Train Up a Child....

I recently read of a young mom (sahmissionary.blogspot.com) whose children have a personal quiet time when they get up in the morning. These are HER words.....

I was first inspired to implement this in our home through the book, Treasuring God in Our Traditions by Noel Piper (John Piper's wife). She says this on the topic:

"It takes only a few seconds of thought to realize that it is smarter to get a three-year-old started with good lifetime habits than to spring a new regimen on a teenager. One old saying is, 'As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.' Wise Solomon said with the authority of Scripture: 'Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it' (Proverbs 22:6). Why would we wait to train up our children in this essential discipline? Do we think younger children don't yet need time alone with God?"

My goal and purpose in encouraging my children to have regular quiet times with God is to facilitate my children actually learning, hearing, and knowing God for themselves in an intimate way. I never make it a legalistic thing, but rather, and exciting time for them to spend alone with God. I think so much of how our children look at things depends on our attitudes toward whatever the activity is. If I am forcing my children to read their Bibles and pray, chances are, they won't enjoy it and will grow to resent me. However, if I approach it with an attitude full of awe and wonder, they soon catch the vision and join in seamlessly.

So, what do they do for their quiet times? Britton (8) and Hannah (6) are both independent readers. They sit down for about 15-20 minutes each morning and read Scripture from a regular NIV Bible. They have read Genesis and are now starting on Matthew. They also have a journal to jot down what they learned, draw a picture, write a prayer, or whatever they wish to do on that day.

In the above mentioned book, Noel Piper suggests getting the Bible on CD for non-readers to listen to during a "morning quiet time". I admit that Hudson (4) would probably love this, but I have not yet implemented this idea. When I do, I will likely use the Your Story Hour tapes, as we already have them (you can download them at Audible.com

OK....this is Grandma writing again.....I think this is a stellar plan - one that I would be blessed to hear my grandchildren are experiencing.