MUM'S THE WORD - "SPOTTO"

“SPOTTO!!”  

“That’s not yellow!  That’s gold!”  

“It is yellow! And anyway, you tried to spot a green bus before and buses don’t count.”  

“Mum, is that yellow?”  

Oh the technicalities of a backseat contest.  They request that the stereo be turned down.  They keep score.  They focus.  Keen eyes darting this way and that.  And the tally starts. It’s actually quite amazing how many green and yellow cars there are on the road.  I had never noticed until they became ALL we noticed.

Years ago I learned that Moses advised us to turn the car stereo down.  As a much younger mum Moses taught me that the car ride was one of four daily scenarios to seize in the training of our children.

“What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family.”
Mother Teresa

There was a time in scripture when God’s people faced a promising future.  They were right on the cusp of prosperity, blessing, favour and abundance.  They had everything at their fingertips. 

They’d come from lack and wanting.  Worse!!  They’d come from slavery.  And now they were looking at freedom.  No!  Better!!  Land, fertile soils, established fields, homes, towns and whole cities they did not have to build. 

The future was theirs for the taking and yet their leader, Moses, sensed a hesitation.  He held a sneaking premonition that this entire blessing could actually lead to their demise if they did not successfully host and inspire the generations coming after them.

Moses called together all the people of Israel to deliver his final address as their aging leader.  As he prepared to hand leadership of the nation over to Joshua he wanted to lift their eyes beyond the present gratification of inheriting the Promised Land. 

PROSPERITY WITHOUT PURPOSE CAN BE A VERY DANGEROUS THING

He wanted them to take a glimpse of the future generations.  He wanted them to see beyond themselves into something bigger and greater than who they were right then.

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength... 6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.."  
Deuteronomy 6: 4-8 (NKJV)

Right here in this passage Moses gave them keys, four practical keys, to bring up the next generation.

1. HUNGRY HEARTS
“WHEN YOU SIT IN YOUR HOUSE”

The dinner table is where we socialise our children.  We build family culture and identity, and teach values.  We give our babes the skills of functional conversation.  We laugh, tell stories, recount events and discuss all that is taking place around us. 

Not only do the children from these homes grow up delaying having sex and taking drugs, they are also more likely to finish school, pursue careers and know how to use a knife and fork. 

As they get older they need this time more and more.  In actual fact the teenagers who lack this at home will find themselves in homes of friends whose parents host tables like these.

Meals at a table, prepared by loving hands in the community of family offer a level of intimacy unrivaled anywhere. 

Turn off the television.  Write a weekly menu.  Shop accordingly.  Set the table and serve moments in time that will nourish souls, not just bodies; and fill hearts, not just mouths.

2. BACK SEAT BANDITS
“WHEN YOU WALK BY THE WAY”

Life flies by so fast, that quiet sill settings escape us.  The car doubles for me as an opportunity with a captive audience.  We are together, in close proximity on mission.  Their ears are mine for a small window.  And while I still can I will steal this time to chat with them, to connect, to be a present voice in their day and to allow them to debrief. 

Turn down the radio and ask them about their day - laugh, chat, banter and play Spotto.

Ultimately I remind myself that I am raising them not to hold onto them, but to release them one day.  The times we travel together are an opportunity for me to prepare them for their time without me.

3. SLEEPY EARS
“WHEN YOU LIE DOWN”

This is possibly the one I am most passionate about.  Only because I’ve seen the power and fruit of in first hand in my children.

If they’re small, lie down with them.  If they’re a little bigger, sit on the end of their bed.  Just don’t let an evening pass you by – ever!

Chat about whatever is on their heart.  If you wait long enough, after you’ve discussed the weather and they’ve told you their day was “good”, the pause may just give rise to a disclosure of great significance. 

Be the first person they share their concerns and victories with.  Be the safe place where they can comfortably sound ideas.  Listen, encourage, inspire, counsel.

Don’t rush in with advice or lectures.  Just listen, actively, compassionately.

This is a divine opportunity to send them into sleep dreaming of potential.  Send them off to slumber feeling precious, special and purposed.

WHISPER DESTINY INTO THEIR SLEEPY EARS.

Whisper the promise of God over them.  That their sleep would be rich and deep.  That their dreams would be victorious and hopeful.

Instead of falling asleep wondering if God could use them, may they dream of how He is going to use them.

4. NEW BEGINNINGS
“WHEN YOU RISE UP”

The breakfast bench is a perfect opportunity to remind them that they are clever, polite and compassionate.  Remind that that the day ahead will be filled, by Heaven’s design, with opportunity. 

Remind them to look for a need and fill it.  Remind them to look for someone lonely in the playground.  Remind them to help the teacher if the need presents itself. 

Do it in such a way that it’s not a set of rules and burdensome expectations, but an inspirational family code to live by.

As much as possible, take the stress out of your mornings.  Encourage your children to lay out their uniforms and (empty) lunchboxes the night before.  Encourage them to pack their homework and textbooks for the next day into their bags ready for the morning.  All this so that you can be present and a friend when they wake and prepare to bravely face their new day. 

Your children will learn. 
You will teach. 

Either by default or on purpose. 
Your call.

 

Pause.  Breathe.  Take heart and be strategic. 

Who will he be one day? 
Who will she believe she is? 

Will she know your Saviour as her own? 
Will he lead with dignity and strength by the Spirit of God? 

The answers to all those questions are in your power right now.

Seize the little moments

 

[Inspired by "THINK ORANGE", Reggie Joiner]