Capturing the Moments for Teaching

What iT means to capture

We can only capture moments when we are present in the moment. This means we take the time and we pay attention. We have to be there to capture a moment. We must be present while we are there.

Too often, we allow distractions or “more important things” to take our attention off what matters most: raising our kids. We fail to look for opportunities to take a moment and make it teachable for our kids.

To capture something or someone, we take it (or them) by force and sometimes by surprise. To capture an event with a camera, a person takes a photo. This can be something planned or unplanned. Capturing a teachable moment is taking a moment in life and teaching something from that moment.

Capturing In the daily of life

Deuteronomy tells us that we are to tell our children about God throughout the day. We are to do this when we’re sitting or standing, and when we’re walking by the way. Basically, we are commanded to do this all day long.

The Message says it this way: 

. . . talk about them [the commandments] from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. 

 

To speak of God all day long, one must have a relationship with Him and a knowledge of His Word. This should be a way of life when we are raising our kids.

Use opportunities throughout your day to teach your children about God. Just like we teach our kids to brush their teeth to promote health, we must teach them to obey God’s Word to be healthy spiritually. We must explain what God asks of us – and model it to our kids.

We do not need to have sit-down sessions with them. If we watch for moments that give us an opportunity to speak truth, we will find them. This should be a way of life in the daily routine of life. They will understand and get the message when we model and live it out in front of them consistently. That’s what God asks of us.

Our daughter took her small sons on a walk near a duck pond. They watched a pair of geese guide their goslings to shore. She could have insisted they keep walking, but she didn’t. As they watched the parents and goslings in the water, she used that time to explain to her sons that this mama and daddy were helping their babies be safe. “And that’s what mamas do,” she said. “That’s why I don’t let you ride your scooter fast down the hill, because I want you to be safe.”

Capturing the moments should be a natural part of life

When our goal is to raise children who love God and want to serve Him, capturing the moments should come naturally. It should be the way we think and the way we do. Living with God should encompass all of our life, seven days a week. 

Our kids will know if our faith is genuine or if we are just a Sunday-go-to-meetin’-Christian. What matters to us will show in what we do, and our children learn by observation as well as by what we say.

Use the moments in your day to help your kids learn about God. Look for the moments. They are there. All you have to do is look and then capture them.

 

Photo credit: Sarah Beth Washington