Woo hoo! I am excited to be back in our routine! I *think* the kids are too – so far both both boys have said to me the last two days that they like doing school – so I’d say that’s a good sign.
We picked a theme for our year this year – rather than picking a theme for our “school year”, this is one we can really carry over into every moment of every day and start the year off fresh with. Last year it was Diligence, using Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men”. I desperately chose it because I was so tired of hearing the kids complaining and whining about doing things. But now looking back I can see that the more we focused on God’s word and on this verse, among many others, the more things have changed – not only in my children’s lives and hearts, but in mine also.
I really believe that picking a theme for your family, something to focus on and really pray and work toward, will result in tremendous change and blessing in your family. So this year’s theme is “Be Like Christ”. We have been studying a LOT about righteousness through our family devotions in Romans, as well as The Narrow Way bible study we do together during school. But it’s the practical application side that takes the work! We know and understand we cannot DO anything to earn our salvation or to become righteous, but that it is the blood of Christ and our belief in him which saves us and makes us righteous. Christians are called to be righteous – how does that look, living life out every day?
One of our theme verses is Colossians 1:10, which says “so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” I want to teach my children what it means to “walk worthy” and to “bear fruit” and to “increase in the knowledge of God”. Another verse is Colossians 3:12-17 (can you tell I really like Colossians? :D) –
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts,kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
17 And whatever you do, in word ordeed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
God’s word is so full of the ways that we can love and serve him, it was hard to pick just a few verses! We’ll be spending the first month or so memorizing these, then we’ll continue on with some other verses that go with our theme. So far we are well on our way to having Colossians 1:10 memorized – their spongey brains and memories are inspirations to me, and I love that we are memorizing together, because it means that I am memorizing too!
How about you? Do you have a theme or focus for your family this year? What verses are you working on memorizing?
Linking up with Kids in the Word Wednesday
