A Strong Foundation

I am on vacation at this time and while I am beaching it up I will have guest blogs once a week. Today’s blog is from Christine Benoit, who is a business owner and mother of two.

Before falling deeply in love, having two children, becoming a military wife and moving to Kingston Ontario, I had the great pleasure of growing up by Nova Scotia’s lush South Shore coast line.

The rich memories of having sunny days at the beach, countless hours of hunting for sand dollars and beach glass, and watching breathtaking sunsets are just a few things I think on often.  However my fondest memories have me reflecting on the church I grew up in, Pleasantville United Baptist Church.

The community of my youth is called Pleasantville and the church there had, and still today has, a fantastic children’s ministry.  Among the children’s ministry are the usual programs like Awana, VBS (Vacation Bible School), church camp, youth group and so on and so forth.  Needless to say it was/is a great way to teach kids about Jesus while having loads of fun.  I’ve always been so thankful for that ministry and its bearing on my life.  And today I’m thankful that it now has a bearing on my children’s lives.

Many of the people that served at Pleasantville Baptist Church are still there to this day, offering themselves to the little community of Pleasantville with a great desire to see today’s youth impacted for the Kingdom of God.  Always ready with a joke and a smile, they are just great people all around.

As many of you know, my kiddies, (Gabriel and Renee) get to spend a month with my parents in Nova Scotia every July.  This year is a bit different for them.  For one reason or another in years prior we were unable to put the kids in the VBS week at the PB church, activities or something always got in the way.  However this year, was the first year they were able to attend.

My children have jumped into the VBS program full force and wake up every morning asking “can we go to VBS yet Nanny??”  Nothing makes me happier then knowing my children are consistently learning about God’s character as well as the living Word.

To this day it surprises me the things I can recall from VBS and Awana.    So I know that my kids will feel the same way in the future.  It’s such a blessing to have been steeped in rich biblical teaching at such a young age.

As a parent you wonder all the time what your kids will grow up to be like, and the major component to that thought pattern is the health of their Christian faith.

I know the foundation I had growing up has made a deep impact on my spiritual life.   I will hold on to that foundation with purpose and intent in order to carry on a generational love and desire to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.” Mark 12:30 (ESV)

The programs we offer at KAC (Kingston Alliance Church) are affecting lives of youth more then we’ll ever know, and this is a great support for parents.  Having a church that offers such strong programs outside the home that reinforce the biblical principles and Godly values you teach there is an invaluable alliance, one I’m so pleased to have.

Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” (ESV)

Question: How do you ensure you are passing on important truths to others? Leave your comment below.