faith and family - february 2016
Vicki Rutledge
Capturing your Childs heart
The other night as I was putting my daughter to bed, she asked me to sing “Be Thou My Vision” with her one more time. I knew it was a stall tactic, but hearing her sing all 4 of those beautiful, old stanzas with such gusto and heart I couldn’t help but smile. You see, I thought of my Bible Mama, Bobbie Wolgemuth, and how she loved singing hymns. Ms. Bobbie was filled with such joy, faith and love that bubbled out of her heart every time you saw her. Before she passed away in October 2014, she invested in so many young moms through her bible studies, and I was grateful to learn under her. She passed along so many practical tips and parenting advice, and she often spoke about capturing your child’s heart for Jesus. One way she encouraged me to do this was to teach hymns at an early age to my daughter. She suggested that the first hymn to teach was “Holy, Holy, Holy”. Considered by some to be “the world’s greatest hymn,” there really isn’t a word perfect enough to describe God, so the author of this hymn used the words angels sing when they worship God in heaven. (Is 6:3 “And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; The whole earth is full of his glory!”) Because of the repetition, it is an easy hymn for children to learn. And, she was right! I taught it to Charlotte when she was just 2 years old, and she learned the entire hymn in a few days. I can’t even describe the joy I feel when I catch her singing that to herself in her room! From there we learned Trust and Obey (a great one to sing when your child is having a difficult day obeying!), “Amazing Grace”, “It is Well with my soul” and now we are onto “Be Thou my Vision.”
The beauty of hymns is that they allow us to sing our faith. We are able to teach deep truths of the Bible to our children through song. Hymns plumb the depths of God’s character, instruct believers in doctrine, provide hope in darkness and they give reason to celebrate! Ms. Bobbie believed in this so much that she co-wrote 2 books with Joni Eareckson Tada about teaching children Hymns. “Hymns for Kid’s Heart Vol 1 & 2.”
Chandy Kelley, Faith and Family Coordinator