Lasting Foundations

July 18, 2009

Introducing our children to God - Part 1

“God made the stars.” This phrase couldn’t have been sweeter to his father’s ears. It was the first sentence our oldest son spoke. We started teaching him before he could even talk that God made him; his eyes, his ears, his nose. We often pointed out God’s beautiful creation around us; the trees, the mountains, the lakes, and the stars. We declared God’s glory to him early.

Gregg and I decided we would teach our children about God using a chronological approach beginning at Genesis one.

I first heard the Bible presented this way about two years before we were married. It was when I visited one of the Bible studies Gregg was doing with a man who did not believe in God. I learned so much as I watched Gregg teach through the Old Testament and highlight things that pointed to God’s plan of redemption. It was only a matter of weeks before this man said he believed in the Bible, and a few months later he believed on Jesus alone to save him.

This approach changed how I viewed Scripture. I saw that everything written in the Old Testament had a purpose – to reveal God and his plan for mankind. I saw how the Old Testament points to Jesus.

Jesus rose from the dead on resurrection morning, and later that same day He met some of his disciples on the road to Emmaus. “And beginning at Moses [Genesis – Deuteronomy] and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.” When he left them they said, “Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and opened to us the scriptures?”

We desire that our children’s hearts would burn within them in this same way.

So how do we teach the Bible to our children? When they are very young we speak often about the God who created them. When they are first learning about the trees, birds, dirt, animals, and their own body parts, we introduce them to their Creator.

And this is just the beginning.

If you have questions or comments regarding this blog please email Katie at  katie@lastingfoundations.com.

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July 17, 2009

Grateful

Living in Africa has caused me to be grateful for so many things. In America we have so much, and life is convenient. I am amazed how difficult life is for people here.

In America, if we need to go somewhere we jump in our car and go. These people walk for miles to reach their destination, often toting a baby on their back or some other burdensome load.

If we need food, we head to the nearest grocery store and buy it. We have unimaginable variety! Here many of the people grow their own food or can only afford to buy maize or rice.

Sometimes my children complain about the food I feed them. In Africa we have encountered children who MAYBE get one piece of bread OR a small bowl of porridge to eat the whole day!

In America we can turn on the faucet and expect to get cold and HOT water. As I write this we haven’t had running water for five days. The laundry is piling high, the toilets haven’t been flushed much, and we all smell a little, but it hasn’t been that bad. It makes me grateful. Wow, back at home I can take a piping hot shower, do a load of laundry every day, give my kids a bath, clean the house, and do the dishes all day long!

We are so blessed.

I have often been reminded of the verses that say, “Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment? … But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” (Matt. 6)

God’s Kingdom, that’s what really matters.

What a privilege to have this opportunity to build some character into my life and the lives of my children. Oh, that they would turn out to be grateful individuals; that they would care about the things which will last for eternity and seek after God’s kingdom and His righteousness! That would be the greatest blessing this mother could have.

If you have questions or comments regarding this blog please email Katie at  katie@lastingfoundations.com.

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June 25, 2009

Precious Water

Last week we were at a girls boarding school where I saw all of the girls bring their buckets to a central location to be filled with water. A few hours later a water truck came from miles away on a narrow, dusty road to fill the buckets. This happens every day at this school, and the students are dependent on that water truck.

Living in Africa has given me a new appreciation for the bare necessities of life. My children are too young to understand the vitality of water, but as I thought about how precious water is I told them the story of Jesus and the woman He met at Jacob’s well (John 4).

Jesus offered the Samaritan woman something only He can give. “But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”

We all need water to survive. That fact has become very real to me as we have visited areas of Kenya where draught has claimed lives and caused much suffering. Some of the children have to walk for miles just to get a little water. I have seen women stooping down next to muddy pools of water collecting what little water they can. I honestly don’t know what they could do with such murky water.

I was completely overwhelmed last week as I had the opportunity to talk with many of the girls at the boarding school. My heart ached as I listened to one girl after another tell her story of the pain, the suffering, the loss, the sin she had experienced. It was exciting for me to realize that for each girl’s problem, there was the same answer: Jesus. All I could do was point them to Him. He alone can save. He alone can heal. He alone can comfort. He is Life and He offers that Life to us freely. Even though our physical body still needs water every day, my spirit rejoices in the fact that I have drunk of the Living Water and am satisfied.

If you have questions or comments regarding this blog please email Katie at  katie@lastingfoundations.com.

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June 16, 2009

In Africa - With Kids

A week before we left for Kenya, Elizabeth and I were in the bathroom at a gas station. An older lady overheard us talking about preparing to leave. She asked me how long we  would be in Africa, and I replied three months. She then said, “I have been in ministry for 27 years and I want you to know that the way you raise your children is normal to them." What she said is true.

Before I was married I lived in a foreign country, but I wondered how it would be living in Africa with a family. Of course I have to deal with loads of laundry that are washed by hand, making sure the children only drink bottled water, and teaching them to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer. To me it seems like a big deal to be in Africa with three small children, but to them this is life.

Living in Kenya hasn’t been that different for our children. They still have all the things that matter most - Mom and Dad with them all the time, love, food, shelter and clothing. They are experiencing things I never knew existed when I was their age. But for all the experiences they are having, one thing is on the forefront of my heart as their mother. I want them to know God, personally. I want them to grow up and live a life that is pleasing to their Maker. “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not,” Eccl. 12:1 Even on the mission field, it is still my sole priority to raise my children in the ways of God and teach them to fear Him and love Him. I have such a small window of time to lay a lasting foundation in their lives. I remind myself every day to teach them about things that matter most, the things that will last for eternity.

For now, I am so blessed to be where God has me and to fulfill my role as the mother of my kids - in Africa.

If you have questions or comments regarding this blog please email Katie at  katie@lastingfoundations.com.

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