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Bring your children along with you as you live your
life! Let them be with you and observe what you do. Let them try
new things right alongside you, and learn what you're learning.
Cook a new recipe together, use organizers to get rid
of the chaos in the hall closet, or plant flower bulbs in the
fall working side by side. Learn how to repair a broken lamp,
change the oil in the car, or build a fish aquarium. Get their
input as to the type of fish to purchase and the color of rocks
to fill the bottom landscape.
Inspect a spider web up close nose to nose, and
identify the type of spider that made it. Is it poisonous, or
not? Take them with you to your favorite bird sanctuary and
teach them to quietly observe the birds God created. Let them
keep a record of all the different birds you see there. Start
collections together of things like geodes, shells, tree and
plant leaves, or beautiful flowers to dry.
Watch a cold front move in together. See the clouds
roll in, the skies get darker, and the wind pick up as the front
comes tumbling in. Chart the temperature drop by the hour to see
how dramatically it changes. Smell the crisp air and pull out
the wool sweaters. Let them help you change out the summer
clothes they've been wearing for warm winter ones.
Enlist their help in deciding meals for the week and
making the grocery list for shopping. Take them to the store and
encourage them to compare prices and show them how to look for
true bargains. Let them see you use your checkbook or debit
card, or how you count the change the cashier gives back to you.
Invite them to relax with you on the front porch in
the evening with a glass of lemonade in the summer, or to
snuggle up with you under a blanket with hot chocolate in hand
in the fall. Read that good book you're engrossed in aloud to
them, or sing your praise songs to God so they can sing along
with you.
Bring them into your prayer time for others and
encourage them to lift those people up before the Lord, too. Let
them see your hospitality to others and be a part of the
preparations and ministering. Take them with you when you serve
in your church and you do those acts of love for beloved in
need.
Live the life God has given you… live it fully…
and bring your children along with you!
© 2007 John and Kim Namestnik
www.givengrace.com
Permission is granted to copy and distribute this
material - if it's kept intact and not changed in any
way, if it's given without charge, and if this
copyright notice is included with it.
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