One Super-practical Great Idea I Learned From Edith Schaeffer

I read on Saturday that Edith Schaeffer had died.  I was sad, but so happy to read in the Huffington Post of the beauty of her last days through they eyes of her son Francis.   

I "met" Edith Shaeffer in the same way I met many of my mentors.  Through her books.  

In September 1996, Bill and I caught a plane for the West Coast for a "Church Planting Assessment."  Right before we left, I popped into our church's library and picked up this book. 

Before you dismiss the book based upon what seems like a very old-fashioned title, let me tell you that this book is not about cooking, cleaning, chore charts, laundry, and household organization.  

Rather, it's about instilling the everyday with beauty and fellowship through music, and art, and food, and gardening.  The premise is simply that our God is creative.  And he created us in his image.  Since we are created in his image, we will also experience joy when we create.  And here's where the one super-practical great idea I learned from Edith Schaeffer comes in.   

As we flew from the East Coast to the West, I not only caught a vision for worshipping with children, but I learned how to engage my children during the sermon rather than teach them how to simply be still and stay quiet.  

While her husband, Francis, preached, Edith sat with her children and illustrated the sermon.  Here's a picture from Hidden Art of Homemaking from her granddaughter, Elizabee's, notebook.

While I'm not nearly as artistic as Edith Schaeffer, I began to do this with my kids.  I developed symbols like ... 

• a simple crown for "Lord" and 
• a black heart to show "sin," and
• a white heart to show when a person has accepted Jesus.

But, maybe it would be easier to show you a real-life picture of a sermon I helped Katya with in September. 

The sermon was from Matthew 5:9, "Blessed are the Peacemakers."  The point of the sermon was simply that we cannot be peacemakers unless we are at peace with God.  

With Katya, I often write questions for her to answer.  Then I draw an illustration on my paper.  She draws an illustration in a way that makes sense to her.  Like I said, I'm not nearly as artistic as Edith Shaeffer's.  But, it works.  

Actually I think it does more than works.  I think this is a super-practical great idea that is valuable for at least seven reasons.  

• It keeps your kids engaged.  They love to see what you will draw.
• It keeps you engaged.  If you have a child waiting to see how you are going to illustrate the sermon, you have to pay attention.
• It provides a way for you and your children to review what they have heard.
• It helps you learn how to get the main point out of  a sermon.
• Your pastor will love it.   Bill loves to see how the kids and I illustrate his sermons.  I'm guessing your pastor would too.  
• It provides a meaningful keepsake for your kids.  Really more than a keepsake, it helps you to mark spiritual milestones and maturing faith.  
• If you have several kids, as the "olders" grow up, they can do this with they "youngers."  This helps you out and they stay engaged as well.   

Super-practical great idea, right?  

There was much more to Edith Schaeffer than her sermon-note-drawing ability.  She authored 18 books, was a literary dynamo, didn't worry what people thought of her, and was a steadfast lover of the arts.   She's one of my heroes and I'm still learning from her.  

Illustrating sermons for my children was one of Edith Schaeffer's super-practical great ideas I put into practice.  Do you think it would work for you?  If you've read The Hidden Art of Homemaking, I'd love to hear how it impacted you.  Or, if this post stirred any other questions or thoughts, please leave a message or email me at cynthiafin@gmail.com.  And you know I'd love to connect on Facebook or Twitter.