The Lord’s Prayer is both a helpful framework for teaching our kids how to pray and a powerful introduction to the theology of who God is and how he works.

As a new school-year begins, we can pray that our kids would look to the Lord for wisdom and strength.

We don’t have to go through motherhood in survival mode. God lifts our heads so that we can behold him—and be transformed.

When we face embarrassing moments in motherhood, we can handle them well by giving thanks, moving forward, and fearing the Lord first.

We can teach our kids to celebrate differences—God created them so we can help each other.

Just as we love to inspire wonder in our children, our heavenly Father invites us to wonder at the gift of his Son.

As moms, we can’t keep our children from suffering, but we can help shape their response to it.

Journaling is a practical way to help our kids know, love, and enjoy the Lord.

Taking an uninteruppted shower became a luxury after the birth of my first child. I would linger in the bathtub, praising God for a quiet moment before the rocking, the nursing, and the sleeplessness. Motherhood stretches not just our bodies, it stretches our time and capacity, filling them with long days and nights—as well as joy and delight.

Many of us are hard-pressed for time and energy. Our schedules are filled with homes, husbands, children, churches, jobs, friends, and the constant temptation to stay in-the-know of the hashtags, the trends, and the news. We are busy mothers with full hands. And somehow, amid the juggling of responsibilities, we are to nurture our children in the instruction of the Lord.

Picture the scene: dishes need to the done, dinner needs to the cooked, and I have a phone conference with a church group. I’m desperate for an uninterrupted hour so I offer my girls the diversion of a ‘Bible movie.’ They watch and I work; all seems well until I hear these words sounding from the screen: ‘David was brave in facing Goliath. You need to be brave and God will help you fight your battles too.’ I cringe.

Translating Bible passages into behavior instructions might help kids to prize certain traits and values, but this kind of teaching will miss the intention of the scriptures themselves—which is to testify of Christ.

Jesus is better than moralism, and thankfully we can find him everywhere in scripture. I want my children to hear narratives like David and Goliath with their eyes on David’s Greater Son, the one who defeats and liberates us from a deadly enemy we could never conquer on our own, sin.

With language that is understandable to our child, we teach in order to direct them to the Lord who bids little ones to come. This Lord is Lord of all, “bestowing his riches [without distinction] on all who call on him.” This means that, everyone (even fidgety children and with busy moms) can take in the goodness of God’s glorious gospel.

And the story of David and Goliath reminds me of Someone else.