Coming and Going

Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one!  You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart.  You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up.         Deuteronomy 6:4-7

This time of year is a lot of fun with young children around.  The excitement and anticipation they have during this holiday season is never-ending and contagious.  It is easy for them to put too much focus on the gifts, Santa and the worldly view of Christmas.  Sometimes I feel like it is a constant battle to bring the focus back to Christ, and what this season is really about. 

God in His infinite wisdom knows that we, as well as our children learn best with repetition.  Which is why I think He says in Deuteronomy 6:7 that we need to teach our children when we sit at our house watching TV or eating dinner, when we are out walking and running errands, when we lie down at night, and when we get up early in the morning. It is easier during this time of year to talk with my young children each day about Jesus and the reason for the season as we pass on our traditions or create new ones. God also knew that if we obeyed His command, He would already be the focus and we wouldn’t have to battle.

Father, I pray that during this season as well as throughout the year that I will be diligent to obey your command to take every moment to teach my children about You so that their focus and mine is on You and not the world.

In His Service,
Dawn Erickson