I’m Blessed

Yesterday when I was teaching my little Sunday school class, our memory verse talked about hiding God’s word in our heart.  We talked awhile about what that meant.  One aspect of that is memorizing the Bible, which is something I’ve been trying to work with them on this year.  I talked to them about how once we put God’s word in our heart, no one can take it from us.  They could take the Bible and burn it.  They could steal the Bible.  They could make owning a Bible against the law, but no one could take it out of their hearts.

Then we talked about how God’s word helps us to not sin.

It didn’t take long before the kids asked more about why someone would ever take a Bible, or make owning a Bible against the law.  None of the kids in the class (my own Silje included) had ever heard that in some places of the world, it is against the law to own a Bible.  Silje told me later she knew it happened before from history books, but did not know it was still going on today.

None of them knew about the persecution of Christians going on in the world.  Somehow we got talking about things around the world, and none of them knew that people actually starved to death.  They all thought that was something in history.  They tried to problem solve: couldn’t they just grow some food,  kill an animal, go to the store?  These precious, innocent children could not imagine a world where Jesus was hated, the ground was too dry to grow food, and there were no animals to shoot.

I’ve learned so much this year teaching Sunday school on how much I assume the kids know, and am surprised they have never heard.  Only one kid in my class knew John 3:16 in my class.  None had ever heard the story of the Good Samaritan.  Now, I realize our curriculum has been covering mainly Old Testament stories.  They’re only 7-8 ish years old and there’s a lot of Bible to cover.  I don’t expect them to know each and every Bible story by 2nd grade.

It is amazing to see kids hear these stories for the first time.  It is so amazing to see them grasp Biblical truths for the first time.  Truths I figured everyone knew, and have become so dull to me.

As for the I’m Blessed list, I think you may know where I’m going with this story.  I know there is always stuff to complain about in our country, and even things to really fight for and we will always have to fight for.  Now is not that time.  Now is the time to be grateful.

I’m Blessed:
–to own a Bible.
Several copies in multiple translations.  Also, Bible study materials like concordances, Bible dictionaries, commentaries…(I used to work at a Bible bookstore in college and it sort of shows on my bookshelf).

–to be able to meet with other Christians at a church on Sunday.
So many Christians around the world have to meet in secret, and at the risk of their lives.  We can drive up in our minivan in broad daylight, stay the morning, have a potluck, and discuss church business in an annual meeting afterward.  Just like that.  No soldiers, no secret handshakes, no fear of being discovered.

–to be able to teach God’s word to children daily.
The Bible is big and there are lots of questions that sometimes take a lifetime to answer.  Kids won’t get it all in a day.  They don’t get it in a sitting.  Discipleship is a continual thing.  To see those light bulbs go off over and over, without any fear that they may tell the authorities on us, or mistakenly talk about Jesus in public and be removed from my home. 

–to have to explain things like starvation, hunger, homelessness, alcoholism, and persecution to my kids.
They don’t have to live it.  They get to have to wrap their minds around such ideas, but the don’t have to live them.  They can learn these things through words and books and not personal experience.

If you’d like to participate in this “blog party” by leaving your comments, I would greatly appreciate it.

Also, while I’m at suggesting you do stuff, if you have kids you may be interested in www.kidsofcourage.com.  It’s the kid’s website for Voice of the Martyrs and has lots of resources for teaching kids about the persecuted church.  I may be going through that this week to see if there is some things I can bring to Sunday school next week.  I shouldn’t need to say this, but be sure to preview the stuff first and make sure your child is mature enough to handle it.  They’ve got lesson plans, VBS materials, activity books, and an up to date blog.  I just so barely found it Sunday evening, so I’ll be diving into their resources this week to see what we can use for our family.

If you want to participate with your own blog post please follow these simple steps:
1. Write a blog post on how you have been blessed.
2. Either grab the “I’m Blessed” button to your right and stick it in your blog, or leave a link to this blog somewhere in your post.
3. Post the link to your specific blog post below.
4. Leave a comment.  Well, this one is optional, but I’m sure if you have a blog, you know how much fun it is to get comments.  😉