This is a tough one. But we take it very seriously; that’s why we homeschool. Curtis impressed upon me years ago that we couldn’t teach the children about God part-time.

That’s in the Bible too: Joshua 1: v.8: This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

So, we set out to get that WORD in their hearts. We have gone on read through the Bible campaigns with the children, starting over once. The last time we started reading at Genesis was in the fall of 1999. We are now in 1 Samuel. I don’t know when we’ll get through at this pace, but we are trying to read the Bible to the children on most weekdays. Now we have the NIV version of the Bible on CD, so we can go through a chapter at a time, rather than just a few verses.

At first, the children would just listen. Now Yanni and Xay take notes, while the little children draw in their own notebooks. Sometimes, Imani will ask a question about what she’s heard. Joy and Esteban seem oblvious just yet,

but then there’s the Bible reading I do with the little children at night. We started in Genesis a few months ago, and now we’re in Exodus. I said to Joy, “let’s read about the ephod.” And Joy started singing, “ephod, ephod, ephod, ephod.”

I think something’s getting in there. The other day, Joy asked a question about Jesus. So I know, at 4 years old, she is asking questions.

Another tool we use for teaching the children about God is praise and worship.

We get up in the 7 o’clock hour to praise, now. Yanni and Curtis have to be at work by 9, and my old worship time was 9:30, so the change was necessary. It does my heart good to see everyone up bright and early making a joyful noise. And to have my bass (Curtis) back! I know it must be pleasing to God, as much as it lifts my spirits.

Joy is usually pretty quiet during praise, but then she’s singing praise songs all day long by herself. And Esteban will chime in from time to time, even singing songs that Mani and Joy have learned at church: “David, David, show me the way to go. . .”

I think that’s the little bit of encouragement I need to carry on.

We also pray. We pray with and for the children. I have a fuel book, an idea I got from Terri Camp, a homeschooling mother of 7 I discovered on the Internet. She suggests keeping a notebook for each child and ask God what to do with/for the child daily. I’m not good about asking daily. I ask when I think about it. And sometimes, the assignment takes a long time to finish. But I do try to touch base with God about the children often. I also hand them over to Him, and pray for their salvation.

Yanni and Xay have confessed Jesus as Lord. Imani asked Jesus into her heart a few years ago. I would like her to grow in faith, and make sure she has salvation. Joyous doesn’t have a clue, but we’re praying for her salvation, and it is gratifying to see her starting to ask questions. Esteban and whoever follows him will also be prayed over and encouraged to get their own salvation. It is daunting, but it is also exciting to watch God work in the children’s lives.

We also encourage the children to read the Bible on their own. As soon as Xay learned to read fluently, we bought him his own Bible. His Bibleman paperback Bible was worn out when he eventually lost it at church. Now he reads one of the good leather Bibles! Yanni has her own feminine leather Bible, and I am encouraging them to read it through chronologically. Each read the New Testament first, then started over reading the whole Bible chronologically. Xay just finished reading the NT. Now he’s in Genesis. Yanni is in Numbers. I hope they both have finished reading the Bible all the way through at least once before they leave home.

I just signed them both up for the Teen Bible challenge. This is a quiz bowl type competition that will encourage them to memorize scripture. They will be going through various passages in the Old Testament this year, starting in the fall. I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.

Many days in homeschool, all we get accomplished is Praise and Worship and Bible study. That’s a worthy pursuit.