Preparation is Needed - Chapter 8

Us mothers are the first teachers of our children and the opportunity given to us is to mold their character for good or evil. Yes the task of parenting may overwhelm us, and it has every reason to if we keep God out of the picture. 'At times the heart may be ready to faint; but a living sense of the dangers threatening the present and future happiness of their loved ones should lead Christian parents to seek more earnestly for help from the source of strength and wisdom. it should make them more circumspect, more decided, more calm yet firm, while they watch for these souls, as they must give account.' CG 64. What can make our task easier is PRAYER, STUDY OF THE BIBLE and EARNEST ZEAL.
 
A very interesting part of the study this week was about the preparation needed before we have a child or care for one:

• Laws of health and physical development
• Physiology
• Hygiene
• Prenatal Influences
• Laws of heredity
• Sanitation
• Dress
• Exercise
• Treatment of Disease
• Functions of organs and how they relate and depend on one another and the healthy action of each

"To assume the responsibilities of parenthood without such preparation is a sin." CG 64
Wow - this is very strong and very important! When I first read this I was little taken back and overwhelmed at the thought. It is a university degree in itself. But we are so privileged to have the Bible and SOP as our reference guide on so many points, and we are also blessed to live in a day and age where literature is so ready available to us and for free. Your local library or Internet is full of information - we are living in the information age that is true. So do not be overwhelmed, take each subject of study at a time, and make it a double blessing and teach it to your children and you learn it yourself.

Our lifework should be to understand the will of God so that we can train our children in the right way so that it might be approved by God. The Bible should be our rule of life - it is full of instruction. The Bible also gives us instruction in terms of obedience. 'Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.' Col 3:20 So the question to be asked is - Should Gods rules of guidance be strictly obeyed? Should our children strictly obey our requirements? The answer is YES! In no way are we to indulge the child to a point where they feel that they can follow their own desires without consulting with the parents. All that is done in the home should be done in Gods perfect order. In home we expect our boys to ask before they go anywhere even if it's outside, and yes as soon as they could communicate. If we want our children in their teenage years to talk to us and communicate with us about their desires, we need to instill that at an early age.

Another point which really hit home for me was that if we see that our children are 'untaught, unmanaged and unrestrained' it concludes to the fact that WE are not spending enough time in the Word and thus we are not meeting Gods standard because we are not searching the scriptures to know what Gods standard is. The rule of our life must be 'What saith the scriptures?' and to know what the scriptures say we must spend time in it. I personally have found a real blessing in having my own quiet time with the Lord in the early hours of the morning before my children awake. Yes, this can be difficult depending on the age of your children and when I had infants I did not follow that practise but I found the time to read throughout the day, but as soon as they were sleeping through the night then I was able to regain that special time in the morning with our Lord. I would encourage you start your own quiet time. It may be difficult at first, but the Lord will help you through as it is His desire so spend time with you.

Because we are mothers and our calling is so great, we need to spend time with God to be able to develop a "well balanced mind and pure character. Reflecting only the true, good and beautiful." CG 67 The reason why it is so important that our characters are reflecting Christs, is because it will be copied by our children. We need to show love to our family in 'gentle words and courteous deportment' for this will bring sunshine to our homes which will then reflect on others. Through submission to the will of God we will then be fitted to be the teachers God desires us to be to our children.

 You may look back over the months and years of your child training and fall into despair because you feel that you begun all the training wrong. But DO NOT DESPAIR! Be soundly converted to God, obey the Word of God and have true reformation of your practises. God is ever willing to help and give you the Righteousness of Christ. A beautiful practise to begin each year with is to look back over the past year and ask the Lord for 'spiritual discernment to discover the defects in the work of the past'. repent of your neglected work in the home and  make this your motto for every day:

"This is your day of trust, your day of responsibility and opportunity. Soon will come your day of reckoning. take up your work with earnest prayer and faithful endeavour." CG 69

Please find the next study guide here

Practical Lessons from Nature - Chapter 7

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This chapter is just wonderful! So practical with such clear guidelines of how to teach our children in nature. I just love being in the outdoors, but I often find that I get myself so busy that i don't even step out of the house all day. It is physically and spiritually bad for me and it is especially wrong because I have children who need to be taught from the lessons of nature. I know that I need to prioritise my time in the things that are most important, and spending time with my children in the outdoors and drawing lessons from Gods 'Nature' textbook is just this.

The Sabbath day is given to our children for one main reason. It is to draw their minds up to God through the nature around them. Yes it requires much thought and energy on the parents part, but what blessings our children and ourselves will receive. We really enjoy going for a walk in nature on Sabbath afternoons with our boys, and it is the time they enjoy best. BUT, I must say that we have so much more to do in the regard of teaching from nature. Often we go for a walk but we don't learn any practical lessons which draw us closer to God. This week we started looking for objects in nature that reminded us of a story, lesson or God. It was amazing what the boys came up with! Once they chose an object, we continued with the theme and talked about it. We even did this activity in the car whilst driving! It was great fun.

GARDENING - there are so many lessons to learn from it. There are so many varieties of plants, so from each one we can learn practical and spiritual lessons:

• Soil
• Transplanting
• Care of young plants
• Pruning
• Watering
• Shielding from frost
• Shielding from sun
• Keeping out weeds
• Controlling disease and insect pests
• Training plants
• Arranging plants

When our children start to work in their gardens, it cultivates in them carefulness, patience, attention to detail and obedience to law. All these things they see as necessary in the plants life so it has a convicting effect on them too. If you do not have a garden, I urge you to start one. Even if it is in pots to start out with. Your children will reap great rewards from it.

The parable in the Bible about the 'Sower and the Seed' can be made so practical for our children too:

• The children can prepare the soil and sow the seed. Explain that our heart (garden) must be prepared for the good seed.
• Our heart (soil) must be broken up by repentance
• Explain that our heart is a garden and we can plant good or bad seed in it.
• When you cast the seed down, explain how it can represent Christs death
• When the seed springs forth a blade, explain the truth of the resurrection
• As the plants grow, compare between the natural and spiritual.
• The evil growth (weeds) that chokes the good must be uprooted
• Just as our plants depend on on God for growth, so must we depend on God to do that which no human power can do.

"We are not merely to tell the child about these creatures of God's. The animals themselves are to be His teachers." CG 58, 59

There are so many lessons to learn from the animals. Here are a few from the chapter:

• Ants - Patient industry, perseverance in surmounting obstacles, providence for the future, faithfulness.
• Birds - Trust in God as He provides for them. They gather food, build nests and rear young whilst staying cheerful even though enemies are always seeking to destroy them.
• Bee - Perfect order, no idleness.

Just imagine all the lessons you can teach from each different animal. AMAZING! We can never run out of resources from Gods great textbook. So this week your activity to start is easy and enjoyable. Get into nature each day with your children and pick a lesson to teach, either from the garden or greater outdoors or an animal. Let us know how you are going by commenting at the end of this blog. I really look forward to hearing about it all and sharing ideas.

God bless and please find the next lesson here.



The Book of Nature - Chapter 6

NATURE - all inspiring nature! It is our next lesson book after the Bible, and what precious lessons we can learn from it if we make the time. The fields and the hills should be the child's first classroom and we should encourage them to love it and recognise Gods hand in it all.

When Adam and Eve were in the garden they were taught by Jesus himself. The lessons were about:

• The heavens
• Planets
• "Balancing of the Clouds"
• Light and Sound
• Day and night

These lessons we are to teach our children so that they can see the working of God in all that their eyes behold. There are lessons to be learnt due to the result of sin too. When our children see the decay, death, and the unpleasant sights in nature, explain to them the result of sin and what it has done. But even though there is decay in nature, there are representations of Gods goodness through it all - singing birds, flowers, sun, rain.

A great activity which we are going to start with our children is that whenever we go into nature we are to find an object that illustrates a lesson, story or description of Jesus. It's a great way to talk to you children about Bible truths when "thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up." Deut 11:19

If you are not sure about the themes of study, take a pick from the list below as quoted in Child Guidance:

• Leaf of the forest tree
• Grass that covers the earth as a green velvet carpet
• Plants and flowers
• The stately trees
• Lofty mountains
• Rocks
• Restless ocean
• Light of night that makes the night beautiful
• Exhaustless riches of sunlight
• Solemn glories of the moon
• Winters Cold
• Summers heat
• Seasons in perfect order and harmony

At home we have a great bible and nature curriculum which is put out by 'Sonlight'. The curriculum goes for 3 years and each quarter is focused on a different nature object (trees, rocks, plants...) They are VERY good and VERY biblical.

Jesus' education was gained by useful work, study of scripture, study of nature and life's experiences. You may ask 'Can our children gain the same education that Jesus did?' and to answer that "Every child may gain knowledge as Jesus did. As we try to become acquainted with our heavenly Father through His Word, angels will draw near, our minds will be strengthened, our characters will be elevated and refined." CG 51

When Jesus began to teach others he brought His hearers into contact with nature to teach them the lessons spoken of. The parables were always influenced by nature - birds, lilies, sower and the seed, shepherd and the sheep, the leaven, pearl, etc... We should in the same way teach our children.

THIS WEEKS ACTIVITY:

• Each day take your child into nature and see what lessons you can teach. Write down what you have done and the blessings you have all received.

  "...that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified. "

Isaiah 61:3

Please find next weeks study here.

God Bless!

How to Download files

I have had a few questions on how to download the documents so I will try my best to explain. When you press on the link a page such as the one below appears in a new window

Click on the bottom left 'Download Now' button. The download will begin and you must wait for the countdown of seconds to finish (15 or 20 second timer) and then you can open the link.

Hope this helps and you have success with the download. Please let me know.

Blessings.

The Bible as a textbook - Chapter 5

The Bible should not only be the childs first textbook but ours also. Mothers need strength from God everyday to be able to do their task successfully and the Lord had provided such beautiful promises in His word for us. These are some of my favourites:

God will give you strength to care for your family
"Let Asher be blessed with children... and as they days, so shall thy strength be." Deuteronomy 33:24,25

God will help you with your young:
"He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. Isaiah 40:11

God is watching over you and your family:
"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me." Isaiah 49:16

God won't let you drown:
"Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee." Isaiah 43:1,2

When you feel exhausted and discouraged
"I will not forget your work and labor of love." Hebrews 6:10
 "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." Galatians 6:9

When you are distracted by the world and are losing focus:
"And I sent messengers unto them, saying, I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down: why should the work cease, whilst I leave it, and come down to you?" Nehemiah 6:3

"Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee." Proverbs 4:25

For all those times when you need the Lords strength:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Phillipians 4:13 

The Lord has also filled His word with blessings for us.

"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward. As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate." Psalm 127:3-5

When a mother is fulfilling her mission: "Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." Proverbs 31:28 

A couple of years ago I was studying through a motherhood manual which had a wonderful suggestion. The suggestion was to go through the book of Proverbs and categorize each verse so that when your child needed guidance or reproof you had on hand a resource that would help greatly. I have laminated this resource and gone to it many times. It truly has been a blessing. Instead of my own words, I am now using Gods own words. You may download the resource here.

We have read in this chapter that the most important work that we do is to teach our children that the smiles of Jesus are of greater value then the praise of man. This is a VERY important work, and also a continual work. We naturally like to have the approval of others and friendship of all, but we need to fight this desire when it contradicts the law of God. We need to speak to our children of this often, and they must see us also live by the same principles.

One of my children are naturally timid, so I found the information on this subject wonderful. Yes it is very true that for a timid child they need to sense the nearness of Gods presence so that they feel secure. The story suggestions are wonderful and I look forward to reading them with my children. We will be claiming the promise: "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear Him, and delivereth them." Psalm 34:7

We must keep in mind that our children will not always be with us so we need to prepare them for those times. We must teach our children the commandments in a practical way so that they will become "rule of their life" and will be a blessing to them throughout their lifetime.


ACTIVITY:

1. Find a promise and a blessing that is relevant and uplifting to you and claim it everyday.
2. Talk to your child this week about the importance of receiving Jesus' smile on all the things we say and do.

Please find next weeks study guide here

Blessings from our home to yours.

Methods of Teaching - Chapter 4

"Wow! What an amazing chapter. So much to learn and unlearn. This weeks focus is on the 'Methods of Teaching', and there are so many crucial factors.

These are the main points/methods:

• Prepare the way for your child to OBEY, cheerfully.
• To prepare would mean to find the most suitable way to get them to do what you have asked. I have found that the easiest way to get them to obey is if I ask them with the right attitude and have a BIG smile on my face. At times I have made a game out of it and to see who can do the job the quickest or before mummy.
• I really enjoyed reading about what we should get our children to pray for: 'Teach them to ask the Lord to help them in the little things of life; to be wide awake to see the small duties which need to be done; to be helpful in the home." What a wonderful thing to be able to teach our children.
• Restful spirit and a loving heart
• When we have a restful spirit and a loving heart it will "imbue them with pure aspirations, and cultivate in them a love for things honest and pure and holy." It is important that we learn the right methods and acquire tact when dealing with our children. It is also important to realise that all children are different and what may work for one family may not always work for yours. We must study the different methods and think if they will work in our circumstances and with the different temperaments that our children have. I know that what I deal with my eldest child will not work on my youngest - I have always had to vary the way I teach and discipline.
• Quiet and gentle manner
• This is important because it "tends to quiet the nerves of the little one." I especially noticed this in my first child. I was unsure of what I was doing and I was often in distress trying to figure out what to do. When I was uptight and emotional I saw it replicated in my infant. I still see it now. When I am stressed or not as pleasant as I should be, the boys just copy.
• Song, prayer and lessons from scripture
• "The Lord had directed that the children, even from babyhood, should be taught of His goodness and His greatness, especially as revealed in His law and shown in the history of Israel.". What better way to teach this then through song, prayer and lessons. Music and song is so influential. How many times does your child have to hear a Sabbath School song before he knows if off by heart? What a wonderful way for your child to memorize such wonderful things about God. Again I will mention the 'Thy Word Creation' song books, they are wonderful! It is a scripture passage done to music with a book to go along with it. My boys have been doing these books for quite some time and they have truly been a blessing. We are currently learning Isaiah 53 and looking forward to knowing it off by heart. We must also keep in mind how the wrong type of music and songs influence our children.
• Teach with kindliness and affection
• As parents we are to govern the house and the children are required to obey. 'The restless spirit naturally inclines to mischief' so we need to instruct them in the path they should go and give their active minds and hands something good to do. If we do not keep our children busy in good things and let them do as they please, they 'will give heed to that which Satan may suggest'. We are not to scold and belittle them, we need to win them with our kindliness and love for them and talk to them as you have confidence in them. We need to encourage them when they do good. Whenever I encourage and thank my children for something they have done, they want to do it more and MORE! Encouragement and thanks is a wonderful things which we all like to receive. Use it on your children.
• Take time to reason 
• As a child grows they like to ask 'why?' My eldest boy like to understand why things are being done a certain way. Not to answer back or be rude, but he genuinely likes to understand the reasoning behind some of our decisions. When we explain patiently he is happy, content and willing to do what we have asked. Yes, there are times when we need our children just to obey without demanding to know 'why?', but you can judge when that may be required.
• Vary the manner of instruction
• Outdoors
• We are to teach lessons from nature to our children. It is very good for our children to cultivate the soil and look after their own gardens of produce and flowers. When our children are thus taught they are brought into direct contact with natures God. This type of education is in accordance to Gods plan. It is also very beneficial to a child who finds school work taxing and difficult. No matter where you live (even a unit or apartment) you can still have a little garden, even if it is in pots on a balcony.
• Lessons to be short and interesting
• Even as an adult I find it very difficult to concentrate if a lesson is long and not interesting, so we must be veen more careful when teaching our children. Say it Simply, say it often so that the children will not loath spiritual instruction.
• Encourage independent thinking
• We need to let our children to draw out lessons and truths for themselves. It is important to ask your child what they have learnt from a particular story or object lesson. Let them think it through and if they need help then give some main points to consider. Especially when you are outdoors ask them questions about why God made things the way He did.
• Direct childhood activity
• We shouldn't stop our children from being a child and playing and having fun but we should direct and guide their activity into 'something... that will advance them in physical and mental attainments.' I know this is important, and to be honest with you time consuming and difficult at times. I have 2 very active boys and to keep them busy all the time in doing good is a full time job on its own but it is well worth the effort. Yes it takes imagination, creativity and patience but God will provide it all if we rest our trust on Him. This is my work in progress at the moment and I REALLY need Gods help especially with baby boy number 3 due in a few weeks - pray for me please!
• Teach helpfulness at an early age
• When my youngest boy was just crawling around he just wanted to help (just as all little toddlers do), so I would give him a cloth and tell him to dust all the legs of the chairs and anything he could reach. How he loved to help mummy!! Yes it would of been easier just to ignore him and tell him to play with something, but what a blessing now. He loves to help and work! Yes, we are continually teaching him new things and it takes time and patience, but trust me, it will all be worth it one day. We need to teach them to put others happiness first and to look for opportunities to help family members and others in our community as this brings true joy. Remember that you are the best example.
• Little attentions, often repeated.
• Think of a GARDENER - he doesn't roughly pull out the weeds or violently dig the soil. He is gentle and often tends to his plants. We are to be like this with our child. We are not to be rough and demanding. These are Gods children, He has given them to us and we are accountable for how we bring them up. Let us learn to be 'gardeners' and our children 'plants'.
• Give attention to little things
• We need to teach our children to be faithful in the little jobs so that they will be given bigger and more important tasks in the future for which they will be qualified.
• Talented children need greater care
• Greater care is needed for those children who are talented and who possess personal attractions. How many times have we seen these things turned into a curse? This draws us to the next point:
• Refrain from undue notice or flattery
• We need to learn to not put our children on display or exhibition for their varied talents or personal attractions. We are to give them little notice in these things and not to flatter them. One reason that children are so bold and forward is because  they are 'noticed and praised too much, and their smart, sharp sayings repeated in their hearing.'
• Read to your children
• 'Take time to read to your children. . . . Form a home reading circle, in which every member of the family shall lay aside the busy cares of the day, and unite in study'. My boys favourite time of the day would be when we sit down together for worship or anytime during the day and read together the Bible stories or character building stories. Children love to have stories read to them.
• Train not tell
• Don't tell your children what to do without explaining first how to do it. Its like someone telling me to make a 3 tiered carob cake with a coconut icing without giving me a recipe. It would be difficult and frustrating.
• Educate for self-control
• This is difficult and takes time, it doesn't happen over night. It is with out consistent support and prayer that our children can obtain self-control. We want our children to do things because of a willing heart not from force. We want our children to make the right choices by themselves. I wish there was a simple and easy formula to follow even for us adults. All I know is that when we let Christ live through us it is much easier, and this is something that you are to patienly and consistenly teach your child and to talk about with them. Again, your example if the most important to them.

There is so much to consider and note in this chapter. I could spend a few months putting these things into practise and correcting the things I have not done well, and God willing I will start correcting those bad habits of mine and the children NOW!

Please download the next study guide for chapter 5. Blessings!

When to begin the childs training - Chapter 3

"True education embraces physical, mental, and moral training, in order that all the powers shall be fitted for the best development, to do service for God, and to work for the uplifting of humanity." {CSA 65.2}

A true education is much more then I ever thought it to mean. Most people would say that an education is a course of study, true, but we are wanting a TRUE education. One that will fit us for our heavenly home above and also fit us for service here on earth. Our main responsibility to our children is to mold and fashion their CHARACTER.

"Character does not come by chance. It is not determined by one outburst of temper, one step in the wrong direction. It is the repetition of the act that causes it to become habit, and molds the character either for good or for evil. Right characters can be formed only by persevering, untiring effort, by improving every entrusted talent and capability to the glory of God."  {CG 164.1} 

So when should the childs 'true education' begin? When the infant is in the mothers arms and is able to form it's own idea. So when is that you may ask? I have seen in my children that it has been very early on in their babyhood, even in the first few months. It is amazing how a baby can even learn how to get something it wants by screaming and demanding attention. Yes, babies cry as a form of communication, I completely recognize that, but there is a difference between a need and a demanding want. So why should the education and training of a child commence at babyhood? "The work of education and training should commence with the babyhood of the child; for then the mind is the most impressible, and the lessons given are remembered."  {CG 26.3}  

As a parents, we must be first trained and disciplined ourselves before we can train our children. Our children are God's property and they have been bought with a price, the price of Christs blood at Calvary. Parents - these children are not yours, they are Christs and need to be treated in a Christlike manner. Are you doing your best? I pray for forgiveness in my many mistakes, but God is merciful and He is working with us all.

This statement I found had great impact on me:  
"The first child especially should be trained with great care, for he will educate the rest."  {CG 27.4} 
How I have found this to be true. Younger siblings love to copy and follow in the footsteps of their older brother/sister, they want to be just like them. It also works in the same way with the older sibling; they want to be like their parents and will copy what they do. It is a chain reaction that starts off with us! Are we giving the right example that we want passed down through all of our generations? We definetly have something to consider here. Let us prayerfully and with earnest endeavour do our part.

God Bless!

Please find next weeks study here.