Another Line from the Devil

Within the last several weeks, we have discovered more things the Enemy of our souls has been saying to our sons. I'll share one of them in this post.


Two weeks ago, Sunday Night, while special music was being sung, Marianne looked over to see Allan crying. The song was neither a sad nor particularly convicting song, so she leaned over to ask, "Is everything ok?"

Allan: "I don't think so."

Marianne: "What's the problem?"

Allan: "What if God doesn't exist?"

How's that for a bombshell in the middle of a service!? Our eight year old is contemplating the non-existence of God! Now, you can be sure that thought didn't come from God!

At home that evening, Marianne shared Allan's question with me, and so I addressed over our Sunday PM ritual of fried eggs and toast.

My best shot at an eight year-old level was to say, "Allan, if God didn't exist, then this world wouldn't exist. The kind of world we live in can only exist if there is a God."

I asked if he understood, and he said he didn't really. :o/ But that was all I could come up with at the time.

A couple days later, I tried again: "Allan, if you shook up your box of legos, do you think there is any chance that a perfectly put together Space Shuttle would emerge from the box after you took off the lid?"

Allan: "No, way"

Me: "Even if you shook it up a long time?"

Allan: "No chance. That could never happen."

Me: "You're right, and the kind of world we live in, where we're just the right distance from the sun, and have just the right levels of oxygen and nitrogen in our atmosphere, and are tilted at just the right angle for seasons, and everything is just right for human and animal life, could never have happened by chance. That would be like shaking up a box of legos and getting a Space Shuttle."

That seemed to make sense to Allan. Then, because I was curious, I asked: "Why were you crying when you were thinking what if God doesn't exist?"

Allan: "Because if God didn't exist, there wouldn't be any heaven! That would be sad!"

I suspect there are still better ways to answer this question and make it clear to an 8 year old. I welcome your suggestions.

"Write them on the door posts and on the gates"

Deuteronomy 6:9 says, "Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (NIV).

A plaque given to us last year for Christmas

Several years ago when Philip and I began thinking of concrete ways of implementing Deut 6: 7-9 we starting trying to find ways to implement the principles found in verse 9. Traditionally in Jewish culture,  a mezuzah accomplishes this command. The idea is that scripture is to be used in the home in such a way as to bring to mind and aid in the memorization of Scripture. With the explosion of vinyl wall art this is becoming much easier!

Taken from Deut 6 this is right above the main staircase (we live in a second and third floor apt) done in vinyl. It's not finished yet -I'd like to somehow make it look like it's in a large picture frame but still uncertain of how I want to accomplish this to make it more attractive. This is what everyone sees when they are sitting in our living room.

Several years ago we went to the P.Graham Dunn studio here in Ohio and visited their "second hand" section. These were relatively inexpensive.

These are at the bottom of the landing between second and third floors.

The plaques are of Psalm 37:4 and Phil 4:4. I purchased the frames at Walmart and took some mark-down fabric scraps to make the background and match the color scheme for this area.

This plaque of Deut. 6 was also from P. Graham Dunn and placed in a frame over the main bathroom sink. This protects the wood from getting wet and the boys can see it every time they wash their hands and brush their teeth.

Home Interiors used to carry some Scripture decorations (though I've not checked recently). I purchased this heart with Matthew 5:8 above my kitchen sink. The notecards are my memory verses that I'm currently working on - I can wash dishes and work on memorizing them at the same time.

More recently, Philip has begun saying the Hebrew blessing over our family in the mornings after breakfast. When he's done we respond with this verse that I just printed from Word,  put in a frame and placed on the hutch (china cabinet).

In the upstairs bathroom we have 1 John 1:5 above a Thomas Kincaid picture.

This hangs above my ironing board as I'm working (given to me by my brother, Jonathan Slagenweit).

Our goal has been:

1. Keep scripture in front of them that will remind them of principle truths of God's Word.
2. Make it attractive - I'll have to admit when Philip first mentioned implementing this principle (I'm ashamed to admit it!) I thought, "How tacky! It's going to ruin my whole decorating style!" What I learned is - "my style" isn't as important as  A. following the commands of Scripture and B. doing what is going to impact my children for good and eternity. This was before wall art and doing a Google search on "Scripture wall art" produced a million results!
3. Stay within the budget! There are lots of creative ideas for implementing this principle using just a computer and a pretty frame. 

If you're needing some more ideas you might be able to find some at Doorposts (which is a favorite resource of mine!) since they're running a contest with this theme of implementing Scripture into our homes. I'm anxious to see some more ideas that might work for our family.

How do you implement Deut 6:9? I'd love to hear/see your ideas!

Proverbs 11:1, Black Clouds, and Hosea 8:7

This morning I came to breakfast planning to talk about Proverbs 11:1 with my boys.

Proverbs 11:1 A false balance is an abomination to the LORD, But a just weight is His delight.

I was going to talk about the importance of honesty, why God hates dishonesty, and reinforce the standard "Woe be unto you if you tell a lie!" speech that I heard many times as a kid and have integrated into my child rearing.

The boys were really sleepy at breakfast so I thought I'd let them listen in to me talk to Marianne about this verse. I quoted it and then asked her what she thought it meant.

Almost immediately after she said, "God hates dishonesty," she looked out the window and exclaimed about the really black clouds that were billowing into Cincinnati from the West. That led to a comment about tornado warnings, and the boys were off and running asking questions about tornadoes.

So much for Proverbs 11:1!

Rather than insist upon my previous plan; however, I shifted gears and quoted Hosea 8:7 (No, I couldn't remember the reference this morning, just the first half of the verse!).

They [the wicked] sow the wind and reap the whirlwind [a tornado]

Why not capitalize on little boys' fascination with tornadoes? So we talked about how a little sin reaps big problems. You breath out a few disrespectful words and a tornado descends on you (in the form of a wrathful parent).

I want my boys to know you can't sin and get away with it. Sow a wind, reap a whirlwind!

Numbers 6:24-26 and Psalm 67:1-2 -- Blessed to Bless

Sometime last week, during my daily devotions I read Psalm 67. The first two verses immediately struck me as reminiscent of the priestly blessing in Num. 6, which I quote over my boys most every morning.

1 God be gracious to us and bless us, And cause His face to shine upon us-- Selah.
2 That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations.

What struck me about this text is that it explains the purpose of God's blessing: so that His "way" and "salvation" may be known throughout the world. In other words, this is a missionary blessing.

It's not about me and my kids getting and getting, but about God blessing us so that we may be a blessing to the world! What a great text!

So, I printed it up and put it on the fridge. For the last week, we've been saying it together as a family after I say the Num. 6:24-26 blessing. My goal is that all of us will have these two verses memorized so that when I pronounce the blessing, the family responds with this prayer that God will make us channels through which His name is known to the world around us.

I can envision a future time when we will explore as a family the meaning of God's "way," what it means to "know" God's way as well as His salvation, and how all this relates to praying for God to bless us so we can be a blessing.

Proverbs at Breakfast: 29:15 today

Proverbs is a parent's book. It contains the inspired instructions from a wise parent to children. As such it not only instructs the parent personally, but models for the parent how to instruct a child.

Since "wisdom is the principal thing" (Prov. 4:7), I want my boys to gain wisdom. To that end, I plan to read a verse or more from Proverbs each day. Using the chapter that corresponds to the day's date, makes it easy, ensures variety, and keeps us moving.

Today's chapter is Proverbs 29, and I choose v. 15 as this morning's verse

Proverbs 29:15 The rod and reproof give wisdom, But a child who gets his own way brings shame to his mother.

As is typical for ages 4-6, key words need defining. I asked, "Daniel, what is reproof?" "I don't know."

So I offer a definition: reproof is when someone tells you that what you're doing is wrong.

I asked, "Allan, what is wisdom?" He answered, "Doing what I'm told with a happy, submissive attitude?" ... "That's what obedience is. And it is wise to be obedient!"

"Wisdom," Marianne said, "is thinking God's way." I can work with that definition. (A six year old doesn't have to be able to quote the full definition Dad gives in Wisdom Lit.: "Wisdom is the skill or ability of viewing life and all its components from God's perspective and keeping the proper focus.")

So, I say, "That's right. Wisdom is thinking God's way, and that's what Daddy and Mommy are trying to teach you to do, when we correct you."

Obviously, there's a good deal more to say about this verse, but that was enough for this morning. Line upon line ...

Talk of them when you sit in your house

Deuteronomy 6:7 says You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house ...

The "them" in the verse is God's commandments, or more generally, his word.

Breakfast is one of the times we sit in our house together, so it is a prime time to implement this aspect of Deut. 6:7. One of the ways I do this at breakfast is by quoting Numbers 6:24-26.

24 The LORD bless you, and keep you;
25 The LORD make His face shine on you, And be gracious to you;
26 The LORD lift up His countenance on you, And give you peace.'

My chosen method of doing this is to place my hands upon my sons' heads and then recite the verses. As I say "May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you," I lift my hands off their heads and then bring them back down on the "give you peace."

My boys have taken to grabbing my hands and seeing if they can keep me from lifting them up. At first I just lifted the boys off their seats as they held fast onto my hands. Can't do that anymore!