| When children are young, it is easy to set up some | | | | rule, to love God. Clearly, this rule got some challenging |
| basic "rules" that will help them to understand their role | | | | from our children over the years, but it was easy to |
| in the home and their role towards others if you take | | | | come back to the rules of the house discussion if they |
| the time to craft your rules in simple, easy to follow | | | | had learned this foundational piece early on. It also |
| terms. Then as they grow, children will be able to see | | | | covered many, many issues without being too specific |
| how these rules expand to fit their growing situations. | | | | allowing this rule to be flexible for many parenting |
| The challenge is in thinking of the big picture as parents | | | | issues, again, assuming that the parents too, are |
| and determining a set of definable standards that will fit | | | | following the first rule and seeking to mentally and |
| most every situation you might encounter. As a | | | | spiritually follow God in love. |
| Christian, we found it fairly easy to adapt three rules | | | | The final rule, and this one covers a lot of ground so it |
| for our children, and each was easy to remember for | | | | was a favorite for my husband and me, was from |
| our kids. We began to train and teach our children | | | | Ephesians 4:32. It says, "Be kind and compassionate to |
| these rules when they were very young, and as a | | | | one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God |
| result, the tone has been set for years to come. | | | | forgave you." When our children were very young, we |
| Our first rule, and I might add that all of them come | | | | had them memorize the first part only, but we always |
| from the Bible, was taken from Matthew 22:37. It | | | | said the entire verse. Over time, they learned the |
| states, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart | | | | whole verse and it was amazing how many of life's |
| and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the | | | | issues were covered by this single verse, and still are! |
| foundation of how we act and live in our home. This | | | | How we treat others is truly learned in the home, both |
| says that we belong to God, and we are to act in love | | | | by what is said and by what is done, so this verse |
| towards Him. When we do that, we will also learn | | | | taught us to be kind and considerate, to be forgiving |
| obedience to God's Word. That takes a lifetime of | | | | because we were going to need forgiveness |
| application, so we continually work in this area, both for | | | | ourselves, and to remember that it all starts at home. |
| our children and ourselves, but setting the tone for | | | | We had to model patience, kindness, forgiveness, and |
| study of God's Word and His expectations begins the | | | | compassion to each other and by doing that, we |
| process. | | | | learned to think that way all of the time, even outside |
| Our next rule of the house is from Deuteronomy 5:16, | | | | of our home. |
| and we shortened it when our children were young to | | | | My children are getting older now, but we still live by |
| this part, "Honor your father and mother." That was | | | | these rules. We may not address them specifically as |
| very simple for young children. We could show it to | | | | rules now, but we certainly hold them as the standard |
| them in children's Bibles as they got a little older and | | | | in our home. Because of that, our home is a refuge |
| then even later, they could read it for themselves to | | | | and pleasure to be in for all of us. I encourage you to |
| see the rest of it, but the idea was clear that mom and | | | | consider the essential rules for your home, and begin |
| dad were to be honored, treated with respect, and | | | | to train your children in your rules of the house from an |
| trusted to lead in godliness since they could trust that | | | | early age. |
| everyone in the family was already obeying the first | | | | |