Alexis and Caden have finally reached the age where they are starting to get more involved in extracurricular activities.This afternoon my daughter starts yet another program, Girls on the Run. But how could we say no, she enjoys it, it gets her off her duff and operates on premises that will instill in her attributes like confidence and self-esteem. Add this to her already busy schedule which includes homework, the school chorus, two dance classes and Alexis is beginning to experience being overscheduled. Caden at five is a little less hectic, but still competes in floor hockey and will soon be starting Little League. As my kids find themselves increasingly busy, I am beginning to wonder how Chrishelle and I are going to raise these two young people to not only be well rounded, but also who find faith, God, and their church important. I wonder… how can I raise the next Tim Tebow?
Not Tim Tebow, the professional football player, but the Tim Tebow the young man who has a deep and abiding faith, the Tim Tebow who has a deep love and reverence for God and his neighbor. How did Tim’s parents do it? Certainly to have reached the pinnacle of athletics as Tim Tebow has, there must have been times of great sacrifice where sports came before church and God. But, I also know that for a man, like Tim Tebow, to have such an abiding faith there were probably times when Tim’s parents had to say now is not the time for sports, but we will set aside this time for God. I wonder how they built time into every day or every week to raise Tim to be a man of faith. How did Tim’s parents uphold the importance of God and church in Tim’s life when saying yes to sports would have sent the message that church or God wasn’t as important as playing as that day’s game? How did they strike a balance where they encouraged both Tim’s relationship with God and his extracurricular activities?I don’t know that I have a good answer to those questions. However, I am sure that if I want God and church to be at the center of my childrens’ lives I am certain there will have to be times where saying yes to God, may mean saying no to a baseball game or school concert. I hope that when that time comes that God will grant me the grace to make the right decision. I hope that God will help me to raise the next two Tim Tebows.
This morning I was praying through the scripture in Philippians 2 that says, “He is at WORK in us, to WILL and to DO, of HIS GOOD PLEASURE.” When I read those verses the Lord impressed upon my heart that He considers it a pleasure to be at work in my life. That the active, daily process of working His desires and plan is actually something He enjoys.
ReplyDeleteIf God finds delight in the process, maybe I need to be more alert to His Perspective, and to the specifics of what He is “pleased” to be involved with in my life and my children’s lives each day!
It’s probably more important to be recognizing and joining with what God is currently doing in in all our lives. So if the Apostle Paul was right when he wrote, “We are His workmanship”, then it’s really God’s job to get their act together – and it’s my job to clue in and cooperate!
Thank you fly fisherman for you insights. Something powerful happens when I am able to recognize that God is at work in me or in my children. How profound it is to think that the creator of the universe is at work in me. I guess then I have to ask- How do we find time to recognize God's work in us, and how do we help others (our children or in my case as as a pastor, my flock)to see God's work in their lives?
DeleteI once read that Jesus only “said” what He heard the Father say, and only “did” what He saw the Father do. The results of which are the many testimonies, that were so abundant they couldn’t be contained. That was our God in heaven working in the life of Jesus here on earth. This model is as true today as it was in Jesus time.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are able model our faith, “hearing & doing”, then our testimonies become the very inheritance to our child’s future.
So when your children want to participate in a sport, ask them what their heavenly father says about it, and then “together” decide.
True story - I knew of a man who wanted a Corvette in the worst way. He told his wife. The wife said, “If God tells you to buy the Corvette, buy it!” It was about 10 years later that God gave His approval. What started as a desire, which lead to a testimony, has become one of many such “models” for his children today.
God is at work in us. It’s called a relationship! Model it, and see the goodness of the Lord - in your life, in your family and in your ministry.