On the way home from church the other night, on a whim, I asked the children, “What verse would you think about if you were having a hard time being kind to your sister or brother?”
The children were all stymied. “Children obey your parents”? We talked about some better possibilities.
Then I asked, “Can you think of a Scripture that reminds us about something good that God has done?”
Again, the answers came, but they were slow. It was interesting to me that although they have many verses of God’s Word memorized, they aren’t as skilled seeing the connection between “real life” and the Bible as I would expect. Especially since we talk about certain verses like “Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another” on a daily basis.
After a short lull, my David (!) asked for more questions like this, and I asked some more.
What should I read if I am discouraged?
What should I read if my brother or sister is mean to me?
I tried to ask questions that related to verses that I knew were fresh in their minds. It was fun, and I want to do it again.
What I learned was that I need to do better at getting my children to draw on their knowledge. I am too quick to give the answers, give the verses, throughout my days. It was a good reminder that I need to cut back on lectures. I think I can at least ask a few questions before I give the answers, don’t you think?
I’ll keep you posted.
Leave a Reply