Happy Birthday, Honey!

Henry Ward Beecher said, “The mother’s heart is the child’s schoolroom.” What true words! As I celebrate my mother's birthday, tomorrow, I think about what all she taught me. I thank God that my parents were hand-picked by God to be the vessels that would raise me. It was their example and influence that shaped my life.

The Gospel gets passed on by declaring, meditating, speaking, singing, etc. Being raised in a community of faith such as church is important but not enough. One hour a week in Sunday School will not do it. In Deuteronomy 6: 7-9, Moses said, "Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

With each generation we must refresh who God is and what He has done for us! I never remember a time I did not attend church. My parents were always active at church. We had morning family devotionals before school. As I got older I witnessed my parents start every morning with devotional and prayer. My mother started and attended a prayer group every week for over 33 years. I always knew my parents prayed blessings and protection on my brothers and I. They prayed for our future spouses and future grandchildren.

Accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior is an individual decision. We cannot ride their parents coattails. The Bible says it is our duty to see to it that the next generation hears the Gospel. God intends for the older generation to teach the newer generation to read, think, trust, obey and rejoice. Psalm 78: 6, "...so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children." Psalm 78: 4, "We will not hide [them] from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done."

My parents passed the baton of God's Truth to my generation and now I have a sacred duty to pass that faith down to my children and my grandchildren and great-grandchildren. I am not accountable for what people do with the Truth that I share but I do believe God will hold me accountable for not passing the Gospel on. If you want to leave a legacy then pass the promise.

Thank you, Momma! May you have a beautiful birthday surrounded by love!