Keeping Faith Fun!

My last post was how to keep our own faith live rocking as parents.  After all you can't give what you don't have and our kiddos need us to share our faith with them. Today let's talk about how to keep kids active in their faith as well. What are some ways we can encourage them to have fun learning and living their faith?

This is definetely not the complete list but over the next couple of days I will share a few things that I do in my house:

The first is TV: Yes TV has become portrayed as the evil monster that will consume our children. Is this true? I think it can be, depending on what their little eyes are watching. They not only listen to what they hear but begin to include it in their daily vocabulary and interactions with others.
When we moved into our house 4 years ago an amazing thing happened. I used to be the biggest DVR junky ever! Especially after having my first child and being a stay at home mom. I was DVRing 20-30 shows per week and watching them. When we moved their was a big cable TV controversy in our town and the cable company said it would take them nearly 6 weeks to connect our cable. For a moment I thought I might die! What do you mean I have to live without cable for 6 whole weeks? I am pregnant how will I survive? It turns out I DID survive and we realized that we didn't really need cable anymore. So we called the cable company and canceled. It felt a bit liberating. I was no longer slave to "Grey's Anatomy" and all of the other shows that I felt compelled to watch weekly. It gave me a lot more time to read, pray and spend time with my kids. I feel this decision has changed my family! The only thing I miss these days is a bit of College football but we all make sacrifices right?

In our house the only children's programming that we have is PBS, which is full of good quality education. I am pretty sure Ella is reading at four years old because of  "Word World" and "Super Why"  and not from my fancy teaching skills. :) They have also learned so much about science, animals and nature thanks to "Sid the Science Kid".
The best thing is our house is not filled with garbage all of the time! I don't have to worry about the characters treating their parents with attitude or fawning over some rock star. All of the characters have good moral values. We are not able to watch children's programming 24 hours per day and there are NO toy commercials!! Did you know young children are the number one advertising marketing group in America? Sell it to the kids and the parents HAVE to buy it. My kids have no idea what cool toys are these days and I like it that way!!

Ella did ask me a question recently. "She said I know PBS has good shows for kids but how come they never tell anybody about God or Jesus?" I didn't really have an answer for this question. It is hard to explain to a four-year-old that not everyone believes in God and that some people are actually offended by him. So that brings me to our other show that is full of good Christian education and values.
The other show that my kids watch a lot of is "Veggie Tales"! If you haven't seen it you are really missing out!!!!!  The characters are all witty, talking vegetables, that teach bible stories and other moral issues. They cover a lot of the old testament stories. I have to admit that when I first starting learning about the bible I learned it all from Veggie Tales. I would read the stories and picture Larry the Cucumber hopping around in my mind. They sing songs and tell the stories in ways that the kids can understand. There is also just the right amount of adult intelligent humor that is NEVER inappropriate like other children's shows. Kids love it! Parents love it! We are all learning and becoming better Christians. What is not to love? So you are probably wondering, "What channel does Veggie Tales come on?" The sad answer is it doesn't. NBC was airing it on Saturday morning cartoons for a short period but it was canceled. I buy them from Family Christian for $5 or check them out for free at the library.

Teaching Kids to Pray

One  of the most valuable lessons we can teach our kids is how to pray. I believe it is an area we all need extra help with and kind of fall short on teaching. Don't get me wrong we do great job of teaching the "Now I lay Me Down To Sleep" prayers and "pray for Grandma prayers" or Grace before meals, but I mean real connecting with God prayers. One of my main goals as a mom is to teach my kids how to discern God's will in their life. Now if you asked me five years ago to discern something I would have had NO idea what you were talking about. To discern is to prayerfully make decisions based on God's will for your life. Discernment is not easy, in fact it can be very difficult.  Teaching my children to follow God in this way  is a challenge I am ready to take on.  In our culture kids are taught that they can be anything they want to be, go anywhere they want to go, do whatever they want to do, etc.... But I disagree. We can do anything that God wants us to do. If it is in His divine plan for us then we are unstoppable and our job is to follow Him closely enough to understand His plan. As parents we need to teach our children to be the person that God has designed them to be by knowing Him personally and following Him.

I am an extremely discerning person. I believe that God is everywhere in my life and wants to be  part of every decision I make, from the large decisions like "where to work" or "how many kids to have" to the small choices like "what should I wear today?" or "What should we do today?" Now I know that may sound silly, but I truly believe He cares about each of us that much. I also believe that nothing happens out of chance it is all part of God directing our lives. He doesn't typically give us big signs but little nudges here and there. For instance, my God moment from yesterday.....  I really need a nursing cover for the new baby. I wanted to get a good one but I am crazy cheap and could not bring myself to pay $30 for one. I looked several different times at stores and online and just kept chickening out. I felt this icky feeling in the pit of my stomach saying that I shouldn't buy it. The very next day I got an email from a friend with a free coupon for a high quality nursing cover. Coincidence? I don't think so! I think I followed God's will in that little insignificant matter. Yes He cares about the little insignificant things.

So back to teaching our kids. Ella my four year old asks me often "How do I know if God is talking to me?" or "Does God talk to me too?" The answer is yes He absolutely talks to her because some of the things she says are entireley to spiritually profound for a four year old to create on her own.  There are three main ways that God speaks to us and it is typically not a big loud booming voice like on TV.

1. God speaks through scripture- You may read the same bible verse for the 10th time but it will have a diferent meaning for you in that exact moment. This is God using His own words to direct your life. Scripture is our own personal love letter from God! Read it!

2. God speaks through our friends- In any type of serious decision of discernemnt you should always consult a spiritual director or spiritual friend. For some reason we can hear God better when the message is intended for someone else. :) Friends can be a great way to validate a feeling of discernment. It is also helpful to have others pray with you. Does this mean that all advice you get from friends is directly from God? Absolutely not! Consult people you trust and who have a strong faith. Even priests, religious and the Pope have spiritual directors that they discern with.

3. God also speaks through that still small voice in our hearts. It may be an idea that pops into your head or a little whisper in your soul. I think we were trained to believe that we are just that brilliant and all of these ideas are our own. I believe those come from God. Another silly example: I lost a maternity shirt that I only wore once. I needed this shirt because before too long it won't fit anymore. I looked everywhere for it. Then one day I really wanted to wear it and suddenly I saw in my mind's eye that it was at the bottom of a laundry hamper that was full of clothes to be given to Goodwill.  I believe God directed me there. I couldn't have suddenly figured that out on my own. I am not that smart. :)

These are hard concepts for adults to learn and will be difficult for kids too.  I think the way that we can teach these most effectively is by modeling them. Each time we feel God has given us a sign or helped with a a decision just say it out loud so your kids can hear. With the shirt example I might just say "Wow thanks God for showing me where my shirt was". Then Ella might ask "How did he show you?" That gives me a chance to share a bit with her about how I communicate with God. Also point it out if you notice God speaking through your children. If your child says something very profound or loving you can say something like "Wow that was so thoughtful. I think God gave you that idea" or "Wow you must have been listening to God when you said that". It will open up the doors to discuss what it means to listen to Him. In order to effectively discern the large decisions we must first be in tune with God on the small decisions. The more practice that we have the easier it will be to discern His will from our own.

Also, when your child is in the moment and needs discernment, stop with them and pray. Teach them by modeling in your own prayer to ask for God's help. If they are trying to make a decision, lost something special, having an argument with a friend or family member, etc. show them that they can lean on God for support.  Being a teacher in a public school I was never able to share this beautiful gift with my students and it drove me crazy. Can you imagine the climate of a classroom or family if we prayed during our arguments and problems instead of fighting back?

The other important part of discernment is knowing your feelings and how things affect them. When a message or feeling is from God you will feel a sense of peace and calm in your heart. If a message is not from God or is not right in this situation you will feel uneasy, angry, sad, possibly even a bit nauseous.

I am by no means a spiritual director so, if you want more information on Discernment check out St. Ignatius of Loyola. He pretty much wrote the book on the subject. I did a bible study with him a few years ago and it was great. The title of the book that we used was "What's Your Decision?" It is an easy read and explains discernment in a way that anyone can understand. If you are interested  you can buy it here. There are many other St. Ignatius discernment books well that you can choose from.

Happy Discerning!!!

Dad's Corner

So my wife started this blog, and already...I am all over the internet.  I think it is only fair that I introduce myself and my relationship with God.

First of all, I am a proud husband and proud father.  My wife and my family (Mom, Dad, in-laws, sister, etc.) have been pivotal in introducing and guiding me towards a faith-filled life.  Wives...this is the point at which you should be reading and say to yourself..."how did she get him to write a post?"  Well it was easy.  She started this blog two days ago and already has 250+  views.  Now, this tells me that there is an audience out there that is yearning for some evangelizing.  Ok, lets not scare people with that verb.  How about this...there are people out there interested in Christ...furthermore, interested in good ole' Catholic/Christian traditions that may help them with guiding their children.

So why would I write a post?  Well, here is a little bit about me.  I am that type of person that works hard...often physical labor outdoors in Texas (oh the heat!).  I don't believe in going to the doctor until you just can't stand the pain anymore.  I think that you can most times judge someone within the first twenty seconds of meeting them based on how they introduce themselves and how respectful they comply with your introduction.  I think that men should open doors for women and that for the most part...parents these days have become complacent or bored with the idea of raising our children to be respectful.  I have to credit my mom and dad.  Wow what a job!  The respect of others and self they taught me is a lost art (not one that cannot be achieved).  Why go into this???

Because I do not fit the mold of a father or man that should be sensitive to express the importance, or endorse for that matter, the significance of raising your children in a good Catholic environment.  By first sight, I probably would not meet your standards as a "God loving man."  I am pretty rough around the edges.

What I would hope to achieve from this post is this.  MOMS...we husbands, whether we tell you or not, want to embrace your spiritual leadership.  Yes, I am very aware of scripture (forgive my misquoting/paraphrasing)...the man is the spiritual leader.  As this may be true,  we do also like to follow!  Especially when it comes to the "oh so" uncomfortable topics of the Church's teaching.  Just my two cents.  Moms, remember, sometimes we fathers too want to be involved in the spiritual upbringing of our children...sometimes we just don't know how we fit in; what we are comfortable with (i.e. open prayer, praying together, etc.)  I hope and pray for all you mothers out there.  Do not lose sight...as you lead, spiritually, your husbands will follow...and you will be able to share in RAISING OUR (your) CATHOLIC KIDS.

Hello Mommies

I am so excited to launch a blog for Moms who are interested in raising kids after God's heart. My name is Megan and I live in Austin, TX. I am married to an amazing man named Chad. We have two little girls and a little fella on the way. He should be here any time! I was a second grade teacher with a passion for teaching kids to love another and strive to do the right thing. With our third little one on the way I get to be a stay at home mom again. My life revolves around my faith and my family.  There is nothing I love more in the world than sharing my faith with kiddos and teens. I have a passion for youth ministry and have seen so many lives changed by the Holy Spirit.

I am glad you decided to stop by my little blog. Around here I will share my ideas for parenting, discipline, faith and raising kids and teens who know and love God. Also some spiritual advice for growing in your faith as a Christian mom as well. Come back and see me!