Walking Together . . . what does that mean and what does it look like?
It means something different to us now, than it used to.
We choose to walk together as a family.
It means something different to us now, than it used to.
We choose to walk together as a family.
That means we choose to walk right beside our children
living life right along side of them.
living life right along side of them.
We choose to be their sole educators.
We realized the meaning behind Luke 6:40 when Jesus states that
"A student is not above his teacher,
but when he is fully trained, he will be like his teacher."
We choose not to hand this over to someone else to do.
We realized the meaning behind Luke 6:40 when Jesus states that
"A student is not above his teacher,
but when he is fully trained, he will be like his teacher."
We choose not to hand this over to someone else to do.
We take on the responsibility of their education.
Not because we are arrogant,but because we humbly see
that we are the only ones that can pass on the Lord's ways to them.
Without us doing it, it will not get done in the manner it is to be done.
We see this as an AMAZING privilege and an ENORMOUS task.
We can not do it without our SAVIOR's help each day.
We choose to disciple them.
Not because we are arrogant,but because we humbly see
that we are the only ones that can pass on the Lord's ways to them.
Without us doing it, it will not get done in the manner it is to be done.
We see this as an AMAZING privilege and an ENORMOUS task.
We can not do it without our SAVIOR's help each day.
We choose to disciple them.
We choose this because we realized someone else WAS doing it.
We did not see how much their peers were discipling them,
but we began to see the effects of this.
We saw their friend's opinions mattering more than our opinions.
We saw their heartstrings being intertwined with their friend's hearts.
We saw that being accepted by their friends was becoming very important to them.
We saw that being accepted by the culture was becoming the desire of their hearts.
So, we had much to change in this area.
We started to look at the word disciple and dig into its meaning.
The Lord showed us in His Word what this word meant.
We decided to seek out others who were discipling their children
and watch how this was affecting their children.
The children were happier and the families were happier.
The families were unified in their love for each other and in
their love for Christ.
We decided to have family worship every night.
Daddy was teaching them God's Word.
They began to desire to hear our words and our ways about HIM.
They began to desire to know our God.
They are desiring to seek the Lord and to know Him.
They are desiring HIM more and more
and they are desiring to make HIM their Lord.
Watching this change in their lives is very humbling to my husband and I.
We now know we were giving their hearts to another
and when we committed to change our ways, the Lord gave us their hearts back.
We choose to cut out cable TV from our lives.
We did not see the effects as we were laughing at bad humor.
We did not see the effects on our hearts
as we watched our favorite shows.
We did not see that us putting a television in lives
as a way to be entertained was not the best use of the TV.
We did not see how we were vegging in front of the TV
and how we were taking valuable time away from our family and our marriage to relax.
We did not see how when we watched shows
about home improvement it really began to influence
how we "loved" our home more and more.
We did not see how the visual pictures before our eyes
were influencing how we looked at our own bodies,
our own marriage and our own family.
We did not see when we watched a romance movie,
it was setting up unrealistic expectations in our hearts for each other as man and wife.
We did not see our hearts growing cold and numb,
as this box was given priority to disciple our hearts.
We were carefully guarding what our children watched,
but not we were not carefully guarding what we watched.
We now see ALL of this.
The Lord opened our eyes and we see the destructiveness of this
and we have chosen to use it now as a tool for HIS KINGDOM.
We use it to watch documentaries that will teach us and grow us in the Lord.
We choose to watch movies that celebrate HIS Authority and Lordship.
We choose to laugh at pure humor.
We choose to protect our marriage by protecting our eyes
from images of bodies that we don't need to see.
We choose to protect our minds from humor that tears down the family.
We choose to take control of this area of our lives.
We did not see how much their peers were discipling them,
but we began to see the effects of this.
We saw their friend's opinions mattering more than our opinions.
We saw their heartstrings being intertwined with their friend's hearts.
We saw that being accepted by their friends was becoming very important to them.
We saw that being accepted by the culture was becoming the desire of their hearts.
So, we had much to change in this area.
We started to look at the word disciple and dig into its meaning.
The Lord showed us in His Word what this word meant.
We decided to seek out others who were discipling their children
and watch how this was affecting their children.
The children were happier and the families were happier.
The families were unified in their love for each other and in
their love for Christ.
We decided to have family worship every night.
Daddy was teaching them God's Word.
They began to desire to hear our words and our ways about HIM.
They began to desire to know our God.
They are desiring to seek the Lord and to know Him.
They are desiring HIM more and more
and they are desiring to make HIM their Lord.
Watching this change in their lives is very humbling to my husband and I.
We now know we were giving their hearts to another
and when we committed to change our ways, the Lord gave us their hearts back.
We choose to cut out cable TV from our lives.
We did not see the effects as we were laughing at bad humor.
We did not see the effects on our hearts
as we watched our favorite shows.
We did not see that us putting a television in lives
as a way to be entertained was not the best use of the TV.
We did not see how we were vegging in front of the TV
and how we were taking valuable time away from our family and our marriage to relax.
We did not see how when we watched shows
about home improvement it really began to influence
how we "loved" our home more and more.
We did not see how the visual pictures before our eyes
were influencing how we looked at our own bodies,
our own marriage and our own family.
We did not see when we watched a romance movie,
it was setting up unrealistic expectations in our hearts for each other as man and wife.
We did not see our hearts growing cold and numb,
as this box was given priority to disciple our hearts.
We were carefully guarding what our children watched,
but not we were not carefully guarding what we watched.
We now see ALL of this.
The Lord opened our eyes and we see the destructiveness of this
and we have chosen to use it now as a tool for HIS KINGDOM.
We use it to watch documentaries that will teach us and grow us in the Lord.
We choose to watch movies that celebrate HIS Authority and Lordship.
We choose to laugh at pure humor.
We choose to protect our marriage by protecting our eyes
from images of bodies that we don't need to see.
We choose to protect our minds from humor that tears down the family.
We choose to take control of this area of our lives.
We choose to discipline and love our children.
We see the beautiful benefit of training our children.
When they do things the first time out of obedience,
we are training them to listen to their Heavenly Father the first time.
Without love and discipline, we grow to be foolish and unwise.
We grow to be wise in our own eyes.
We see how this takes lots and lots of time in the beginning of their lives.
We see that if we fail here in the beginning to capture their obedience and hearts,
we will fail in passing on God's ways and commands later as they grow.
So, when we fail to discipline our children, we are failing to help HIM capture their hearts.
We see the deep love of the Lord as He has showed us this desire for us as parents.
We see the beautiful benefit of training our children.
When they do things the first time out of obedience,
we are training them to listen to their Heavenly Father the first time.
Without love and discipline, we grow to be foolish and unwise.
We grow to be wise in our own eyes.
We see how this takes lots and lots of time in the beginning of their lives.
We see that if we fail here in the beginning to capture their obedience and hearts,
we will fail in passing on God's ways and commands later as they grow.
So, when we fail to discipline our children, we are failing to help HIM capture their hearts.
We see the deep love of the Lord as He has showed us this desire for us as parents.
We choose to train them up
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
We see how if we don't do this, it will not be done.
We did not see how we were allowing others to train them.
We did not see how we were handing this over to other teachers, coaches and peers.
We did not see at first how much all of these other people
were training them in the ways of the culture around them.
We did not see how much of an influence this had on their lives.
Now, we see that whoever is walking beside them is training them.
Now, we see that whoever is discipling them is capturing their hearts.
We see that whoever is capturing their hearts is teaching them a worldview.
We see how this worldview will influence
the rest of their lives and the rest of their decisions.
We choose to not be as busy anymore.
We choose to cut out everything that takes away
from the time it takes to disciple our family.
We do this because we did not see how our busy schedules
were keeping us from family time.
We did not see how saying "yes" to one thing,
even if it was supposedly a good thing, a "Christian" thing,
took mommy and daddy's minds away.
We did not see how being distracted was truly hurting our little ones hearts.
When they did not have our attention and our hearts,
we were loosing them to other things.
They were seeking out things that would give them their attention and their time.
Now we see how even a small "yes" to something
can allow Satan to come in and capture their hearts because we are distracted.
Now everything that is said "yes" to is prayed over,
mulled over and discussed between mommy and daddy.
It is all taken to God's Word and evaluated
before we give it a "yes" in our family.
This has allowed for us to protect our family and our family time.
We choose to let them see us everyday
in our failures and in our victories.
We choose to cut out everything that takes away
from the time it takes to disciple our family.
We do this because we did not see how our busy schedules
were keeping us from family time.
We did not see how saying "yes" to one thing,
even if it was supposedly a good thing, a "Christian" thing,
took mommy and daddy's minds away.
We did not see how being distracted was truly hurting our little ones hearts.
When they did not have our attention and our hearts,
we were loosing them to other things.
They were seeking out things that would give them their attention and their time.
Now we see how even a small "yes" to something
can allow Satan to come in and capture their hearts because we are distracted.
Now everything that is said "yes" to is prayed over,
mulled over and discussed between mommy and daddy.
It is all taken to God's Word and evaluated
before we give it a "yes" in our family.
This has allowed for us to protect our family and our family time.
We choose to let them see us everyday
in our failures and in our victories.
We used to fake it, and act like we had it all together in front of them.
We used to call them on their bad behavior
and not allow them to call us on ours.
Now we choose to live life being real in front of them,
asking for their forgiveness and teaching them to rely on Him for their goodness.
We choose to be real with them and let them see our insecurities.
We are helping each other work through our sinful natures.
We are walking hand in hand as the Lord continues to sanctify us
through living life together.
We used to call them on their bad behavior
and not allow them to call us on ours.
Now we choose to live life being real in front of them,
asking for their forgiveness and teaching them to rely on Him for their goodness.
We choose to be real with them and let them see our insecurities.
We are helping each other work through our sinful natures.
We are walking hand in hand as the Lord continues to sanctify us
through living life together.
This way of life is harder at times, but it is RICHER.
Praise the Lord we see all of this.
He was gracious enough to allow us to see it before it was too late.
Oh, how we humbly cry out to HIM in thankfulness.
We now see the road we were heading down
and we see the destructiveness it was leading too.
He rescued us and He turned our hearts toward Him
and in return He is giving us back the hearts of our children.
He was gracious enough to allow us to see it before it was too late.
Oh, how we humbly cry out to HIM in thankfulness.
We now see the road we were heading down
and we see the destructiveness it was leading too.
He rescued us and He turned our hearts toward Him
and in return He is giving us back the hearts of our children.
Yes, we are walking together now.
Hand in hand we are passing on the Lord's legacy to the next generation.
We see the beauty of the Lord's heart
and how He lovingly passes His love
through us to them as we live life together with them.
We see the beauty of the Lord's heart
and how He lovingly passes His love
through us to them as we live life together with them.
"And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart.
You shall teach them diligently to 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."
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
You shall teach them diligently to 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."
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
Things that have helped us in this journey:
**God's Word, seeking His face in all issues of life,
realizing His Word is sufficient in all areas and for all questions.
**Attending the "Sufficiency of Scripture Conference"
(here are the teachings from that: http://www.visionforum.com/search/productdetail.aspx?search=sufficiency+of+scripture&productid=37535)
**Watching the DVD "Children of Caesar:
The State of American Education"
http://store.nicenecouncil.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103&products_id=484
**Reading
"Shepherding a Child's Heart"
and "Instructing a Child's Heart"
by Tedd Tripp
**Watching the DVD "Legacy"
by Voddie Baucham.
**Listening to the CD "The Centrality of the Home in Evangelism and Discipleship"
by Voddie Baucham
**Reading the book "Already Gone"
by Ken Ham
**Many wonderful resources from Vision Forum
**NCFIC.org
God's Word being taught by these amazing teachers, has helped
us understand the heart of the LORD
so that we may pray for Him to capture the hearts of our children.
Semper Reformanda
Leaving a footprint in the next generation
by discipling our children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord.
Our adoption fund is up to 30%.
So, thankful!
**God's Word, seeking His face in all issues of life,
realizing His Word is sufficient in all areas and for all questions.
**Attending the "Sufficiency of Scripture Conference"
(here are the teachings from that: http://www.visionforum.com/search/productdetail.aspx?search=sufficiency+of+scripture&productid=37535)
**Watching the DVD "Children of Caesar:
The State of American Education"
http://store.nicenecouncil.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=103&products_id=484
**Reading
"Shepherding a Child's Heart"
and "Instructing a Child's Heart"
by Tedd Tripp
**Watching the DVD "Legacy"
by Voddie Baucham.
**Listening to the CD "The Centrality of the Home in Evangelism and Discipleship"
by Voddie Baucham
**Reading the book "Already Gone"
by Ken Ham
**Many wonderful resources from Vision Forum
**NCFIC.org
God's Word being taught by these amazing teachers, has helped
us understand the heart of the LORD
so that we may pray for Him to capture the hearts of our children.
Semper Reformanda
Leaving a footprint in the next generation
by discipling our children in the nurture and admonition
of the Lord.
Our adoption fund is up to 30%.
So, thankful!
