A friend of mine posted on FB yesterday, "I love when the 1st of the month is a Monday, it seems perfect." I agree. Along with the dates falling into place, we also had some amazing weather blow in yesterday evening. Right when we were about to start soccer practice a strong gust of wind blew in with a crisp chill, so that made the start of Fall and a new month a little more perfect! So back to yesterday being the 1st, I had planned to start something with my kids, but how many times I plan and never do it because it slips my mind. Well, I didn't completely forget about it cause I did mention it to my husband while cooking dinner, but we got caught up with The Voice that we never got around to doing it. Bummer. I've been spiritually nudged lately to start digging into the Word with my kids, so yesterday I thought would be good to with reading a Psalm and Proverb a day, beginning with 1 :) Now don't get me wrong, I believe any day and any time is a good time to start, but for someone like me, I have a thing with numbers. We are pretty good about praying every night before the kids go to bed, but there is so much more we as parents should be doing and I really feel the Spirit hasn't backed down about reminding me of these things. See, our children have an advantage right now that they don't quite consider an advantage at the moments, but they will, soon. My husband serves in the children's ministry at church where he leads the service from games to the message and everything in between and as for myself, I work in the office all Sunday morning, sooooo here's the priviledge; our 3 kids get to hear the message not once, twice, but three times a day! How 'bout that! Ha. I gotta admit, there are days when they are pretty burned out, but those are few and far between. Here's what I'm trying to get at. Though they are getting a triple dose of the Word Sunday morning and once more Wednesday nights, there always needs to be the home teaching. For instance, let's use this morning as an example. At the kids' school the PTO collects Box Tops and empty CapriSun pouches and again, I have three children to who this program applies to. I have evenly distribute those sticky empty pouches and Box Tops between all of them and that gets to be a little difficult as you can imagine. After attending a birthday party this past weekend Leo (my oldest) got permission to pick up all the CapriSun pouches after the birthday guests were done with them for this program. Leo wanted to make it very clear to his younger brother and sister that it was him who asked to pick up the pouches; therefore, those pouches are his. At the time I didn't really say anything to his statement probably because I just wasn't in the mood and a little part of me agreed with his stand on the pouches, but this morning, yeah, I was in a different mood. You know those moods when you really didn't wanna get out of bed to begin with, when you lie in bed actually contemplating the thought of calling in to work and after all that thinking you realize the time you have wasted. The kind of mood that snowballs when that one kid just won't get up and moving and the other kid sneaks off to the living room playing her Nintendo DS and its not even 6:45 am yet instead of getting dressed as instructed. The kind of mood that has no patience when the other kid really wants to take a lunch and can't understand why I couldn't have gone to the grocery store to get bread for the sandwich even after he told me two days ago that on this particular day he didn't want to eat the cafeteria food. Yes, that kind of mood. So we are in the car and Leo says, "oh mom, give me those CapriSuns so I can turn them in." [No, I didn't forget to type please in his request]. Well, Jeremy decides to argue that it wasn't fair that Leo gets to turn in all those and he hasn't been able to turn in as much as Leo and then Sophia wants to jump in the dispute stating her case. AH! As calmly (but stern) as possible I turn around and say, "Leo, can you please just let them have some, too?" [I should delete that question mark cause it wasn't really a question when I said it]. He made a "mad" face and very unwillingly gave one to his brother and before he could give one to Sophia momma turned psycho. Have any of your mom's had a moment like that? When you feel like your head can do an exorcist headturn. When I should have said to him, "Leo, if you don't want to share then don't. God doesn't want you to have to do something when your heart isn't in it. {i.e. tithes & offering}. But if you want to share what you have I'm sure that your brother, sister and I would really appreciate it." But I didn't. This is what I said, "No. Jeremy give them back to Leo. If he doesn't wanna share then let him be stingy." Yeah, I know. I feel bad. I know I shouldn't have responded like that, but again, it was the mood. I blame it on the mood. Now back to my point. It's moments like this where I should have used an opportunity to share insight on the Word of God with my children. The Bible says,
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your house and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the Lord swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth. ~ Deuteronomy 11:18-21
I should use each and every opportunity to tell my kids what God says about each and every little thing. This is what our foundation is built on. Now me blaming my mood has another issue of its own. There is a book called Unglued that I gotta get my hands on, asap! But before I do that I need to talk to my son about what happened this morning - I can't let my reaction slip away.
My goal in reading a Psalm and Proverb a day is teach my children and myself the Word of God. His Word will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck, Proverbs 1. I know that they probably won't even understand what it means or some of the words, but they will remember it. I know the power of the Word. It cannot go forth without producing what it has been set out to do - they will be life!
Here is day 2:
Psalm 2
Why do the nations conspire and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the LORD and against his Anointed One. Let us break their chains," they say, "and throw off their fetters."
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; the LORD scoffs at them. Then he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, "I have installed my King on Zion, my holy hill." I will proclaim the decree of the LORD:
He said to me, "You are my Son, today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron scepter; you will dash them to pieces like pottery," Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
Proverbs 2
My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. Then you will understand what is right and just and fair - every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart and knowledge will be pleasant to your sould. Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you. Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, who leave the straight paths to walk in dark ways, who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of eveil, whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways.
It will save you also from the adulteress, from the wayward wife with her seductive words, who has left the partner of her youth and ignored the covenant she made before God. For her house leads down to death and her paths to the spirits of the dead. None who go to her return or attain the paths of life. Thus you will walk in the ways of good men and keep to the paths of the righteous. For the upright will live in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; but the wicked will be cut off from the land and the unfaithful will be torn from it.
