Our time apart was good...my attitude was better when I returned to our table. I asked her if she was ready to try again, my lil sweetie shrugged her shoulders and hopped on my lap. Instantly Hebrews 4:16 came to mind...the verse we'd memorized earlier this week and even made a video of us reciting it.
So I simply asked, "Do you remember the verse we memorized?" She had a sheepish grin and said, "Yeah" then proceeded to recite, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16."
I simply responded, "Jaylyn, we didn't memorize those words just to make a video or learn another Bible verse, but we wanted to be able to remember them so we could live them out." She shook her head and kept on listening as I asked, "What does that verse mean?" With tears still in her eyes she whispered, "We can pray and ask God for what we need."
The conversation continued as I said, "Is there anything you need?" Her shoulders shrugged again as she said, "I don't know." Then I questioned, "Do you need help with reading? Would you like a good school day? Do you want your teacher to be patient?" She grinned and we bowed together in prayer.
After our amen, the tears were gone and our attitudes were good. The lessons continued and the little girl who said, "I hate school" was smiling and laughing while she worked hard with confidence. The Mom/teacher who wanted to scream and had been full of frustration was enjoying the moment and grateful for what God had done.
School time came to an end and we took a minute to reflect; together we decided to approach the throne again - this time to thank God for the help He gave during our time of need!!
Friends, memorizing Bible verses has never been my strong point...I have a lot of "sorta Scriptures" and could tell you what book many verses come from, but this year God is leading me to memorize His Word and I've already seen Him use and bless this work. I trust He'll do the same for you!!
And so you know there are lots of ways to make it easier and enjoyable!! Here's one suggestion - involve your kids and make a video - they'll love it and you'll get some laughs, but you'll all hide His Word in your heart!! (My little Jaylyn is the curly hair girl!!)
"So is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."
Isaiah 55:11
2 comments:
What a sweet story and adorable video! The power of prayer is an amazing attitude adjuster :). It sounds like you are a wonderful mother and teacher, Jill. I love that your whole family are J's! So cute!
I love how you used memorizing God's Word to encourage your kids that if they can do that, they can apply that in other areas AND you used WHAT you memorized to show them that it applied to what they were struggling with. God's Word...written to speak to us today...to equip us...to guide us!! What a blessing your kids are learning this soooo young.
Post a Comment