Memorizing as a family

So my teachable moment from the last post expanded.

While I was thinking about my son and teaching him how he could earn a "good name," I also thought about how he could improve on his obedience at home. It's not too bad, but there are many times a week where he is simply not taking my instructions to mean anything.

So back to Bible Gateway. I knew there was a verse that said "Children obey your parents," but I didn't know this verse could be found with slightly different words in TWO places.

Ephesians 6:1 says: Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.

Colossians 3:20 says: Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

And then I did what I always do when looking up verses. Always always. I read the context for each verse. On Bible Gateway, when it is showing you a verse, there are always links you can click to expand the passage or expand the whole chapter. I always read at least the expanded passage for contexual hints as to the meaning of any given verse.

And when I expanded Colossians chapter 3, I felt a little sting. The larger passage says this:

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.
Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.
Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.

My husband and I had sort of a rough week, too. And so I could not in good conscience hold my son to God's standard without holding myself to it as well. The fact of the matter was that this week, no one in the family had been functioning as God required.

So I emailed my husband with the suggestion that at dinnertime, we talk to the kids about this passage. We admit how hard it is to sometimes obey God's instructions. And we commit to memorizing our part of the passage, so as to keep His ways in our hearts. He thought it was a good idea, and so I made these. (Did you like how I was trying to follow his lead on the matter, and not just force my plan on everyone without making sure he was okay with it? Yeah, sometimes I do that.) 

And don't you love my colorful 3x5's??  They are so much happier than plain ones. I had to print, for the sake of the kids, and I hate my printing. It takes so much concetration. Why is it so hard for me to print, as opposed to writing in cursive?

Again, Bible Gateway allowed me to select the verses in the NIrV version so that the words were easier to understand. I wanted the kids to be able to better understand the husband and wife verses as well.

I really liked the mommy verse in the NIrV:

Wives, follow the lead of your husband. That's what the Lord wants you to do.

So simple, and so important.

We put the cards in a basket in the middle of the kitchen table and agreed we'd have them memorized by the end of the weekend. I'm so glad that the kids can see us taking our responsibilities seriously, and that we too are committed to following the Lord. It is important that our kids not be led to believe we are perfect and that living a faithful life is easy. Because we really aren't and it's really not. Kids feel much more acceptance, I believe, when they see that everyone else in the family makes mistakes too.

Humility, apology, grace, and truth. A family can never have too much of these.

Happy weekend, friends.