doing mystart journal with your kids at home

My name is Bec. I'm an Aussie mum (that's how we write mom!) and I have 3 kids.
Caleb is 13 and in Grade 8, Silas is 8 and in Grade 3 and Ella is 6 years old and has just started First Grade. 

We have been doing the MYSTART Journal each week now for 6 weeks. I have to tell you that at first they were a little skeptical. I'm a bit creative, and I get bored easily. So, I've tried lots of different things over the years to get us all doing something spiritual together, besides praying at bedtime and attending church. Some of them worked and were just for a season, others flopped! 

In Australia, our summer is coming to an end and our kids are all starting back at school. The weeks go from relaxing to busy in a blink of an eye. Wednesday night came and went, and we hadn't done our journal together. The kids said to me, "Hey mum, now school's back when are we going to do MYSTART?". Trying to put away any guilty feelings I had because I hadn't remembered, I was also so glad that they had prompted me.

For Caleb, the journal is easy. He reads and responds. And now, he finds the listening easier. At first this was hard. Teaching his creative, imaginative mind to be still and to listen for God's voice has been a journey we have walked through many conversations recently.

Silas, is my sporty active guy. He likes to be busy, so sitting still long enough to write at times is a challenge. I've found, that when we do the journal has a lot to do with how much he gets out of it. His insights are amazing and if there's something funny to point out, it'll come from him.

Ella's reading and writing are developing and so, I sit alongside her and help her through the text and help interpret what she wants to say in a simple way. She finds listening easy, and will let me know what the Holy Spirit has brought to her mind, and then we'll write it.

I tell you their story, to make this one thought.
ALL KIDS ARE DIFFERENT!
The way they approach the Journal will differ.
Where you do your journal weekly, how you do it, who stores it... all those things will vary from household to household. I think this is fantastic. No two families are the same.

Have fun with it.
Experiment at what works for you.

Sometimes our discussions are serious, and sometimes we are all laughing around the table. One of those times happened the other week. We were doing the Lectio on Identity. The kids underlined what God was speaking to them and then copied it into the first part of the journal. Silas underlined, "believe in Christ". We talked about that at the end, and what that meant for him. He gave a great analogy of Jesus as a fireman, who we have to trust to save us. I was really impressed with his thinking and how he was taking it in. Then, we rested. 2 minutes went by and he wrote, "God is my Shepherd". I asked him why he wrote that and his answer was, "Well, we had Shepherd's pie for dinner and it was the first thing that came to mind!". Needless to say we all had a laugh and I said to him that God often speaks to His dad through good food to! Ha. We didn't make a big point of it, but the next time we did our Lectio, I said to him, "Hey Silas, tonight, no matter what we have for dinner, let's listen carefully to what God wants to say, ok?. He smiled at me, and said, "Sure mum". And sure enough, the next week his rest was beautiful.

Have fun!
Enjoy your kids and lead them well. With grace and wisdom.
Praying for you!

​Love Bec