day 142: “faith” reading with teens—“in his hands—a family devotional”

One of our all-time favorite morning read aloud books (our devotion time together) is a little-known book called In His Hands. It is incredible and wonderful.

"In His Hands—A Family Devotional Book" is a yearly devotional with entries of one page each. Every entry begins with a Scripture then has a four to six-paragraph explanation that goes along with that verse. The paragraphs all have to do with science or history---animals, rainbows, inventions, nature, scientific theories, plants, trees, people, and more. It is filled with little-known facts about all of these things---and each one is tied into a Scripture that makes you scratch your head and say, “I never knew that! What a Creator!”


The book is set up in daily devotionals of four to six paragraphs each. Each entry begins with a Scripture then has amazing facts about an animal, bird, insect, etc. and then applies that to a spiritual truth. The entries can be read aloud in five to seven minutes—perfect quick devotional for before school or bedtime.


My boys and I just love this book and often read two or three entries in a given morning. We are learning more about science than any science textbook could teach us---because it is tied to Scripture and the Lord in such a way and has such interesting tidbits of information. "In His Hands" is written by James A. and Priscilla Tucker and was published in 1999 by the Institute of Outdoor Ministry, Inc. (The Tuckers have other outdoor materials, object lesson books, and periodicals as well.)


Unfortunately, my search for “In His Hands” has led me to find that it is no longer being published. You can find it used, however, and I encourage you to do so. If you come up empty handed in that search, the Tuckers have written another devotional that I just received in the mail that is extremely similar to “In His Hands.” It is called “Nature Quest” and is set up much like the one I described above. (Some if the entries are even the same as "In His Hands," so I think this would be equally as good and useful.)


Here is part of a review of “Nature Quest”:


“Whether or not you consider yourself a nature-lover, experiencing any of these 366 devotionals will give you a new perspective on the world of nature. Each story is primarily a portrayal of some element of nature and how incredible it is with a small but necessary religious application at the end. The author uses God's natural world to draw the conclusions, rather than other authors who attempt to push their own conclusions on the reader. An excellent read, and good luck trying to read one per day!”


This can be purchased from Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Nature-Quest-James-Tucker/dp/0828008655/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1274738832&sr=1-1