I love it when people share their ideas for parenting with Scripture!  I think it’s helpful for all of us to see how the Lord leads different families to incorporate His truth into our daily lives in unique ways.  This post has ideas from church friend, Donna VanEerden, and how she’s incorporating parenting with Scripture into Martin Luther King Day.  Donna has children ranging from preschool through upper elementary. 

*Listen/watch Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous ”I Have a Dream” speech.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nFcbpGK9_aw

*Read God Made Us One by One by Christine Adams
(I’m putting this in my Amazon cart so I’ll have it for next year!)

*Discuss the topic ”Prejudice” using Parenting with Scripture:  A Topical Guide for Teachable Moments by Kara Durbin (My book!)

*Color a picture of something that you have learned from someone who is different.  Write “Love one another.  John 13:34″ on the page.

I’m excited about using Donna’s ideas for our family devotional time this evening and hope you are too!  I’d love to hear your ideas for Parenting with Scripture, either through planned activities like this, or teachable moments that pop up unexpectedly.  Please share! 
kara@parentingwithscripture.com

A friend recently shared this teachable moment example with me…Parenting with Scripture in action!

The big kids were playing with a marble run that was not safe to have out when the baby was up, so I asked them to race one more time and then put all the marbles away.  I then left the room to go change the toddler and when I got back they had not stopped playing with the marbles.  My daughter tried to put the blame on her brother. I wanted to find some verses to show them the importance of being responsible to do what I trusted them to do and taking responsibility for your actions.  I found several appropriate verses under “responsibility” and “trust” (in Parenting with Scripture).  I asked them to look up and copy those verses and then to write why they thought I picked those verses for them.   It led to a good discussion about being faithful in the small things in order to be trusted with greater responsibilities later. (Like driving the car someday!)  We also talked about the fact that Adam’s response to God was true (Eve had given him the fruit), but it was not the appropriate response (taking responsibility for his own choice).  I think showing them these things from God’s word made a much better impact than another lecture from mom!

As we head through 2013, let’s ask God to give us eyes to see teachable moments and thank Him for giving us His Word to help us make the most of them!

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  
Luke 16:10

What to do when you catch your child as a liar, liar, pants on fire?

Here’s a real-life example –

Wendy caught her daughter, Jessica, in a lie and was deciding how to approach the situation.  Jessica burst into tears and cried, “You’ll never trust me again!”

“Ah ha!  That’s getting to the heart of things,” Wendy thought!  She grabbed Parenting with Scripture, went to the topic of honesty, and found Luke 16:10.  “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.”  This turned into a wonderfully positive discussion about how Jessica could regain trust.  What a great snapshot of positive parenting through a teachable moment!

I love reminding my kids that we never outgrow God’s Word.  What better way to help them understand that than by our children seeing us apply Scripture to our own lives.   Here’s a recent example from my life.  My 7-year-old son and I have a chance each week to enjoy some time together while my daughter is at her piano lesson.  It was a beautiful spring day, so we decided to take a stroll through the piano teacher’s neighborhood.  We chatted as we walked hand-in-hand…what mommy doesn’t love that?!   As I listened to him jabber away, my mind was distracted by worries.  I knew what I needed to do and realized that to include him in on it would be a great teachable moment.  I shared with him how I was quite nervous about an upcoming radio interview for Parenting with Scripture.  We talked about 1 Peter 5:7 and how one way we can “cast our anxiety on Him” is to pray.  As we continued to walk, my sweet little guy and I prayed over that interview as I gave those worries to my heavenly Father.

Though the details are different in each of our lives, the general principle remains the same.  Be on the lookout for using yourself as a teachable moment!

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.  1 Peter 5:7

 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.   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.  Deuteronomy 6:6-7

If I had just remembered that “Pride comes before the fall” then I would have known Humble Pie would have been on the menu for yesterday. Here’s how it happened…

I spent all Thursday evening getting my ducks in a row because I would be gone all day Friday helping out my sister who was having knee surgery.  Nothing like being “off duty” for a day to bring into perspective the myriad of things moms do on a daily basis to help the household run smoothly.  I set about having everything perfectly organized so that it would go seamlessly for my hubby and kids as he did the morning routine and got them to school Friday.  I made quite the production of going through everything with Tim and making sure that he saw all my wonderful efforts to ensure the morning’s success.  I might as well have patted myself on the back!  And, here’s the big red flag that could have had “Pridefulness!” emblazoned on it…I stooped so low as to point out (in subtle ways) that he probably would have dropped the ball on some things had I not had things under such control.  Ouch!  

Friday morning comes and as I’m on the road at 4:30 AM (my sister had to be at the surgery center at 5:45 AM for prep!) I realize I’ve already messed up.  I had forgotten to lay out alternate clothes for my daughter who would be rock climbing with a friend after school.  Drat!  So much for my “perfectly” orchestrated morning for Tim.  So, I set my alarm to send him a text at a more reasonable time that morning to include instructions along with my first apology for how I had acted the night before. 

About 8:10 AM was when the whole humble pie came flying right toward my face and I realized there was nothing to do but let it smack me and for me swallow down the remains!  I get a call from Tim and ask how carpool went.  He said it went fine, but asked if Friday was indeed “free dress” day (my children go to a school where they where uniforms).   UH OH!  That e-mail earlier in the week must have said “spirit shirt day” which is distinctly different from “free dress day.”   SMACK!  With a bruised pride and choking on the pie, I profusely apologize to Tim for my error and humbly ask if he had time to run home (20 minutes), grab the appropriate clothes, and take them back to the school (another 20 minutes) before heading on to work.  Thankfully he did, as we both knew our children would not be pleased with me for this mistake.

As I sat in the surgery waiting room, it occurred to me that I not only needed to apologize to Tim, but the kids.  Mistakes happen and we all understand that.  But they had heard me pridefully going over the plan with their Daddy in a less than respectful way.  They needed to hear from me that I confessed my pride and apologized to Tim.  It was a perfect teachable moment to remind them that nobody is perfect, even Mom and Dad!   But aren’t we thankful that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and forgives us no matter what…even when we’ve got Humble Pie oozing down our faces! 

“Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. ”  1 Samuel 16:7b

This idea comes from the topic “Beauty” in Parenting with Scripture.  The children draw pictures of themselves and writes ways they are internally beautiful on the inside.   Then, discuss attitudes or actions that need a “make-over.”  (I had to explain the concept of a make-over to my kids.)   The children write these on strips of paper and attach them to their hands.  Pray together that God will help the children with their internal make-overs.  Post the pictures on the fridge as reminders. 

This has been a blessing for us because the children were the ones to come up with the areas they needed to work on.  So, instead of me badgering them about “kumplaning” or “timper towrd brother,”  I could just point to the fridge or gently remind them of the make-over.

Most adults know this technique for dealing with anger, so I was curious to find out during our weekend family devotion on the topic “Anger” from Parenting With Scripture, if my kids were familiar with it.   They weren’t!   So, we had a fun time role-playing scenarios that are common to our household that arouse anger and practicing the “take a deep breath and count to 10” method.  It was also a great opportunity for the kids to see that we never outgrow God’s word.  Mom and Dad also have to remember that “a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”  Proverbs 15:1.  Taking a deep breath and counting to ten is a great practical way to help turn that harsh answer into a gentle answer!