Training Camp

Our family had its first ever Training Camp this week. It was two full days of training. Steve described it to the kids by its similarities to Cardinals Training Camp - you have to practice things as a team in order to get better at them. Our driving purpose in offering this camp was Deuteronomy 6:5-7:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

It is our calling to teach our children to love the Lord and to show them how His Word permeates every moment of our day. I was also driven by my own stuggles of holding true to this calling. And it was becoming quite evident here in our home. So we cleared our schedules of anything else for two days, and taught lessons on first-time obedience, resolving conflict, proper speech, table manners, folding pajamas, making beds, loading the car, cleaning up, and a handful of others. We had fun acting things out, making games out of these activities, singing songs and memorizing a bible verse. And, of course, Training Camp included a team shirt and valuable prize (in the eye of the beholder) for a job well done. At the end of each day, we were tired out! We are doing our best to follow through with the expectations that we laid out for the kids. We pray that this Training Camp will leave its imprint on our children now and forever.