My kids used to play this computer game that had them building an army base.  It was a strategy game because you had to make sure your base had access to water for transportation, enough land for an air transport area and other necessities that made you think a few steps in advance to outsmart your opponent.  I can still hear the computerized voice once you had selected your area to build.  It would chime in, "Laying the foundation."  My kids haven't played that game in at least a year but the phrase, "laying the foundation" still sticks in my mind.

It got me thinking about our family foundations.  During devotions recently I explained it to my kids this way:  I see two basic foundations - truth and the sanctity of human life.  These two establish me as a person and us as Christians.  Firstly, truth is the Bible and it is the bottom line that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins.  Until we understand Jesus' substitutionary death, we can't comprehend anything else.  Once we get this fact we can build from here.  Secondly is how we view human life.  God created us all in his image.  That includes the unborn child, the elderly and the handicapped.  We learned about Islam last month and I explained to my children that it is acceptable (in their eyes) for Muslims to become suicide bombers because #1 - they don't have the truth in their hearts and #2 - they don't view human life as we do.  So why would we expect any different result?

Do your kids know the foundational truths?  Can they verbalize them?  We recently read a book about a homeschool family where the father actually put the breaks on homeschooling just before the daughter's eleventh birthday.  He felt she wasn't grounded enough and that there were several truths he wanted established in her life before she turned eleven. They worked together and then returned to schooling when she was ready to have her now solid foundation built upon.

Noelle and Tyler were baptized at our church last year.  Mercy wanted to be baptized too but when she got into the pastor's office and he asked her some tough questions about repentance, she couldn't verbalize her thoughts. He told her he thought she needed to wait a little longer until she could clearly explain her desire to baptized and what the Bible says.  I so appreciated this approach and now at almost seven she can explain it.  That's a truth that will stick with her for the rest of her life.  How are you "laying the foundation"?