Teaching Kids about God (Lazy Tips)

Hey Lazy Moms! This is Jenilee, Stacey's IRL Friend. Yep, I actually know the Lazy Mom herself! And, I have a secret for you. She is SO NOT lazy in the way you think of the word “lazy”.

(Shh... don't tell her I told you. Really...)

But, we have something in common... well, a few things actually, but one of the many things that we both love is EASY tips that make life, uhmmm... easier.

Which makes us both perfect lazy moms. And perfect friends!

Something else we have in common is our passion to raise our kids in the knowledge and love of Jesus!

So, who am I? And, why am I here?

Well, I am a mommy to 3 girls (who are camping buddies to Stacey's 3 kiddos) and married to a crazy, wild and sometimes weird Children's Pastor named Jeremy.

I am writing here today because Stacey and I swapped blogs for the day! She is writing over at The Goodwin Family today, and hosting a GREAT giveaway I might add, while I am writing to you Lazy Moms. I've got some great, easy, LAZY tips for teaching your kids about God on a daily basis.

But, the tips start with a story...

“Play it again! Play it again!”

Again? Really?

“Ok...”, I told Elayna, my seven year old daughter. She was listening to Newsboys sing “When the Boys Light Up” for the 10th time that hour. We were driving to my parent's house and Newsboys was the music of choice for her. In fact, she loves that whole CD.

Comical, since Newsboys was a favorite of mine since they first joined the Christian music world in the early 90s with their song “Shine!”.

Although I love their new album and even saw them in concert last winter, I can't say that listening to one of their songs over and over and over is what I'd choose on a long car ride now that I'm a mom of three girls and reaching 30 years old. But, it's what Elayna wanted to listen to. Her sweet little voice singing, “When we walk in His footsteps, it's a brighter day. When we follow His word, He lights the way. When we lift up His banner and raise it high, we light up the sky!”

As I listened to her sing the words of the song, I thought, “There is nothing else I'd rather her be singing right now.”

Nothing else would better fill her mind. No other words were as important as what she was hearing, memorizing and learning from the music filling the van.

In my role as a mom, I have the opportunity to daily teach my girls about God. Deuteronomy 6:4-8 says, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” Moms, it's not just an opportunity, it's a command.

Psalm 78:4 says, “...we will tell the next generation...” When I read that verse in Psalms, I can't help but remember the importance of teaching our kids about God.

So, how do we do that? In the midst of our busy lives, how do we fit in a Bible lesson or family devotion. The pretty picture of the whole family sitting down at the dinner table while Dad reads the Bible just isn't possible for some of us.

I have put together a Lazy Mom list of ways we can get God's Word into the hearts of our kids while they are young. A list that might help you find a few things that are doable for your family.

• Listen to Christian music and talk about what the songs mean! Fill your car, your house, your kid's rooms with solid music that will move them to understand God more. Choosing this type of music over the latest Disney heart-throb or some young cute thing singing some crazy love song will build of love for worshipful music in their young hearts. Not to mention teach them about God at the same time!
• Post Scripture verses around your house. Even the little ones can learn short pieces of verses to hide in their hearts. Seeing the verses, even if they can't read them, will help your kids sense the importance of God's Word in your home.
• Choose an easy age-appropriate devotional to use at bedtime. This time is invaluable for our family. Whether I read it quickly with the girls, Elayna reads it to her sisters or Jeremy reads it before bed, the girls are learning a great habit of getting into God's Word! Our family likes “God and Me for Girls” by Legacy Press. They have one for ages 2-5 and 6-9 as well as a version for boys. Each devotion is short (perfect for us lazy moms!) and has 2 or 3 questions to ask your kids with a little prayer at the end.
• Let your kids see YOU do your devotions. Sit where they are playing or coloring or reading, get over the fact that they are going to interrupt you and get in God's Word where they can see what you are doing. Kids learn by seeing! They might even ask you what you are reading and you can share with them what God is showing you. Even if they don't completely understand, they get more than we give them credit for and God will reveal Himself in their young lives.
• Pray with them. About everything. However small the prayer, you are teaching them to go to God first and that He is a personal God who cares about the small things.

Go back and read Deuteronomy 6. This passage of scripture taught me to get creative with the job of teaching my kids about God. Everyday things become the tools we can use to take time to pour spiritually into our kids lives.

Playing, driving, waiting in line at the store, eating dinner, getting ready for bed... all open doors into our kids lives and hearts. All true lazy mom ways to ensure we have taught our kids something important about God each and every day.

Feel free to follow me over at The Goodwin Family where I share more about our crazy, busy and fun lives or at My Awake Journey where I write about my personal journey with Christ.

For more about Godly Parenting, you can read here and here. I've also written about Motherhood here if you'd like to read more!

Thanks, Stacey, for the blog swap! So much fun! I look forward to meeting some more Lazy Moms!

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Posted in: Faith