Joey and Jesus

So last week I was reading through some of my regular blog reads and came across this one post that really convicted me.  If you are a parent or if you ever want to be one, you too should read it...I'll give you a moment...I'll be here when you get back, I promise!

OK, so what did you think?? Well, to say the least, it really got me thinking about how I intentionally spend my time with our daughter Joey.  The final quote of the blog post reads

I may send her to Sunday school and Missions on Wednesday night, but it is not the churches responsibility to teach my child. It is MINE. Am I doing the job God has commanded me to do? 

So Am I??  Am I doing the job God has commanded me to do when it comes to the spiritual life of my daughter??  Do I read enough Bible stories to her, do I sing enough "Jesus Loves Me" to her, do I talk about Jesus in front of her and the precious gift he has given us??  

For me the answer is that it's never enough.  I can always take more time with her and not just the time to do the things listed above, but also the time to serve her as Christ served his people.  I can lead by example with love and grace.  This does not mean she will be allowed to walk all over me, but it does mean waiting till she is in bed to blog or check Facebook or catch up with friends on the phone.  It means intentionally praying with her when we are in the car or on a walk so that she knows God is always there to listen.  It means singing praise songs with her, not at her :)  It means a lot of things that I haven't even thought of I'm sure!

Currently we pray at meals, and at bedtime {bedtime is harder, when she's ready to go to bed, she's ready to go to bed}.  Joey even reminds us when we are out to eat that we need to "pay"...she folds her hands and waits for everyone to do the same.  We also read to her from her Bible that my cousin Lori's family got her for her 1st bday each night.  We usually read her a library book and then she says "I want Jesus".  Again...bedtime is bedtime and there are some nights when we says "No Jesus"....we read to her anyway :)   We also play kids praise music while we play sometimes....here's a fun video of her dancing to "Kid of the Kingdom" a while ago :)

I know we can do more, and we are working on it for sure!  If you have kids who are Joey's age {2 on April 23rd} what are some things you do??  If you had kids Joey's age, what are some things you did??

Thanks for sticking this one out till the end if you did!!