My D6 Moment

If you aren't familiar with D6, you must visit the site http://www.d6family.com.  The website says "D6 stands for Deuteronomy 6:5-7 which commands dads and moms to take everyday opportunities to impress God’s Word upon the hearts of their children. D6 is foundational to raising spiritual champions for Christ."  I think of it as the practice of taking advantage of every opportunity we can to teach our children to be Christ-like.  I also think it's important to impress those principles on other children as well.  We are given a lot of opportunities to teach other children the importance of living a Christian life in very simple ways.  

So what is a D6 moment?  It's when you child surprises you by reminding you of the principles of Christ that you have instilled in them.  What a God given blessing to be reminded by your child to focus on Him.  It makes the pain of stumbling feel okay when you see that your child is becoming a child of God in every way.  Now you know how it is... you place this fabulous principle into your family's lives and then when you should be doing it most, you forget.  You lose sight of the Father and you just plumb forget to be a princess of His Kingdom.

My family has been focusing on 1 Thes. 5:17, Pray without ceasing, and Gal. 5:22, the fruit of the spirit.  I feel that these are two basic principles that we all should take to heart.  Applying those to a 2 1/2 year old's life can be quite tricky at times.  We take a virtue of the fruit of the spirit each week or so and talk about how we can be kind or loving or patient.  It has really helped her difficult situations to remember God's truths (like sharing her toys or not harassing the dogs).  We also have started to pray together anytime we were stressed, upset, whiney, happy, joyful, etc.  And almost anytime that we get in the car, we say a prayer. Being in the car with our children, is one of the few times we have their undivided attention!  I don't allow dvd players and that type of thing in the car, because I want to have one on one time with JoJo.  

So on to my D6 moment...  So our morning started like any other.  I had done my barn work (the horses were SO unruly) and headed back to the house so that Jason could shower and head to work.  As I began feeding our many dogs, my sweet and joy-filled JoJo slowly started turning into a little monster (over nothing of course).  Next on the list... feed store.   Josephine and I were going to head to the feed store to get our weekly feed supply (for 21 horses) and run farm errands.  For some reason, my horses, my dogs, and my child were having a meltdown, and I was losing patience very quickly.  

We pulled out in the truck, and as I got out to close the gate, JoJo squirted her juice box all over herself and began to cry.  As I opened the car door and heard her crying, I wanted to just melt right there in the driveway.  The words "Calgon take me away" were ringing in my head.  Evidently, JoJo saw the despair in my face as I hesitantly climbed back in the truck.  Surprisingly she got very quiet and so did I.  I had the feeling like maybe if I didn't look her in the eyes, she wouldn't scream bloody murder. (Moms, come on, you know that feeling).  That's when it happened.  She said, "Thank you God for the sunshine...  you pray with me Momma?"  I quietly burst into tears and said, "yes, baby, I'll pray with you."  She continued her prayer, and then I continued mine.  And then she sang "Jesus loves me" and said "Amen."  There's nothing more encouraging,  comforting, and joyful than seeing God's face in our children.  

Praise God for our children!

Praise God for His grace!

Praise God for His unfailing love!