This is what it looks like at the end of the hall in my house…
Alli has been packing to prepare to leave today to head back to college. There are:
cleaning supplies for the dorm room, dishes for meals eaten in the dorm, coffee pot for late night studying and early morning classes, umbrella (spite the fact that the torrential rains will blow sideways and the umbrella won’t help much), music for piano lessons, collapsible clothes hamper for the never ending laundry…
notebooks and paper for homework and projects,
a kitty to keep you company while you pack up, and to hinder you from packing your favorite pair of jeans…
a shoe bag to save space in the shared closet, stackable drawers for extra stuff that won’t fit in the dresser…
and of course suitcases for clothes, a picture album of the family, and the long-loved stuffed animal.
All this (and more not pictured) is packed up for the nine months of college life. Alli will be a sophomore this year and feels a little more prepared for college life than she did this time last year! Yep, this is the stuff of college life.
As my husband has been teaching on Sunday nights about discipline in the home, I thought about the discipline it takes the parent to train a child. There’s so much to teach them, and I’m not referring to homeschool. I’m talking about the every day things – the stuff of life that need to be discussed with our children before they leave home.
Proper table manners, etiquette, respect for elders, submission to authority, meal preparation, laundry instructions, how to iron, how to respond when dating, dating standards, biblical convictions and doctrines…the list seems endless when we consider what we should be teaching our children. These are conversations you have with them in the routine things of life – while you’re driving in the car, sitting and having lunch at McDonald’s, or tucking them into bed at night. That’s what Deuteronomy 6:7-9 is teaching…And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.
I am amazed at how few parents teach their children the facts of life. If this is not taught by the parents, (mostly incorrect) information will be picked up here and there in lewd chats with friends. When girls approach puberty, take them alone to a special restaurant and talk with them about the upcoming changes. Make them understand God’s wonderful design and plan for their lives. Boys need chats with their father about how to treat a girl, how to be a gentleman, how to respond to girls in general.
When our children pack up to leave home, there should be tons more packed away in their hearts than stuffed in duffel bags in the back of the SUV! Begin today to teach them of the stuff of life!
With a heart of love,
RefreshHer 
I look back at the time I was raising Dustin and often I am saddened because I did not teach him as he should have been taught. I was not a Christian so I did not teach him from God's word. Instead, I taught him the values of the world. I do remind myself often that teaching doesn't stop once they turn 18 or move out of the house. I am a Christian now so I must set a good example. I am so thankful that God has now given me the opportunity to teach him from his word. Thank you Denise for this reminder.
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God can still use you in a great way, Hazel. You are buying back the time when you give him Truth. Remember the post on Thursday about the lies of the devil and don't let him beat you up. The truth is that you can, as you said, teach him now. I'm praying with you for him!
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I love your blog. Please check out my new blog! Support me if you can! 🙂
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Thanks and I look forward to reading your future blog post.
Smith
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