Intentional Times of Teaching our Kids - Part 2

Posted by Randy | Labels: , , , , , , | Posted On Tuesday, May 25, 2010 at 12:01 AM

Yesterday I began a short collection of articles that share ways parents can help teach their children biblical truths. These are based on the passage below from Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
"'Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.'"
Below is a chart I used this past Sunday that summarizes the four teaching times lifted up in this passage. I'm covering one each day, quoting material from a book entitled Think Orange by Reggie Joiner. Yesterday I covered the first time - Meal Time. Today I move on to Drive Time.

Times
Communication
Role
Goal
Meal Time
Formal Discussion
Teacher
Establish Values
Drive Time
Informal Dialogue
Friend
Interpret Life
Bed Time
Intimate Conversation
Counselor
Build Intimacy
Morning Time
Encouraging Words
Coach
Instill Purpose
Walking or traveling together seems to provide a unique opportunity as well. It is a convenient time to stimulate the kind of informal dialogue that allows kids to drive their own agendas. These times give parents an opportunity to build a relationship through nonthreatening experiences. At some level the parent can actually function as a friend or companion and interpret life together with their children. (Today's cultural mirror to this can be drive time. It has a few "enemies," like video games, cell phones, and music, even though creative parents may actually use some of these enemies to generate interesting questions or dialogue.)