3 Little Words...

"Children obey your parents, in the Lord, for this is right. Honor your Father and Mother..."

Ephesians 6:1-2

This is the verse we started memorizing last week. I chose this verse based on the bible study that our small group is currently working through. (Which I really like!) Anyway this week we talked about teaching kids to honor others (in addition to obedience). I have wanted to do this verse for awhile and felt like now is the perfect time. We talked about what it means to honor someone (going above and beyond, doing something unexpected, etc.) and I introduced this verse.

Sometimes I choose a verse to memorize based on what I need to learn/work on because I've found that helping my kids memorize verses is a sure fire way to memorize it myself! Usually I choose a verse based on something they need to work on (sharing, being kind, etc.) I chose this verse thinking it was pretty much just for them (although I know I still need to honor my parents!) I've probably read this verse hundreds of times and always thought that it was written pretty much for kids, but this time I focused on the words "in the Lord" and stopped to think about what they mean. (Now this may be nothing new to most of you reading this but it hit me as something I've never thought about before!) God is instructing me (as a parent) to raise my children based on His word... in the Lord. Their job to obey is based on me first doing my job... WOW!

PS--For those of you haven't tried memorizing scripture with your kids, it's really much easier than you would think! Here's what works for us: I choose a verse and write it out on a note card. I leave the note card with my center piece on the dining room table (sometimes it IS the centerpiece!) We practice the verse before each meal and at snack time. I break it down into phrases and they repeat. Eventually I make the phrases longer until I just need to say a word and they've got it. We always do the scripture references with the verse (mostly for me, b/c I'm not good at remembering them!) After they can say the verse independently we keep doing it for several more days. I also refer back to the verses we've learned when dealing with discipline issues. We usually work on a verse for 2-3 weeks before moving on. I think pretty much as soon as they can talk, they can do this!