From Sunday to Everyday: Raising Kids Who Truly Love the Lord

“And these words which I am commanding you this day shall be [first] in your [own] minds and hearts; [then] You shall whet and sharpen them so as to make them penetrate, and teach and impress them diligently upon the [minds and] hearts of your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise up.” Deuteronomy 6:6-7 (AMP)

As a mom I absolutely love these verses. They are the perfect roadmap for how to train our children in the ways of the Lord, cultivating young hearts that truly love Him. Immersion! We must let the things of God saturate our every moment in every aspect of our lives.

Because Christianity is not a religion but rather an ever growing relationship, it is not something we can simply do a couple hours on Sunday morning, so we can check it off the list and then move on to the rest of our lives. No, truly loving and growing in the Lord requires keeping His words and His ways in the forefront of our minds at all times. If you’re a Sunday morning Christian you’ll be lucky if your kids even hold to that much. Children can spot phoniness a mile away, and they are smart enough not to waste time with something that apparently doesn’t really matter anyway.

But here the Lord tells us how to write His words on their hearts, diligently impressing them on their minds. Speak of Him when you come in and when you go out. Let praise and thanksgiving to the Lord be on your lips when you get up in the morning and lie down at night. (No, a quick prayer before meals doesn’t cut it! That’s great but hardly enough to saturate your family.)

Tell your kids about the wonders of God. Point out His blessings in your life and in the world around us. Tell them about how God is with us always, and show them in times of trouble that we do not have to be afraid because our God never leaves us, and He is always in control. Live it, and your kids will believe it!

For more like this check out the series…Going Deep With Our Kids.