Bible Reading with Kids

As I write this, my kids are now 14, 11, 9, and 7. Would you believe that I still have a hard time finding alone time with God? Sometimes it seams that the older they get, the more they need me. 

Sorry. Don't mean to scare any of you!

I'm finding myself using an old method of Bible study once again....having my time in the word WITH my kids. My main man is working nights right now. So after I get everyone herded through the shower, we snuggle up on the couch with my Daily Bible. We don't have any timeline. We just read a little until it is time for bed, or I've lost their attention. Surprisingly, they have been pretty spellbound. After all, it is the greatest story ever written!

Family Devotions - Deuteronomy Style

I've been feeling a bit guilty this week. Someone asked me how we handled family devotions.

I paused for a bit, not really knowing how to answer. Truth is. Bill is gone before the rest of us get up in the morning. His second job means he's not home around the dinner hour very often....and honestly, the older the kids get, the harder it is to have a consistent routine about much every day.

I really hate that we don't have a "regular" time together. But the more I thought about it, I realized that I do have time with the kids quite often actually. It just isn't usually scheduled or routine....and not always with everyone at the same time.

It hasn't always been this way, but we are in a certain season now.

How did I answer the question?

The minivan. We have minivan devotions.

It's true. We talk in the minivan, and in the kitchen and while we are taking walks. My plan with the kids is to study God's Word myself, so I have something to talk about - and then use life situations, questions they have, one-on-one time, etc. to talk about what God says in His Word.

I understand that these lifestyle conversations don't replace being intentional....and I really hope and long for a regular, scheduled time together as a family in the Word. But I really hope that it never replaces the sweetness of the conversations we have as life happens. They are priceless.

"Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." Deuteronomy 6:4-9

Doing Crafts with Your Kids

Just for fun, I wanted to share a couple of sites I've been following lately as a mom.

Here is the first one:

S.B. Creatively is simply posts of simple, but fun crafts you can do with little kids! Most of them are things you can do with average art supplies that you already have on hand....so you could easily just whip it out on a rainy day.

This next one has craft ideas, teaching tips, party ideas, etc.

Neither one of these are "Christian" sites. So use with your own discretion. But I encourage you to find something new and fun you can do with your kids this week!

Do you have some favorite sites that give you ideas of stuff to do with your kids? Please share!

EV- Day 16 - I Am Coming!

"Look! I am coming soon! I bring my rewards with me. I will reward each person for what he has done." Revelations 22:12

When I read this verse last night, I began to weep. This year, more than ever, I've begun to long for the coming of Christ. The amount of earthquakes and disasters in our world show that the earth is getting ready for his return.  The state of our nation, begs for a deliverer.  

To some, the coming of Christ is a scary thing. But the more you love Jesus, the more you want to be with Him....not just by prayer and reading the Bible, but literally be WITH HIM face to face. Oh, let me tell you. I can't wait!

EV - Day 15 - Dead to Sin?

"We died with Christ. So we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ was raised from the dead and will never die again. Death doesn't control him anymore. When he died, he died once and for all time as far as sin is concerned. Now that he lives, he lives as far as God is concerned.

In the same way, consider yourselves to be dead as far as sin is concerned. Now that you believe in Christ Jesus, consider yourselves to be alive as far as God is concerned." Romans 6:8-11

I've been having some health issues lately. Nothing major, just not feeling the best. So I did some research this weekend and discovered that I needed to drastically change my eating habits to heal my body. The first two things I needed to eliminate? Caffeine and sugar.

Yikes!

I'm a coffee girl....and a sweets girl. I love to  bake. So the rest of the list didn't get better: dairy, wheat......

Yesterday, I felt like I was starving as I searched for the things I COULD eat. I went to the store last night and read labels and looked for the combinations I could eat. Last night, I was so heavily craving something sweet and with substance that I made a little cake with rice flour and agave. It wasn't bad, really.

But what I've been learning, is how heavily my food addictions have their claws in me. I'm learning to die to my cravings and desires, so that I can live better. The way I've been eating has been fun, but it is leading my body to death. My new diet isn't as fun, but it will heal me.

Jesus died to end sin's grip on us and give us the abundant life that he intended us to have - without the burden of sin. Dying to ourselves (our cravings, fleshly desires) is not easy to do, but the results are glorious. The peace and joy that comes from a life free from sin and addiction can not be replicated in any other way.

Do you feel dead to sin today? Is there anything you need to talk to God about?

EV - Day 14 - Joined With Him

"By being baptized, we have been joined with him in his death. We will certainly also be joined with him in his resurrection." Romans 6:5

We die to ourselves to accept eternal life. We die to ourselves daily to live the abundant life. Oh, how tempting it is for us to just want the "life" part without the "dying" part.

On Easter Sunday, 26 years ago, I decided that I was ready to die to myself so that I could live forever with Jesus. I've been following Him ever since.

However, in the dailies of life, I'm learning to die to myself by putting others first; by taking care of the diet needs of my body, rather than the cravings of my flesh; by putting aside my need to win, so that I can be a peacemaker. These are the daily things that make life more abundant and fulfilling.

What are you dying to today?

EV - Day 13 - He Has Risen - just as He said!

 ¹ The Sabbath day was now over. It was dawn on the first day of the week. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.

 ² There was a powerful earthquake. An angel of the Lord came down from heaven. The angel went to the tomb. He rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³ His body shone like lightning. His clothes were as white as snow. ⁴ The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.

 ⁵ The angel said to the women, "Don't be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. ⁶He is not here! He has risen, just as he said he would! Come and see the place where he was lying.

Matthew 28:1-6

 

EV - Day 12 - Remembered No More

"We have been made holy by what God wanted. We have been made holy because Jesus Christ offered his body once and for all time....Then he adds, 'I will not remember their sins anymore. I will not remember the evil things they have done.'" Hebrews 10:10-17

Can you imagine not remembering the hurtful things others have done? Can you imagine not having bad memories or memories of your sin - or others' sin? Because of what Jesus did, God doesn't remember our sins anymore. He has given us the ultimate gift - forgiveness and the possibility of an unhindered relationship with Him and others. More than that, He empowers us to extend that same invitation to others.....and He can empower us to forget like He does. Praise God!

EV - Day 11 - What did Jesus do?

"But Christ offered himself to God without any flaw. He did this through the power of the eternal Holy Spirit. So how much more will his blood wash from our minds our feelings of guilt for committing sin! Sin always leads to death. But now we can serve the living God. That's why Christ is the go-between of a new covenant. Now those God calls to himself will receive the eternal gift he promised. They will receive it now that Christ has died to save them. He died to set them free from the sins they committed under the first covenant." Hebrews 9:14-15

Today is a good time to review. This verse really sums up a lot. Ask yourselves these questions...and you can ask them to your kids too!

Was Jesus forced to give His life?

Whose power did He need to do what He needed to do?

Whose power do we need to do what we need to do?

What does Jesus' blood wash away?

What does sin lead to?

What can we do because of Jesus' blood?

Why can we receive eternal life?

Why did Jesus die?

EV - Day 10 - The Debt Is Paid

 "Those who belong to Christ Jesus are no longer under God's sentence. I am now controlled by the law of the Holy Spirit. That law gives me life because of what Christ Jesus has done. It has set me free from the law of sin that brings death. The written law was made weak by our sinful nature. But God did what the written law could not do. He made his Son to be like those who have a sinful nature. He sent him to be an offering for sin. In that way, he judged sin in his Son's human body." Romans 8:1-3

There once was a time when you went to prison for having financial debts you could not pay....and it is certainly difficult to pay off debts from prison. You may spend the rest of your life there while your whole family struggled to support themselves and try to pay of your debts for your release.

Such as it is with our debt to sin. We could work our whole life to try to pay for it ourselves, but would never, ever succeed. We are incapable, and the debt is too large.

But Jesus' death on the cross paid off our balance. We have the opportunity to be released from the prison of sin by simply accepting Christ's payment.

It is hard for me to imagine anyone who would rather rot in prison than let someone pay their debt off. Yet, millions all over the world choose to die in sin, rather than accept Christ's payment.

He has already paid the debt. 

EV - Day 9 - The Peacemaker

"The blood of Christ has made us right with God. So we are even more sure that Jesus will save us from God's anger.  Once we were God's enemies. But we have been brought back to him because his Son has died for us. Now that God has brought us back, we are even more secure. We know that we will be saved because Christ lives. And that is not all. We are full of joy in God because of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of him, God has brought us back to himself." Romans 5:9-11

Being with extended family can be interesting. Sometimes there are wounds so old that everyone has just gotten use to them. Family members walk around with open sores all over them and it affects every conversation and every interaction. Do you have a family like that? Can you imagine if someone swooped in with fairy dust and healed every wound and bridged every gap in every relationship and completely united your whole family back together? Can you even picture what that would look like?

Christ's death on the cross did that kind of work. Because of our sin, we were alienated from God. It affected everything about us and everything about our relationship with God. But when Jesus died. He bridged the gap between our sinful nature and the God Almighty. His blood applied to our lives, covers our sin so that when God sees us, He sees the blood of His son, rather than our gaping, sinful sores.

We have the possibility of an intimate relationship with God because Christ's death heals us.

EV - Day 8 - While We Were Still Sinners

"At just the right time Christ died for ungodly people. He died for us when we had no power of our own. It is unusual for anyone to die for a godly person. Maybe someone would be willing to die for a good person. But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:6-8

Yesterday, one of my four brothers got married. It was fun! It was beautiful! It was the fulfillment of a dream. :) Aren't they wonderful? I was thinking about the vows and promises they made. My brother, who has never been even slightly "cowboy" donned a white hat in the middle of his vows and sang a song that he wrote about how he promised to try to be "country" because she is a cowgirl at heart. He would do ANYTHING for her - and he would definitely die for her.

Most of us have those we know we would die for in an instant. We'd give our lives to protect those we love. But how many of us would put ourselves between a bus and a fugitive? I have to say that I'm not sure I would.

But that is exactly what Christ did for us on the cross. While the human race was still running in sin, before you and I were ever a glimmer in our parent's eyes, before we even knew how to sin and rebel, Christ died for us. He paid the price for people who did not yet love Him in return. Now that is love.

EVP - Day 7 - Paid in Full

Later Jesus said, "I am thirsty." He knew that everything was now finished. He knew that what Scripture said must come true. A jar of wine vinegar was there. So they soaked a sponge in it. They put the sponge on a stem of the hyssop plant. Then they lifted it up to Jesus' lips. After Jesus drank he said, "It is finished." Then he bowed his head and died. John 19:28-30

The word here that is translated "It is finished" also means "paid in full." Jesus paid for our sins in full and then declared it to be finished. Amen!

 

EVP - Day 6 - The Lamb of God

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him. John said, "Look! The Lamb of God! He takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

If you have some time today, talk with your kids about how the Israelites had to make payment for their sin by sacrificing a lamb. Explain how Jesus came to be the final lamb. He would make payment for our sin once and for all, so that we wouldn't be tied up by it anymore.

 

EVP - Day 5 - The Prince Who Brings Peace

A child will be born to us. A son will be given to us. He will rule over us. And he will be called Wonderful Adviser and Mighty God. He will also be called Father Who Lives Forever and Prince Who Brings Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Talk about the four characteristics of Jesus mentioned in this verse and ask your kids which one they like the best. Don't forget to share your answer too!

 

 

EVP - Day 4 - He Will Save

She is going to have a son. You must give him the name Jesus. That is because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

Spend some time talking with your kids about why Baby Jesus came. If you have a nativity scene that isn't buried in the attic somewhere, maybe get Baby Jesus back out to use as a visual. Talk about how that innocent baby grew up to pay for our sins.

 

EVP - Day 3 - Our Sin Deserves Death

When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done. Romans 6:23

Today might be a good day to discuss this verse when discipline is needed. Maybe ask your child what they deserve for their "naughtiness" and then explain to them that like we all deserve death for our sin, but Jesus gives us life instead; you are going to give them mercy and not punishment.

 

EVP - Day 2 - No One Measures Up

Everyone has sinned. No one measures up to God's glory. Romans 3:23

I don't know about you, but I struggle with comparing myself with other woman. From what I've heard, it is a pretty common issue among women. ;) I feel better about my weight when I'm with someone heavier than me. I feel bad about my weight when I'm with someone who is thin and fit. Neither is healthy. My standard for my physical fitness should be how God wants me to take care of myself.

As I write this on Sunday afternoon, I'm thinking of Tiger Wood's interview today. It is easy to feel good about the health of your marriage when listening to someone confess their infidelity. It is always easy for us to feel like we are doing better than someone else when we see their public sin. But none of us measure up to God.

Is there a place in your house that your kids are all too short to reach - even if they jump? Let them try for a bit and talk about how none of us measure up to the glory of God - because we have all sinned.

 

 

Easter Verse Project - Ready to Start?

If you plan on "landing" the Easter Story on Easter Sunday, TODAY is the day to start with the verses with your family!

I did change one verse. You can decide if you want to change it too. I decided to replace Luke 23:46 with John 19:28-30. I feel it better conveys what Jesus did in that moment. I have edited it in the original files and posts for you!

If you missed the project idea altogether, go here:

Easter Verse Project

EVP - Day 1 - The Ropes of Our Sin

The Lord watches a man's ways. He studies all of his paths.
A sinner is trapped by his own evil acts. He is held tight by the ropes of his sins.
He will die because he refused to be corrected. His sins will capture him because he was very foolish. Proverbs 5:21-23

This is day 1 of our Easter Verse project, if you want to "land" the Easter story on Easter Sunday.

Do you realize the weight of your own sin? We want to spend a couple of days impressing on our children the weight and burden of our sin, so that they further grasp the excitement of what Christ did for us. Here are a couple of ways, you could do that today:

1. It might be fun to think of a time as a child that you did something wrong and how you tried to hide it. Share the story with your kids.


2. Get some rope and tie your kids up, or let them tie each other up.  Let them experience the frustration of feeling bound and relate it to sin's hold on us.