"Bible Time!"

   We make so many decisions about how to spend our time.  There are factors we consider.  There are feelings and convictions that influence our choices.  When a family is homeward bound and taking the necessary time to just get well, I am often left feeling like our eyes have spent way too much time gazing at a television screen.  It's easy, it's convenient, it keeps everyone in one place and it keeps grouchy kids quiet.  But I can only take so much.  I begin to feel drained.  I begin to feel an intense need to drink from the well of God's word, and to bring my children to the well with me.

   It's not always easy.  To sit quietly and still during the reading of God's word is somehow harder for children than it is to sit quietly in front of the television.  My two year old has posed quite the challenge lately, and honestly sometimes I am just not up for it.  I often have to stop and speak to him directly.  He's a challenge when he sits with his siblings because he thinks that when mommy is reading it's a wonderful time for him to talk too.  If I sit him next to me, he distracts his siblings even more, because it doesn't take much to make them giggle.  These are the challenges, but I am resolved he will learn!  All the others did and he will too.  And it's good for him to learn to sit still and listen.

   The other day I announced "Bible Time!" and everyone gathered in the living room.  My husband had to be at work for a few hours, so it was just the kids and I.  We both have an active role in teaching the kids, when he is here I defer to him.  But there are so many opportunities for me to teach them as well and I think mother's often have a lot more time with their kids than their husband's do.  We should make the most of these opportunities!

   This was the first time I opened the Bible with my kids since before I went into the hospital.  I confess, when the thought first came to me to gather everyone together, the lazier part of me felt like I had a pretty good excuse not to, I mean I just had surgery!  Things are supposed to be abnormal.  Right?!  I was basically giving myself the excuse to be lazy.  Thankfully, I decided otherwise because I wouldn't trade the time we had  reading and talking about Simeon, Anna and the baby Jesus for the world.  My heart was so blessed.

   I've mentioned before that I love the pictures in this "Seek and Find" Bible.  We begin by passing it around and we study the picture.  I identify important people or things in the picture or ask them if they can identify them.  Then I read the story to them.  I do this with as much enthusiasm as I can muster.  I look at them as much as I can.  I ask them questions.   My children really enjoy when I ask them questions, when I pause during the story to see if they know the person or the place or whatever it may be.

   Not all teaching is as "structured".   Opportunities to teach often present themselves when our Bibles are not open.  But "input equals output", and we will often refer back to what we learned in "Bible Time" throughout the day.

   I want to encourage you to make "Bible Time" a regular part of your routine.  Even as I strive to do the same.  Don't expect it to come easily.  Don't expect it to be easy.  Especially not at first. Your children will not always be enthusiastic about it.  Don't let that discourage you.  You will probably have to deal with some attitude issues and some discipline issues.  At times you might feel like you'd rather not deal with these things.  Don't give up, keep teaching them.  Have this time with them as much as you can so that it is not a foreign thing to them.  Make it a regular thing that they expect and teach them what is expected of them.  They will begin to understand that this time in God's word is very important to you and it should be important to them too.

   And you know what?  Discipline and correction aside, it really is a tremendous blessing to teach my children, especially to teach them about God.  While I often have to keep silliness at bay, we have joy, we have animated interaction.  I enjoy explaining things to them and thinking up things that can illustrate points or help them to understand.  It is not drudgery...once you get started.  My point is, I know how hard it can be to just get started.  I understand the opposition parents face.

   

   People sometimes ask how I get my children to sit still and behave in church.  First, let me start by stating what should be obvious, my children are not perfect.  I have to correct them constantly.  They are not "angels".  Please understand they have sin in their hearts just like everybody else.  We deal with these issues all the time.  The thing is, we don't wait until we are at church to deal with them.  I am sure we have our "blind spots", but as issues become plain to us we do our best, by God's grace  to deal with them.  Sometimes these issues rear their ugly heads when I least expect them to, but I have definitely noticed that the more we work on things at home, the less they appear in public. 

   My point is, it starts at home.  Don't try to have church be the only place you expect your children to sit still and behave.  Teach them at home.  It takes effort on your part too.  Make the effort.  Set aside the time to teach them.  Have a little "church" at home as often as you can.  Time to sit still, time to listen.  They will learn if you are willing to go through what it takes to teach them.  Believe me, it is definitely worth it!