Lois & Eunice: How Can I Teach My Children Pure Faith?

Summary

Tamara Anderson and Wendi Christensen discuss the importance of passing on unfeigned faith to the next generation, emphasizing the need for women to model and teach pure faith. They highlighted the significance of teaching children to forgive themselves and others, and to recognize that mistakes are opportunities for growth and learning. Wendi and Tamara also discussed ways to teach and learn scriptures with children at different age stages, and the challenges of raising teenagers in today's fast-paced world. They emphasized the value of personal reflection and family prayer in nurturing faith, and encouraged listeners to understand scriptures in shaping one's identity and worth.

Key Talking Points

Teaching pure faith to the rising generation.

• Tamara and Wendi discuss Lois and Eunice, two women mentioned in the New Testament.
• Tamara discusses the importance of passing faith down through generations, citing the example of Timothy's mother and grandmother.
• Wendi highlights the inspiring aspect of women teaching their children the scriptures, even in diverse family settings.
• They emphasize the importance of showing Christ's love and grace to themselves and their children.
• Tamara shares her faith in Jesus Christ and the importance of teaching children about God's love and forgiveness.
• Timothy learned kindness and love from his grandmother and mother, who taught him scriptures.
• Tamara and Wendi discuss how they teach the Scriptures to their children at different age stages, with a focus on adapting to their attention spans and learning abilities.
• They emphasize the importance of asking their children what they learned or liked from the Scripture story, and how this question has continued to be relevant even as they grew older.
• Tamara shares idea of incorporating scripture and prayer with teenagers when they return home.
• Wendi shares how they read scriptures and pray with their child on the way to school to prepare them for challenges.
• The importance of praying for protection, an armor of God, for children in difficult situations.
• They encourage their children to continue learning and applying Scripture in perilous times.
• Teaching unfeigned faith to children through sharing personal miracles and gratitude.
• Tamara shares personal struggles and miracles with children to teach faith.
• Wendi shared how they prioritize prayer and gratitude in their daily life, including during car rides and family prayer at night.
• Tamara emphasized the importance of seeing God's hand in our daily lives and sharing those experiences with others.
• The faith of Lois and Eunice, their legacy, and how their story can inspire modern-day women.
• Tamara and Wendi discuss the importance of sharing stories from their past and faith with their children.
• They emphasize the value of continuing to learn and grow in faith, one step at a time.
• Tamara discusses the legacy of faith left by two women mentioned only once in the Bible.

Main Takeaways

• Lois and Eunice tried their best to teach what they believed to Timothy. We can do the same by just keeping moving forward and doing the best that we can in the faith.
• There is an invitation for us to “continue thou in the things which thou hast learned.”
• We can each begin today where we are and continue forward, in unfeigned faith.

Today’s Podcast Hosts & Guests

Tamara K. Anderson
Tamara, founder of Women Warriors of Light, is a dynamic speaker, award winning author, and a podcaster. She is driven by her Christian faith to inspire faith in Jesus Christ. Alongside her husband, Justin, she navigates the joys and challenges of parenting four children with autism, ADHD, and mental health hurdles. You can find out more about Tamara on her website: https://www.tamarakanderson.com/

Wendi Christensen, LCSW
Wendi is the co-founder of Women Warriors of Light. In addition to being a wife and mother, she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 28 years of experience. Wendi is an intuitive counselor helping individuals release pain, renew hope, and restore light through forgiveness. You can find out more about Wendi on her website: https://wendichristensencounseling.com/

Keywords

#BibleWomen #scriptures #faith #children #teachingchildren #god #family #jesuschrist #home #mother

Transcription

Tamara Anderson  0:00  

How do you teach a child from the home to learn from the scriptures examples of faith? Today we're going to talk about two important women in the New Testament that influenced the faith of Timothy the Evangelists. So stay tuned and we'll figure out how we can apply those lessons to us today. 

Tamara Anderson  0:21  

Welcome to Bible, Women and Bathrobes the podcast where faith meets comfort. Join us Tuesday and Thursday morning. As the gals from Women Warriors of Light and their guests, don bathrobes and dive into the inspiring stories of women in the Bible, and the teachings of Jesus Christ. From Esther's bravery to the Sermon on the Mount. We explore it all with warmth, laughter, sisterhood, and maybe even a few sleepy-eyed moments. tune in live or at your leisure as we learn lessons from scripture which empower women today. 

Tamara Anderson  1:02  

Welcome to Bible, Women and Bathrobes I'm your host Tamara K. Anderson, and I have the co-founder of Women Warriors of Light right here with me, Wendi Christensen. Welcome.

Wendi Christensen  1:13  

Thank you. Good morning. I'm so excited to be here.

Tamara Anderson  1:16  

And it is early. But we're excited to talk to you today about two women that are briefly mentioned in the New Testament. They are Lois, as a grandmother, and Eunice as a mother. And these two women were mentioned by Paul, as he wrote to Timothy, the evangelist and the New Testament. And it is so fascinating. We know just a few little verses about them. But we're gonna dive into what we do know, and kind of see if we can glean some things from their stories which we can apply today as women. So let's kick it off in Second Timothy chapter one. And here Paul is writing to Timothy and he starts out as letter talking about this is Paul writing and I'm writing to Timothy who's a dearly beloved son. So and then, in verse five, this is where we get a big tip on a little bit of, of, of who these women are, he says, "When I call to remembrance, the unfeigned faith that is in the which first dwelt in my grandmother Lois, and in my mother, Eunice. And I am persuaded that in thee also." And so we have this example of faith being passed from generation to generation. And I'm going to bring up one more thing before we dive in and talk about it. So Timothy, and his mom and grandma lived in Lystra. And, and we learn in Acts 16, verse one, it says that Paul came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timotheus the son of a certain woman was Eunice, which was a Jewess and believed, but his father was a Greek. And so we kind of bring a little bit of Okay, so we have one believing parent and one who is not. And I know that that happens a lot in our day, and time. And so. So let's talk a little bit about that, Wendi, about how, how do we as women influence the faith of our children?

Wendi Christensen  3:36  

You know, I think that's interesting that you say that happens a lot. I think it's happening more and more nowadays. That homes can be different, right? We're even homes, it's kind of setting up. Sometimes we have a divorced family, or one that's one faith in one that's of another or maybe one that's just left the faith, that homes can be very different. But yet these wonderful, beautiful women, they were able to teach Timothy still, the things that were near and dear to their hearts. And I think that's that's kind of I think it's inspiring, I think it brings a lot of hope. Another thing that I wanted to add is back then it says that she was Jewish, and it was very Jewish custom for them to teach. They would either learn the scriptures like Jewish boys would learn the scriptures, either in the synagogue or in their home. And obviously, from what Timothy is saying here, or Paul is writing to Timothy, what he's saying about Timothy is he learned the scriptures in his home. What a beautiful thing that that even though it the situation at home, we don't know what exactly but whatever it was, there was still the beautiful faith of this mother and this grandmother that still wanted to teach him the right things that still wanted to teach him scriptures and help him to learn scriptures.

Tamara Anderson  4:58  

Yeah, and I loved, I had to kind of look up "unfeigned faith" because I was like, what does that mean? Yeah, yeah. I was like, what does that mean? And it means pure without hypocrisy. So they had this pure faith in God. And they taught it, probably by example. And so I guess I thought I'd bring that up as a question, how do we teach pure faith as women, as mothers as influencers of the rising generation? Because whether you're a mother or not, even though we have Mother's Day coming up, women can all mother in certain ways?

Wendi Christensen  5:38  

Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's interesting, actually, I was working with a client yesterday. And she was just carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. And that responsibility of teaching her kids, them becoming adults, and she was still taking the responsibility. And, and I, and we had it, we had to have a conversation about you have taught them. And with that unfeigned faith, I think it's that, that desire that hope that I'm teaching what I can, but also, I think, showing Christ's love and grace to ourselves to realize that as they grow up, they then get to take that and do with it what they may, right, like, does that confidence, we don't have to be perfect? Because man, I am not perfect. I can tell you that much. And this mom and I were talking about that yesterday, how we're not perfect. And we questioned, did I do the right thing? Did I teach them the things they need to do? Is, is it my responsibility once they get get off, you know, on their own? No, if you've taught them when they were young, and I think these beautiful women that unfeigned faith as they, they were able to have that love and that they showed Timothy their love of Jesus Christ by trying to do the best they could, I'm sure living through their trials and their challenges and their struggles the best they could and teaching him as much as they could. And then there's almost this faith, you have to have of I've taught them well. Now we'll see what they do. Let's just see what they do with it. And I think you have to have that certain faith at that point in yourself that you have done what you can and faith in Jesus Christ that he held, let them I guess, move on and see what they will do with it in the challenging times. And I'm sure we'll talk about where he talks about perilous times. doesn't have that faith like that mom had to yesterday, she just had to have faith that as her child is moving on in their adult years, just to have faith that the things that she's taught her, it was her daughter, the things she's taught her daughter, she will continue practicing in her adult life, and just turn it over to Jesus, right? Just turn it over to Him.

Tamara Anderson  7:59  

And I think that is one of the biggest concerns as mothers or as women, that the people that we have been able to have influence over, especially our children. Or, for example, I'm teaching some kids at church right now, you know, and I pray for them that, that I can help them feel the love of God and know that they have worth and learn from these lessons that we're teaching in the scriptures, you know, that, that they can glean what they need to glean from it. But then like you said, I know as my children have become adults, it's that, well, I'm gonna give this responsibility back to God that He is He was their parent before I ever was. And He's going to keep an eye on I'm kind of like that story of the Prodigal Son of the Father, letting his son go out into the world and trusting that, at some point, you know, he will come to himself or she will come to herself wherever our children are in this world, and return home, you know, so and that takes Oh, talk about pure faith unfeigned faith. It takes faith to send kids out in today's world, knowing all those perilous times. This is these are the last days and there's a lot of craziness going on around them out there. But I do hope we mirror that hope in Jesus Christ that when we make mistakes, we can be forgiven. Because I think that's one of the key things we can teach any child is that when you make a mistake, that is not the end. God still loves you. And we can we can teach and testify of that. You know, that amazing principle. 

Wendi Christensen  9:53  

I think you bring up a good point because I think sometimes we look at why why would they teach the Scripture Just to my children. Right. But they were diligent and Louis and Lois, I should say. And Eunice were diligent in teaching the scriptures to Timothy. And Paul talks about he beautifully describes to Timothy are about Timothy. Let's see, he says, If I can find I had it right here. And now I call to remember, Oh, he's talking about these beautiful gifts and qualities that Timothy has. "Continue thou in the things which thou has learned and has been assured of knowing of him, of whom thou has learned them, and that for my child, thou has known thy holy scriptures, which are able to make the wise until salvation through faith, which is in Jesus Christ." That's in Second Timothy. Right. And, and it talks about these beautiful characteristics of Timothy, I think what it did for him. And what it also did for these beautiful women was it gave them an understanding of their worth and value the scriptures, right. I think the scriptures can really help us to understand who we are, as as daughters and sons of God. And it helped Timothy to know who he was. And that's why Paul was so fond of him. Paul had, you could tell reading in here, he had an endearing love for Timothy. He really loved him and really cared about Timothy. And I think it's because of these beautiful characteristics and qualities that Timothy learned from these women from his grandmother and his mother, who taught him scriptures. And those scriptures gave Timothy, kindness and, and a love for others and an understanding of who he was. And that's what was so endearing. I think to Paul, the scriptures can really strengthen who you are.

Tamara Anderson  11:57  

Yeah. And I think I'd also like to bring this up, because having now gone through all childhood with, with my kids and their now all legally adults. studying the Scriptures with them has looked very different from the time they were little. Yes, you know, by the time they left home, it it looks different. So I thought maybe we would talk about different ideas on how can teach the scriptures or read the Scriptures with our children at different age stages and ages.

Wendi Christensen  12:33  

Yeah. Isn't it true that when they're little, you can barely get them in for a verse, right? Sometimes as a teenager, too. Yeah, you can barely get them in for a verse. And I think that that's just being understanding of the situation you're in and where your family is in at the moment. And sometimes when you're I know, when we were my kids were little, I had a little, like a little cartoon scripture book, you know, that would help them to have little pictures and just share the stories and help them to learn the stories from the Scriptures. And that was always really helpful. And then as they progressed and got older, we could delve a little bit deeper into the Scriptures. And we as a family liked to just sit around in a circle and take turns reading, so they become familiar with reading them, and then discussing them. But I found that you can't go too long when they're young. 

Tamara Anderson  13:27  

No, you can't. And I found the same thing. And like right before, it was part of our bedtime routine. When our children were little, too, we would just sit down and again with I had children on the autism spectrum. So they're on ADHD. So their attention span was very, very short. So we would just sit and you know, point to the words. And if they couldn't read yet, we would just have them echo us in the children picture book. Okay, so we would just read like a, we would each take one picture, because there was several little pictures per page. And we would read that, and then we would always ask them, What did you like, or learn from this story? You know, and so, what's interesting is that same question has continues to this day, we asked that same question. And when they were little, it was simple things. And so they began from the time they were little to be able to Okay, well, how can I apply this to me? You know, can I be kind like this person in the story? Yes. You know, and of course, when they're little, it's simple things. And then as they grow, we started to do a couple of verses each and we still don't do it. I think we do usually about two verses each. And so it's not very much but I'm amazed how much you get through day after day, and week after week. You know, if we continue with that pattern, and I know as my kids became teenagers, especially in high school, when they're so busy with so many things, it became more difficult to do it at night, I know some families do it in the morning. So pray and ask God, when's the best time for you? But I remember once, you know, just feeling after one of my teenage sons, and just saying, how do I, when he's missing so much of this family prayer and scriptures at night? How do I incorporate this in and, and a thought popped into my head that I could when he got home, I could say, hey, it's thanks so much for being here. And I'm glad you're home safe. And I'm going to read just one quick verses scripture with you and say a quick prayer with you and send you off to bed you know, even though he missed that family prayers, scriptures, that was the right answer for him. So I guess my point is, God will give you the right answer for you and your child. At that point, you know, that if we're concerned about our children, God can inspire us with ideas and answers on how to navigate those busy years when everybody is running, in and out and all around. I don't know, any thoughts there.

Wendi Christensen  16:08  

I agree with you, I love that you would do that with your son that you would, you know, when he got home, do a scripture and prayer with him. I may incorporate that too, because my house is full of teenagers right now. And it is it's a challenge. It's a struggle. I mean, sometimes I'm doing a scripture on the way to school in the car, right and a prayer, okay, let's see a scripture and our prayers a thought on the way. And, and my goal with that is not just to make it a checklist. My goal is I feel like I'm sending them into this, this den of thieves, you know, this horrible place sometimes where I want them armed with the armor of God, and I feel like the scriptures can provide that for them. And sometimes I'm bad at it, you know, sometimes I don't do well, and, and we get off and I get off schedule. And, and we're not reading scriptures and, and what I noticed is that I don't feel as prepared or as protected. But I also don't beat myself up because I realized that beating myself up isn't going to do anything. So I hope you the moms and just women listening don't beat yourself up. Always start a new and that's what I love about the gospel of Jesus Christ is he's always start a new like, Okay, I'm gonna start today. And I get to keep trying, and I get to keep doing my best. And sometimes that's reading scripture on my way. And we're doing a prayer on my way to school. But the goal is, I want them armed when they walk into that school, right? I want them to feel better prepared to handle the challenges that will come to them through that day. I mean, my son came home from his practice last night, he had a sports practice. And in the locker room, he said, Mom, they were saying the F word every other word. And I was like, Ah, I was so mad. And I was so angry. But I also went, Okay, I prayed for him this morning to be protected by angels. And and we we put on the armor of God for him this morning that even though he heard and had bad things around him, while things that I don't appreciate, at least as a mom, that he was still okay. And we were able to have a conversation about why is it important to protect yourself? And why is it important to remember I said, just I know, it's hard to not have those words swirl in your head now but what can you do to help you to feel strong and have armor as you go into perilous times or perilous situations, right? To arm him. And I think that that's have patience, I guess and understanding with ourselves. But also I'm going to try to do what I can to arm my children each day with the Scripture so that and I love that you apply them to you had them apply the scriptures to themselves. Right. And I think that there's so many beautiful lessons we can learn to apply the Scriptures to us. That's why we have them is the application and to understand and to learn from the people that have gone before us and how to live closer to our Heavenly Father in Christ.

Tamara Anderson  19:08  

Yeah, absolutely. I excuse me. I love what you said there that, you know, we we do this to help arm them. And boy, these are the last days they're going to encounter situations every day, whether they're out in school or now in the workplace as they become closer to being adults. And and I love what you read in Second Timothy three, verse 14, about Paul talking, you know, writing his counsel to Timothy, he says, "But continue thou in the things which thou has learned." And it's always that it's that invitation to continue every day we have that invitation whether we have followed up to that point or not. Are we've had, you know, periods where we're believing or not. But we always have that invitation to continue up where you are, and continue. And we can do that as, as parents, we can do that as children. So you had a rough year last year, and your faith wasn't as strong as it needed to be. That's okay. Yeah, start today. Continue today. Choose today to remember the things you've learned. And and believe it. Now I have another question I thought we could tackle. And, and that is, how do we teach unfeigned faith? Because I know sometimes I was just pondering that this morning of how do we teach faith? And and so I think that often happens more in our thoughts. And as we notice how God has blessed our day. And so I was just thinking about that today. Do I often talk about the miracles I see happening with my children. Because that, especially with adult children, that can probably come up more frequently, since you know, some of my kids are out of the home, that I can share, like, oh, I had this sweet miracle happened today. And it can be little things, right? Of how we can keep continue to teach faith. As our children get older, that, you know, hey, I've been struggling with a couple of things lately, and I've been struggling to get this company up and going Women Warriors of Light. And here's some of the miracles I've seen. And I thought I haven't done that as much as I should have. I haven't told my children about some of the little miracles. I've seen happen, and I need to be better at that. Do you know what I mean? Any thoughts?

Wendi Christensen  22:07  

No, I think that's beautiful. What a great question. Because as you were, as you were just talking, I thought, you know, sometimes we don't share, like you were saying this struggles with our kids, and and how we might turn to the Lord. You know, what we might do yesterday, my daughter and I were in the car together and, and it was quiet. And we had already talked about the day we had gone somewhere we'd already talked about today and had a good discussion. And usually she loves to turn on music, but she wasn't she hadn't turned on or you know, her Taylor Swift. And so I was like, wow, we have an opportunity for it to be quiet. And I said, I said, Okay, it's quiet, we can either talk or listen to music. Or the other thing I do is I pray in the car. So I either got to listen to music, or pray or talk. But, but it was an opportunity for me to, to and I do when I'm alone in the car. So many times I love to that's my favorite place to pray is in the car when I'm going but sharing with her. And that's what I shared with her. And I don't know if I share enough like, you know what, I pray in the car all the time. When I'm not listening to music, sometimes I listen to music, but a lot of times I pray in the car and just taking those little moments to show them our faith, to show them some of the things that we do how we rely on on the Lord through the day or through those challenges that we might be having, or sharing those beautiful miracles or even gratitude. I really like to share gratitude. One of my favorite things. Every time a client leaves, I always make him say three things they're grateful for because they think it always turns us back to where we are. Our brains are so programmed to look for the negative, that it gives us an opportunity to look for the positive. And so sometimes I don't always remember this. But when when we're having we do have a good habit of family prayer at night, we'll always gather together for prayer. I'm not I'm not always the best at scriptures, but at least we're good with prayer. But I always like to talk about what's what's one good thing you saw today. What's what's something that you saw today in your day, and then we all get to reflect on that and then include it in our prayer to include the things that each one of us got to see as far as like the hand of God or the hand of the Lord in our day that day. And I think that's part of that unfeigned that faith that if they can see their mom is relying upon Heavenly Father throughout the day or seeing his hand in her life throughout the day even if it's simple. That may be they'll go oh, how have I seen the Lord in my day today? What are the ways he showed up in my in my life today as well? That's my hope. Right? And I think the scriptures just expand upon that because then it's it's me being able to share that but it's all Also, like the the Eunice's, in the Loises is that you don't get to hear about in the Scriptures a lot or like you've been talking about with Ruth or Hannah, you know, they get to see those stories. And, and be able to expand on that. And remember those and their paralysed times, as well as maybe mom's or dad's perilous times that they had and how they got through. Now they got through it with the Lord.

Tamara Anderson  25:24  

Yeah, and those are the stories that, that stay with the story. Stay with us, right? I know, my husband's a lot better than I am about telling stories from his youth, I tend to forget things. It's a good thing. I write journals. Not even consistently, but I do. You know, and and so I'm, I'm thankful when we can share stories from our past from our teenage years. Because they tend to listen to those, you know, they may hear our stories, and, and I love that the scriptures kind of give us little glimpses into these people of of that faith. Yeah.

Wendi Christensen  26:06  

And then you can hear the stories of your kids and their faith they get to share with you, I think is you get to share with them. And that's the beauty I think of the scriptures is it opens up that dialogue to be able to apply to how is this working in my life right now? It gives them an opportunity to share and to think about it.

Tamara Anderson  26:24  

Yeah, I like that. Well, it sounds like we we have room for improvement. Always always like it is every day. But I think I think, Well, for me, I guess one of the biggest takeaways from Lois and Eunice is they tried, they did their best. And then that invitation from all continue, continue down the things you've learned, for each of us to begin today where we are and continue forward, in in the faith. What's a good takeaway for you today from what we've been chatting about?

Wendi Christensen  27:07  

I think what you just said with that, and then the end the faith does to have faith that as a mom, when I feel like I may be failing or as a woman doesn't even have to be a mom. And I feel like I may be failing that it's kind of like Timothy's or Paul sorry. It's just saying, just keep pushing forward. Just keep moving on just one step at a time. And continue in that faith, and you'll get there. And that's that reassurance that I think he's giving them, like, Timothy, just keep moving on in the faith that you learned from your mom and your grandmother. And relying upon that. I think we can all do that. You know, look at the things we've learned whether it's from our own family or from maybe, you know, if it's not our own family of origin, those mentors in our lives to just keep moving forward and doing the best that we can in the faith that we have. And building upon that faith like you said,

Tamara Anderson  28:02  

Wow. Well, thank you guys for joining us this morning on this week's episode of Bible Women and Wathrobes. We were so blessed to be able to talk about these two women who really were only mentioned once in the scriptures. But just look at the legacy of faith that they left for Timothy and then Timothy influenced hundreds and hundreds of people by his example and faith as he worked with Paul and those early Christian years. So you never know what this that when the seeds we plant as in children will be harvested. We've got to leave that part to God that He will harvest and and send out more seeds through generations as as our children continue forward in life and, and trusting that if they're on a difficult path right now that God has his eye on him, right?

Wendi Christensen  29:00  

Yep, absolutely. That was beautifully stated. 

Tamara Anderson  29:05  

Awesome. Next week. Join us on next Thursday Bible Woman and Bathrobes we will begin the story of Hannah. So stay tuned for that and may your day be blessed with God's love. 

Tamara Anderson  29:19  

Thanks for tuning in to Bible Women and Bathrobes hosted by Women Warriors of Light. We've loved exploring the stories of remarkable women are the teachings of the Savior today with you. If today's episode brought someone special to mind, be sure to spread the word. And don't forget to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a moment of inspiration and sisterhood. Just a friendly reminder, all opinions we share are entirely personal as we are trying to decipher and apply Bible teachings just like you are. Until next time, stay faithful. And may Your journey be blessed and illuminate by God's love.

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