Teaching Our Children

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 :
" And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.
  You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
  You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes.
  You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. "

I chose these verses as the theme verses of our homeschool over 17 years ago. The Lord is telling us to teach His words to our children  while we're sitting in our house, walking by the way, lying down, rising up. In other words, we should incorporate the Scriptures into our daily lives - at every opportunity. I was really challenged by these verses in the beginning. I struggled trying to find ways to apply Scriptures to whatever it was that I was doing with the children that day. But practice makes perfect, and over the years it has become easier. And the children seem to love the Scriptural applications. For example, when the children were helping me make bread, I asked them when leaven (or yeast) is mentioned in the Bible. They quickly tried to come up with an answer, which led to a discussion about it. I have gradually learned that there are ways to apply Scripture to everything that happens in our daily lives.

But we can't teach our children unless, according to verse 6, we know the Word, and have it in our "heart".   Daily devotions are a must. I have mine in the morning before the children wake up and the house gets noisy.  But I know some people who have them at night before bed. What's important is that we have them, not when we have them.

May the word of Christ dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16), so that we may teach our children and have "godly offspring". Malachi 2:16