A must read for every parent and teacher is Tedd and Margy Tripp's book,
Instructing a Child's Heart
. I wish that my husband and I had had this book in our "tool-belt" when our children were young. But even now as I teach in Sunday school, this book has been a valuable resource in shaping how I teach - especially in understanding the importance of looking for opportunities to apply biblical truth to everyday life.
Children need instruction to apply Scripture to issues of authority, obedience, conflict resolution, and God-given roles in relationships. Everyday life affords scores of opportunities to connect Scripture to life – from lost book-bags to broken friendships and poor test grades. Scores of training opportunities evaporate without notice as we hurry through our days thinking that devotional time with our children is enough. Our responses to the circumstances and crises of everyday life make our theology real. (2008, page 28)
The surest way to teach children to apply God's truth to life's circumstances is to model it for them. Parenting that exhibits a vital relationship with God in all the joys and storms of life is irresistible to children and young people. Conversely, the surest way to harden our children's hearts to God and his ways is "having a form of godliness but denying its power" (2 Tim. 3:5) (Page 29)
. I wish that my husband and I had had this book in our "tool-belt" when our children were young. But even now as I teach in Sunday school, this book has been a valuable resource in shaping how I teach - especially in understanding the importance of looking for opportunities to apply biblical truth to everyday life.
