Stirring Affections comes out of 2 Peter 1, and I wrote an entire post on The Naming of Stirring Affections. Our desire is to stir or awaken the affections of our children by pointing them to the wonder of the gospel. You'll find a few big themes here that God continually puts on my heart as a means toward that end in our home.
Traditions
Traditions form us. The things we do regularly become a part of us. Special traditions are highly anticipated year after year. We know that traditions are a gift from God because the Bible speaks toward the why and how of creating them in our homes. I hope its helpful to see many practical examples of everyday and special traditions that we use to engage the mind, heart, and physical senses of our boys in order to stir their affections for Christ. I pray what you find here simply inspires your own creativity and intentionality as others have inspired me. You'll probably see me refer often to Noel Piper's book Treasuring God in Your Traditions; it was paradigm shifting for me.
Bible and Spiritual Formation
The Word of God is living and active. All children naturally have questions about God, and He has revealed Himself to us in His Word. Teaching children the Bible is not about a list of do's and don'ts but understanding the one true living God and the greatest story of redemption ever written. If I want our home to be Christ-centric, then it must be Word-centric for "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us."
Books
Nurturing a family culture through great books - great stories - is a timeless means of inspiring wisdom and virtue while instilling great truths. Books foster a "holy imagination" in our children; they create opportunity for big conversations, relational bonding, and common language in a family. Good books cultivate fertile soil for the Word of God - the ultimate story - and growth of faith by stirring our imaginations and sense of wonder.
Education is one of the greatest influences of not only worldview but also the formation of hearts and desires. Education uniquely shapes our orientation to the world. I homeschooled our children for six years and much of that journey is chronicled here. It began as a small stirring in my heart that persisted, and it was a season of learning not only about education but what it means to stir the heart toward goodness, truth, and beauty.
If you find yourself browsing Stirring Affections, I pray the Spirit places upon you a lens of truth and grace. Every woman, every family is unique. Discipleship in our home will look different than in your home because seasons, children, circumstances all vary among us.
But I think we are all praying for the same fruit in our homes - hearts that are growing in their love for Christ and their understanding of the gospel. We recognize the salvation of our children is wholly in God's hands, so while we continually point them to Christ and pray for "the eyes of their hearts to be enlightened", our ultimate goal must simply be that God is glorified in our homes. That He is glorified in our desire to be faithful and despite our failings.
I hope you'll find resources and encouragement here that will help you be intentional in stirring the affections of the hearts in your home in a way that points them to the wonder of the gospel!
No comments:
Post a Comment