When I first had my son, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law recommended the book from the Pearls To Train Up a Child. The title was taken from the famous Biblical verse: 

In my circle of friends and sisters in Christ there seems to be a consensus, the Pearls take things a bit to the extreme. That's okay. It works for them. I think that they have some great and helpful lessons to tell, but I'm not one willing to do what they call "Baby Boot Camp." 

That said, there is something that I think is important for my son to learn at a young age: our beliefs. For awhile I had a hard time trying to figure out what to use. Everything I have is more than a little beyond him, but I want him to know that the answer to every question in church is not always "Jesus." There is more to our beliefs than that. 

That is when I started paying attention to what one of my pastor's is using with his son. Then I started seeing it with one of my friends from church. Finally, I saw a copy of it during the toddler church that my was attending. 

It was a Toddler's Catechism. Yeah, never saw that before. I kinda like it.  

While the questions seem simple, they are the foundation for what we believe and what our church teaches. I really think if we teach our children young about who God is and help them to know Him younger they will be more willing to stay in their faith. 

There is something behind the verse from Proverbs. 

If you would like a copy of this catechism please click here. You can also visit Gratia Dei Sola Media's Free Download page here. There are a lot of resources that a great for all ages so peruse carefully. 

One thing I learned about this Christmas season was how important it is to spend time with God as a family. Each night, before bed, we would gather at our table, read a passage of scripture, read a short devotion, and pray. Some of the prayers made my husband giggle a little, but I wasn't saying the prayer for his humor. 

This time at our table led me to thinking, what is really important in our life? Some will say money. Money fixes everything. 

I want to be very clear with this, money fixes nothing. 

Think of the people who win large amounts on the lottery. We hear (sadly, more often than it probably happens) about people who went from rags to riches and back again. Money can be a great help, but money cannot be the most important thing. 

There is just so much in this life that cannot be brought. The cliche is often you can't buy love. I'm not even thinking of love. I'm thinking of righteousness. 

Righteousness can only come from Christ. Righteousness is a gift. It cannot be brought. It can only be given through the grace of God.

While money may not be our main answer, may be just living a moral life will help our family. 

Morality is nice, but if its not done for the right reasons, then it isn't worth anything. Morality is easy. Just follow the laws and behave yourself and you are moral. An atheist can be a very moral person. I know a few. They are great people who are kind and generous, but they will die and fade into dust one day. (Unless you talk to Pope Francis who said that an atheist can go to heaven by living a moral life.)

Dear Pope Francis, Please read the following:

I love this section of John because of the hope in it. He's preparing his apostles for his death and explains that in Heaven there are mansions for all of God's children. 

Notice I said "God's children." This means that we need to belong to God. In all we do, it should be for his glory and not our own. An atheist does nothing for God's glory  because he doesn't believe in God. An atheist doesn't know Him. 

While I may not have given my life over to a specific Christian denomination, I can read. This verse is not meant to be take as a figure of speech. It's pretty clear. So is 1 Timothy 2:5.

With that in mind, I need to also point out an observation: morality is subjective. What is moral in the eyes of one, is immoral in the eyes of another. Let me pose this question to you, if a person steals to feed his family is this a moral act? Stealing is wrong, but taking care of his family is the right thing to do. d

When I was in college I had a philosophy teacher who taught that "no one errs willingly." Yet, many choose to make these type of decisions. They choose to do what is wrong and then try to excuse it away as a moral act in which they had no choice. 

This brings me to my final point, the one thing that I found to be the most important part of life. No matter what I do, I need to do it for the glory of God. 

Many moons ago there was a fad out there called WWJD. Most of us remember what those letters stand for, "What Would Jesus Do?" I think this question is poorly stated. If we what to be filled with God's gift of grace and glory we need to just accept him and remember it's not just thinking like Jesus, but also making choice to please God.  

We tend to do a job according to who we do it for. Think about it this way: if someone hires you for a job and you know that they will accept anything you give them, are you going to put as much effort in it as you would for someone who is willing to pay more for it, but demands more out of you? Probably not. 

God is our ultimate boss. He has the largest payout in the universe; eternal life. Why not do things for him heartily? It would be foolish  not to.

One way I wanted to start this blog a few months ago was by stating a fact. In life, and existence in general, it's not about me. 

In America, today, children are taught at a young age that everything is about them. Laws are created to protect them. Houses are padded and plugged up to protect them, and schools are telling students to worry about themselves first. After all, that's a good way to keep children in a classroom to stop involving themselves in other's affairs. However, the phrase "Worry about yourself first." is taken the wrong way by students. 

When children are taught that the world does not revolve around them it is an amazing shock. Heaven forbid someone teach them at a young age that there is a more important person out there than they are. 

We are told in the Bible that (1 Corinthians 10:31) That no matter what we do, we should do it for the glory of God. This single verse points out that what we do has nothing to do with us. We are not here for our glory. We are here to give God glory. 

At this time of year it is hard to remember that sometimes. People are busy shopping and worrying about what gifts they will be pulling the wrapping from on Christmas morning (or eve in some houses.) The reason we celebrate Christmas is to give Christ glory. The reason we celebrate it in December is something completely different. Either way, Christmas is about CHRIST, not about us, our friends, or even our families.

This coming year, in all that I do, I will work towards making everything about Christ and not about me. That's my first step in being a better me.