A Call To Worship

Nine years ago today, at this very moment, I was in labor with my first born. I was exhausted, exhilirated, full of belief in myself. And completely, utterly naive.

I had no idea what I was doing. Sure, I knew how to change a diaper and how (theoretically) to figure out why the baby is crying, but that was about it. Of course many things come with practice and common sense and I learned most of them quickly.

What I didn't realize was the spiritual responsibility I had to this precious new little soul that had been entrusted to my care. I figured out how to bathe, to nurse, to dress, to take care of the physical part of her, but what about the eternal part?

As a single mama, I thought the church was the answer. I honestly thought that if I brought her to church every Sunday and helped her memorize her Bible verses I was doing pretty well. You see, I was raised in a Christian home with loving parents, but with virtually no training or understanding of how we, as Christians, are supposed to run the spiritual portion of our home.

This is not to be taken as a put-down to my parents. Looking back, I honestly believe that they were doing what they thought they should. Funny how now we are doing things so much differently. So intentionally.

It wasn't until a few years ago that we began to realize we needed something more.

But what?

Paco realized that he needed to be the leader, and I believe that every woman needs and desires for her man to step up to the plate to take responsibility for his family.

But how?

Enter Dr. Voddie Baucham.

We were introduced to the ministry of Voddie Baucham during the 2009 Arizona Families for Home Education (AFHE) convention.

WE. WERE. BLOWN. AWAY.

We had heard about him through various people leading up to the convention and I'll admit, I was a little leery. He sounded way more extreme than I thought I could ever be.

Yet again, WE. WERE. BLOWN. AWAY.

As impressive as this man is, it wasn't him that blew us away. It was his words, his convictions, his passion. He called to a renewed belief in the centrality of the home, the preciousness of godly families and our parental responsibilities. We left that convention hall shell shocked. We were challenged, convicted, inspired.

We left knowing that we had to do more. We had to worship as a family. In our home. {gasp!} To some, this may seem a no-brainer. To us, this was a major lifestyle change.

We have learned that we are responsible for so much more than we realize. As parents, that job cannot be filled by anyone else, as good as some church's children's ministries/Sunday schools might be. Our job as parents is to see that our children are learning daily about the Word of God, singing, memorizing, how to pray for each other.

It has made all the difference.

My kids at 9, 4, and 3 now know more than I did as a teenager. How little credit we give to little ones in the area of memorizing and paying attention. We've learned the Lord's Prayer, the Ten Commandments, our family verse (Colossians 3:12-14) and now we're learning on the Catechism.

Granted, there is just no possible way to do this every night due to events that pop up or emergencies. There are nights when the numerous interruptions make us ready to chuck it all. Our kids still fight, at times I still let frustration and impatience get to me, BUT our kids see us making this a priority in our lives. They see us learning with them and answering questions that they have. Hard questions, might I add. Questions that have turned my head and made me say, Excuse me? (The story of Lot and his daughters. No more details needed, I hope.) But the point is that they're asking! They're soaking all of this up and learning how to apply this to their young lives.

I think we might be on the right track.

If you're interested in the book we read it's called, Family-Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham. It can be purchased through Amazon (it's on my Amazon faves on the right over there), Christian Book Distributors or Vision Forum. Fantastic book for parents! Plus, there are so many other resources out there to help families learn how to do this whole thing, complete with ideas and activities.

Try it. I promise you won't be sorry. Your kids will probably even thank you someday.

That's enough for me.