Blinker Light Repair--When Necessary, Use Words

About a week ago or so, it well past time to repair the burned out blinker light on our van.

Jonathan was getting ready to do the job when I called Danny to come watch.

I watched, too, because who knows when I may need to know how to change a blinker light.

Jonathan and I have our boys watch when we do a job like this, or do it themselves, so that they will learn. They won't learn if we don't teach them.

We have them help when we have to figure out why the swamp cooler is making horrible noises,

and then have them help fix it.

They watch when Dad changes the whole house water filter or works on the water heater.

They learn to operate a wood splitter and a chain saw and a saw mill.

They watch and help when we paint the house or lay new flooring. 

Then when Timmy is back in PA, he and his cousins lay the flooring in the room Crystal is going to be staying in while student teaching.

When we teach our children, we could just let them watch. 

But they learn better if we open our mouths and teach them how to do the project,

and why this or that.

I'm sure I've failed to teach my girls everything I know, but I have tried hard to pass on any practical knowledge I have.

And every day, we try to teach our children what God's Word says.

It takes words.

You've probably heard the saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi,

"Preach the gospel at all times; when necessary, use words."

We all understand what he meant--that our actions sometimes preach better than our words.

The trouble is--teaching or preaching usually requires words. 

Teaching requires words.

It also requires time, effort, love, patience, and in these days, courage.

In a day where everything goes--except true religion, a commitment to God's Word, and real Christianity that speaks out and speaks up--

teaching while using words requires courage.

Whether we are changing a blinker light bulb, repairing a swamp cooler, patching jeans, sewing buttonholes, writing a paper or learning to grow rhubarb, it takes words to teach our children how to do a new thing.

And it takes words to teach our children what we believe about God
and about what the Bible says and how it should apply to our lives in 2020.
"And these words  which I command you today shall be in your heart.
You shall teach them [the words] diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.
You shall bind them...[You shall wear them], You shall write them..."
It takes words, my fellow mothers.
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Here is an article I found while checking about the author of that quote above.

https://zondervanacademic.com/blog/why-you-shouldnt-preach-the-gospel-at-all-times-and-use-words-when-necessary