"In the same way let your light shine before others so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:16
Trust me, when it comes to parenting I have no clue what I'm doing most of the time. There are a few ideas, though, that I've either read about or created on my own that we have added into our family routine and I’d like to share them with you…
I heard someone ask the question recently, “How can I be a light in someone else's life today?” Our family verse is Matthew 5:16 (see above) and almost every morning I try to ask that question to my children. We pray about it and before they go to school, we gather in the driveway, put our hands on top of one another, and I tell them: “Your mission today is to let your light shine for Jesus at your elementary school, on the bus, and where ever else you might go today.” We yell “Team Dumpe!” and then we walk (or ride 😉) down to the bus stop.
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To put both the kids and I in a better mindset for the day, I like to quietly play music such as Bethel Kids Worship or my own worship playlist as my kids get ready for school and while they are helping with breakfast.
Some of the songs from my worship playlist that my kids love:
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When my kids were younger (and sometimes even now), we put on the armor of God and pretend to shake the fruit of the Spirit over us. Now, as they are older, I pray for the armor of God and the fruit of the Spirit to cover us as we go to school or wherever we go throughout the day. At dinner they usually tell us, especially my daughter, how they let their light shine that day: We hear how they were kind to someone who was not kind to them or my daughter will decide to make cards for people and plan to pass them out to EVERYONE! We love hearing about the fruit of the Spirit being lived out in our kids’ lives.
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One of the ministries I love is Compassion International. If you have not heard of them I encourage you to check out their website for more information. Their mission is to “release children from poverty in Jesus' name.” Each of our children has a child that we sponsor. Our children are encouraged to write letters and to pray for their specific sponsored child and family. When the child writes letters to us or information is sent from Compassion, we have jars for each sponsored child where we can keep the information.
Sponsor a Child with Compassion International, Inc.
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I really want our children to remember many of the memories they have made as they grow up. One night my family watched the movie "Inside Out" and while watching the movie, I came up with this idea. Each child was given a bag full of marbles and a Mason jar. When they do something special or something is done for them and they want to remember it, they put a marble in the jar. Hopefully, as they grow up and fill the jar with marbles, they will have many memories to take with them.
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These are just some ideas to get our focus and our eyes fixed on Jesus daily and not on ourselves. I want my kids to see that we need Jesus every day. I want them to see a real relationship with Jesus in their mama and my desire to share His love with others. My husband and I pray that they will become independent faithful followers of Jesus.
~ Haley
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