Sometimes the most effective discipleship comes not in sit-down lessons or formal teaching times but in the creative, everyday, life-on-life moments we share with our kids.

Instead of feeling overwhelmed by all that we must teach our children, we can seek to faithfully steward each small opportunity God gives to pour truth into their hearts.

As parents, we often lead by example. And even when it comes to teaching our children to honor their parents, they're watching how we honor ours.

While the fears of motherhood will change over time, we can always trust in our faithful God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

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

When our kids ask about other religions, we don’t need to fear. The gospel is true and beautiful—and it alone has the power of salvation.

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

Motherhood isn’t just about training up our children. It’s about God training us as his children to look to Christ and to look like Christ.

God has equipped us with his word and his Spirit to help us discern truth and teach it to our children.

The conversations around the kitchen table may hold greater impact than you can imagine. Here are a few ways to shape minds and hearts while they’re still in your home.

Too easily we forget who we are. Since God made us, and God is love, we were made by Love himself, which is how we understand who we really are—a beloved child.

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.