Sacred Mundane: The Blog

School has started, fall sports schedules are posted and calendars are quickly filling.

Does your weekly schedule include: Discipling my children to know and love God?

Although Christian private school, Sunday school, kid’s programs, vacation Bible school, and AWANAs are all awesome, no one has more power to influence your child for Jesus than YOU.

You are the most important person, your home is the most important place, and your daily life is the most important program.

We’re certainly not experts, but here are some simple ideas for small starts:

:: A little something done consistently is better than a big bang that fizzles out. Teaching your child just one short verse each week (such as Letter Lessons) is better than attempting an elaborate program only to quit after 5 days and do nothing at all. Our pride and egos tend to push us toward bigger and better and flashier programs and curricula, but small simple steps of meditating on God’s Word, praying, and practicing real everyday faith are more effective long-term. Start small and go the distance.

:: Do something within your gifting. If you love to read, read. If you love to act and play more active games, act our Bible stories with your kids. If you love to play instruments, sing! If your heart is for prayer, pray! Don’t stress too much about having the perfect devotional program, just do what you enjoy and let your joy and passion inspire your children. If you actually enjoy what you’re doing, chances are they will too.

:: Schedule it in. We only actually do what we make a priority. If we think family devotional time will just naturally wiggle its way into our day, we’re dreaming. Again, it doesn’t have to be every single night (although that’s awesome if it is!) but plan 2-3 times a week of intentional family time seeking God. Plan it the way you would a sports practice or swim lessons. Decide what you want to do and schedule it in. Right now is the perfect time, as school starts and schedules are set, to put family devotional time as a priority on the calendar. Make it a priority this year.

:: Find a great resource. My man has compiled a great list of family devotional resources. Browse and perhaps buy or download one that works for you.

Get a good family Bible. Since most kids are visual learners, and since knowing the Big Story is more helpful than getting bits and pieces of bite-sized morals, let us recommend a few possibilities for a parent-kid-family Bible:

• The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name, by Sally Lloyd-Jones (also a read-aloud edition, and deluxe edition with audio CD). This one has become our favorite, even though it’s probably aimed for reading to younger kids. I’ve recommended it to many new Christians (even those without kids) simply for getting a grasp of the Story of God, and the Hero — Jesus. The words flow with a poetic cadence, making them memorable, and each story points to who Jesus is, why He came, and what it means to follow Him.
• The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments, by Marty Machowski and A. E. Macha. Each story covers two pages (less pictures and more words), yet told in an engaging style. Each lesson has questions aimed to help kids notice the people and features of each biblical story, and it’s connection to God’s character, His Son, and the Gospel.
• The Big Picture Story Bible, by David R. Helm and Gail Schoomaker. Another good picture Bible giving the over-arching narrative of God’s story. Stellar illustrations, though you’ll need to come up with your own questions for interaction and inciting wonder.
• Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God, by Marty Machowski. This one is more of a plan for daily discussions and lessons, for preschool-to-elementary-aged kids.

We have each of those, having added one a year to give new perspectives. As our kids have become familiar with the biblical narrative and story of Jesus we let them choose a story from two Bibles, and then read them together. It doesn’t take long, and each conversation has the opportunity to take a thousand twists and turns (in the form of questions). We see this as “quantity time becoming quality time.”

One last resource to mention:
A Beginners Guide to Family Worship by Winfield Bevins ($2.99 ebook published by Gospel-Centered Discipleship)

Summary: Every Christian parent can lead their home in family worship — simply coming together as a family and worshipping God in the home. This little book has been prepared as an introduction to family worship and to help you teach your children basic Christian beliefs and to memorize Scripture.

(This ebook is 24 pages, and available in your choice of ePub, mobi, or PDF format.)

GospelCenteredDiscipleship.com also has numerous articles on making disciples in our families.

{It’s the perfect time to establish godly habits to lead our families to Jesus. I’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and resources suggestions for your own family worship times. Thanks so much for reading, and sharing!}

*Warning: Personal post! I promised to be vulnerable in this space, well … here you go! 😉

~

I looked down at the scale … up another pound. That made eight. *sigh* My thoughts did the same little circle they did the week before: It doesn’t matter. You’re thin. Eight pounds is not a big deal. You shouldn’t be worried about shallow stuff like your body, isn’t that what Jesus said??  But then I circled the other direction: But it does matter because I don’t feel good. And it does affect me because it’s little daily choices that I know are not the best. And it does make me more inhibited with my husband and more moody with my kids and when my body’s not thriving it has everything to do with my spirit not thriving. Everything matters, remember?

So I made another vague resolution to do better. (Whatever that means.)

But then we had company over every night that week. (It’s rude if I don’t eat dessert with them, right?). And then we had a massive ice cream cake at church. (It’s a celebration! Two slices are certainly justified.) And then it was family night and of course I needed to make treats. (For the kids, of course.) And next thing I knew it was the next Monday morning and I stepped back on that scale and there I was again. Defeated.

Circling again.

The day brought more self-talk. It’s not a big deal. Forget it. You’re thin. A lot of people would love to have your body. You’re healthy. You’re ALIVE for crying out loud. Be happy you ungrateful louse!  (I wouldn’t recommend name-calling in your self-talk.)

Now, a lot of that is true, and I wholeheartedly believe we should we grateful for whatever bodies God has given us, however they look or feel. We praise Him for our bodies because they are fearfully and wonderfully made!  But the truth is also this: When I’m not making good choices for my body it affects every area of my life. That is just reality. And because God created us as whole people, every dimension of our lives (body, soul, spirit) affects the other.

So, as I was updating the blog, I glanced over at the “This week last year” feature on the sidebar. I re-read through a post and remembered what I’d been going through at that time last summer. Guess what it was? Struggling with healthy choices and gaining weight.

A tiny alarm went off inside: Kari, you’re doing the same thing this year that you were last year.

That’s what we call walking in circles. 

So I clicked on Lysa Terkeurst’s Made to Crave website and started reading her online devotionals. All great stuff. But what struck me most was this:

The comments.

Over and over and over–hundreds of comments, saying something like this:

“I’ve been struggling with my weight for forty years … “

My eyes widened.

Forty years.

All I could think was this: I don’t want to do this for forty years.

Forty years is life.

Forty years is everything in between college graduation and the senior discount at Shari’s.

Forty years.

But this isn’t just about weight. Or food. Do you remember some other people who walked circles for forty years?

The Israelites. God’s people.

Their grumbling and complaining–their small choices in daily life–kept them from entering the promised land, so they had to spend  their entire lives walking circles in the desert. Forty years. Forty years of complaining.  Forty years of discontentment. Forty years of criticizing our husbands. Forty years of _______ (fill in the blank!).

I don’t want to walk circles for forty years. 

Gripped, I prayed: Show me, God. Show me a plan. Show me what to do so that this little thing doesn’t become a big thing. So that my little daily choices don’t keep me from entering the promised land, all the good and glorious things you have for me in this life and the next. Show me what to do.

The question came to mind:  What REAL changes are you really willing to make?

I didn’t answer this for a few days. I didn’t want to lie to God, so I had to really consider. I could think of plenty of things I couldn’t live without. Coffee and sugar topped the list. Hmm. I thought of all the times I’d taught this truth: “Anything you think you can’t live without is an idol.” 

I hate it when my own teaching comes back to haunt me. (smile)

So in a completely uneventful moment, I gave everything to God. Everything. I told him he could have every grain of sugar for the rest of my life, if that’s what it meant to not walk in the wilderness for forty years. If it meant never tasting my children’s birthday cake or never sipping coffee or never baking cookies with my kids. It wasn’t for me to decide upon a plan at that moment, it was for me to surrender all to Him and let Him take over and show me the plan.

Then, funnily enough, without me even looking, a book dropped in my path. What’s it called? The Plan.

And it’s simply a tool, but for me it is a gift from Him, and a breath of fresh air, and new perspective on health and healing and I feel better than I have in ages. Let me tell you, between Intimate Issues and The Plan, things are spicing up around here! 🙂

So, friend, What is your little thing? What little thing do you keep circling to? What New Year’s Resolution do you keep making over and over and over and over with no victory?

Don’t walk in circles for forty years. I don’t know what your plan is, but He does. And absolute surrender is a great place to begin.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding.

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

and He will direct your path.

Prov. 3:5-6

Thanks for reading.

Ahhh … I am sitting, feet up, in a little office we built into one corner of our detached garage.  Today my husband is giving me a special treat: One entire uninterrupted day alone to write and study God’s Word, preparing for upcoming events. It’s truly a gift and it’s got me thinking:

I’m excited to see you!

See, the only thing better than connecting with you here is connecting with you in person.

As much as I love to write, it is such a thrill to get together in real time, seek God, dig into His Word, and grow together in this life of following Christ and loving and serving those around us. And, one of the joys of our new church-planting venture this past year is that Jeff now has more flexibility to be with our kiddos and/or travel with me in these various adventures. And the result is … we’re finding lots of opportunities to do just that!

So, we’re planning out the rest of our 2013 calendar, and I wanted to toss out a few possible dates, in case you are still planning your women’s events, need a speaker, and want to explore the possibility of joining together. Most commonly I speak at three types of events: 1) Women’s weekend retreats, 2) MOPS/Mom’s groups, 3) Special occasion events (i.e. Christmas event, Spring luncheon, etc.)  

Christmas Message

I’m excited to share a Christmas message: Life, born. We’ll look at Jesus, the Life, born into a world marked by death. In Him is life, He is our life, and our lives are hidden and found in Him. We’ll see how Jesus brings the reversal of the curse and its death-grip, giving us access to life once again. We’ll laugh at ourselves and all the ways we seek to find our life in other things, and we’ll learn how to “take hold of that which is truly life” (1 Timothy 6:16).  I would love to share this word with you, if you have plans for a Christmas event this year.

For more information on topics, cost, and to discuss details, contact me here. Note: Retreat weekends for 2013 are full now, but many retreat weekends are still available for Spring 2014, so keep that in mind as well. Mom’s groups are usually mid-week and fairly easy to schedule.  Thanks so much!

Available Dates/Times 

::Southern California/Riverside area: Friday, Nov. 15th. Afternoon or evening event. Saturday, Nov. 16th. Morning event.

::Phoenix Area: Week of November 18th-24th. Daytime or evening event.

::California Bay Area/Sacramento: Friday, Dec. 6th. Daytime or evening Christmas event.

::Portland area: Saturday, Dec. 14th OR Friday, Dec. 20th Christmas event.

 Hope to see you soon. Have a blessed Labor Day! Thanks for reading.