Mommy's Little Helper

Hope is mommy's little helper. She loves to follow me around the house and help with whatever I am doing. A few months ago we made soap with several homeschooling families. While cleaning out the hutch last week I made the comment that I needed to bag the soap. She offered to help so I gave her a bag and she worked very hard at getting it bagged "just right". Two days later Ricky, Seth, Sterling, and Ryan were downstairs painting and putting in new flooring. I was making hamburgers for lunch. When she asked what I was doing I explained that the men were hard at work making our den look nice and I was making lunch for them. She immediately got out an onion, peeled it, and began "slicing" it with her little kitchen set knife. She is learning about taking care of the family as she follows me around being my little helper. I often find her repeating my actions. Sometimes I am amazed at what she can do because she has not had a formal lesson on it, she had just been observing me as I went about my daily duties. The Bible tells us, Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6. Training takes time. Training is not merely telling our children what they need to do or reading scripture to them during devotions. It is living it before them. I need to be careful about how I spend my days. Do my children see me running around doing meaningless activities, wasting my time? Or do they see me filling my days with caring for our family and others. Do I take the time to explain that I am caring for them or others because Christ calls us to love one another? Do I talk with them about how He loves and serves us? After all, Christ came and gave His life in service for us.