Podcast Episode #110 Practicing Everyday Discipleship
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"Why do you think you and your siblings all love the Lord as adults?"
Sarah looked thoughtfully and then answered, "I think it was the French toast, buttered pecans and maple syrup!"
This has become a famous saying to our family because it reflected a bit of what is true. For our children to learn to love God, they must see our love for God in the ways we sing around the house or enjoy a cool drink on the porch enjoying the summer flowers, or at "Kiss me goodnight, please," bedtime moments.
God intended that we as adults enjoy our days and have the ability to be satisfied in the days of our lives as we weave into them pleasure and fulfillment we were intended to experience as we walk hand in hand with our God. If we see passing on faith as just a duty, our lives will overflow with duty and pressure and we will become discouraged and weary in our own lives. We were not made for God so that we could be slaves of works, but He wants to enjoy and be close to us as a parent would their beloved children. We must perceive the proper vision of His love and commitment to us if we are to pass on a faith that will engage our children.
But the real influence comes all the moments of the ways we live our lives in front of our children. It is not just about passing on doctrine, but as much about relationship, love, beauty as it is the concepts we teach them.
Discipleship is woven into every moment of family life, when we rise up, when we sit down, whenever we are alone with our children, or gathered together as an entire family. In this episode, Sally and Kristen discuss their intentional focus on relationships, understanding the personalities and stages of children, how to engage in effective Sabbath traditions, Telling stories of how discipleship becomes a dependable rhythm in our homes everyday through conversation, fun, training and reading, traditions is a part of their own home experience.
They'll unpack ideas about how the table can become the place where our children experience belonging, preparation for how to enter the world with a competing culture and value system, and how we can create a safe place to consistently discuss convictions, ideas and even doubts with them.
WHAT WE TALK ABOUT:
- That we must have anchors in our lives that give us time to stop, breathe, enjoy, rest and check in with the Lord no matter what.
-How we bring delight into our Sundays
-How to prepare our children for weekly worship, as well as for engaging with a church community
-The way Jesus prepared a meal for his disciples in order to share hard truths with them
-That we must make a choice to model wither a faith of resigned endurance or delighted enthusiasm
-That Jesus was and is the very best celebration
-How to prepare our own hearts when to bear with our children's doubts.
-Common topics for teens: truth of faith, hypocrisy, and individual conviction
-The reality that questions and sorrows will always be present
-God didn't make us to use us--He is complete--He did not want little slaves, He wanted sons and daughters to love, communicate with, for friendship, and he gave them a beautiful world.
-That God desires us to taste and see that He is good!
LINKS:
"All true friendliness begins with fire and food and drink and the recognition of rain or frost. . . . Each human soul has in a sense to enact for itself the gigantic humility of the Incarnation. Every man must descend into the flesh to meet mankind." G. K. Chesterton
Nehemiah 8:10 Nehemiah continued, “Go and celebrate with a feast of rich foods and sweet drinks, and share gifts of food with people who have nothing prepared. This is a sacred day before our Lord. Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
Chapter 6 Table-Discipleship Principle:
We must be intentional to guide, discuss, and celebrate the dependable rhythms of life.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 "So go ahead. Eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, for God approves of this!"
