Category: Teaching

Household Chores

IMG_3365“Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” 1 Corinthians 14:40 NIV

My mother was a great housekeeper. Even after she went to work full-time, everything stayed neat and clean (except my room). I’m not sure when she found time to get it all done – I don’t think my sister or I ever helped. It was only after I got married that I discovered my mom did things I didn’t know even needed to be done…

The first apartment Grant and I lived in was about the size of a postage stamp – perfect for someone with zero domestic abilities. Sweeping and dusting took about three minutes, so that was easy, and the dishwasher kept our cups and plates clean – if I remembered to turn it on. Laundry was more of a challenge because we didn’t have a washing machine and I hated going to the laundromat. But the biggest issue I faced was a problem with the toilet. A dark fuzzy “ring” appeared out of nowhere…right IN our toilet bowl. With each passing week it kept growing thicker and thicker – no matter how many times I flushed. Pretty gross, huh? I get to plead the Fifth here…nobody ever told me you actually had to clean a toilet!

As soon as the children were old enough to walk, they were assigned chores. Grant and I were determined to teach them how to sweep, mop, dust, do laundry and yes…even clean the toilets. The kids grumbled and complained and accused us of breaking child labor laws, but we needed the help and they needed to learn…it was a mutually beneficial arrangement for all of us.

There is great value in teaching children to keep things clean and neat. Studies indicate people waste an average of 55 minutes a day looking for things they didn’t put away. That equates to two wasted weeks out of each year! A little neatness goes a long way – and helps us be better stewards of the time God gives us on this earth!

Identify household chores your children can help with. Make a chore chart and enlist the help of everyone in the family to share in the day-to-day household responsibilities. It will make your home a nicer place to live, and your children will be well-prepared when the time comes for them to leave your nest and set up a place of their own.

Prayer: God, sometimes it’s easier to do things myself than to train my children to help…even though I know they need to learn. Give me the patience and grace to follow through with my job as their teacher. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Awe & Wonder

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“How many are Your works, O Lord! In wisdom You made them all; the earth is full of Your creatures.” Psalm 103:24 NIV

My children should be in the Guinness Book of World Records for the number of times they were able to ask “why?” in a 24-hour period. It was usually more a game to see how long it would take to annoy me, than inquisitiveness on their part. But I was actually pretty good at coming up with answers.

Asking questions is one of the ways children learn. We would all be smarter if we could learn to harness the sense of wonder we were born with. In far too many cases, impatient adults and misguided teachers crowd the wonder right out of kids with their “color in the lines” expectations and unrealistic “kids should be seen and not heart” philosophy.

Kids need to be challenged to wonder more. They need to be guided in experiences that create awe at the miracles of God’s creation. Our heavenly Father has placed us in a world created by incredible imagination…at every turn, if we take the time to look, we can see the work of His mighty hands. When children are taught first to notice and then to respect the world we live in, they can’t help but recognize Who God is…and believe!

Start when your children are young. As an example, instead of just remarking how beautiful the sky appears when the sun is going down, help your children wonder about the Creator of the sunset. After all, somebody did have to put it there! You might say, “I wonder what God was thinking when He painted all those colors on the horizon. Do you think He used a giant artist’s palette, or maybe He splashed colors on the angels and told them to fly across the sky…” What fun it will be to imagine God painting a sunset for us to enjoy!

Prayer: God, the beauty of Your creation is all around us. Help me to teach my children Who You are, and to never take Your great world and Your many miracles…for granted. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

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