Ringing in the New Year with Godly Character
Entering into a new year always gives me a “fresh” outlook on life. I must say that I have always like the sound of the word “new” especially since I accepted Christ and learned this scripture:
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
{2 Corinthians 5:17-21}
Every time we approach the New Year, my husband and I get together and come up with our family goals for the next year. We do this as a tangible way to write down the vision God has given us for our family, as well as keep us accountable to do things His way throughout the year – even in times when we feel like giving up. When we are finished, we take communion over our list and then begin to work towards the God given goals prayerfully.
Every year of our marriage, our number one priority has been to be more Christ-like, showing more Godly character. This is a lifelong goal that we feel is the single most important aspect in honoring Christ and showing our children who Jesus is – through our actions. There are several things that we use in our homeschool that help us accomplish this for the children and ourselves:
We Choose Virtues – a wonderful curriculum that teaches our children the importance of choosing what’s right (being virtuous) through creative characters and catchy sayings based upon scripture. You can purchase the curriculum with or without scripture printed on it – but the teaching is all the same. This is a favorite in our house!
What’s in the Bible – is a fabulous DVD collection created by Phil Vischer (known for creating Veggie Tales) taking your family through the books of the Bible. The neat thing about this is that although it is intended for children, it is so well done that my husband and I have both learned many new things while watching these with our children. These videos prompt lots of new discussions and further studying of the Bible with our children! A win-win for the whole family!
GrapeVine Bible Studies – this is a very unique curriculum in that it approaches learning the Bible through stick figuring. This helps the learner remember what the story is as they can draw it (stick figure) thus helping give a multidimensional approach to learning. We have done several GrapeVine studies and are currently working through Biblical Feasts.
We also work through several different devotions each year that are suited for the age group/gender of each person. We prayerfully choose which devotions are best for each child (as well as ourselves) and then work through them. We are very flexible as we tend to work through several more than we plan to, adding more along the way, and this is always a blessing to our family. This year (2013) we are starting off using the following devotions for our children:
I encourage everyone to ring in their new year with Godly character as the focus! I know that we cannot go wrong when we are teaching our children through the light and love of God’s Word. I pray for each and every one of you that 2013 is a year of fullness – of restoration for you and your loved ones. Let’s honor God together and make His name shine in our homeschools and families this year!
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Hi Carlie, Thanks for sharing. I was wondering if you might have a recommendation for a 4th grade girl. I think these might be a little advanced for my daughter.
Happy New Year, praying 2013 is full of blessings for you and family.
Hey Stephanie! Yes, I actually do! When my daughter was that age, we used this one: http://goo.gl/vNTIK It is something that she has held onto to this day and references often. She has actually memorized most of it at this point! Hope this helps 🙂
Thanks Carlie, I will be ordering this book for her. Thanks for the help.