Thursday, July 17, 2014

Who Am I?



Who does God say that I am? How do I teach my children who they are in Christ?

I’ve come to understand that knowing what God says about who I am and receiving those truths are two different things. I have to believe that God isn’t lying when He says things about me. However, my opinion of myself is usually contrary to what God’s view is. So that begs the question: Do I really believe God and trust what He says?


Receiving the truth about who I am in Christ is much like choosing to receive salvation.Christ already paid the penalty for my sins, but I must choose to accept His proxy for me. What God says about me are the facts, but believing will change my understanding and my actions.
 
I was learning to receive these truths just before Christmas. As I walked down a tough path of God humbling me, I wanted to find a way to teach my kids this lesson. You know, the easy way, as opposed to the hard way that I was learning. I had an idea that I tried with them. I took the “HELLO MY NAME IS” name tags and wrote one truth on each along with the reference. I stuck the name tags on their Christmas presents. I had each child read the name tag on their wrapped presents. They then had to choose to receive the gift before they could open it. It might be a little corny, but the older two (13 and 15) enjoyed it. They even kept the name tags stuck to the wrapping paper. I also made one name tag that had personal truths from my observations of each child.


My eldest saw what I was doing before Christmas and she asked to have a few of the name tags. She wrote personal notes of encouragement for her grandparents and put them on her gifts to them.


This idea was partly inspired by this song: Hello My Name Is by Mathew West





So Here were some of the names that I included:


HELLO MY NAME IS

     Child of the one true king. John 1:12

(My kids immediately recognized this one from the song.)


HELLO MY NAME IS

     Joint-heir with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him. Rom. 8:17


HELLO MY NAME IS

     Chosen and dearly loved by God. 1 Thes. 1:4

Go ahead, try it with your kids. You might be surprised to learn what you don't believe about yourself. God has a great many things to say about who you are to Him and everyone of them is true.


If you are interested in learning more about who God is through the Old Testament, I’ve written The Presence of Shadows. This book is the first in a young adult fantasy series in which I dramatize the lives and event of the Kings and prophets of Israel. Dive into the world of Ta-Val and take a journey with Brehane as he decides who to trust.
Find out more about The Presence of Shadows Here KaraHowell.com
Want to read more of my blog posts? Visit my personal blog Kara's Blog


2 comments:

  1. Love this! My kids are several years older, but it's never too late!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Super! Good for adults and kids to read and view. Thx.

    ReplyDelete