It is Monday and Sunday has already happened

Okay, so this blog is a day late... but hey, I have four children, 5 and under and I am homeschooling....  give me a little break!!!!

So it is Monday and Sunday has happened.  For my Christ following friends, I wonder, what does this mean to you? 

We had an incredible Holy Week.    I did a special devotional with the children every morning talking about Christ's journey into Jerusalem and His week there.  We hung palm branches in the family room.  Keith continued to lead our family in the nightly Bible study that we always do.  We went to the Good Friday service at our church and shared a special time with our children.   On Saturday, we did the Resurrection Eggs with the family and was able to see some real understanding as to what Christ endured for us by our children.  Kailyn (our 2 year old) even told us John 3:16 without any prompting.  Sunday was another awesome day at church and then we closed it out the week celebrating with our wonderful adopted families the Sathianathans and the Wilsons.  Our minds and our hearts were focused on Christ the entire week and we could feel His Spirit among us.

So now it is Monday.  Just a plain old Monday.  Christ has died and He has risen.  The season for celebration has past us and there will be no "major" Christian celebrations for another 9 months. 

Did you hear His whispers this week? 

Do you hear Him calling? 

Did He get your attention?

Because I know He caught mine.  As a family, our attention was on Him, all week.  Every chance Keith & I had, we were bringing it back to God, back to Christ and back to the gift of salvation we celebrate during this week.  And what were the results?  Children who clearly understood what Easter was really about.  Children who learned God's word.  It has been written upon their hearts. 

But one week is NOT enough. 

I certainly cannot be expecting my church or Awana to fulfill this momentous task.  God has called Keith and I to train up our children to know Him.  He has called us to write His word on their hearts (see Duet. 6).  Our house was dripping with Jesus last week.  My children were soaked in His Word, in His love and we saw the rewards of that. 

How can I write the Word of God on my children's hearts if there are off at school all day surrounded by people who may not believe in God and are not allowed to share about Him even if they do?  How can I write God on their hearts if I am constantly running around, filling our time with activities that are more about giving me a break than teaching my children about God?

Keith has done a beautiful job of bringing our family into the word every night.  But this Holy Week has shown me that even this is not enough.  Children will become what they hear and see every day all day.  What I do with my children during the day is just as important as what we do with them as a family at night. 

I look around this world and I see heartbreak and sadness.  I see children bullying other children to the point of suicide.  I hear stories of 11 year olds hanging themselves.  We read about children bringing guns to school.  Girls get pregnant to have a baby who will love them (pardon me while I stop to laugh and cry here at the sad ignorance of this belief...).  Just as many "Christian" marriages end in divorce as non-Christian.  I certainly do not believe that I can save my children from all heartache and pain.  I know that they will face many hard times as they grow up.  But two things scream out to me here-

1.  I certainly need to prepare them for how to deal with pain and heartbreak and knowing the one true God is the only way to do that.

and

2.  I do not want my family to look anything like this culture. 

So, as Christians, on this Monday, this Monday that follows that oh so important Sunday, I ask you - what are we afraid of?  Why do we try to keep one foot in this culture?  Why are we so afraid of "looking different"?  We send our children mixed messages every time we make  decision that puts God's Word aside and chooses the cultural norm instead.  Following God's path may be harder - in fact I think it is ALWAYS harder.  I am probably the worst homeschooling mom there is....  I have a short temper and a propensity to yell.  But every time I do yell and I have to apologize, God humbles me a little more and makes me more like Him, and isn't THAT the point?  That we look more like Jesus and not everyone else? 

So Jesus spoke to me this week.  Our home, our lives need to drip with Jesus every day - not just in the days prior to a major Christian holiday.  We need to be in His world all day, every day in everything we do.  And here is the thing - last week, when we were soaked through and through with the living water - I was the homeschooling mom I so desire to be.  I was patient and kind.   I was focused on helping my children and not advancing my own agenda.  My selfishness took a backseat in my heart.  It had to, there was no room for it as the front seat was filled with Jesus.  Funny how it works that way.