{"id":306056,"date":"2020-05-29T07:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-05-29T11:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/%series%\/the-truth-that-can-change-lives\/"},"modified":"2020-05-29T07:00:04","modified_gmt":"2020-05-29T11:00:04","slug":"the-truth-that-can-change-lives","status":"publish","type":"podcast","link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-truth-that-can-change-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"The Truth That Can Change Lives"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Jennifer Lyell has taught children about Jesus for years in her Sunday school class. Lyell tells how one little boy in particular, Job, touched her heart and convicted her of the importance of teaching God&#8217;s truth to the youngest among us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":294104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"https:\/\/mp3.familylife.com\/fl2020-05-29.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"00:29:11","filesize":"26.72M","filesize_raw":"28021735","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":""},"categories":[2806,2881],"tags":[4292],"podcast_series":[8363],"cwp_profile":[9625],"series":[2101],"class_list":["post-306056","podcast","type-podcast","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spiritual-development","category-young-children","tag-children","podcast_series-the-promises-of-god-storybook-bible","cwp_profile-jennifer-lyell","series-familylife-today"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg?w=508","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2023\/02\/image-scaled.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-download\/306056\/the-truth-that-can-change-lives","player_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast-player\/306056\/the-truth-that-can-change-lives","audio_player":null,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"light","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/familylife-today\/id212174303?mt=2&app=podcast","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/show\/0j5UaKdQOHQCuo1bt0ebEm","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"},"youtube":{"key":"youtube","url":"","label":"YouTube","class":"youtube","icon":"youtube.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/feed\/podcast\/familylife-today","embedCode":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"hk9wtbSDsi\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-truth-that-can-change-lives\/\">The Truth That Can Change Lives<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/podcast\/familylife-today\/the-truth-that-can-change-lives\/embed\/#?secret=hk9wtbSDsi\" width=\"500\" height=\"350\" title=\"&#8220;The Truth That Can Change Lives&#8221; &#8212; FamilyLife\u00ae - A Cru Ministry\" data-secret=\"hk9wtbSDsi\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script>\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n<\/script>\n"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/1001\/2024\/09\/FLT-Podcast-Cover-2-508x508-3.jpg",508,508,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"kfairris@familylife.com","author_link":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/author\/kfairrisfamilylife-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Jennifer Lyell has taught children about Jesus for years in her Sunday school class. Lyell tells how one little boy in particular, Job, touched her heart and convicted her of the importance of teaching God's truth to the youngest among us.","meta_box":{"show_notes":"","transcript_url":"https:\/\/transcript.familylife.com\/fl2020-05-29.pdf","transcript_content":"<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> For many years, Jennifer Lyell has been faithfully teaching the Bible to little kids. She says she\u2019s <em>amazed<\/em> at their capacity to learn. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> I\u2019ll teach, almost every week, something to these three-year-olds; and I ask them questions at the end. They are\u2014not every three-year-old is ready for as much of this as four\u2014whatever\u2014it\u2019s a scale; but they will know stuff at the end of every week that I did not learn until, sometimes, I was in seminary. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> This is <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> for Friday, May 29<sup>th<\/sup>. Our hosts are Dave and Ann Wilson; I\u2019m Bob Lepine. You can find us online at FamilyLifeToday.com. Are you taking full advantage of your children\u2019s ability to comprehend spiritual truth at whatever age they are? Are you pouring into them? We\u2019re going to talk today about how, as parents and grandparents, we can all do a better job of that. Stay with us. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd welcome to <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. Thanks for joining us. I just have to point out that, while we\u2019re talking this week about teaching big ideas to kids in a way that they can grasp it, we\u2019re also seeing modeled for us, I think, what the Bible talks about in terms of how singles are supposed to be investing their lives for kingdom purposes. Our guest, who is joining us this week, Jennifer Lyell, who is back with us\u2014welcome back, Jennifer. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Thank you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Jennifer is a single woman\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014who has been involved in publishing for years. She is seminary-trained. You thought you were going to the mission field; right? The mission field God called you to was a three-year-old classroom at your church. You take 1 Corinthians 7 seriously, where it says, \u201cIf you are single, you have an assignment.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Absolutely. I think I should be spending 80 hours of my life each week focused on some kind of kingdom purpose\u2014that may not always look <em>exactly<\/em> like ministry\u2014but I have time in the evenings that I have not been called to invest in a covenant relationship with a person. I don\u2019t always succeed at this; but ideally, and the goal to which I strive and feel called, is that should be invested in my covenant relationship with God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> You said, \u201c80 hours\u201d\u2014not 40 and 50. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> I\u2019m pretty intense, yes. [Laughter]\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> So you\u2019re saying, \u201cI\u2019m going to do this all day; I\u2019m going to take a break. I\u2019m going to do it in the evenings as well\u201d? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Right; yes. I mean, that\u2019s what I\u2019ve done. I mean, it\u2019s not always healthy; right? But I do believe that, if you are <em>not<\/em> called to be living your life in the context of a nuclear family and doing that every day, in and out, the reality is that leaves a lot of extra time. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> But you\u2019re not doing it because you <em>have<\/em> to or you <em>should<\/em>. You\u2019re doing this out of call and passion. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Yes, I don\u2019t know any other way to do it; you know? I mean, yes, I enjoy comfort; and I like to do fun things, and I like to have a nice home and all of that; but for me, the only fulfillment is having a broader context of purpose. As a Christian, I don\u2019t know what else that could be but the kingdom of God\/the people of God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Part of how you spent those 80 hours a week, over the last few years, was in taking what you\u2019ve been teaching to three-year-olds in a Sunday school classroom and giving us a gift by writing a book, where you explain: \u201cThis is how I teach it to three-year-olds. This is how you can read it to your kids.\u201d It\u2019s called <em>The Promises of God Storybook Bible<\/em>. It\u2019s the story of the Bible\u2014from beginning to end\/the gospel story\u2014beautifully illustrated and designed for parents to read to kids or for older kids to read on their own. This was a labor of love for you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> It was also a response to an extraordinary circumstance I had with one little boy I taught\u2014who I started teaching; he was three-and-a-half\u2014and his name was Job. He was\u2014you know, he was kind of a quiet kid when he first came in the class\u2014but I noticed, within the first month-and-a-half, that he was really getting the content. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAt the beginning of the year, they are learning how to learn, really\u2014is what I teach for the first few months\u2014but he was getting it, and he was asking questions. He had this look he would kind of always give; and you know, over the course of that year, he asked me questions that led to me figuring out how to teach kids about the Trinity. He was consistently internalizing, while at the same time, being silly and quoting movie quotes, that he laughed so hard I couldn\u2019t understand. I definitely didn\u2019t know what movies they were from, because I don\u2019t watch three-year-old movies. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAbout a year-and-a-half\u2014a year after I taught him\u2014he was at church on Sunday. Then on Wednesday\u2014Tuesday or Wednesday of that week\u2014I got a text to pray for his family, because he was in the hospital, getting an MRI done. They thought that it might be serious. The next morning, they found out that he had one of the worst forms of childhood brain cancer. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI watched, over the course of the next four-and-a-half months\u2014his parents were very young, like 20s\u2014I watched Job be <em>so brave<\/em>. He went through radiation. We knew, by that time\/I knew by the time he had left my class\u2014although I don\u2019t do like an invitation; I leave that to parents\u2014and his parents were being very thoughtful about gospel conversations; but we knew that he knew God, and he was a follower of God, and that he had trusted in Christ. <br>\u00a0\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWhen I had him in my class, I remember thinking one Sunday, \u201cThis kid\u2019s going to be <em>the<\/em> preacher of his generation.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Wow. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> He just was totally different than any child I\u2019d ever taught. Four-and-a-half months after he was diagnosed, I stood in line at my church for his memorial service, trying to figure out: \u201cWhat in the world do I say to his parents?\u201d\u2014who, honestly, you don\u2019t get to know the parents when you\u2019re teaching the children. I had had conversations with them and had communicated with them while he was sick. It was a <em>big<\/em> deal for our church; we\u2019re really close as a church. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI got up to his mom and dad\u2014and I will never forget it\u2014they looked at me; they grabbed me and hugged me; and with tears streaming down their face, they just kept saying, \u201cThank you.\u201d I was <em>really<\/em> confused; I didn\u2019t understand. Then his mom just pulled me back; and she said: \u201cThank you for teaching him. Thank you; he <em>knew<\/em>.\u201d One of the Scriptures they had recited with him was a Psalm that we memorized in my class over the course of the year, and just knowing that he went to meet God with things that God allowed me the opportunity to help show him. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThen I sat in the back of our church during the service. His dad is a part of the service\u2014went up to the microphone\u2014and he started out; he said, \u201cThere is a lot I\u2019d like to say; but instead, I\u2019m going to have the psalmist speak for me.\u201d He\u2019s a big guy; he started reciting Psalm 103, which is \u201cBless the Lord, O my soul\u2026.\u201d You know, there are all these refrains of it, and I know that psalm. In verse 13 is \u201cAs a father has compassion for his children\u201d\u2014I thought, \u201cIs he going to be able to do that?\u201d\u2014he got around that verse, and he started breaking up. He would start <em>pounding<\/em> his chest to get through every verse. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt struck me\u2014it\u2019s hard, in a moment like that, to think anything about yourself\u2014right?\u2014because you\u2019re so caught up in the grief, and confusion, and everything\u2014but I thought, \u201cI was one of a <em>handful<\/em> of teachers that this person ever had to teach him about God\u201d; and God allowed it to be <em>enough<\/em>. Then I was sitting next to a friend, who\u2014I teach in the 11 o\u2019clock hour of the three-year-olds, and she teaches at 9:30\u2014I looked at her; and I said, \u201cHow are we going to stand in front of that rug next week?\u201d Well, I had his little sister then. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tSo, as a church, we decided I would tell the kids because we wanted his little sister to be able to talk openly about what she was going through that year. Once you sit on a rug, with three-year-olds, and talk to them about their friend\u2019s big brother\u2014who they know because he\u2019s a year-and-a-half older\u2014that he has died, that he is with God, and how he is with God, and why he is with God, and what that means for us\u2014you do <em>not<\/em> trivialize teaching three-year-olds again. To this day, I <em>never<\/em> stand there without thinking of Job. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI actually\u2014that week, my grief was weird; and it felt weird\u2014because I\u2019ve got this relationship with this kid, but I don\u2019t really know his parents, and this isn\u2019t about me\u2014but it was <em>so intense<\/em>. Because I teach on the thread of the promises of God\u2014and that really starts, in a lot of ways, with God\u2019s promise to Abraham to establish a people and calling Abraham onto the mountain with the stars. I had this image that just was going crazy in my head of I wanted to hang stars from the ceiling in my classroom. I wanted every star to be\u00a0 representative of a child that I had taught or of a family. Part of it was, really, I just wanted to give Job a star. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou know, there were fire codes and stuff. Our church was so great; they are <em>so patient<\/em> with my kind of fervency; but I spent a day that week hanging them. Then, when they brought Job\u2019s little sister\u2014her dad brought her the next week to drop her off in Sunday school. It was a very traumatic time for her. The first thing I did was\u2014I hung a star for her next to Job\u2019s; and I walked her to the star; it\u2019s what I teach under. I said, \u201cThat\u2019s Job\u2019s star,\u201d and I explained to her. Then I said: \u201cThat\u2019s your star. When you sit here, when we\u2019re learning about God\u2019s promises and you get sad, you can look up; and you can know that Job is with God.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIt <em>really<\/em> came out of the love for the kids and seeing them. At first, it was about seeing them being able to learn; but then after Job, and after that moment at the funeral, I thought, \u201cI can\u2019t assume\u201d\u2014I taught, for years, thinking I was teaching them so that they wouldn\u2019t go crazy in the youth group. I just thought, \u201cThis might be all they get, so I\u2019ve got to squeeze it out\u201d; you know? That\u2019s what I try to do. I mean, let me be clear: I have off weeks and off months. [Laughter] It can be really challenging, and I doubt myself\u2014especially with this [book] coming out\u2014I\u2019m <em>not<\/em> an expert. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tBut I <em>do<\/em> believe that God has created all people in His image. It doesn\u2019t matter what their family is\u2014it doesn\u2019t matter\u2014you know, I\u2019ve had three kids\u2014I always\/pretty much, every year, I have kids who are on the autism spectrum. I\u2019ve had non-verbal Down syndrome children and that teaching expression and the learning expression might be different. I just don\u2019t think that a person, created in the image of God, who has had the opportunity to be discipled and know God\u2019s Word can stand in front of other people, who are created in the image of God\u2014regardless of their age, and their size, and their background\u2014and honestly and earnestly talk to them about God, and love them well, and fruit not come from that. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> So, it\u2019s <em>clear<\/em> you love these kids. Have you wrestled with the fact that you\u2019re an unmarried, single woman who has not had kids of your own? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Yes; I would say it\u2019s interesting; because when I was younger, and at the stage of life where that probably would have been more likely, I never expected it; because of just the circumstances in which I grew up. It wasn\u2019t something that I thought could be for me in ways that were disordered and just I needed to work through. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, there is some element where, yes, I think: \u201cWow, as much as I love kids\/as much as I see their hearts,\u201d\u2014I\u2019m just curious about them; I like getting to know them. I\u2019d rather talk to a child than just about any adult, to be completely honest. So, yes; I do think that is something where, if I could have a direct conversation with God, I may be like: \u201cOkay; help me understand this. Help me understand where there is not the redemptive narrative of I get to work through marriage, and coming from not having had that in a great way when I was growing up\u201d; but honestly, I don\u2019t get hung up on it really at all. Again, I struggle; but that\u2019s not a huge\/it\u2019s just not a huge struggle for me. I think that\u2019s a gift from God, too, that it\u2019s not a huge thing. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd I understand that there are a lot\u2014I have friends\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> \u2014and women\u2014that it is <em>much<\/em> harder; that\u2019s a <em>deep<\/em> desire of their hearts. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> I\u2019m thinking there are some of the single women you\u2019re talking to\u2014or single men you\u2019re talking to\u2014who, you are saying, \u201cYou know, you can serve in the church,\u201d\u2014and they are going: \u201cIf I\u2019m back there every\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Dave:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> \u2014\u201cSunday with these kids, every Sunday, it\u2019s like: \u2018Why can\u2019t I have kids of my own? Why can\u2019t I be married?\u2019\u201d The level of grief every week would be really hard for them. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tYou\u2019ve found <em>joy<\/em> instead of grief in that.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<br><strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Yes; it\u2019s\u2014I mean, honestly, I do think that the gift of being able to see, objectively, children in a way that I couldn\u2019t see them if I was their parent; right?\u2014but to see their personhood developing, which is really what\u2019s starting to happen at that age in a distinct way. I get to see that with so many more kids than I would if I had just children of my own. The diversity of the children together is one of the <em>most<\/em> interesting things, because you\u2019ve got different families coming together. It\u2019s just an incredibly rich experience with children, and children are not lesser to God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThe theological bar for children has not been lowered. When Christ says, in Scripture, that we are to come to Him as little children, that\u2019s\u2014yes, that has an aspect in which it calls us to humility and which calls us to get out of our kind of, maybe, theological bubbles or obsession\u2014but that is <em>not<\/em> God lowering His truth. That is a reflection of the fact that His truth is <em>accessible<\/em>\u2014\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> \u2014and His truth can find its way. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> You\u2019ve probably worked with hundreds and hundreds of kids over the years. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Yes. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> I want you to picture all those parents of all those kids sitting in front of you. How would you encourage those parents to teach their kids biblical truths when they are so intimidated of not even knowing where to start? What would you say to them? \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> I would say, first of all, is be completely comfortable with the words: \u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d or \u201cYou know, God hasn\u2019t helped me to understand that all the way yet; I\u2019m trying to understand it. Here is what I know so far.\u201d Honesty and communicating in light of the fact that you\u2019re raising an image-bearer, who God desires to worship in spirit and truth. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI recognize that is <em>hard<\/em> when you are also trying to teach them how to not throw tantrums or toys, and how to get along with siblings, and have table manners, and all of that; right? I get to have this, like, little petri dish thing; but just having that perspective of that you are raising an adult, who you desire\u2014out of <em>your<\/em> love for God\u2014to also love and worship God. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI would say, also, your kids\u2019 behavior\u2014they are going to act out; right?\u2014like kids are going to act out. I\u2019m not saying don\u2019t address it, but just let yourself have a deep breath. I see so many parents, who when they pick their kids up from my class, they are <em>so worried<\/em> about how he or she behaved that day; because they had a hard time that morning. That\u2019s just never my concern, you know? I mean, yes, some weeks, I\u2019m like, \u201cOh my word; did you all have donuts?\u201d [Laughter] But it\u2019s not the point; it\u2019s just not. So that is\/truly, it would be: \u201cTake a deep breath and be willing to own what you don\u2019t know.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAlso, talking about <em>your<\/em> sin, obviously, in age-appropriate ways\u2014helping them to understand that <em>you\u2019re<\/em> not the standard to which you\u2019re hoping they grow\u2014but that the reflection of Christ is who we are all trying to be conformed into His image. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAgain, I\u2019m not a parent; and so I know that is super easy for me to say, because I\u2019m not dealing with all of the dynamics. Frankly, I get them right when they are kind of\/sort of potty trained. I get\u2014that alone is a thing, because I\u2019ve cleaned up those messes! [Laughter] So don\u2019t use any of this\/I would encourage people to not feel like: \u201cOkay; wait. I\u2019m not doing that,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m not doing it enough\u201d; but look for the resources you have and just love them well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Ann:<\/strong> And if you are looking for a resource\u2014your book, <em>The Promises of God Storybook Bible<\/em>, is one of those resources\u2014you should pick it up; because it\u2019s beautifully done. The illustrations are beautiful, and God\u2019s Word is not boring; that\u2019s the thing!\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI think, too, to not have the attitude of: \u201cEverybody, be quiet! We\u2019re going to read God\u2019s Word now,\u201d\u2014that\u2019s a <em>bad<\/em> approach. They\u2019ll think God\u2019s Word is very boring and terrible; but to say, \u201cYou guys, tonight, we\u2019re going to listen; and we\u2019re going to talk about God\u2019s Word because He has something to say to <em>all of us<\/em>,\u201d\u2014to make it and have them anticipate: \u201cTonight, we\u2019re going talk about God\u2019s Word again,\u201d and \u201cThis is <em>amazing<\/em> truth that will change our lives forever.\u201d Our attitude can really <em>shape<\/em> the way our kids view God\u2019s Word. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Thank you. Thanks. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Thank you guys. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Thanks for the time here; thanks for the book. Thanks for helping us, as parents and grandparents, with this tool; we\u2019re grateful. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Jennifer:<\/strong> Thank you guys so much. I love FamilyLife<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>. I love you guys, so thanks a lot. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> Well, I have no doubt that we\u2019ve got <em>lots<\/em> of people, who\u2019ve been listening to this conversation, who are thinking, \u201cI\u2019ve got to get that book\u201d; and we would be happy to send you a copy. Go to FamilyLifeToday.com to get a copy of <em>The Promises of God Storybook Bible: The Story of God\u2019s Unstoppable Love<\/em>, by Jennifer Lyell. It\u2019s beautifully illustrated; it\u2019s a beautiful book. Your kids will love it; you will love reading it to them. Order online at FamilyLifeToday.com; or call to order: 1-800-FL-TODAY. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tLet me just say, \u201cIf you know somebody who has got young kids, give them a copy of this book as a gift,\u201d\u2014somebody in your church or somebody you know, who would benefit from this\u2014just order a copy and give it to them as a gift and say, \u201cI thought you might find this a helpful tool\/something you can read to your kids at night before you put them to bed.\u201d Again, the book is called <em>The Promises of God Storybook Bible<\/em>. You can order it on our website at FamilyLifeToday.com, or you can call to order: 800-FL-TODAY is the number\u2014800-358-6329\u2014that\u2019s 800-\u201cF\u201d as in family, \u201cL\u201d as in life, and then the word, \u201cTODAY.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tNow, this is the last opportunity we have to remind you of something that\u2019s pretty important happening, here at FamilyLife, this month. We had some friends of the ministry, who came to us, wanting to help us during what is, maybe, the most challenging time in the history of our ministry. They have agreed to match every donation we receive, during the month of May, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, up to a total of $345,000. That means that we have just a couple more days to take advantage of this matching gift. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tDavid Robbins, who is president of FamilyLife, is here with us. We\u2019re hoping our listeners will rally and make sure we can take advantage of the generosity that\u2019s been afforded to us here. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>David:<\/strong> Well, there is a critical moment of generosity that we want to invite you into; but I just want to take a minute to remind us <em>why<\/em>\u2014why we are asking you to give\u2014because we believe that God is at work, among families in our nation, in an extraordinary way. The gospel is being spread, and the home is being restored to its rightful place in society. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tHere\u2019s how we <em>know<\/em> the need is real. We have seen a 500 percent increase in engagement from FamilyLife listeners and to our website through this pandemic. People are searching for answers, and they are looking for the timeless truths of Scriptures when so many things have been thrown up into the air. I heard from a listener recently, who said, \u201cThis season has made us recognize some dysfunction that we have in our family, and we realized how much we need the help FamilyLife offers.\u201d \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tThere is a lot of <em>talk<\/em> about rebuilding the economy; and certainly, those need to be serious conversations; but we need to <em>also<\/em> be talking seriously about what it looks like to rebuild marriages and families among our nation in our day. <em>This<\/em> is why we ask you to join and give whatever you can to this May match. We are in a critical spot; and we want to ask, \u201cIf you can give whatever you can give, help us meet this match so that it sets the course for the rest of this year for us to continue to provide the help and hope you have trusted us for.\u201d Your gifts really do make an eternal difference. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>Bob:<\/strong> And when you donate today\u2014not only will your donation be matched, dollar for dollar, up to the total of $345,000; that is the matching gift; and again, we\u2019ve got until the end of the weekend to take advantage of this\u2014we\u2019re going to send you a gift\/a thank-you gift; and that\u2019s Barbara Rainey\u2019s new book, which is called <em>My Heart, Ever His<\/em>. It\u2019s a book that will help you pray more effectively during challenging times. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tIf you\u2019re able to join us as a monthly Legacy Partner, somebody who gives a gift each month, your donations are going to be matched, dollar for dollar, for the next 12 months. In addition, we\u2019re going to send <em>you<\/em> a gift certificate so you can attend an upcoming <em>Weekend to Remember<\/em><sup>\u00ae<\/sup> marriage getaway as our guests. The getaways are coming back in the fall and in the spring. You can plan to get away, as a couple, and spend time refocusing on your marriage for a weekend; or you can pass that on to somebody you know who would benefit from that weekend away. Again, it\u2019s our way of saying, \u201cThank you for joining us and for helping us take advantage of this matching gift.\u201d Donate online at FamilyLifeToday.com; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY. We\u2019re so grateful for your partnership, and we do look forward to hearing from you. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tAnd with that, we\u2019ve got to wrap things up for this week. Thanks for joining us. I hope you have a great weekend. I hope you and your family are able to worship together with your local church this weekend, and I hope you can join us back on Monday. We\u2019re going to talk about how we can tailor our parenting to our specific children\/how we play to their strengths as we raise them. Brandon and Analynn Miller will be here. I hope you can be here as well. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tI want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, along with our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our hosts, Dave and Ann Wilson, I\u2019m Bob Lepine. We will see you Monday for another edition of <em>FamilyLife Today<\/em>. \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<em>FamilyLife Today<\/em> is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas; a Cru<sup>\u00ae <\/sup>Ministry. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tWe are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you\u2019ve benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider <a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/donate\">donating today<\/a> to help defray the costs?\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\tCopyright <sup>\u00a9<\/sup> 2020 FamilyLife. All rights reserved.\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t<a href=\"http:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/\">www.FamilyLife.com<\/a>\u00a0 \n\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<p>\n\t\t\t\t\t1\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>","theme_header_position":"","post_header_is_sticky":"","is_header_overlay":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast\/306056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/podcast"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/91"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=306056"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=306056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=306056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=306056"},{"taxonomy":"podcast_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/podcast_series?post=306056"},{"taxonomy":"cwp_profile","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cwp_profile?post=306056"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp-stage.familylife.com\/www\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=306056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}