way too much ammo to tease with me when all this is over.  It’s all worth it, though.  I’m very happy to be having another baby and am looking forward to November (when the baby is due).

Posted in Family, Personal || 3 Comments

Sense of belonging

There’s been a struggle going on inside me for a while.  Yesterday, I think I started understanding why.  It has to do with my sense of belonging.  I believe ever person is born with a desire to be accepted, to belong, to have worth.  As a friend of mine was saying in church yesterday, we try to fill that ‘need’ with all sorts of things (things that are not God filling the need).

I remember in high school I had a great desire to ‘belong’, in particular to a group of church friends.  They had all grown up going to the same church.  I hadn’t.  They came from a different family background than mine.  Even though I hung out with them, I never felt as if I truly belonged.

The church I attend on Sunday mornings was the first church where I really felt like I belonged.  I was there from the beginnings.  I felt I had something meaningful to contribute to this group.  I felt ‘worth something’.  As good as that may be, I realized yesterday that my sense of belonging did not come from God.  It came from being part of a group of people with a common vision.

Over the past months, my ‘vision’ has been shifting.  I don’t see things the same as I did before.  That ’shift’ has left me with a very uncomfortable feeling.  I don’t feel so much as if I ‘belong’ anymore and because of that, my self-worth has been taking a beating.  Why?  Because I have yet to find my sense of belonging and worth in God.

It’s actually a comforting thought.  Finally, I’m beginning to understand why I’ve been struggling so much.  And I know things will be much better once I find my sense of belonging and self-worth in God.  Because then it will be solid and I won’t be ‘tossed back and forth by the waves’ in this area of my life.  God is good.  And He is faithful.  I know He will accomplish what He has set out to do in my life.

Posted in Faith, Personal || 3 Comments