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Let me start out by saying, please don’t let the title discourage you. My husband and I have chosen to live on a farm in a small rural area of Southern Missouri. We use this opportunity to teach our kids about Jesus in our everyday life.
Wherever you live and whatever situation you are in, you can still teach your children about Jesus. Jesus is where love flows from and I think we can all agree this world needs more Jesus!
As a mother sitting in church listening to the preacher talk about the Great Commission, I tend to overthink this calling. I sit there thinking “where do I start”, “who do I tell about Jesus and how many can I convince?”, all the while my children are sitting next to me. It’s simple, my children are my calling and their souls are and should be my top priority.
All of the things I suggest in this post can be taught whether you live on a farm or not. God’s beauty is everywhere, as is his love.
Here are a few things I try to keep in mind while raising my kids to cherish and develop a personal relationship with Jesus and our Creator.
Notice The Small Things:
There is so much to learn in this world. So many magnificent things to see. God created it all from the teeny tiny to the gigantic. In my opinion the small things seem to be the most impressive. Everyone expects big things to happen from something big. For some reason, big things happening by something small is more surprising.
Turn this idea into an activity. Do a nature scavenger hunt with the challenge of trying to find God’s smallest creation. Click here for one of my favorite scavenger hunts.
Sit on the porch and try naming the sounds you hear in nature.
My favorite activity is laying on the ground and watching the clouds. I love hearing what the kids see in the clouds.
Being in the field, especially when there are baby animals around is everyone favorite activity. There’s nothing quite as small and mighty as a little piglet!
Find Opportunities To Serve:
Teaching our children to serve in any capacity is a vital part of building them up to love Jesus.
I consider chores as a way of serving as well. It’s important for kids to pitch in and help whether around the farm, the house, or both.
Talk with them about how tidying up their room is a form of serving, just like visiting the elderly at a nursing home is also a form of serving.
Serving builds character and boosts self esteem. It teaches children social connection as well as empathy and compassion.
My kids love helping around the farm. Of course feeding the animals is an important job but so is giving them love and attention. Our animals get plenty of that around here!
Serving isn’t about staying busy. It’s about putting others needs ahead of your own.
Assign regular meaningful tasks for them to do. Create a chore chart so they know what is expected each day. This helps everyone get into the routine of helping.
Some ideas other than the obvious ones, like cleaning the house might include:
Helping a neighbor rake leaves or shovel snow.
Holding the door for someone. My kids love holding the door open for others at church.
This is a big one for me, offering your seat to someone older.
Discover How Small You Are:
This is probably my favorite thing about living on the farm. Discovering and witnessing the amazing and difficult parts of life. Nothing makes you realize life isn’t all about you more than when you are trying your best to keep something alive.
Animals in any capacity are great for this. Whether it’s a baby calf on the farm or a hamster in town. When children are given the responsibility of the well being of another life it gives them a sense of purpose.
Strengthen Your Family Bond:
My final point and probably the most powerful way to teach your children about Jesus is how we treat each other in our homes. Family connections and relationships are taught by example.
I am a big proponent of family time. Eating meals together bonds the family in ways we don’t even realize. I know it’s not realistic for everyone to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner together everyday but it would be nice if we could.
The more time we can spend with our families the better we are for it. I now first hand how hard it is when the kids are together all the time. The fighting, bickering, and picking drive me crazy most days.
Constantly playing the referee is draining. I get it. However the bond that is forming through all of it will last forever.
This is a controversial topic, but Andrew and I limit our kids to one activity. Whether that’s a sport, or dance, or gymnastics.
Constantly being on the go with little down time affects my mood and happiness as it does my children.
This is a hard fast rule for us. Church comes first, then family time, then extracurricular activities.
Our families are a blessing from God, they make our walk through this life better, and are worth protecting at all costs.
I hope you find this post helpful, thanks so much for stopping by!