Is there a way to teach our children to practice finding God in their daily lives? I’m not a mom, but a grandmother, aunt, godmother, and educator. Children have been in my life and always around, forever, except for now. Covid-happened. And yet, that is not the end-of-or-be-it-all.

I have two thoughts on how to teach spiritual disciplines to your child(ren).

1. To begin, there’s this game called Punch Buggy. Every time you see a Volkswagen or an object you both agree on, you are to punch the other person on their arm. Sometimes it turns into a fight. So I’m changing it up a bit.  

2. Last, there is the game I played as a child, called “I Spy”. This is when you see something and you describe it, hoping that someone will figure it out. Then you switch. 

Let’s begin with the practice of teaching children to find God in their daily lives using the spiritual discipline of Examen. Nope, I didn’t misspell it. Examen is the opportunity to notice where God is showing up in every moment or aspect of your daily life. Check out the episode of Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast for practice, more information and it’s history.

Examen is reflecting on a moment, time, day, year, meeting, conversation, etc. in your life, asking God to open your eyes to see your day (time, moment, conversation, meeting, etc.) as He might see it.”

So how do we ignite a passion for this in our children’s lives? First through play. Then, through repetition and prayer.

That brings me to Punch Buggy and “I Spy”. While drying in the car, ask your children to salute or say “God is good!” every time you make a right turn. Or play “I Spy” while preparing for bedtime, your child(ren) shares where God showed up in their life today. Be Creative! Allow your children to come up with ideas. The focus and goal is to teach your child (ren), teenager (s), and youth that God is with them always, even when it doesn’t seem like it. 

Lastly, have them pray about what they just learned in the game about themselves and God. 

This can be a great time for bonding, confession and teaching about the God you and your child(ren) love. 

Let me know how it went in the comments section below. This way we can help others grow in teaching our young.

Shalom! 

(Follow me on Instagram @hangingoutwithjesuspodcast, Goodreads.com and Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast (YouTube). Subscribe to the blog for biweekly updates on the spiritual disciplines and updates.)

Yeah, we went through a lot this year. But …

It’s about how we endured. It’s about standing for Christ.

God told Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” (Joshua 1: 7,9) He said it twice. I say it even more times to you, “Be strong and courageous.”

Be strong and courageous. The end time is coming near. The Disciples even asked Jesus about this in Matthew 24: 3-14. This is what Jesus said, “… many will come in my name… they will lead you astray… you will hear of wars and rumors of wars… nation will rise against nation… kingdom against kingdom… there will be famines and earthquakes in various place… these are but the beginning of the birth pains… you will be delivered up to tribulation… put to death… hated by all nations for my name’s sake… hated by one another… betray one another… love of many will grow cold…”

Be strong and courageous. What we are going through are the beginning of the birth pains, can you see it? Luke 21: 25-26 says, “there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world.”

Be strong and courageous. God is sharing with us what will happen. So why are you fearful? Remember WHO YOU ARE!

You are of a royal priesthood, loyal to the LORD, ambassador of Christ, disciple of Lord Jesus the Christ, walking in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called and eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. You are a sojourner, commissioned by God. This is not your home. Home is heaven, where Jesus lives. Do not dig deep roots on earth, but lay up your treasures in Heaven. 

Here are 5 ways to continue steadfast in the faith:

• Stop dwelling on the signs. Study your Bible to know what they are, then step up game. Get to know who God is and in the process get to know who you are. Your weaknesses and your strengths. Know your gifts and talents. As you learn this get to know, believe and understand that God is God. The enemy is coming for us because we are Believers. He’s hoping that you don’t know who you are or that you have the power to overcome him. That’s his hope, and trying to dazzle you with the desires of the flesh, desires of the eye and the pride of (1 John 2:16). That’s why, I say, “know God and in the process get to know yourself” because it is in the knowing that you realize you have a choice. Always side with the Bible backed up by the Holy Spirit.

• Be strong and courageous. Don’t get trapped by fear. Don’t let the news, racism, the mounting deaths, murder, homosexuality, greed, or heart breaks cause you to fear or doubt your God. He told you these things will happen. So why are you upset with Him? Be mad with the one behind all this sin? Yes, satan, the devil, the adversary, the Father of Lies. Yes, life is tough. 

• Who promised you a rose garden or a life of endless prosperity? Are you reading your Bible? Obviously not, if you believe that mess. Everyone has a journey to travel. Some Believers will have financial success while others will not. Who are you to covet or question? Besides, why are you dwelling on what is not yours? Dwell on what God’s given to you and how He wants you to use it. Know your calling. This will save you from being drowned in fears; from being surprised by the evil one; from going astray because you are afraid of the “what ifs”. Do you remember what happened in Acts 5 after the disciples where beaten and charged to not say the name of the Lord? They left rejoicing. Why? The disciples rejoiced because they counted it worthy to suffer dishonor for the name of their Savior, Jesus Christ. Psalm 91:5-6 says, “You will not fear…” Stand on God’s Word, believe it. Get enough word in you and spend time with listening to Holy Spirit so you will stand having put on the whole armor of God. Stand strong and courageously. God’s got you!

• Quitting is not an Option. Endure till the end. Your reward is greater than whatever this earth has to offer. So what you might miss out on marrying the man of your dreams or getting that praise you have done everything to receive. Those aren’t rewards that are lasting, nor are having the best grandkids in the world. All will pass away. Hey, there’s going to come a time when even they are against you. Children are killing parents now, even the wonderful parents. Store up your treasures in heaven. Don’t seek to gratitude the flesh where it has you denying your faith in Jesus Christ. Endure because the world will constantly sin; constantly go down and not in your favor. God’s told you about this in His Word. Put on the Whole Armor of God and endure. Speak God’s word. Talk to Holy Spirit and don’t let go.

• Be strong and courageous as you proclaim the good news of the Gospel. After the disciples were beaten and charged to not speak in the name of Jesus by the Sadducees, they didn’t just leave out rejoicing by daily taught and preached that the Christ is Jesus. Can you imagine what would happen if you did what you were called to do? You’d teach and preach God’s word to the people or person God’s sent you to with confidence and a boldness. You’d allow God to put His words on your tongue, so that rather you are a child or not, you’d proclaim the Gospel. Now is not the time to fight over rather women can preach, or what women can or cannot do. Everyone one, child to senior, should teach and preach the Gospel. Remember, the labors are few but the harvest is plentiful (Matthew 9: 35-38). It’s time for unity in preaching and teaching the Gospel. Let the grey areas stay grey, but proclaim the truth of who Jesus is and let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

What is the Plan of Salvation? Click Here 

Simple Plan of Salvation: Admit that you are a sinner, Believe that Jesus was raised from the dead and it the Son of God, confess that Jesus Christ is Lord and commit your life to following the Christ.

Therefore, look up. Be filled with praises as unto the Lord. By ...:

• Looking up at the clouds because you know Jesus Christ is coming to get His people.

• Raising your head and not walking around with your head down feeling sorry for yourself or others. If you                  are being persecuted for Jesus sake, count it all joy and rejoice.

• Rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice. Keep the praises going up and the blessing will come down,                      better than you can imagine because not just you are being blessed but so are others. Remember, we will                      all pass away, but Believers run to the arms of Jesus.

• Know the Bible. Study it. Read it. Spend time in it with the guidance of Holy Spirit. Keep God’s                                  commandments because He definitely will keep His Word. Talk to your Triune God, cause there is no                      one like Him.

Be filled with Holy Spirit. And go in peace.

Shalom, Lyvita

Thought:

At the time of this writing, I am thinking about my mother. She passed in 2017, and the thought of having another Thanksgiving Holiday and Christmas without her is ever present in my thoughts. She always had Thanksgiving Dinner. I’m laughing because her favorite dish to bring was cranberry sauce from a can, and sometimes, devil eggs. It was a well-known fact that my mother was not the cook in the family. Now Dad. He can cook! 

Most Important Aspect:

This brings me to Sarah Bowlings inspirational book on being in step with, as she would say, Holy Spirit. The 5th chapter of the book, “Keep On Keeping On,” is something my mother would say which brought peace to my heart. Sometimes it takes an uplifting book to remind you to laugh and embrace cherished memories.

My mother believed that quitting was not an option. I guess that is something she instilled in me because I wasn’t giving up on her, even when God lovingly said he was taking her home. Till this day, I should have stopped believing right then, but I had a discussion with God. I rant and raved, screamed and hollered, cried and hit everything in my car. I know the security guard in the parking lot thought I was crazy. Eventually, I settled down. And accepted it. Did I quit? No. You see, that’s what is so special about this chapter. It’s not so much about the difference between quitting and giving up, although it was discussed, it’s about understanding your God. It’s about being attuned to Holy Spirit until what you are going through becomes your strength and not your demise.

Additions:

Each chapter contains a prayer and “Go Further” questions. The questions allowed for the opportunity to apply what you learned. 

Brief Quote from the Book:

“One closed door often means God has other doors ready to open, if we will just knock!” And the way you know to do this is through infusing your life with God’s presence and power through walking with Holy Spirit. That quote from Sarah’s book hit home. My mother’s passing (closed door) symbolized the opening of a new door. The choice was mine rather to stay at the door weeping, crying, becoming anger with God and never moving forward or knock, “Lord, I’m listening. Where do we (meaning Him and me) go from here?” Something to think about, huh! 

Conclusion:

My mother’s book (journey on earth) was closing, mine will also someday, as will yours, but for now, we have more chapters to write, more doors to knock on, more doors to walk through. It’s the adventure of looking on the other side to see what’s to be found. That’s where being in step with Holy Spirit comes into play. Never stop hanging out with Him. Never give up because the battle is tough, it’s going to be because that’s what battles are… tough. Stop cruising through life and live. Get up off that couch and go hang out with Holy Spirit because He has got an exciting adventure for you. Now don’t get me wrong, every adventure is not “peaches and cream.” Like Sarah writes in this book, “Let’s be abundantly clear… following the Holy Spirit does not guarantee our flesh a life of comfort and convenience… it seems… following the Holy Spirit means our flesh will get uncomfortable, challenged and cranky.”  No one knows their future, but following Holy Spirit is your guide to living the life you were designed to live. God’s got you. Quitting is not an option.

Call to Action:

• Hanging Out With Jesus Podcast, Episode 19, contains my interview with Sarah Bowling and Holy Spirit is our focus.
• In Step With The Spirit by Sarah Bowling (click here to order)
• Sarah Bowling Website
• Contact me, Lyvita Brooks through my website lyvita.brooks.com and consider subscribing to the bi-monthly blog and get your free 52 Week Meditations Embracing Psalm 91

Closing:

Until we meet again on the next blog, continue hanging out with Jesus, intentionally and daily. Shalom!