Making Summer Memories That Matter

I knew a mom once that would enroll her kids in three or four different VBS programs at local churches because she thought it was a fun, easy, free, yet "good" activity to keep her kids busy and teach them about the Bible. I am all for church camp, VBS, etc., but the truth of the matter is, no one has more influence and responsibility for the spiritual training of kids more than the parents. You are the biggest influence in your child's life and when YOU teach them Biblical truth, it reaches their heart in a way nothing else can.

Maybe you don't feel equipped or that you know enough about the Bible to teach it to your kids. Get an age-appropriate devotional at your local Christian bookstore (or order one through our Legacy Moms Amazon affiliate store and then you help support us too!) and spend a few minutes each day this summer working through it. You'll be surprised at how much YOU learn too!

One book that I would recommend for everyone regardless of your Biblical knowledge is Parents Guide To The Spiritual Growth of Children: Helping Your Child Develop a Personal Faith. It is a jam-packed guide with everything you need broken down by age group, with topics to cover, activities to do, tips for parents, etc.

Doing something like this might take 10-20 minutes a day. Imagine what could happen in your family this summer if you devoted 10-20 minutes a day x 100 days of summer to the spiritual development of your family? That would equal approximately 25 hours invested in the eternity of your child! And it costs you next to nothing.

Here's another "fringe" benefit: this type of focused attention between you and your children will actually fill their emotional cup and create bonds between siblings as they talk about different issues, pray together and spend quality time with you where they are getting your undivided attention. You'll be surprised how it reduces the nagging, clingy, needy behavior some kids show when their need for your attention is filled in a positive way and they know they can count on it each day.

Many blessings to you for a productive and meaningful summer. Keep following us on Facebook and Twitter for more summer tips. Longer ones will be posted as blogs, shorter ones just as updates.

Kym