2 Timothy 3:15-17 …”and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Caustin580:

You were asking for a method that helps you teach the truth behind biblical stories without having to undo what you have. This method works with any story for that matter. When I was in my 20’s I stumbled upon a way of analyzing a situation or story or a problem, that has stuck. It is simply changing my perspective.

Instead of feeling I must know the answer and teach it to the children, I found asking them a question instead of providing them with the answer helped develop their own thought, and with forethought, wise examples can be shared to gain insight on how others have made choices when dealing with a similar question.

Instead of being a teacher, I demonstrate to them that I am a learner just like them. That life is a process of learning and discovery. ( I call it my wild adventure with God!)That God has blessed us to be together to learn from each other, more things about Him.

A lady I met at a seminar gave me a series of questions that has stuck for more than 20 years! It is pertinant to old and young and grows with each individual in every walk of life. The 3 questions are:

1. Is it best?

2. Is it right? and
3. Does my heart really want it?

I found that simplifying it into three characters worked for my very young children. In fact, my first litter of 3 (that have since grown and are living lives of their own,) still use it. We call it King Will. He represents your will, the seat of all choices, the one who will say yes or no to any choice (and we know that every step we take in this world is governed by a choice)

Now King Will is a very wise man. He has three advisors.

1 is Common Sense. Mr. Commom Sense always asks, “Is it “? His other advisor is

Mr.Conscience. Mr. Conscience always asks, “Is it right?” His third advisor is the most challenging member of the group, for

Mr. Hearts Desire sees so many sides of a story that sometimes, his view doesn’t make much sense, nor is it always right, but his influence holds alot of sway in every choice. (Therefore it is essential to have the heart going in the right direction!) Often, Mr. Hearts Desire must look to the heros in his life to help him get his heart right. (This is where Jesus, Daniel, Joseph or a host of other great men can help Guide Hearts Desire to making Good and right decisions that will make him feel joy and gladness at the man/woman He/She is becoming).

During the course of a day, we would encounter difficulties. Many times I would find emotions at a heighted level where common sense and conscience could not be heard. I opted to write down the offense from each participants view and put it away until worship/family time, in the evening. After singing and reading our favorite stories, I would haul out the cards and lay them in the middle of the group. I was always amazed at the hush in the room when those cards appeared.

Then I began a King Will story repeating the events from the perspective of an angel talking to God or another angel about the event, always having one of them bring up What did the King say? He left it up to His advisors? What did Mr. Conscience Say? What about Mr. Common Sense?

and then there was Mr. Hearts Desire . . ..

This is where I voiced the childrens views of what happened. (right or wrong) We gently conversed about what might have happened if . . . they had reacted differently. (I would usually ask, What would Jesus have done?/ Joseph, Daniel . . . all my favorites have done?) Bu the end of the evening, we were on the reconciliation mats and were able to go to bed without any hurt feelings. Of course, I love to tell stories, so this was easy for me. I do not ever remember going to bed with a negative mood. My kids still use it.

We also developed a set of principles that we built upon as we grew spiritually. We started with the principles of the ten commandments and used them as a guide to what we could become. (I even made them guide marks per foot on my grow chart where we measure the kids.)

Another thing we used frequently was the Thought Garden. This helps us to figure out exactly where we were in a problem, so we could figure out how we could solve it. It really broke it down for us. The kids would often remind me to pause and think of where I was in a trial . . . out of the mouths of babes!)

I drew flower buds and stems and would lay them out on the floor individually as I explained.

First I laid out a stem and said, “Thoughts grow into” . . .

Then I laid out a flower on top of it and said, “feelings”. “And

Feelings grow into?” I laid out another stem beside the first,

“actions”, I placed a flower on top” and

“actions grow into?” I laid out another stem

“Habits” I placed the flower on top and

“Habits grow into?” , I lay out another stem,

“Our Character” flower on top and

“Our Character determines?” I lay out the final stem.

“Our Destiny” I place the final flower.

From this perspective, we can descide who we want to be, what kind of a person, and trace it backwards to know what kind of habits we should be forming, what kind of actions, feelings and thoughts we should be choosing.

This method ed my family to decide for itself what kind of input the 5 senses needs in order to become what we desired to be.

I always figured that if you do not consciencously make a choice, one will be made for you by circumstance.

These things really helped our family through many notable trials in our lives, helping us to avoid negative feelings by looking on the good side of things. I still use these tools with my last litter, and for myself. I hope they will be helpful to you. The_guiding_hand

I want to move away from focusing on the literal emphasis of the biblical stories and onto the truth behind the stories. I need a way to teach that won’t require the unraveling I have had to do on my own for the last 5 years. I am hoping this blog will be a resource for that.

I have 2 daughters aged 2 and 3 1/2.

I would like to hear from parents who are really trying as a family to engage world cultures and faiths in the emerging conversation. Parents who are really grappling with what it means to be a follower of Jesus in the context of a “multicultural” society and a “global village”.

I am not talking about, “Oh how cute, my child is making a Ramadan lantern, a Hanukkah menorah and a Christmas tree. We are so trendy and with-it!”

I am not talking about, “Let’s expose our child to all religions and when she gets older she can choose the one she wants.”

I am not even talking about being prepared to answer spontaneous questions like, “Why is that lady all covered in black?” or “Why can’t Nehru eat hamburgers?” although that is a part of it.

I am talking about clinging to the hope that Jesus has something to say to this broken world and that if he truly is the Lord of the Universe, then he has something to say to us through other cultures, and through us to other cultures.

Is anybody thinking about this in relation to raising young children?

I look forward to finding ways to encourage our kid(s) to participate in the missio dei with their unique gifts and talents at every stage in their development. Crikey, that sounds great, but again, what the heck does that look like?? I think this blog will be a great way to collaborate with other like-minded pilgrim parents in it all!

1) Language. How do we speak to our children with language about God that we actually believe in (instead of falling back on cliches).
2) Prayer. How do you teach your children that prayer is not all about asking and receiving (a common pitfall for adults as well)? With our oldest daughter, at almost three, we currently only pray about things we are thankful for, including attributes of God. I’m uneasy about heading into intercessory territory. And plain bewildered about most of it, as I’m just feeling my way personally and don’t have language to express these new thoughts. (There is language again).
3) Helping children realize that spirituality happens OUTSIDE of church, not just in its carefully defined realms. I am anxious that our children be more devoted to a faith community (that would be people) than to a church structure. How to make this clear when we are a pastoral family and mired in church structure?
4) Schooling. Public, private, parochial, or homeschool? Looking beyond just education and socialization, but also towards our duty as Christians to be involved and influential in the community (and I’m not speaking about the church community).

Etc. etc.

I am super interested in concrete examples and ideas, things that I can actually try, and not just talk about.

Looking forward to it!