Surprised by Joy

Lately I have been reading much of C.S. Lewis. I just finished "Surprised by Joy" which is an account of Lewis' early life and his conversion to Christianity. One paragraph particularly caught my attention:

"In reading Chesterton, as in reading Mac Donald, I did not know what I was letting myself in for. A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere- " Bibles laid open, millions of surprises," as Herbert says, " fine nets and stratagems." God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous."

As parents we must also be unscrupulous in managing what goes into our children . We need to make sure and provide them with books and thoughts that lead them to God. We never know what will grab our children's attention and may be used later for God's pleasure. In Psalms it says "Your Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you." We must be sure to help our children hide the word of God in their heart but also provide them with other materials that peak their interest towards God.

In our home we are reading "The Chronicles of Narnia". In knowing Aslan our children can more fully understand Jesus. I also love George MacDonald's "The Princess and Curdie" and the "The Princess and the Goblins." " At the Back of the North Wind" is wonderful as well. For the younger ones we enjoy reading "Jeremy, the Tale of an Honest Bunny" by Jan Karon. Books on tape are a fun way to introduce them to great literature.

Categories: parenting