The last couple nights, my little one has been singing, “Jesus… Jesus… Jesus!” in his pitchy little voice. I’m working to teach him “Jesus Loves Me” but it’s a work in progress. And it doesn’t matter either. I love seeing him dance around and sing the name of our Lord and Savior.
The Bible invites us to sing to the Lord:
Sing to the LORD a new song,
for He has done marvelous things;
His right hand and His hold arm
have worked salvation for Him.The LORD has made His salvation known
and revealed His righteousness to the nations.He has remembered His love
Psalm 98:1-3
and His faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
the salvation of our God.
Every night at bedtime, I read him a Psalm after his bedtime story–or part of a Psalm, as we’re currently in 119 and I’m taking it bit by bit. I also sing with the radio in the car. These are simple ways that I model the joy of Jesus for my child to see. And there are moments like these, when he sings, that I know he sees.
Parenting is one of the best and hardest ways to practice ministry. Our children see us at our best–and at our worst. They are always watching, always observing us in our victories and our failures.
I know I mess up often. I am learning to apologize when I should and catch myself before I make the same mistake again. But I keep going forward and doing the work. And it pays off.
Monday morning as I was getting ready for work, my little one came in and said, “Mommy, look, the sky is pretty!” I look out the window, and low and behold:
It was a beautiful morning for us to share!
Every morning that we drive to the babysitter’s house and I talk about the sky being pretty, he listened to me and learned that I love sunrises and sunsets.
He also loves looking at the moon and ducks on the river.
God speaks continually through creation (Psalm 19), and He created it for our enjoyment! I love that my little one is picking up on that and paying attention at an early age.
Today and every day issues invitations to find joy in what is around us. It may be something different for you than what speaks to me, but God’s invitation to marvel at His creation and sing for joy never expires.
This is the day that the LORD has made.
Psalm 118:24
We will rejoice and be glad in it!
Sing for joy today, friends!
Blessings,
~Lynne
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