God In Our Everyday (part 2)

This is the second part of three in a series entitled "God in our everyday," which was inspired by another parent asking me how our family includes God in our everyday events. I certainly don't have all the answers, this is just me sharing with you!

There are many little sayings we have in our home (some serious and some funny) that help us remember that we our children of our Heavenly Father. I have said them so often, that now the children have started saying some of them to each other.....
-"You are beautiful because God made you that way" (it is not because of what you wear or what you do or what other's think. There is an entire post about this entitled "You Are Beautiful.");
-"People are a precious gift from God" (therefore we do not hit, pretend shoot, or hurt people; we show Christ love to people around us);
-"A joy filled heart makes a cheerful face" (there is no pouting or making mad faces, our hearts our filled with the Joy of Christ, so even though we may be sad we need to remember the Joy we have in Christ. Our children are certainly allowed to be sad or upset, however, we don't want them dwelling on their sad situation, we want them looking at it with new eyes and seeing how to address the situation in a way that will help them not be sad or upset. This comes from a desire for them to work through their problems, not dwell on them.);
-"Your job is to listen and obey" (this comes from Ephesians 6:1 and is one of the first things our children learn. This in no way means that they are not allowed to share their opinions or speak freely, what this means is when we disagree their job is to respect the authority God has given us and do what we asked even if they would prefer to do something else. I know that some of you will think this is very harsh, but it truly is not. We desire for our children to learn obedience as we want them to be obedient to God's Word, this is simply a way for them to practice this obedience; it also helps to keep them safe. If you are running out into the street and don't see the car that just turned the corner and I ask you to stop, I NEED you to obey now, not have a discussion with me about it.);

These next ones are more of a responses to situations and less just plain phrases:
-When asked what we are having for dinner, my response most times is ..."we are not eating dinner today, we are fasting." (This is not meant at all to undermine the benefits of fasting or the spiritual gains that come from fasting. My husband and I have both fasted at different times and for different reasons. This is just a simple phrase that I use to help my children see that there are things more important than food that we should be focused on. We do feed our children and have never forced them to fast.)
_When asked why they can not watch a certain movie or listen to a certain song, my response is typically....."God has told us to guard our hearts, and minds."  (We feel it is very important to help children learn what is going to be harmful to them. We have taught our children to turn away when something we are not expecting comes on the TV or is part of a movie. Their innocence and purity can be lost with just one vivid picture. This is becoming increasingly difficult, but as we continue to discuss media that harms our spirit, they continually grow stronger and make wise decisions for themselves.
-When our children say something like..."I'm starving." We will respond with "no you're not, your name is _________; I remember I was there when we named you." Our preschool age son will then say "my tummy is starving." (makes me smile) There are two things here we would like our kiddos to learn. First is simply to ask, "may I please have something to eat?" But, more importantly we point out that our children have never been starving. They have never gone more than a few hours without food. There are children in this world that truly are starving. There are children/people in this world that are eating rocks because they just desire to have something in their stomachs. We are asking our children to be grateful for the food they have and to remember that they are richly blessed, even when they are feeling hungry.

I hope these words bless and encourage you in some way. I know that I have a lot to learn, and that this journey of parenting is long. Thank you so much for walking it with me. I would love to hear some phrases or responses you use in your family that help encourage your family in their faith!