Tag Archives: Christian parenting

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Dance Party

I have watched with amusement and wonder as each of our grandchildren has bobbed, swayed, wiggled, and ultimately danced to the sounds of music. This can be music on the radio, a CD, or even a ring tone of a cell phone. After one or two bars of a melody, their little bodies automatically respond and start to move. It’s so much fun to watch!

I’ve observed as older siblings watch a Veggie Tale. The 8 or 10 month old sits up and bobs as the Veggie Tale theme comes on. As soon as Larry and Bob start talking, the little ones lose interest. But, if a song comes on again – they are right back in front of the TV, ready to dance.

This response to music is innate – no one tells these small children to dance, no one teaches them. There is something within us that responds to music – emotionally, physically, and spiritually. It is such a natural, joyful expression.

Music is also a “hook” for long term memory. Think of the songs you remember from childhood. “The Itsy, Bitsy Spider”, “Old McDonald”, and best of all – “Jesus Loves Me”. We hear the first few notes of any of these songs and we can instantly sing along. Knowing this, parents can use music in meaningful ways in the lives of their children. Many children learn their A, B, C’s by singing – “ a,b,c,d,e,f,g,” etc., and learn to count by singing – “one little, two little, three little, etc…”

Music is an effective way to memorize Bible verses. There are many Scriptures that I know because I learned them set to music. There are countless times that God’s Word has come to me in my time of need in a song. This is a blessing as well as an encouragement.

Psalm 150:1-6 (NIV)

1 Praise the Lord. Praise God in His sanctuary;
praise Him in His mighty heavens.
2 Praise Him for His acts of power;
praise Him for His surpassing greatness.
3 Praise Him with the sounding of the trumpet,
praise Him with the harp and lyre,
4 praise Him with timbrel and dancing,
praise Him with the strings and pipe,
5 praise Him with the clash of cymbals,
praise Him with resounding cymbals.

6 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord.

These verses from Psalms exhort us to praise the Lord with our voices, various instruments, and DANCING. I have seen this in the three homes of our grandchildren. Each has certain songs they play, DVD’s the children watch, and CD’s they listen to that contain God’s Word set to music. They dance with joy and abandon! These will be verses that the children know by heart and that the Holy Spirit will use to build their faith, challenge them to walk with God, and even bring correction in their lives.

Our children listened to Bill Gaither when they were small. Remember “I’m Something Special” and “I am a Promise”.

What are your children listening to?

Please share songs, CD’s, or DVD’s that your children enjoy that allow them to dance and sing before our Lord. This will give all readers a chance to have Dance Parties of their own. Thanks in advance for sharing.

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Super Hero

Watching one of our grandsons dress up as “Larry-Boy” and suction “bad guys” with his super ears is very entertaining. He will dart around the house wearing his cape and vanquish all foes. It’s all fun until his little brothers are the “bad guys” and then his efforts to eliminate them create problems.

As humans, we all love to celebrate heroes. We love our sports heroes, our military heroes, and our civic heroes. We celebrate their accomplishments, and we are crushed when they disappoint us by being human.

The fact that children have heroes can be a positive thing. If their hero demonstrates the kind of character that encourages Godly behavior, that can be a powerful influence in the child’s life for good. Yet heroes often change as a child’s interest changes. It may be a cowboy or princess when they are very young, then change to an Olympic soccer player or singing star. As children are young, parents can control much of what their child is exposed to and therefore whom they choose as a hero.

I remember one of our daughters wanting to be like Mia Hamm. She was a prominent soccer player for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during that time and went on to be an Olympic soccer star as well. Ms. Hamm was a quiet, hard-working individual that stayed away from the spotlight, often deferring to her teammates even when the focus of the media was on her. This was a positive example of putting the team first over the individual, an important quality in team sports.

The most important heroes for our children are those who demonstrate a love for God and His Word. Sadly, our culture does not often acknowledge the selfless sacrifice of the real heroes of the faith, so as parents we must make that effort. We must remember that only God is perfect, so even the most upright individual may fall, especially if they are put up on a pedestal. We could fill pages with names of prominent Christians who have fallen short of God’s glory, as we have ourselves.

In Hebrews there is a passage that is sometimes referred to as the Faith Hall of Fame. These heroes were just living their lives when God stepped in and required them to step out in faith.

Hebrews 11:7, 11, 12, 31-40

7 By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen,in holy fear built an arkto save his family.By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.

 11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this one man, and he as good as dead,came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 

Goodness!!! Shut the mouths of lions! Escaped the edge of the sword! Sawed in half! This is better then Robin Hood. These people paid the price and are true heroes of the Faith.

I always love to hear young adults who are walking with God share about the people who have led them on their path as Christians. Sometimes they mention someone who was not even aware of the positive role they have played in the spiritual life of that person. It may be a Sunday School teacher, a coach, a youth leader, or parent of a friend – some unsung hero who lived a life of Godly influence day by day. These are the SUPER HEROES!

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Imitation

Do you remember a time when you enjoyed dressing up like a princess, a cowboy, cowgirl, fireman, or pirate? Our granddaughters like to play school right now and emulate their teachers. Being a teacher myself, it blesses me to see them line up their dolls and teach them letters, words, or colors. I especially enjoy hearing them read stories to their “class”. They do various voices so well. It is also a bit disconcerting to hear them talk harshly to their students… have they heard me talk that way? Are they copying my tone of voice and facial expression?

Children learn roles in society, school, family, and even church by observing the people in their lives and imitating them.

A very revealing situation can be watching our children play house. If one chooses to be the mother, or the big sister, dad, baby, etc. notice the way they interact imitating that chosen role. If the “mom” acts bossy, it could be that the child sees that played out at home. Yet, it may be that the child has a personality that tends to take charge – (ask my brothers about that!) Most incriminating to me was the way the “mom” talked to the “child”. It seemed so harsh and demanding! Where did she learn that? Certainly not from me, her real mother!

Truth be told, our children do learn words, tone of voice, and even facial expressions from watching the adults in their lives. Often it is cause for laughter, sometimes it is cause for shame. A grandmother recently told me the concern she felt over some language her young grandchild has picked up. Often we don’t have control over what our children see or hear, yet personally, we can be the best example possible. I have heard adults laugh when hearing a toddler say a questionable word that the child obviously does not know the meaning of. Yet the laughter communicates pleasure and the little child will repeat those words to cause laughter again. Hint – what seems cute at 2 or 3 years old is not so cute at 10 or 12 years old.

In Ephesians, the Apostle Paul encourages us to be imitators of God. He uses the example of a well-loved child imitating his father. I think this certainly can apply to a child imitating her mother as well. I like the way the Amplified Bible translates this text.

Ephesians 5:1-2    Amplified Bible 

 1THEREFORE BE imitators of God [copy Him and follow His example], as well-beloved children [imitate their father]. 2And walk in love, [esteeming and delighting in one another] as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us,
a slain offering and sacrifice to God [for you, so that it became] a sweet fragrance.
Notice that Paul says “well-loved” child. Children are less likely to imitate a parent that does not show them the love they desire and need. Paul goes on to say “and walk in love,” so that love is the foundation of the respectful relationships we should have with one another. Finally, Paul sites Jesus as the example of sacrificial love, the kind of love we must have for each other, and definitely for our children.
Our challenge as parents and grandparents is to talk and live in such a way that when the little ones imitate us, it will honor our Heavenly Father, and fill our hearts with joy and thanksgiving.