I sincerely desire that my 11 and 13-year-old daughters hunger to read God’s Word daily. But what if I don’t? I would love my children to hide the Word in their hearts. But what if I’m not? I hope their prayer life is a sincere minute-by-minute discussion with God. But is mine?
September offered a good opportunity for a new focus. And so I chose Mark 12:30 as our family verse for the school year. The commandment to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength” is first seen in Deuteronomy 6. We parents and teachers are told to impress the commandments on our children. To talk about them when we sit at home, when we walk along the road, when we lie down and get up.
Living by the Word is an exciting assignment! I figured if the Stewarts could also memorize one verse per week, by the end of the school year, we’d have about 40 verses tucked in our hearts.
This week we’re memorizing Philippians 4:8. At the bus stop we practice our whatevers. Unfortunately, we are sometimes more inclined to say “WHATEVER!” than “Whatever is… true, right, honorable, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent, and worthy of praise. And so the verse provides a discussion starter and a common language. Next week’s verse will be Romans 12:2 with a focus on not being conformed to the world, but transformed by the renewing of our minds. That’s basically what we’re doing by hiding His Word in our hearts.
And so if you, like me, struggle with how to incorporate memorization, quiet times, or prayer into your daily walk, join me as our family revisits the disciplines of our walk with the Lord. To train up my children begins with training up myself.
What’s your family’s verse for this year? Perhaps you can share your selections below so we can all learn and grow together.
About Ann Stewart
Ann just won the Christy Award for Best Debut Novel of 2017 with Stars in the Grass, originated AMG’s Preparing My Heart series, and writes “Ann’s Lovin’ Ewe” for The Country Register. When she's not writing, she's waving her arms directing musicals, teaching middle schoolers, or watching UVA Basketball, This is Us, or Madam Secretary. In her free time she hangs out with her husband, raising two lovely daughters and a whole flock of fuzzy sheep on Skye Moor Farm, in Virginia--where unscripted drama provides plenty of entertaining material.
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