{Let Me Be A Woman}

There is so much I can say on this subject, I hardly even know where to begin. For the past year or so, on and off, I have been making my way through a book by the amazing Elisabeth Elliot called Let Me Be A Woman. In it, Elisabeth Elliot writes letters to her engaged daughter giving her bits of advice and encouragement about what it means to be a godly wife, and more importantly a godly woman, as she approaches marriage. The thought of being a woman makes me think about divine design. Clearly God created men and women differently, and in a different order. Man came first that he might lead and initiate; woman came second that she might help and submit. But what does being a woman really mean?

1. Tenderness.
There is something so tender, soft, and fragile about femininity that is a large part of what makes a woman such a beautiful creature. There is a quote by Zooey Deschanel:

Being tender and open is beautiful. As a woman, I feel continually "shhhh-ed".

Too sensitive; too mushy; too wishy-washy. Blah, blah. Don't let someone steal

your tenderness. Don't allow the coldness and fear of others to tarnish your perfectly

vulnerable beating heart. Nothing is more powerful than allowing yourself to be

truly affected by things. Whether it's a song, a stranger, a mountain, a raindrop, a tea

kettle, an article, a sentence, a footstep, feel it all-- look around you. All of this is for you.

Take it and have gratitude, feel it and give love. 

I believe the softness and tenderness can be wrapped up in a word I used a moment ago: femininity.

What does that mean, exactly? Femininity is being feminine; it is the essence of what a woman is: her spirit, her personality, her fire, her mystique, the beauty which only a woman can possess. This femininity, I believe, is what Peter is talking about in 1 Peter when he refers to a "gentle and quiet spirit..."

"Do not let your adorning be external-- the braiding of hair and putting on

of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-- but let your adorning be the hidden 

person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which

in God's sight is very precious."

[1 Peter 3:3-4, ESV]

I used to have an issue with this passage before I really understood what it meant. I can sometimes have a loud personality and be very opinionated, but in moderation, those qualities are what make me me. But what I really see that it means is to simply be a woman. Not the kind of woman that society says is feminine, but the kind of woman that is precious in God's sight. Speak when you need to speak, hold your tongue when necessary, be tender, be delighted in little things like tea kettles and flowers, for that is what you were created to do. There's a quote I've seen floating around pinterest lately, yet I have no idea who originally said it:

If more females would sit down and be ladies, then maybe more males would

stand up and be gentlemen.

Women today are viewed as a commodity (something that is used as much as possible, tossed out, and replaced). Yet, in Ephesians 5, God commands husbands to cherish their wives as their own bodies. The night before I left school to come home for the summer, I went to the movies on a Friday night, which I don't ever suggest because the theater is packed with middle-schoolers on "dates" their parents drop them off for. I saw so many girls- probably in their early teenage years, dressed like they thought they were twenty-one years old in a bar or something. Men treat women like they're something to be used and discarded, because women have bought into the lie that they are.

Lastly, some verses that have really encouraged me lately have been those that my boyfriend has sent me from Proverbs 31...we all know it, the "Proverbs 31 Woman" that we as godly women should be striving to duplicate in our personal lives:

 An excellent wife who can find?

    She is far more precious than jewels.
¹¹ The heart of her husband trusts in her,
and he will have no lack of gain.
¹² She does him good, and not harm,
all the days of her life.
¹³ She seeks wool and flax,
and works with willing hands.
¹⁴ She is like the ships of the merchant;
she brings her food from afar.
¹⁵ She rises while it is yet night
and provides food for her household
and portions for her maidens.
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard.
¹⁷ She dresses herself^[e] with strength
and makes her arms strong.
¹⁸ She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
¹⁹ She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.
²⁰ She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
²¹ She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet.^[f]
22 She makes bed coverings for herself;
her clothing is fine linen and purple.
²³ Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
²⁴ She makes linen garments and sells them;
she delivers sashes to the merchant.
²⁵ Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
²⁶ She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
²⁷ She looks well to the ways of her household
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
²⁸ Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
²⁹ “Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all.”
³⁰ Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Give her of the fruit of her hands,
and let her works praise her in the gates.

[Proverbs 31:10-31, ESV]

I really want to emphasize verse 12. "All the days of her life" means before she knew him, while they are dating, when they're engaged, and when they get married. No matter which stage of that you're currently in, make sure that you're living like a lady of God, and that you are doing your husband good, and not harm, whether you know who he is or not. Go forth in your femininity and act with a gentle and quiet spirit.



 

{Alive in Christ}

Exactly one year ago, I attended a Christian conference in Atlanta called Passion. It was an extremely eye-opening experience for me and God showed me a lot in four days that I will never forget. So here I am once again, January, the beginning of the new year of 2012, and I just got home yesterday from this same conference. It was once again life-changing, and I want to tell you all a little bit {but knowing me it will probably turn into a lot} about my experience this year, and what God showed me these past four days in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome with 45,000 other college students.


First, before I start telling you what happened the past four days, let me tell you what occured the days preceeding Passion. Lately, I have been asking God a lot to show me what love truly is. Last year at Passion I really felt the complete love of Christ in my heart, but there's a difference between feeling something and knowing it. I wanted to know it. I had also been asking God to do some major work within my heart, I didn't really know what specifically that would intell, but I knew something needed to be done. I feel as though this summer and first semester at school I had lost some of the passion that I had previously in my life. I felt just a little dry, and in need of some major refreshment from Christ in my heart and soul and life.


1. I realized how weak my worship has been. God is powerful, sovereign, almighty, and His strength, compassion, forgiveness and love NEVER run out, and yet I barely give Him the time of day when it comes to worshiping Him for all His goodness and faithfulness and love. Most importantly, He brought me back to life when I was dead in my sin. The most reasonable response to that would be to give Him my life that He raised, and yet I've been doing a lazy job of trying to do what's expected of me as a Christian, not always with the heart that should be its motivation. As I stood there during worship the first night of Passion, I truly began to worship Him with all of my heart, letting go of everything else that existed but Him. It was then that He showed me, "This is what you're missing as My follower, as My daughter. You don't give me your all everyday." That began a grueling, necessary, conviction process for the week.


2. There's a line in the song "How He Loves" that says, "Heaven meets earth like an unforeseen kiss, and my heart beats violently inside of my chest." I've always wanted to be so in love with Jesus that my heartbeat speeds up and I get butterflies when I spend time with Him. It happened. I finally felt what it feels like to be really in love with Jesus. I can't remember what song I was singing, who was speaking, or what day it was, but I fell in love with Jesus this week, and it's never going to fade away. God showed me that love isn't found in a marriage or in a feeling inside of you. Those are simply ways that God expresses His love for us and gives us a picture through those things of what His love looks like. Love is innocence and perfection dying on a cross for my filth. Love is forgetting that the world thinks He's insane in order that He may raise me back to life while I was completely dead in my sin. Love is that even when I fail, and do things that break His heart, He chooses to love me anyway. Love isn't a picture of a heart drawn by a little kid, or a piece on candy someone gives you on February 14th. Love is Christ crucified for the sins of the world and for the glory of God.


3. Actions speak louder than words. I've been using that phrase as an excuse to keep quiet about God my entire life. Using that as an excuse to simply listen to others when the topic of God came up in conversation, even though I had a ton floating around in my mind I could have said. I've used it as an excuse that my "living out the gospel" instead of speaking it would work just as fine to fulfill the Great Commission. God gave me a holy slap in the face this week. The Great Commission is not about going and hoping that your good deeds will shine brightly enough that people will know exactly why you act that way without any words being involved. The Great Commission is about going and making disciples. Romans 10:14 says,

 "...how are the to believe in whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?"

 The answer is that they can't. God calls us as Christians to PREACH the gospel, not only to live it. The preaching and the living have to go together, and it won't be effective with only one or the other. 


4. As Lecrae was rapping in worship on Wednesday night, he mentioned Romans 1:16,

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel..."

 With a broken heart I realized that every time

     "God doesn't call us as Christians to live comfortably, but to step out in faith everyday to do things for HIS KINGDOM and for HIS GOSPEL that are OUT OF OUR COMFORT ZONE. Our lives should be used for HIS GLORY, not our comfort."

I made a list of New Year's resolutions, they're all good and I plan on working on them. But now I have a life resolution: that I will fearlessly proclaim the gospel through my life in EVERYTHING I SAY and DO. That the only life people see when they look at me is Jesus, and that my life will bring glory to the name of Jesus. Elisabeth Elliot summed it up best in this quote: "I have one desire now- to live a life of reckless abandon for the Lord, putting all my energy and strength into it."

"Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown
are the desire of our hearts."

{Isaiah 26:8}

268generation.com

{Old & New}

2011 is quickly coming to an end. With a new year approaching, there is so much to look forward to: resolutions, getting back into a routine, a fresh start, etc. No matter what you're looking forward to, there is one word that always comes to mind when I think of a new year--new. But what about the old? Everyone spends so much time looking forward to what is ahead, that they never seem to take time to reflect on what has happened over the past year. What about the old year? What about the memories made, the events that took place, the people you met, the ways that you've changed? Before I think about a new year, I want to look at the old year...what happened this year that will make 2011 memorable for the rest of my life?

The year 2011, for me, began with my attending a Worship conference in Atlanta called Passion. During the first four days of the year that I was at this conference, my life changed. Not necessarily in a dramatic way, but more subtly in the way that God changed my heart during those four days. God showed me that He did indeed love me, a sinner, and He began to give me, for the first time, a little glimpse of just how BIG His love for me really is. It was then that I finally realized that I couldn't keep up running away from His love, and that no matter where else I looked for a love like His, I would be satisfied with none of it until I first found it in Him alone. With a new heart, I headed home to finish my senior year of high school. But with this new heart had to come a new way of thinking, which I struggled with (and still often do) developing. For the next 6 months I struggled with the same things I had in 2010, and I often questioned God why it was so difficult to change my head knowledge with what my new heart knowledge was.

In May, I graduated from high school. It was a feeling of relief and accomplishment all at once, and looking back on the past 12 years of my life as a student was an interesting experience. I had picked a college and a major, and felt confident that it was where God was calling me to be. I struggled on and off throughout the summer whether it really was God's plans for me to go to school, or whether He wanted me to go straight into dancing. I know now that college was absolutely His plan, and I'm so thankful that I listened to Him.

Summer came and I took a babysitting job twice a week for a family that I had been babysitting for throughout the year. Mondays and Wednesdays I would get up and go to their house and get to play with their two children, ages 7 and 9, for hours, and then I'd go home, or go to dance, or go do things with friends. I didn't really realize it at the time, but God was teaching me a lot through those kids. He taught me a lot of patience, but He also taught me that love comes in all sorts of ways, and that the love of a child is so much different than any other kind of love. I always knew that one day, when I get married and decide to start a family, that I wanted a few kids, but it was this past summer that God showed me how much I really love children, and that if He decides to give me more than a few (say maybe five or six) I'd be perfectly content with a larger family than the one I had always imagined or experienced growing up in a family with only three children. He taught me a lot about the faith of a child during that time too. He tells us in His Word that we're to have a childlike faith, and I never really understood what that meant. But, spending so much time with kids, I began to understand a little more that having a childlike faith means to trust in the Lord without knowing all the details; not to just put part of your trust in Him, but to fully and completely hand anything and everything over with the full confidence that He has it under His control.

On August 18th, I packed up the majority of my belongings, and headed off to college at Belhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. My mom wasn't too thrilled me moving 6.5 hours away from home, but after months of no luck, she eventually gave up trying to talk me out of it. I'm not going to lie, I was very excited about moving on to the next stage of my life, but I was super nervous. I didn't know anyone else going to the school, and I only knew one person that lived in Jackson, but God knew what He was doing with me, and I had to keep reminding myself to have faith that He did. Looking over the past four months, I see God's will all over it. Every person I've met, everyone experience I've been through, every place that I've gone, every struggle I've dealt with, all of it has been His will and His presence has been there throughout it all. I've made some friends that I know will be around for the rest of my life, and one boy in particular that has been such a blessing.

I wanted nothing to do with a relationship my freshman year, especially not my first semester, and God knew that full well, but He decided to disregard my thoughts on the subject. The second day I was at school I met a boy through a mutual friend I had met a the day before. He seemed like a nice guy and we both kind of fell into the same group of friends who would hang out all the time. Over time we both started to like each other and God took it over from there. Neither one of us wanted to have any sort of relationship besides being friends this first semester, but God had other plans, and I'm so thankful that He did. I have learned so much from this relationship that I can't even begin to get my thoughts together to think of the things individually, but I have, and I know for that reason that it's been God's will for me.

I was homeschooled all my life until August came around, and so school was one thing I was worrying about before I left for Jackson. But, through some struggles, I managed to make good grades, as well as the Dean's list my first semester. Dance classes in college have been somewhat different than what I've been used to all my life, with taking tests and quizzes and having evaluations, but I have also learned and grown so much through this as well, that I know it's making me a better person and dancer in the long run.

So that has pretty much been my 2011, now on to think about 2012, a  brand new year with lots to look forward to! I recently saw the movie New Year's Eve in theaters. It was what I expected: a bunch of celebrities, some comedy, some romance, overall pretty predictable and cheesy. But at one part during the movie, Hilary Swank's character gives a speech when the New Year's Eve ball gets stuck on it's way up. She says,

"{The ball is} suspended there to remind us before we pop the champagne and celebrate the new year, to stop and reflect on the year that has gone by. To remember both our triumphs and our missteps, our promises made and broken. The times we opened ourselves up to great adventures or closed ourselves down for fear of getting hurt, because that is what New Year's is all about - getting another chance. A chance to forgive, to do better, to do more, to give more, to love more. To stop worrying about 'what if' and start embracing what would be. So when that ball drops at midnight, and it will drop, let's remember to be nice to each other, kind to each other. And not just tonight but all year long."

The "all year long" part is something I think most people forget about. People get out their pens and paper on New Year's Eve, sit down and begin to make a list of things they resolve to do better in the coming year. However, the majority of people can't make it past Valentine's Day in keeping these resolutions. A new year is about a fresh start, but that start should just be the beginning of living an entirely different way, the way that you have decided on that piece of paper that you want to start living.

Reflect the the things that have changed you and made you into a better person, the things that you have learned and the things that you have been through. Then think about all the difficulties, struggles, and bad days that you had in 2011, think about them once, and then throw them out. Move on. As everyone is eating cookies and blowing horns, wearing sparkles and kissing people at 12 o'clock, allow this time to think about all the possibilities of a new year, and think about the person you want to become, the person who God created you to be, and become that. It won't be easy, it may possibly be the most difficult thing you've decided to do in your life, but you won't be doing it alone, and you won't be doing most of it. Let this year be a time that God works in your life and in your heart, and allow Him to change, shape, and mold you into the beautiful creation you were meant to be. You will still fail and mess up sometimes, but that's what God's grace is for, and He is standing there waiting to forgive you of all of the past and future sins that are and will be in your life. Let Him make you new.



{Prayer}

From today, I have exactly 22 days until I go back to Mississippi to begin my second semester of college. I have been hoping, thinking and praying that this break will be one of renewal and restoration. I am beyond thankful that I finished my first semester without too many difficulties, with good grades and a good GPA, and many new relationships built, but to be completely honest, I am sufficiently drained. I need God to renew my energy physically, mentally, emotionally, and most importantly, spiritually.

Tonight, after a long phone conversation with a special man, I went outside on my deck. As I sat there beneath a blanket of twinkling stars in the chilly December air, green tea in hand, my thinking turned into praying. I prayed and thought about many things, from school, to people, to myself and my relationship with the Lord. As my mind landed on the last subject, I really began to evaluate myself.

"Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? Unless indeed you fail to meet the test!"
{2 Corinthians 13:5}

Through this "examination," I began to see how I spent time with God this semester. When I think of spending time with God, I tend to thing of reading the Bible, going to church, and praying. Reading the Bible: check. I love reading my Bible. There is rarely a day that I go without reading at least something in God's Word. I love to read my favorite verses that I have underlined in my Bible, and I love to send verses to friends everyday as a little piece of encouragement to remind them that they're not alone. Going to church: check. I have found an awesome church to attend in Madison, MS called North Ridge. There are lots of college students and young families that I get the joy of worshiping with every Sunday, and I look forward to it every weekend. Prayer: Hmmm...

Prayer is an area I have been struggling with for quite some time now. When it comes to prayer, I am seriously A.D.D. A lot of times this semester, I will try praying before I go to sleep at night. Whenever I try that, I always wake up the next morning realizing I fell asleep mid-prayer. Sometimes I try praying as I'm walking to class. One thing wrong with that is that it takes about 3 minutes to walk anywhere on campus, so that ends up being a pretty short prayer. Either that, or I end up getting distracted or running into a friend and talking to them.

The past year or so I have come to an awareness of my "A.D.D. prayer life". I realize that it is something that needs to change, but every time I try to change it, it seems that I fail. I came to an understanding tonight though, that this does not just need to change, it is going to change. During this break, and at the Passion conference in a couple weeks, and throughout 2012, I am making a commitment to myself and to God to "pray without ceasing".

"Pray without ceasing."
{1 Thessalonians 5:17}

"Continue steadfastly in prayer..."
{Colossians 4:2}

"I desire then that in every place the men should pray..."
{1 Timothy 2:8}

God does not desire half-hearted, lukewarm people who have no desire to talk to Him, simply doing the bare minimum in order to go to heaven. He desires humble children who passionately seek His face through prayer and reading His Word.



Your Will Be Done

You know the phrase, "When life gives you lemons..." The thing is, however, that it's not life that gives the lemons, but God, and God sometimes like to throw us a curve ball.

As humans, we like to be able to control the things around us (one reason why a lot of marriages fail, I believe, but that's another blog post for another time), but you see, God likes to have control even more than we do, but the thing is, that He is all powerful, so unlike when we are in control, when He controls things, it works. But we don't like to give Him control, and we don't like to be without a plan, feeling helpless. So what we do is we like to plan every little detail out, leaving no room for His will at all.

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

He has a plan for you. No matter how old you are, no matter where you are in life, He has a perfect plan. He has every detail of your life planned out perfectly, it's when we take control ourselves that things start to go wrong. When we take control bad things happen, messes are made, people are broken. But there's something great...God likes to take our messes, our bad situations, and our brokenness and turn them into something beautiful. Yes, that's right, I said beautiful.

Take Mary for example. There she is, minding her own business when one day, out of the blue, an angel appears to her, telling her that she's with child, and that the child she's carrying is going to be the long awaited Savior and Messiah that her people have been expecting for hundreds of years. But that wasn't in her plans! Her plan was to marry Joseph, the carpenter, and have a few children down the road maybe once she got out of her teens, and live a nice life with him. But God threw her a curve ball...He gave her some lemons. She must have initially thought that her world was coming to an end. What were her parents going to say about this baby? Joseph would surely break off the engagement! But God had even that taken care of, and what beautiful things came out of her confusing, seemingly hopeless situation!

Think about Abraham. Here he is, over one hundred years old at this point, God had been faithful in providing him and Sarah, even in their old age, with the promised son, Isaac. Isaac was to be the beginning of generations of offspring for Abraham, and then, all of a sudden, God tells Abraham to sacrifice this promised son. Abraham must have been nearly out of his mind! I can imagine Him after God told him this, "Sacrifice?! You mean...KILL my son? The one YOU promised and provided for me? You have GOT to be kidding, God." But God was not kidding, He was dead serious (no pun intended...well, maybe a little was intended), and He wanted to see how Abraham would respond. God threw Abraham some lemons.

What about Ruth? Here she is, recently married with no children, and then all of a sudden, her husband, along with her brother-in-law and father-in-law are dead. The only family she has is her sister-in-law, Orpah, and her mother-in-law, Naomi. What on earth is she supposed to do? She has nowhere to go, no one to turn to. God tells her to remain with Naomi and He provided everything for the two women, and He had a plan all the way to the end, even in bringing Ruth to Boaz.

So really, it isn't about the lemons  or why they've been thrown. It's about what you do with them. "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade." Making lemonade means to surrender yourself and your plans to the Lord and to learn to have complete and total faith in Him, the one who threw the lemons. No matter what things are happening in your life, know that God has a perfect plan for you and whatever the situation is. He can make something beautiful out of anything.

"Going a little farther, He fell with his face to the ground and prayed, 'My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.' "
{Matthew 26:39}

Give Me Faith

So, I posted the video for the song "Give Me Faith" by Elevation Worship in yesterday's Monday Music post, but today I want to share the lyrics with you. It is so simple and yet so powerful. In church Sunday, we sang it, and yesterday I bought Elevation Worship's album on iTunes and have been listening to it non-stop since. The lyrics to this song have been the epitome of my prayers this week, so far. So much has been swarming my thoughts lately, I want to try and get some writing done and posted this week, I'll try.
-taye

Here are the lyrics . . . I challenge you to dive into them and lift the words up to God as your prayer today.

Give Me Faith

  I need You to soften my heart

To break me apart

I need You to open my eyes

To see that You’re shaping my life

All I am, I surrender

 

Give me faith to trust what You say

That You’re good and Your love is great

I’m broken inside, I give You my life

I need You to soften my heart

To break me apart

I need You pierce through the dark

And cleanse every part of me

 

I may be weak

But Your Spirit’s strong in me

My flesh may fail

My God You never will

I may be weak

But Your Spirit's strong in me

My flesh may fail

But my God You never will



Why are we falling?

So many people today call themselves a Christian without really knowing what being a Christian truly means. This baffles and frustrates me to no end. Parents today are failing to educate and instill morals, faith and truth into their children and that's one main reason why so many student are leaving the church and God once they are on their own. It needs to stop. Here is an article from WORLD Magazine. My best friend posted it on facebook and I thought I'd share it on here. Enjoy and think about it...
taye



Where have we gone wrong?


Today’s Youth—Walking Away from Truth


by Sheila Richardson

July 12, 2007






Why do young people walk away from the church after years of faithful attendance and involvement?

The main reason may be that the curriculum used in most Sunday schools is simply telling Bible stories and not teaching how to defend the truths of Scripture.


A leader in his youth group, Andrew faithfully attended Sunday school every week. He was awarded a scholarship at a well-known university, but by the end of his first year in college, Andrew had renounced his faith.

Sadly, Andrew’s heartbreaking story is not unique. It is repeated in thousands of Christian homes every year.

In August 2006, Answers in Genesis–USA commissioned Britt Beemer from America’s Research Group1 to find out why young people were leaving the church.2 Respondents indicated that Sunday school materials were shallow and “irrelevant.”3 Of those polled, 86% had begun to question the Bible by their high school years.

Of those who said they did not believe all the accounts in the Bible are true, 82% cited doubts about the Bible’s authority or its trustworthiness. What caused these people to doubt the Bible?

Where Have We Gone Wrong?

Basically, we have failed to teach our children to think biblically. In order to survive as believers in our culture, we must all recognize that God rules and speaks about every area of life (e.g., science, philosophy, ethics, history, government, sociology, and education), and not merely about an isolated area designated “religion.”

With fewer than 9% of evangelical Christian adults actually having a biblical worldview, the need for sound biblical teaching is critical.
According to a Barna poll, 80–90% of students from church homes in the U.S. attend public schools (this figure is probably greater in other Western nations). After 30 hours in government schools and another 30 hours in front of the TV each week, young people receive only about one hour per week of “reprogramming” at church (most parents leave the “spiritual” training to the church). Which system of teaching is likely to influence these students in the long run—45 minutes of Sunday schools and youth groups, or 30 hours in public schools?

While the church teaches about Jesus and salvation, the education system has indoctrinated students to doubt the underlying credibility of the Bible. Worse yet, church leaders are often afraid to teach about origins or to confront the divisive issues of the culture, such as abortion, homosexual behavior, and evolution.

Most church curricula feature simplistic stories that fail to connect the dots of redemptive history. Few attempt to teach Bible study skills. Most units on creation or Genesis only present the fact that God created, without addressing the “facts” of evolution that bombard students every day of the week.

Rarely do any lessons deal with foundational questions about the age of things or human evolution. Equally rare is any statement about absolute truth and the inerrancy of Scripture.

By the time a child has reached middle school, he thinks he knows everything the Bible has to offer, and his interest in Sunday school vanishes. However, he will probably continue to participate during his teen years because of the “herd mentality” and social activities of most youth groups.

Why, then, should we be surprised when young Christians desert the church once their social needs are met in other ways? With fewer than 9% of evangelical Christian adults actually having a biblical worldview,4 the need for sound biblical teaching is critical.

What can be done to change this bleak situation?



Teach Doctrine to Children

Changing curriculum, although a simplistic answer to a much bigger problem, is a place to start.

As you evaluate what and how your children are being taught in your church, you may find it helpful to consider the following five principles.

Don’t just tell children and teens they must believe the earth is young; rather, help them see it from Scripture.
Principle 1:

Check the content.

A content-rich curriculum presents the biblical big picture (Creation, Fall, Redemption) and explains the context for all the individual details taught. Consider how it handles Genesis. The way this foundational book is treated sets the stage for how the curriculum provides answers to key questions of life: “Who is God?” “How did the world get here?” “Who am I?” “Do I have a purpose?” “Where does evil come from?”

This is one reason that I wrote the It All Begins with Genesis program for middle school. But training needs to begin earlier. For example, with AiG’s Answers for Kids series, you can begin teaching early elementary students the biblical view of history and how to answer many of the questions they face in school.

Principle 2:

Study as Families Whenever Possible.

When I wrote It All Begins with Genesis about five years ago, I had middle school children in mind. However, three years ago I began asking parents to attend the course with their sixth-grade children. They responded with enthusiasm. Now whole families eagerly attend, with children ranging from third grade through early high school. The results have been amazing!

Principle 3:

Teach How to Study the Bible.

Most curricula teach facts about the Bible but don’t equip students to accurately handle the Word of God. When a curriculum teaches inductive study techniques, students learn to discover truth for themselves. Christian teachers should not just tell students to trust the Bible as absolute truth; they should show students how to see this truth from Scripture. Learning how to study the Bible is a lifelong skill that allows people to fall more in love with God and His Word.

Principle 4:

Employ Critical Thinking Skills.

The curriculum should examine everything in the light of biblical truth.

For instance, don’t just tell students they must believe the earth is young; rather, help them see it from the text of Scripture. It helps young people to learn what popular thinking says about the earth and then to work through the contrasting biblical and theological truths revealed in Scripture. In the process, they will also learn scientific evidence that confirms these truths.

Our secular school system indoctrinates with memorized “facts” and discourages logical questioning. Students who are never taught to question will fall prey to professors who teach unbiblical views. The curriculum should have time for group discussion and allow the freedom to question.

Everything parents and teachers do should reflect the character of God. Nowhere is this more important than in our teaching.
Principle 5:

Reflect God’s Character in the Teaching.

Everything parents and teachers do should reflect the character of God. Nowhere is this more important than in our teaching. Joy prevails as we enjoy Him and each other. When we do things through the power of the Holy Spirit, the results will bring blessings.

For example, God is never boring. He loves variety. His work reflects excellence, beauty, and joy. Any good curriculum includes these components. The goal of a good curriculum should be to honor God through excellence in every lesson, and teachers should strive to achieve this same goal.


Members of Trinity Presbyterian Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, participate in an intergenerational Bible study using the It All Begins with Genesis curriculum. Participants ranged from third grade to grandparents.


When teaching, I constantly change the setup of the room. Sometimes families sit grouped around tables, other times the children on the floor with the parents behind them. Study groups use fast-moving PowerPoint presentations, hands-on demonstrations, and drama. At other times they do quiet “seat work,” marking key words in the biblical text and making lists. And they often draw pictures to describe the concept or play competitive games to evaluate what they have learned.

As the Beemer poll revealed, young people need to learn at a very early age why they believe what they believe. They need to be able to give answers that support their faith. With the Lord’s enabling, Christian parents and teachers can change the results of the poll. Using the right materials, churches and parents can prepare kids to “think biblically” and to discern false teachings when encountered.



Warm relationships developed among parents, kids, and teachers.

I will praise You in this storm

So, reading over the post from the other day, I realize that I need to proof before posting, there were a ton of grammatical errors. Sorry for that. Anyway, last night for my quiet time I read a story very familiar to most Christians: Jesus calming the storm. However, as I read it brought comfort to me, I really needed that last night. God has a way of bringing encouragement at just the right time. Have a happy Tuesday!
-taye


I will praise You in this storm

"One day Jesus said to His disciples, 'Let's go over to the other side of the lake.' So they got into a boat and set out. As they sailed, He fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.
The disciples went and woke Him, saying, 'Master, Master, we're going to drown!'
He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 'Where is your faith?' He asked His disciples.
In fear and amazement they asked one another, 'Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him.' "
{Luke 8:22-25 NIV}


Though this was the telling of a true story, I believe that it also is in the Bible to serve as a parable just as so many other biblical stories are. At some point in life, every single person goes through a "storm" of some kind; in fact, there will be many of life's storms along the journey. We may question why we, as God's children must endure these storms; we may grumble, panic, or fear just as the disciples did, or we can choose to have faith...there is not room enough for both fear and faith, we must choose one.

If we choose fear, how much more difficult the storm will become! It will go from a summer thunderstorm to a horrible hurricane, and chances are that we will not stand firm when it is over. On the contrary, if we choose faith, along with it will come hope, and eventually joy. Where there is faith, there is no need for fear.

If faith is the road we take, there is one more umbrella we need to hold: praise. We must learn to not only endure the storm, but praise the One who will rescue us from it; the only One who is able to calm it.