Anna and I got together to create a series of summer podcasts just for you. Summer is the perfect time to change things up a bit. First up? Timelines! Crazy, but we think timelines are perfect for helping your child recognize and love the identity God gave them.
Self-rejection floods our culture it seems.
How will your children process their identity in a world that tells them their identity is fluid? Or bad? Some of the self-rejecting ideas floating around in our culture today can be downright unhealthy, prompting serious mental health issues.
Fortunately, in this episode, Anna and I talk about one of our favorite simple tools for helping your children nail down their core identity with confidence: timelines.
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Afraid of History
There are a lot of people who are afraid of history. They simply can’t remember when things happened. I totally get it.
My own education was sorely lacking. As an adult, I went back and taught myself history. Of course, now we cheer for life long learners of any age. If you miss history lessons the first time, it’s not to late to circle back and self-educate.
Plus, history can help your kids develop more empathy, the ability to understand the pain we all feel sometimes. Since timelines help us get a better grasp of history, we claim they equip us to share ourselves authentically, too! Keep reading to find out how….
Grand Times
“I can’t believe you think I would miss that. It’s not normal!” laughed Anna, when I asked her if she noticed the timelines I put up in the Grand Room.
The Grand Room is what we call the smallest room in the house where the grandchildren sleepover. Of course, with so many grands, the laughter and sleeping bags often spill over into all the the rooms.
“Let me take that back. Timelines are not normal in other homes. So anyone who walks into your home for the first time is going to notice,” adds Anna.
Back in the 80s, fashionable women decorated the bedrooms with wallpaper borders. Instead, I was tacking up timelines along my kids’ bedrooms. Fashionable? No. Effective? You bet.
Anna tells me personal timelines are a thing now among educators. Glory! I’m finally trending!
Personal Timelines
So I had to ask, what’s a personal timeline?
“You put all the years you’ve been alive and big events. Kind of dot dot dot. Somewhere out there in all our future, you know, is death. Then, you fill in all the things along the way. You visualize what could happen next,” explains Anna.
In particular, I love the idea of putting heaven beyond death and talking about Jesus’ cross in the history of earth.
For kids who are visual learners, timelines can transform history.
Especially if your kid’s brain, like mine, goes fuzzy about dates, calendars, addresses, Bible verse locations, anything number-driven.
You can even help your kids cut out pictures to paste onto their timelines. We love to print out family pictures to make projects like this one really personal for kids.
A Fabulous Future Rooted in the Past
“You started me with that so young. You drew us a timeline and said, ‘Okay, now in your brain, visualize this. I’m going to give you important things to add to it.’ And they weren’t necessarily the traditional—what we would consider canonical—the big ones,” laughs Anna.
No, I gave my children the historical events and people I think are important.
“So, the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. is on mine,” says Anna. “I can say the date even though numbers are so hard for me—it’s on my mental timeline. Now I do my posters in my classroom in order, grouped by time.”
Whether at home or school, Anna has some top-rate ideas for teaching your kids to love their own history and sink their roots deep.
Family Timelines
“If you’re talking very small children, you can get out family photos and put them in order of when they happened. And tell the stories. ‘Hey, this is the photo of your Dad and I. We were falling in love,’” explains Anna.
Actually, I know for sure big kids love gluing their own pictures after, say, George Washington or Amelia Earhart. Especially if their other option is writing a book report for homework.
Your small children may not understand “falling in love.” Maybe they think you’ve always loved Daddy. Then, you get to tell them what it’s like to fall in love. Next, show them pictures of their birth with positive messages.
“And look, here’s a picture of you at the hospital when you were born. Look how your Daddy looked at you,” for example, says Anna.
Telling those family stories in a chronological order like a timeline with small children will help them in two ways as they get older, according to Anna.
First, their brains will learn to function comfortably in linear ways. As an educator, Anna always enthuses about sequencing as a way to prompt your kids’ reading readiness.
Second, their hearts can engage with their friends’ history more easily.
Timelines and Your Child’s Empathy
Timelines give us another chance to coach our children in empathy.
Camp Krafve Definition of Empathy: Able to imagine other people’s circumstances and feelings with heartfelt understanding and compassion.
We can see why a timeline helps us have empathy. When we don’t have a grasp if history at all — we don’t even know our own history, much less anyone else’s — we can hardly understand that their perspectives may be entirely different from ours, yet still completely valid and valuable.
When we chart the history of humanity on a global timeline, we can see the ebb and fall of human experience, including abandonment and rejection and pain. And also victory. We get a glimpse of the values that cause some civilizations to rise and be strong.
I like what Paul says in Romans 12:14-16.
“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.”
Timelines, Stories, Empathy
“My salvation story is so incredibly dear. I don’t remember a time when I didn’t know Jesus or that He wanted me,” says Anna. “It’s such an amazing thing to have grandparents and parents who pray over you to such an extent. And teach you what is true from the beginning. But that’s not everyone’s story.”
Yeah, that was not my story. Yet, my story is valid and valuable, too.
This last year I posted a testimony by James McAndrew. His testimony really resonated with me because he grew up in a home with very, very smart people who were not necessarily respectful of Christianity at first. You can find his testimony here and it’s worth reading!
Even though my parents eventually came to know Jesus as Savior, they, too, were disdainful about faith when we were younger.
But I began reading all the time. My mom loved to read and she always instilled in us a desire to follow after truth. And seek knowledge. In the end, it was my study of history and world religions that led me to choose Jesus Christ as my Savior. I’ve shared more of my story here.
Whatever significant events matter to you, put them on a timeline and start using them to share your own story authentically with others. This will bolster your confidence and love for your heritage. Do it with your children or grandchildren for the win-win-win.
Building a Mental Frame Work
Anna likes the idea of pulling significant events and people from any heritage associated with your family, for a personal look at the bigger world. Understanding our heritage helps us appreciate the ways God has designed us.
“So as you’re helping your kid build a mental timeline, if you choose to do this as a family, pick things that are personal for your family history,” says Anna. “From the ancient past. But associated with where you are.” We like to include Dave’s brave grandmother who emigrated from Sweden as a teenager. Imagine! Such a strong young lady!
One fringe benefit, personal timelines can help your kids stay grounded in their own identity as they hit college.
“I have never been lost in history, When professors said dates, I had a place. I could squish ‘em between the ones already on my brain’s personal timeline,” laughs Anna.
Four Reasons to LOVE Timelines
In case you still don’t get my enthusiasm, ahem, okay passion, for timelines, here are four big reasons why they are so darn wonderful:
#1 Timelines clarify. Even adults complain they don’t like history.
Obviously, numbers can be confusing for many of us. But try drawing big events or people on a timeline. Suddenly, historical events, people, even fashion, crystalize in relation to each other, like someone turned on the windshield wipers and suddenly you can see. History helps us know how we got where we are. It roots our identity.
#2 Timelines make great hangers. Once you get a few big reference points in your head, new information has a place in your imagination, too.
It’s like hanging your favorite new black dress in your closet and storing the accessories nearby. Suddenly, history organizes itself. (Okay, if your closet stays messy, sorry for the analogy. I suggest see-through plastic shoe boxes for accessories.)
Being rooted in our own heritage helps us respect and savor other people’s backgrounds.
#3 Timelines Interweave Cultures. Interweaving different cultures visually is a snap with timelines, especially if your child loves architecture, inventions, art, fashion, food, you name it. And who doesn’t love fashion and food!
Here’s some great examples. The way America’s early architecture, especially in Philadelphia, reflects Dutch architecture of the same period. And the paintings of the Dutch masters give us a clue about the Puritans’ fashion. Speaking of fashion, there’s the way independent Benjamin Franklin refused to submit to the international French fashion phenom of wearing powdered wigs. Phew! Even though men’s ponytails are back with us, thank goodness the powdered wig trend tanked.
Or, one of my favorite examples on cultural cross-pollination, the way the six flags that flew over Texas can be expressed in the great food we enjoy today, especially Tex-Mex. (Dipping Nacho recipe here.)Family recipes and travel are a great thing to include on family timelines!
#4 Timelines Give Context. For your child to understand the current state of our culture, they have to understand how times have changed.
How in the world can a young person stand steadfast against all the craziness, if they have no idea how much of our current thinking has evolved in only a few short years?
Time has a way of clarifying truth. Especially for the very young, timelines give us a bigger perspective.
Personally, I love the era we’re in now because so much is happening. It’s a great time to speak up for what we believe. Our children and grandchildren will be better equipped to speak to our culture, if they know their own history. They’ll be more comfortable in their own identity and they’ll be better equipped to empathize with others, if they understand history.
Lastly, Most Importantly
I’ll close today’s blog with Anna’s thoughts about the privilege of living truth with our kids.
“Coming back to Mom’s story about faith, as a mom with two young kids, you don’t get to pick for your kids,” says Anna. “You get to tell them what you believe and what you love.”
When presenting them things that are true, timelines and world history can help.
“And you give them all the beautiful love and knowledge you have. Then, the dearness of how their designed is that they have free wills. They are gonna pick. But if you’ve presented them with truth and a dear way of organizing what is true, like a timeline, then if you help them seek God,” she says, adding one last thought.
“He came to us. He is very, very dear in letting us find Him.”
Yep, in the great timeline of history, God interrupted human history to come pay us a visit in Jesus Christ.
And that’s our prayer for you today—that you find Him in all the small, tender ways He still seeks you today.
🙂
Cathy
We LOVE to Hear From YOU!
When you think about your life, what events stand out? Which big events in history tell your family’s story? What can you share with your children and grandchildren to help them love the identity God gave each of them?
May we pray together?
Dear good Father, thank You for seeking us out in a thousand small ways just today. When we look across the big events of history, we see Your loving presence. Even in the most evil moments, we see the power of sacrifice to turn the tide against evil. Teach us to love Your story. And to pass on our love to our children and grandchildren. Help us turn to Your Spirit and learn how to love from You. Bless us now because that is Your heart’s desire. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
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Cathy Krafve, host of Fireside Talk Radio and author of The Well: The Art of Drawing Out Authentic Conversations and Marriage Conversation: From Coexisting to Cherished. We welcome your stories, ideas, and questions at CathyKrafve.com.
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