My Heart

So, I have been thinking a lot these days about what I want to accomplish in my children's lives over the next 18 years. I know it sounds bizarre, but is it really? If I want my kids to really fall in love with Jesus what do I need to do today that fosters that. The decisions I make for them will affect them one way or another.

I know that throughout life Glenn and I will be teaching our kids. Glenn will teach them how to bait a hook and change a tire. I will teach them how to cook their favorite recipe and clean a toilet (one day D & E's wives will thank me). We teach them each and every day by our actions. I was reading Proverbs 31 the other day and verse 13 states, "she works willingly with her hands." I began to think about what it means to work willingly and how that would look. I believe that it looks like a woman who works with joy. She finds joy in working to serve her family. The Lord began to speak to my heart--I am not always joyful: as a matter of fact I can get rather irritated when I have mopped the floor for the fourth time that day. When I have that irritated or frustrated attitude I am teaching my children the same. I need to change.

I want to teach my kids to be servants. Servants who put the needs of others over themselves. Sometimes it takes sacrifice and giving up what we want but in the end it is always worth it. We are becoming individuals who only care about our wants and needs and we forget the main purpose of this life--to reach others. Am I too consumed with myself that I can't see those around me who are hurting and in need? The only way I will ever teach this to my kids is to demonstrate it each and every day. It's not about going once a month to feed a homeless person or bringing cookies to the neighbor (although those things are good); it is about literally sacrificing our time to help those around us.

I want to teach my children to walk with God. I don't want to teach them to read their Bible because that is what we do or to say a simple prayer just because. I want to teach them to get on their faces before God and enter into His presence and experience Him in ways they have never before. I want to teach them to literally hear the voice of God and follow His leading. I want them to fall so in love with Jesus Christ that they can't imagine a life without being in His presence. If I want these things for my kids then I need to be doing these things, too.