My baby boy turns 4 next week, we’re doing the celebrating this weekend. I got all teary today at the ending session of VBS, mostly because he was up on stage singing and it made me so proud. Also because I’m so happy that my child is learning about God. I admit I may not be the best example in his life, though Dean and I strive to raise our children with values.
Something I was struggling this week to teach Caleb about is offering. At our church, the kids don’t give offering as part of Sunday school and offering isnt collected during the regular service either. In the back of the church there is a box where you put your money in. Offering is rarely mentioned even. Sometimes during a service they will explain for new people why we dont do offering as a part of the service and how to give an offering. Dean and I have our tithes taken directly out of our bank acct and the bank sends a check to the church every two weeks. This makes it an unseen thing in our house, tithing that is. This week atVBS the kids were given envelopes to bring home and return with the next day holding their offering. I struggled right away with how to explain to a 3 year old what offering was since it was not something he’d experienced before. It went something like this: do you remember how you learned that God provides for us? What does God provide for us? After some coaching we talked about how God provides us w/ money to buy food and of course his first answer was toys! I told him that God likes it when we share and because He gives us the money that we have it’s a way to thank him to give and share money with the church so that they can use it to help people who dont have money to buy things. It was the best answer I could come up with and I pray it was the right thing to teach him about offering.
Growing up in the church I did there were a lot of rules and as an adult I realized some of those rules were based on scriptures that were reworded or twisted to instill fear and discipline in us as children. I want my children to learn of a God who is freeing and who want to serve God out of worship and thankfulness, not out of the fear that was instilled in me growing up. This week one of the VBS songs went like this: I want to clap my hands, stomp my feet, beat on a drum, swing in a tree, I’m am so free because the Father loves me! (it was a safari themed VBS thus the swinging in a tree like a monkey) I get so proud of my little boy when he sings this and the other VBS songs that are helping him to learn more about a loving, freeing, protecting, providing Father. Taking him to VBS this week has not only been convenient for me to get party related shopping done w/out him, but it’s reminded me how much I’ve not taught my son. We go to church every week and we do our best to institll values in Caleb but there are some things I didnt think he was old enough to understand. Unfortunately it seems he’s more than willing and able to learn about God. I only pray that Dean and I are adequately prepared to teach him to be a awesome child of God. thank God we dont have to do it alone!
