Singing With Our Children

It was an enormous privilege to be given children to raise for God. I tried very hard to be a good example to them. This was a very serious matter to my spirit. My children were watching my every mistake, and I knew God was holding me responsible for their Christian upbringing. Now they are nearly all adults. I am cheered by the evidence that, no matter what mistakes I made, God has helped my childen to also remember the good.

One of the things I believe I did with every single child, over three decades, was to sing. At bedtime, many of the years, I went to each child, to "kiss 'n hug 'n pray". I would sing "Jesus, Tender Shepherd" with them. We used to sing together a lot. At bedtime, and in the van were favorite singing times. We sang when we were traveling the countryside. Camping and driving still reminds them of praises.

* Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Psalms 100:1

I opened my home several times to other families, during times of personal crisis for them. I remember listening as my children taught the other children the hymns they knew. Those were times that I knew God was teaching them to be ministering children.

* And they ministered ... with singing ... 1 Chronicles 6:32a,c

* Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Psalms 100:2

Four of my seven grown children who still live at home, are able to help me with garbage. For us this means hauling our household waste down the mountain to the dumpsters by the highway. Every time the van is loaded up, and we all head down through the forest driveway, my children spontaneously begin to sing. They remember all the songs I taught them. (... they break forth into singing. Isa 14:7b) This sunny April morning, we sang "Father, I Adore You", "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus", and "Jesus Wants Me For A Sunbeam", before we even got down to the county road. I looked over the pastures to the snow-covered mountains beyond, and thanked God for keeping these songs in their memories.

God even speaks of the mountains and the trees singing in joy. A mountain is such a huge thing. If it were to sing, it would be a mighty song indeed. But an even greater idea, is that of God singing! Yet the Bible speaks of God singing in joy. What an amazing and wondrous thought!

* The Lord thy God in the midst of thee [is] mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. Zeph. 3:17

Perhaps that is why He speaks of mountains singing. To help us conceptualize the joy God feels when we follow Him.

* For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap [their] hands. Isa 55:12

* Sing, O ye heavens ... shout, ye lower parts of the earth: break forth into singing, ye mountains, O forest, and every tree therein... Isa 44:23a,c

* Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains ... Isa 49:13a

I think it is so important to sing with your children. It is a warm parent/child activity, an excellent way to plant words and praise into their fertile minds, and a thing they will never forget. For years, I put together assortments of hymns I wanted to teach my children, from different children's praise tapes. Then we played it any time we wanted. Sing with the tape to your heart's content, and plant those hymns in your children's minds!

* Eph 5:19,20 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

* Col 3:16,17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, [do] all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

And I believe that God will be smiling in love and joy, on your family.