by Donna | Apr 8, 2011
“You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” Deuteronomy 6:7
I have always been interested in those “One Year,” “One Minute,” “Daily,” etc. type of books! The titles just shout “organization”! We have done many of these types of books through the years, but one that I think is beautiful, appropriate for older kids and parents—and appropriate for this month of “National Poetry Month” celebrations is “The One Year Book of Poetry.”
The description for this book states its purpose eloquently: “This daily devotional of Bible-inspired poetry contains some of the most eloquent, inspiring, and profound poetry ever written. Readers will glean understanding, wisdom, and inspiration for life’s struggles and victories. But most of all, they will learn more about their Savior and be inspired to devote their lives to him wholeheartedly. Includes indexes.”
Another review said, “Containing some of the most inspiring Christian poetry ever written, “The One Year Book of Poetry” features 365 devotionals, each with fascinating information on the poet, insight into the poem, and a concluding thought for application.”
In keeping with our “quick reads” in the morning, this book really fits the bill. As the reviews mentioned, it has the poem, as well as insight into the poet, the time period in which the poem was written, what the author meant in parts of it, etc. It’s like a devotional and literature lesson all in one!
If you have only littles, I would stick with the “Bible Time Nursery Rhyme” or “Prayers for the Very Young” for read alouds. However, any parent who enjoys poetry and devotional material would like this for his or her own night stand.
Look inside this beautiful devotional at https://www.amazon.com/One-Year-Book-Poetry-Books/dp/0842337121#reader_0842337121
This book can be purchased from Parable books (and many other sources, but I like to purchase from Christian booksellers when possible) at https://www.parable.com/parable/item.One-Year-Books-The-One-Year-Book-of-Poetry-Comfort-Phil.9780842337120.htm
by Donna | Apr 6, 2011
“You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” Deuteronomy 6:7
“Every Christian family ought to be as it were a little church.”
Jonathan Edwards
When Joshua, our oldest who is now a twenty-eight year old husband, was first born, we were visited by a friendly college student who was selling a set of Bible stories. We let him in and listened to his spill—and saw the quality product he had to offer and, in spite of being two poor college students with a new baby, we bought. And it was one of the best purchases we made for our children’s first twelve years of Bible teaching.
Also about that same time, we were introduced to the concept that is summarized in today’s quote by Jonathan Edwards. We were instructed at a parenting seminar that our home should be a center—a hospitality center, a Bible teaching center, an education center, a healing center (where we should reach out to those who are hurting), and much more.
From these ideas, we decided that church should be an extension of our family—it should augment what we do at home (not replace it or even be the main tool with family supplementing it). We should be our primary faith teachers—and church, Sunday school, and other outside sources can help us achieve our faith goals for our children. When we look at our children’s “faith teaching” in this way, we feel the true sense of responsibility that we have in our children. We do not become dependent upon someone else to do it for us. Yes, others have helped us greatly through the years—including Sunday school, Royal Rangers, Upwards, homeschool groups, etc. etc. But our children’s Bible teaching is ultimately our responsibility—and nobody else’s.
Family Bible Library and the idea that our home should become a miniature church, so speak, merged perfectly together. It was (and has been for twenty-seven years) a tool that we have used to be a “little church” for our children—a place where they learn the Bible and its concepts every day through lifestyle, materials, song, prayer, discussion, and more.
The original Family Bible Library (the one we purchased twenty-seven years ago) is the 1971 version. It is and was wonderful. In a nutshell, this is what you get with that version:
*10 hardcover books covering dozens and dozens of Bible stories in chronological order
*Pictures, charts, graphs, etc. throughout
*Text written at approximately at fourth or fifth grade reading level, though definitely children as young as age four can listen and comprehend the material
*Short two-three page stories with questions following each story
*Study skills types of material following each story, including maps, charts, diagrams, etc. that help the reader understand more about the story, the time period, the region, etc. (this was my two oldest kids’ favorite parts!)
We used these with our preschoolers and elementary children by me (Donna) reading through the entire series with each child. (Others could join us, but at least the child whose turn it was did it with me.) Then, when each child turned ten to twelve, depending on reading ability, he or she did the entire series for himself/herself (or in some cases had a daily read aloud with a younger sibling and the “reader” read it aloud to a little).
Additionally, because our teens have done a lot of Bible teaching of younger kids (our girls through their girls’ newsletter; our olders who taught character in public schools; our boys now who work with cognitively disabled adults; etc.), the FBL came in handy to use as a resource for them.
I can’t say enough about this program—and recommend it highly for all families with four to twelve year olds as a daily devotional with parents (or for the child to read for himself for his own devotions). It spans multi-ages, especially with the study helps following each story. This, along with Character Sketches (https://tfths.com/character.php –upcoming review!) and a Bible, is a perfect Bible/character combination for using daily with children ages four to twelve.
Downsides: You’re gonna love me for this—but Southwestern Publishing is no longer printing FBL! There are some still available through various sources—and you can get it used for 25% or less of the original cost. People have these sitting around in basements and attics—they’re out there; you just have to look a little online. Training for Triumph (our homeschooling business/ministry) used to carry the new (2005) version, which is outstanding and more beautiful than the originals—if you can get that version, do so! However, we were told a year ago that they were not publishing more. (We have the1971 version and still love it and use it, so the new is not essential.)
1971 version link: https://www.amazon.com/Family-Bible-Library-10-Set/dp/B0013GAYR4/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267324741&sr=1-2
2005 version link: https://www.amazon.com/Family-Bible-Library-8-Set/dp/B001FQ8YH4/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1267325676&sr=1-6
by Donna | Apr 4, 2011
“You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” Deuteronomy 6:7
Story of Stories: https://positiveparenting3-6-5.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-143-faith-books-for-teensstory-of.html
In His Hands: https://positiveparenting3-6-5.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-143-faith-books-for-teensstory-of.html
Unlocking the Mysteries of Creation: https://positiveparenting3-6-5.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-141-faith-reading-with_24.html
Character Sketches: https://positiveparenting3-6-5.blogspot.com/2010/05/day-136-character-sketches-review-faith.html
by Donna | Apr 1, 2011
“You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” Deuteronomy 6:7
We have done many types of devotionals with our kids, besides the “open up, read, and discuss” method previously described. We used to belong to a homeschool organization that provided character training materials that we read aloud together most mornings for eight or ten years (mostly with Dad before he went to work). Additionally, we have used other devotionals—some of which I will link or describe below.
One of the keys to making morning devotions work in a busy family (especially if you are doing them with Dad before he goes to work, Mom before she works, with children who go to school) is to keep it simple. There are many good materials out there that are just five to ten minute reads that can be read during breakfast, if desired. If you make the morning devotions too long and drawn out, you will likely not stick with them because there are so many things that must be done in the mornings in a very short period of time.
In the next few days, I will share links to some devotional/character types of materials we have used through the years.
by Donna | Mar 31, 2011
“You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” Deuteronomy 6:7
One of the ways that we worked on our kids’ reading skills and taught them the Bible at the same time was to get everybody the exact same Bible to use together. That is, we each had the exact same version, same edition, etc., so that we could help the “littles” find the passages more easily (i.e. “Turn to page 698”). Then everybody followed along in their own Bibles.
We then went around the room and let each child read according to his readability level. For example, a new reader would sit closest to Dad and read one verse (short one) with Dad coaching/helping him sound out difficult words. Middle readers would read a couple of verses. Older readers would read more. Of course, in between, lively discussion would ensue, helping everybody make personal applications, etc.
Different people feel differently about easier versions. We personally used the New King James for group reading while Ray used another version personally, as did I—and the older kids had their own favorites as well. Again, we just dug in. You will be glad you did!
by Donna | Mar 30, 2011
“You shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” Deuteronomy 6:7
As I stated earlier, sometimes I think we make Bible teaching with our children harder than it has to be. I am one who likes to read from devotional materials/character materials with my kids. My husband, on the other hand, can make a Bible lesson out of a pipe being put in the ground along the road, the orange of the sky in a summer evening, or clipping your fingernails! He can be deep, if needed, or he can be right to the point—this is what it means we should do.
I think we could all learn a lot from his approach. It just doesn’t have to be that hard. We can read. And we can talk. And we love our kids. Put all that together and morning devotions do not feel as difficult as they once did.
For many years, Ray did a morning devotion before work and I would do another later in the morning. Then we usually had evening devotions/family worship after dinner. Our morning devotions have varied over the years, but one thing that we have done more often than any other one book or method is that of simply reading and talking. (And now our schedule looks completely different with discussions and devotions with our teens while we drive; video lessons together on family night; Mom’s read aloud during the school week; worship together as we travel. Again, there’s not a right or wrong way!)
We did this “reading and talking” method extensively with the book of Proverbs—for years. Proverbs are wise words to live by—and a great way to start a family’s day. There are thirty-one—and correlate well with the days of the month. They are quick reads—great for mornings. And they give us instruction for how to live our lives—something adults and kids alike need to go into the day with.
Around Christmas and/or Easter, we would often focus on one of the Gospels. Other times we just picked a book of the Bible and made our way through it. We would sometimes use concordances, Bible dictionaries, and Bible handbooks, though we would often simply open the Bible and “read already.”
