Winning our Children

I have been reminded on more than one occasion lately that my children are my 'mission field', and that converting them is my priority.

Proverbs 22:6: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

Deuteronomy 6:7: "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house; and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

1 Tim 3:5: "for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?"

With that in mind, I am determined to find ways to win my children...to nurture them in the Truth, 'teaching them diligently' the Word of God as instructed, and striving to apply it to every part of their day. I want their lives to be permeated with the things of God.

This is, after all, why we are homeschooling. It is a right we have for the time being, and I do not want to squander this opportunity~

So, without further ado, I will share my first idea:

To teach them scriptures that apply to common tasks, and to instruct them to quote the special verse(s) every time the task is done.

For instance, when they wash their hands, they will quote

"Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who shall stand in His holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." (Psalm 24:3)

Another option for hand-washing would be

"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)

In order to implement this, I think I shall print the verses out on a small piece of paper and hang it in plain view (for those of reading age...I can read it to the little ones and they will pick it up eventually), like next to the mirror in the bathroom.

Next to the light switch in my daughters' room, I will put:

"The LORD is my light and my salvation: whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1)

Or maybe Isaiah 41:10:

"Fear thou not; for I [am] with thee: be not dismayed; for I [am] thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

(Ooo! Side note: wouldn't it be cool to have a night light with a cut-out stencil to project this verse on the wall/ceiling, so that the child could look at it at night and be comforted?)

In the Old Testament, the Law applied to every task, every ritual, every mundane detail of the lives of Israel. He means for us to think and talk about Him ALL the time! This nurtures our continual connection with our God, it is our protection from assimilation into the world, and it is ammunition against the 'fiery darts' of the enemy! Jesus quoted Old Testament verses when tempted in the wilderness--that's good enough for me! :)

I plan to get this started this week--I may even post a picture or two! No promises, but I'll try. :)

How about you? What do you think is a helpful tip to help us win our children? Or what verses would you connect to which tasks? I'm all ears! :)

..and if you would like to join me in this effort, take a pic or two and email it! I just might post it! :)