Tale of Two Kingdoms

The Kingdom of Light vs. The Kingdom of Darkness.

We pulled out our heart lesson again.  Just as Keegan was aghast at discovering that everyone was born with a dirty heart when we did the heart lesson for the first time, they were shocked and saddened to discover that because of Adam, we are born prisoners in the kingdom of darkness.   Rejoicing ensued afresh at how Jesus has rescued us.  And this time, my little Trey man was pondering this truth as his brother had before…

We made flags for each kingdom to perch at the top of the two opposing block kingdoms recently constructed during our lesson.

And we continued to explore… boys eyes sparkle with a sense of adventure as they realize that there is a real-live battle going on that they are taking part in.

The beauty of this battle is that no matter how intense it gets, we know who wins.  We dove into Revelation to discover what the final battle will look like.

The boys are stoked.  I’m sobered.

Funny how a combination of age, gender and season of life can elicit such different reactions.

As I stare at my 3 boys {and our adorable tiny toddler}, I’m struck with the importance of training them well, so that they will be equipped to engage in these spiritual battles that rage around us.

With much of our culture fixated on celebrating evil, death and violence and others making light of it, we chose to declare this month, “Spiritual Warfare” month and have been delving into learning about the spiritual armor.

We learned the importance of focus.  It is vital that we keep our eyes and ears open, that we continually seek the great giver of every aspect of our protection…  We learned that we are called to play a role in helping to let others trapped in the dark know about the freedom Jesus offers and the invitation to become citizens of the light.

We made Belts of Truth and learned the importance of immersing ourselves in the truth found in God’s Word. {Aren’t these belts just the cutest?  I was thrilled when I found the idea over at Eagle Nest Mom.}

When exploring the Breastplate of Righteousness, I explained that each day they can protect their hearts when they trust and obey.  His righteousness paved the way for this vitally important protection.

Trust and Obey.  As a ‘why’ girl, I found this a welcome reminder.  Obedience is a protection because being in the will of God is always the best place to be!

Have you really thought much about the spiritual realm?  I must admit that I haven’t spent too much time thinking about it in recent years.  It was not in vogue.  But as I dive into scripture and explore this topic, I’m finding myself alert and intent to GO and GROW.  I find myself eager to prepare my children.  I think of Daniel’s parents and the solid foundation they provided for him that prepared him to survive in a hostile culture and I think “YES! That is my goal!”

I WILL prepare them to stand strong, firm in what they know is true.  Because, what better gift could we give our children than to introduce them to King Jesus and equip them to stand firm so they can point others to Him too.

I want to prepare them to be on the alert and ever eager to be used by God to show others the way to the kingdom of light.  I want them to be well equipped to play whatever role God has for them to play in their life.

And so we carried on.  Everyone in our small group is talking about this topic.  It is so cool to see how God placed the same thing on each of our hearts independently.  A friend and I gathered boys together to give them the opportunity to try and get a hands-on look at this wonderful armor that God gives us.

We explore having our feet shod with the readiness of the gospel of Peace.

We pour over pictures of Roman soldiers and their shields and thank God that He wants us to have big faith because He is a BIG God and that faith thwarts the fiery darts of the wicked one.

As we converted our medieval helmets into Roman {Helmet of Salvation} helmets, we discussed the importance of guarding our minds and how Jesus gives us the power to do that when He saves us!  I was struck by how vital it is to guard our thoughts.  For our thoughts dictate our behavior.

After all of this armor that was focused on defense, the boys were thrilled to finally going on the offensive with the Sword of the Spirit.  We read of the example Jesus set in Matthew 4 when Satan tempted Him…  It is amazing what an effect dramatically reading this passage can have on 6 little boys.  Mesmerizing I tell you.

I pulled out my Child Training Bible and we talked about how this wonderful tool makes it so easy for us to find Scripture to use when resisting temptation!  The boys are excited to continue their Bible memory work and start doing ‘sword drills’ {aka: racing to look up Bible passages!}

This won’t be the last time we visit this topic.  We might just make it a yearly tradition.  Reminders of the truth. Reminders of what’s at stake. Reminders of His provision. Reminders of the end-game.  It is all VITALLY important.