How can I prepare my 2 month old for HIM?

Tam - posted on 05/29/2009

OH! One other thing that was great for preschool years...the Abeka school I attended taught us a Bible verse (or portion of it) for each letter of the alphabet. To this day I still remember...

A - All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
B - Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.
C - Children obey your parents in the Lord for this is right

and so on!

Hang on, let me google it and share in case anyone else wants the list...

Okay, I think this is the list.

http://www.sundayschoolcrafts.com/verses...

Tam - posted on 05/29/2009

Can't add a whole lot more than these great women did. Prayer is at the top, equal to living the walk with God yourself. You are your baby's first witness. :) While these are the most important, some other things you can do now and as he grows include:

Some toddler bible story books, or toddler Bible can be read to them even now. Even the "experts" recommend reading to your children early. What a great foundation to give them your loving voice reading about God and His people.

They make toddler christian cds too. (Veggie Tales has a Sunday School songs one that is fun and takes you back to when you were little!) Even as an infant they could stimulate him and grow with him during "awake" time. I think there are even Christian "lullaby" type cds for those quieter moments. And when he is bigger, if siblings come along, he'll be there to help teach them the words.

Post verses in his room as decoration, make them cute or whatever to fit into the decor. You can buy these or make them yourself, but they will grow up seeing the Word of God in their lives daily.

If you're into paper crafting, make a scrapbook with verses to fit the situation...once he's a toddler, he will get into it and ask you to dig it out a lot. Toddlers love pictures! This way you can read it together and you can begin binding the Word of God in His heart through his own life story as you read the verses and talk about the photos.

When your child is big enough, have them participate in prayers, Bible study and even service projects. Find those teachable moments and while you live the example you can explain why you are baking cookies for a lonely friend (looking out for widows and orphans), or donating old baby toys to the children's hospital (God loves a cheerful giver), etc. Even now, years after toddlerhood, once my children know we are doing a project to glorify God, they get very excited and want to help.

When he's grown enough to understand chores and discipline, there are some great charts by Doorposts which list a blessing (good deed), a relating verse and you can use these to help your child.

Basically, surround yourself and your family with the good things of God, share them freely and live them. Your child is like a sponge when it comes to learning and you'll be teaching him by word and action--he'll soak it right up!

Jennifer - posted on 05/28/2009

Everyone's answer is so good and exactly what I believe too, prayer, example, learning scripture are all things we have done with our son since day one. A couple of praticle things that we do are praise music (and other christian music) at bedtime, some of my best memories are of rocking or feeding my son when he was sooo tiny and singing along to beloved songs. Also it is never too early to actually start reading the bible to your baby. Just hearing scripture means something to all of us. As a baby I read proverbs or psalms outloud at bedtime, when he got older we started reading a bible story from a toddler bible everynight with him. And also church attendance being a priority from day one is a bif demonstration of having God in your life. We have had other invites on occasion but "our family goes to church" and then if we can join our friends we join our friends. If it is this way since babyhood you will possibly avoid arguments later on. Just a few practical ideas that might work for you.

Shelly - posted on 05/27/2009

Samantha,

Actions speaks louder than words...you need to live your life for the Lord and your son will not know any other way when he is out in the world there are great childrens books you can get at the local Christian book store that you can start reading to him...Our children learn from us and if we are not living a christian life then they are not going to...And the world is a great tool for teaching the Love of the Lord...It's a great way to show him the way to treat people and the way not to, the way to help people and the way not to...I am very proud of you for wanting to start so early and at this stage just let him see the way you worship the Lord and pray with him there are alot of ways to teach our children about the Lord we just have to make sure that we do what is expected of us!!! May God bless you abundantly along your journey

Heather - posted on 05/27/2009

I agree that starting young is great. We pray with our children at bed time and meal times, and any other time we feel like it. They see me reading my Bible, and we have a Bible study at my house once a week, so they are here for that. They also have their own kids Bible. We have 3 or 4 that our 4 kids share. One of them is a board book Bible for the girls, (18 months) We read to them out of one of the Bibles daily. And we also have scripture taped up around our house, and the older boys know what it is and I read it to them sometimes. One of the ladies at my church works with her kids so much that her two year old will quote scripture. My kids aren't that far along yet. But I show them what I believe by living it daily. If they ask a question I answer honestly and quite frequently that answer involves my Christian beliefs. I hope that helps.

Charlotte - posted on 05/27/2009

I agree with Angela. Praying for your children and a good example are important and powerful. I know my mom prayed for all her children every day, and both my dad and mom showed through example that God was very important in thier lives.

Angela - posted on 05/27/2009

Begin, yes even this young, praying over him.. I think praying the Scriptures over them is the BEST!!! I am using this book by Stormie Omartian, " The Power of a Praying Parent". I would highly suggest it!!



The other thing is to determine to always set a good example of being in the Word yourself.... let your children see that! The Mommy is a huge influence by her actions!!