I’m Not a Builder

It’s kind of embarrassing to admit, but I’m not much of a builder. I’m also the least mechanically inclined man in my family, which is sad since 2 of my grandpas were mechanics. In my defense, one grandpa had Alzheimers well before I could drive and the other had a stroke when I was 11 and passed when I was 13, so I never had an opportunity to learn from them. Not only that, but I’ve always rented or lived in a rented house until I moved here so I avoided putting holes in the walls or building structures. 

I don’t have many tools besides your typical drill, hammers and screwdrivers. I’m not very well trained, nor is it in my budget to buy the cool tools that I’d use for cool projects. I keep telling myself (and my wallet) that one of these days I’ll start making cool things and build something awesome. 

But looking at my life, I have built something awesome. With the help of my awesome wife, we’ve built an amazing family. God has blessed us with three adorable and bright children who love Jesus. With the help of Lydia and the volunteers in the Children’s Ministry, their faith is continually being built up. We have been building up a household of faith. 

I do have some of the tools for building a household of faith though! I should use them more and more consistently, but they are in my toolbox. 

I have a Bible at my house. (Let’s be honest, as a DCE, I have a dozen at my house)

I have a plethora of devotionals and Children’s Bibles to read with my children

I have the Bible App on my phone, and can listen to https://open.spotify.com/playlist/03fbe2I9UYUnsOLdbIONxP?si=fdba4fd2eb5a4b7c which is a playlist of the entire New Testament read to a musical track. It’s fantastic for “Bible on the Go”

I have different Bible Studies I could attend, and a Small Group that I’m a part of. 

We belong to and attend a wonderful church that is welcoming to children.

I have, and use different books with prayers that help me find words when I don’t have them. 

Something to remember is that I need to USE the tools that I have, and teach my family how to use them too. 

A toolbox full of tools is useless if the tools are not used. 

So I remember Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 6: 

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart [previous chapter was the 10 Commandments]. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” (Deuteronomy 6:5-9 ESV

We are encouraged to talk about God and His faithfulness to us all the time. When we wake up, when we’re on a journey taking kids to school, when we’re home, when we lay down, that’s when we talk about Jesus. 

As parents, we get to build up our house, we build up their faith as we use the building blocks we’ve been given. We don’t just read the Bible, we read it in front of our children. We read the Catechism with our kids, we pray with them, we hear the psalms, we talk about it in the car on the way home from church and throughout the week. 

We model our faith as they make it their own. So a question to leave you with… What do you want your child’s faith to look like when they leave the house, and how are you modeling it in your own life?

I’m praying for you as the school year begins, and encourage you to use the tools you have to build a household of faith. If you need some more tools, I’d love to share some of the books I’ve learned from and we can build together!

In Christ,

Josh Cromley, Director of NextGen Ministries