Who knew it could be enjoyable, fun, and informative with a toddler? Certainly not us until now! For the first time, we decided to try gear FHE (Family Home Evening) towards Luke. I am embarrassed and ashamed to even admit that I have been doing him such a disservice for this long. He needs these gospel teachings just as much, if not more, than we do. I feel as if we have failed him up to this point in teaching him anything about Jesus Christ, the church, or the gospel. Well, failures no more (well, at least not in this area, I hope)!
We began FHE with a prayer, and I had a proud mommy moment when Luke folded his arms immediately when we asked. He, of course, unfolded them as soon as the prayer began and started making noise, but its a start. Following the prayer, Jake read this quote, "Anger, a secondary emotion and a reactionary one, is not an acceptable emotion. It is not inspired of God, does not build relationships, and seldom solves problems. Rather, it builds walls between people, nurtures resentments, and stifles the flow of the pure love of Christ." He got it from a book entitled Jesus, the Very Thought of Thee, which has a daily reflections on the New Testament. (I'll be giving this quote some further thought later.) After Jake finished reading, I got out some gospel related pictures, showed them one by one to Luke, and briefly explained each image as I went. He studied each picture intently then set it aside and picked up the next one. It went really well and I almost had to pry a couple of pictures out of his hands since he didn't want to give them up even for a new one. These were two of his favorites:
When we finished with pictures, Jake and I say the song, Families Can Be Together Forever, which is one of my all-time favorite hymns, and Luke kinda bopped along while we sang. Father and son then immediately commenced a tickle session and FHE was definitely over after that.
My only regret is that there were no yummy treats to be had. Oh, the tragedy, I know! Treats were always one of the main draws of FHE when I was kid. I will definitely have to work on that for next week. All in all, FHE was a resounding success and one, I hope, that will be repeated weekly.
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4 comments:
Yay for you! I will do good with having FHE for a little while and then slack off... Stephen has to hold Vance and Tanner on his lap so they don't run off as I try to give a short "lesson" or thought. Ah, young children...but they learn through example and I really do think kids pick up on more than we give them credit for.
I think that is very impressive having FHE with such a young boy!
Good work!!! I tried to call you and I think I have the wrong number...I want to meet up with you on Thursday...e-mail me your number!
Lily and Y also love the gospel art pictures! They always want me to get the pictures out. My kids also love the picture scriptures. You and Jake are much better than us. FHE has never been a strong point for us. So, I applaud you for your good work cuz it is tough with kids.
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