Today, Brad and I were asked if one of us would mind reading during big church. I immediately said “not it”. Because I'm a grown-up, and I am most happy working behind the scenes where nobody can see you mess up....
Then we were told what they wanted, and Brad started giggling. It could not possibly be more Amanda....We were asked to create a modern interpretation of Deuteronomy 6:6-9 based on our family’s lifestyle.
6 These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your sons 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 up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be written on your forehead. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Remember how I’m trying to get better about letting myself have a moment to freak out, then just say yes to the opportunities God lays out...?
I said yes. I got to church almost on time. I even washed my hair. I wore heels. I reread and edited my words 5,000 times. I begged the Holy Spirit to speak through me and for me. When we walked out on stage--for both services, I was sweating so much I was afraid the microphone was going to slip right out of my hand.
I reminded myself to stop fidgeting. I didn’t trip. I didn’t laugh inappropriately... {that one actually happened when I was singing at church when I was about 14....I got in so much trouble.}. But today, none of the terrifying things happened. I heard it actually went ok. But when I walked off the stage, I had to apologize for the sweat soaked microphone. I whispered a promise to come back and clean it this week.
Here is the Amanda version of the discipleship treasure from Deuteronomy:
Psalm 127 compares our children to arrows in the hand of a warrior. If we have surrendered our family to Jesus, the enemy views our children as our weapon coming against him. I cannot let a single opportunity go by without pouring all the wisdom I have learned into them. It is my passion to teach them God's truth as we go about our day, so they will have every chance to be victorious. I will use situations we encounter, I will write scripture on their bathroom mirror. I will speak life into them on our drive to school. I will remind them of who God says they are before I send them out to their mission field. I will pray constantly for their faith, their prayer life, their ability to hear the Holy Spirit themselves. I will share truth even when I wonder if it’s too deep. We will read God’s word at night even if we’re tired and we will pray every time for the wisdom to understand it. We will not let negativity fester. We will fight for quality relationships and provide a safe place to ponder life’s issues, with Gods word leading the conversations. We will not let our time, resources, or decisions be dictated by cultural norms, but we will tie our parenting decisions tightly to our understanding of God's good and perfect will. We will teach His truth with love, and we will walk our faith out in front of them and with them. We will teach them by living it ourselves. Our purpose will be to give God glory and to make disciples as we go. When I read this to my kids, Selah {7} declared: yeah! So that the whole world would fight for God!!
My favorite take away may be the pictures I snapped from behind the scenes. It never ceases to amaze me to look behind the curtain at our church and get to see how beautiful it truly is.
