Our goal as parents, as mothers and fathers, is to help our children uncover who they are in Christ and to lead them into a life of glorifying God. Our children will pursue their own paths, make their own mistakes, and accomplish huge victories, but my hope and prayer is that through it all, they are rooted in the One who made them and loves them more than I ever could.
So how do we lead our little ones into faith? I wanted to share 5 simple things that we love doing in our home, not only as parents, but also that our kids ask for and really enjoy. Plus I will review the new Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible and give you the opportunity to win your own copy!
Read the Word.
On Monday nights we have Family Bible Study. We all curl up on the couch after dinner to read through a Bible story. Though we do read the Bible during the week whenever they ask, this is a specific, designated time for us to come together and study God’s work. Our kids get so excited for Monday nights. We have scheduled time for Bible studies with other people, why not with them? It helps them to feel special and know that we care about them spiritually. We make sure to pause and ask questions during the stories and also help them to think about how the people in the stories might be thinking and feeling. Do you think Daniel was scared in the lions den? Are you ever scared? How did God help Daniel? How can God help you when you’re scared. We really hope that our children don’t just know cool stories from the Bible, but can really apply the truths they learn and trust God with their daily lives. This is one of the reasons we are really excited about the Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible! Keep reading for more details on this new Bible for kids!Pray.
We want to teach our kids that talking to God is easy. Any one can pray at any time, there are no magic words and it’s not just for adults. We want our kids to value have conversations with God and believing that He listens and cares for them. We want to teach them that praying is a way of life. We pray at meals and before bed, but we also pray when great things happen or when feelings are hurt. We ask them what they need prayer for but are also vocal about our own needs. We believe in the power of a childlike faith and really appreciate it when our kids pray for us too, not just the other way around. We also pray for them when they don’t know, interceding on their behalf and asking God to guide us in parenting each of them specifically. We believe that prayer changes things.Speak truth over them.
We want to speak over their lives. We want to remind them that Jesus loves them. We want to remind them that their actions have consequences on themselves and those around them. We want to remind them of who God made them to be and what He calls them to. They are called to be kind, gentle, and loving. They are called to stand up for the weak and help when they are able. Some time ago, we came up with a saying that we speak over our kids every night at bed time with the last line varying for each child. We are blessed that our two oldest already have a relationship with Christ.“Jesus Christ is with you.
Jesus Christ is around you.
Jesus Christ is for you.
And (one day) Jesus Christ (will be) is in you.”Work out your faith in front of them.
I truly hope that my children can see an example in me, not only of the good things, but also how to overcome tough situations through leaning into Christ. I want them to see me praying and reading my Bible, and praising. I want them to see me love others and meet needs. I want them to see me cry when I’m confused but still trust God to make it through. I want them to see me as an imperfect, flawed, in process, but radically loved by Jesus human who they can relate too when they feel insecure, shameful, or not enough. I do not want them to ever think that following Jesus is easy for me, that I can’t possible understand how they feel. I want them to see a true authentic relationship with Christ in me, and we all know every relationship has its highs and lows.Give them opportunities to pursue their calling.
One thing I have seen a lot of in years of youth ministry, is the hesitancy of parents to let their kids pursue God-given callings. It breaks my heart for the student, but I understand the parent. We value “success” in this culture, hard work, good grades, accomplishments in their activities. But we get scared when our kids want to pursue something more unknown with unknown rewards. I really hope that when the time comes I can push fear aside and let my kids follow Christ to scary and unknown places. We can already see some of our children’s spiritual gifts and we try to speak into those and encourage them to act those out. Our children have greater faith than we do, and it can be easy to squash that with logic and reason.
I hope you are encouraged in your walk as a parent today. My husband and I are no where near perfect when it comes to pointing our kids to Christ. It is one of the hardest jobs we will ever do. But it is the most eternal, not only for our children, but also all of those that may come to Christ through them. What a beautiful story to be a part of!
The Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible Review
Book Description:
The Incredible Story of Who God Is, Who You Are, and Who You Were Made To Be
The Tiny Truths Illustrated Bible will engage young readers with fun, unique, and whimsical illustrations and important stories from characters like Noah, Moses, King David, Jesus, and more! It starts at the very beginning with the magnificence of creation and includes Moses parting the Red Sea, Jonah being swallowed by a giant fish, and ultimately the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the rescuing King.
But all these little stories together tell one big story -- the story of God's GREAT love for his children. And because God made YOU, this is your story too. It's the true story of who you are and what you were made for.
The Bible tells us:
Who God is -- the One who made everything and everyone.
Who we are -- His children, whom He loves no matter what.
What we were made for -- to love Him and everyone else!
When I was asked to review this Bible, my first thought was that I hope it isn’t a “White Jesus” Bible. After seeing the cover and a few of the illustrations, I was so happy. I know that might not be something that you have ever thought about, but we have been trying to teach our children about the ethnicities of the world, and how beautifully God created them. One thing we are striving for is for them to be culturally aware and sensitive to the biases that are in our country. Jesus was from the Middle East, and well, I guess I just feel like the illustrations should reflect that and not just a white person with brown hair and blue eyes. The illustrations are so cute and fun, and I feel like any family, with any skin color, would appreciate them.
Another thing I love about this Bible is the number of stories of Jesus. As we were reading, we noticed that there a quite a few more accounts of Jesus’ miracles than we have found in other children’s Bibles. Many lines from the stories are presented straight from scripture rather than generous paraphrases. There were times that I could recount the words from memory from my own studies as an adult. I think it is so powerful to have Jesus’ words be His words, and not just a summary. Teaching our children to recognize and hear His voice is so powerful at a young age.
My kids absolutely loved it. They listened attentively, asked questions, and could really envision what was going on in the stories. We have been able to bring up these truths in real life situations to help them discover how they can apply what they have heard. Here’s an example, “Remember in the story when Jesus said that the birds and the flowers don’t have to worry about what to wear or what to eat? He said we shouldn’t worry either because is love for us is so much bigger than His love for flowers and birds. Do you think you need to worry about this? Or do you trust that God is going to make everything okay?” Such a simple truth, but it had a very large impact on my 5 year old daughter.
My only wish is that the Bible included even MORE stories because they are done so well. Their mission is fulfilled well. Their hope is that this Bible would help children discover WHO God is (the one who made everything and everyone), WHO they are (his children, whom he loves no matter what), and what they were MADE FOR (to love God and others).
I am so excited to join the Tiny Truths team to GIVEAWAY a copy to one of you! Just follow the link in the button below and fill out the form to enter!
*I was given a copy of this book in return for my review.