Christian Kung Fu

Proverbs 22:6 reads, "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." You can also read supporting verses about fathering as a mentor in Ephesians 6:4, Genesis 18:19, and Proverbs 13:24.

Deuternomy 6:7 reads, "Impress them (the Commandments) on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up."

I just watched the remake of "The Karate Kid" with my family yesterday and Jackie Chan said, "Kung Fu is in everything we do." Similarly, how we teach our children in the ways of God is also in everything we do. That includes sitting at home in Bible study and developing a genuine habit and desire in our children to seek God's Word on a regular basis. This is something we should MAKE time to do. I know we are all busy in our lives, but priorities allow us to accomplish the most important stuff in life. To me, as a Christian father, that means insuring that my children grow up equipped spiritually to face the world as well as mentally and physically (Yeah, I gotta work on the physical part, too.)

Here are a few web sites I stumbled on today (after a Google search for "Child appropriate bible study") that I wanted to share with you:

• Bible Study Planet - http://biblestudyplanet.com/ has studies for adults, teens, and kids.
• Garden of Praise - http://gardenofpraise.com/index.htm is an index that contains studies and activities you can pick from.

I am sure that there are more out there, but here is a great, simple start for me to use, and I hope you can use them as well. We created files for our work, and will finish out the summer working on a study each day that takes up about 30 minutes of our time or less. It's a challenge to keep them focused even for that long. We opened with an activity like a crossword puzzle then completed a study/discussion together. During the school year, we will most likely just do activities and save discussions for Friday and Saturday (Sunday is already covered with our church's material).

After all, a genuine walk is a daily walk where we are constantly and persistently seeking God. I encourage you all to try this at home if you are not already doing it. What kind of priority are we setting with our children as fathers? What happens first, seeking God's word, or seeking the remote control? What kind of attitude do we show when we seek God's word, is it with enthusiasm, or a check-the-box mentality? And, remember, every moment is a teaching moment, everything in life is Christian kung fu. Everything we say and do as well as how we carry ourselves, teaches to our children.

What are some ways you mentor your children? (Seriously, I want to know, I need all the ideas I can get.)