“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
Legacy and Language
One of my personal traditions, one that means so much to me, is to read to each of my sons the entire book of the Bible they’re named after. I begin as soon as I can speak after delivery. Yes, right there in the hush of newborn nights, when their eyes can’t yet focus and their hands are still figuring out how to grasp, when I am exhausted and my eyes and blood shot red, when the pain from stitches bite me and I can barely sit without wincing, I open the Bible, the Word of God and begin to read.
To the world, it may seem like I’m just whispering old scriptures over a baby.
But in the spirit, something far greater is happening, something ‘hooge’ (huge) is happening.
It may sound simple, but let me tell you what I believe is happening when I read scripture over my sons:
I am baptizing their minds in truth.
I am declaring their identity in Christ.
I am proclaiming in both the physical and the spiritual that this child is anointed, set apart, and off limits to the enemy.
These aren’t just poetic words.
They are warfare.
They are promises.
They are a seal.
This is legacy.
It’s my way of baptizing them in the Word of God, Words of life.
Of marking them, Spirit, soul and body.
It’s how I proclaim, both in the physical and the spirit, that this child belongs to God. That this one is named and claimed. That this one carries the mark of the Lord. The mark of “Touch not My anointed, and do My prophets no harm.” (Psalm 105:15)
Every word I read is like oil poured on their heads.
Every chapter, a stone in the foundation of their destiny.
Every verse, a banner in the heavens saying: This one is the Lord’s.
I’m feeding them the food we ought ultimately to live on; the Word of God. Jesus Christ said in Matthew 4:4: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” Just as their bodies require daily food to survive, their spirits and souls require daily sustenance from God’s Word to thrive and grow. It is this spiritual nourishment that shapes their character, strengthens their faith, and sustains them through life’s challenges.
I believe that children can hear and sense more than we give them credit for. And even if their ears are still learning to recognize sounds, the spirit in them is alive and listening.
This practice also helps me remember as their mother, that they are not ultimately mine. They’re God’s. I’m just the steward, a nurturer who lifts them daily before our Father.
If we want to raise children who love the Word, we have to wrap them in IT from the very beginning. Before they can even say “Amen,” we must plant the seeds. Before they can read it for themselves, we must read it into them. We must weave it into the fabrics of their spirits, souls and bodies.
Dear Parents, you may feel like it’s just a little reading time. But in the Kingdom of God, it’s a declaration. It’s how we say: Back off! this child is off limits.”
My Husband’s Father Did It Too…
My husband once told me something his dad did when he and his twin were born. He said his father spoke words like this over them:
“This one will be pastor. This one will be evangelist.”
Did they become those things eventually? Yes. They are even more.
Words are powerful. Especially the ones soaked in God’s presence.
Long after you are gone, your words will linger over them, heartfelt words spoken in faith, words God Himself takes seriously. He will see to it that those faith-filled declarations spoken by a mother and father are honored and fulfilled in their lives.
Why the Word?
We live in a noisy, distracted world. Screens are shouting. Opinions are everywhere. The world is constantly trying to name our children, with its pressures, labels, and lies, we have to name them first.
We must choose early on to start marking our children with the one thing that never changes; God’s Word.
Let them hear the truth of who they are before the world ever gets a chance to confuse them. Let your voice be the first echo they associate with identity, purpose, and destiny.
Paul mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:5 that he (Timothy) had unfeigned faith that first lived in his grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice. Then in 2 Timothy 3:14-15, he said: “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.And then there’s Timothy.
Let’s pause on this a bit….
From infancy. These women had been pouring the Word of God into him before he even knew his ABCs. It might not seem like much, reading Leviticus (one of my favorite Old Testament books, probably because I’m a lawyer) or the Gospel of John to a baby who can’t even sit up yet.
But to me, it’s more than just words. It’s marking them with the truth of God’s Word from their very first breath. I believe the Word doesn’t return void. I believe seeds of faith are being planted, and one day, I’ll see the harvest.
Reading the Bible to my children isn’t about ticking a religious box. I am passing on a language, the language of faith, of truth, of worship. Just like children learn to speak the language they hear spoken around them, they will learn to live the Word when they hear it in their home.
The story of Timothy tells me children can be taught to love the Word from infancy. Not when they “understand it.” Not when they’re “ready.” From now. From birth.
Infancy is medically defined as birth to 12 months, before the toddler stage. Yet, even at this tender age, Timothy’s mother and grandmother were immersing him in God’s Word. Imagine teaching the Bible to a baby who can barely hold up his head or sit up!
Though small in body, the spirit within them is no child. It is the Spirit of God. That’s why life and power can flow from even the youngest among us. Our children’s spirits are alive and ready to receive God’s truth from the very start.
Start Where You Are, Start Today
If you’re a parent, whether you’ve done this before or not, start where you are. Read to them. Speak scriptures over them. Let them see you read the Bible (hard copy preferably). Let the Bible be a familiar book in your home.
Our children are soaking it in. Even when it doesn’t look like it, even when we feel too tired or distracted, just keep planting. Remember a child doesn’t start talking out of the blues, over the first few months to a year or two, they had been exposed to sounds, absorbing many words and so when suddenly they start muttering those words, we aren’t exactly surprised, because they had been hearing all along!
Dear parents, You just speak, God will do the watering
Don’t wait. Don’t overthink it. You don’t have to be a Bible scholar.
Just open the Word and read.
Saturate your home with the Word, whether it’s your Bible, a children’s devotional, or even a printed scripture stuck on the fridge.
You may not see immediate results, but I guarantee you, those seeds grow.
More than reading you are marking them, imprinting the word of God on their spirits, souls and bodies.
You are building a legacy.
You are speaking the language of heaven so fluently in your home that your children will grow up thinking it’s normal to hear God’s voice.
Read to them.
Declare the Word over them.
Whisper truth in their ears while they sleep.
Be that parent who quietly goes into their bedroom while they sleep to anoint their feet, their hands, and their head.
Do it especially on the mornings they’re set to go to school.
Mark them with your words.
Set an edge around them, a wall of fire.
What a joy it is to partner with God in shaping them into who He’s called them to be.
Your Children are Hephzibah
They are taught of the Lord
And Great is their peace!
