“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 am going to make a random list of things I can remember our children doing for devotions, character, discipleship, etc. I’ll try to list them in a semi-chronological order by age group. (Books that are reviewed at PP 365 blogspot are marked with asterisk.)
*Early Readers’ Bible
Bible story book and audio sets, including “Stories That Live” (not sure if those are still out there but Joshua and Kayla used to love these!); NEST; and others that I picked up at the library (those little plastic bags with book/tapes or cd’s)
*Your Story Hour audios
Doughnut Man videos
*NEST videos
Patch the Pirate audios
Felt Bible lessons
*The Bible in Pictures for Little Eyes
*Uncle Arthur Bedtime Stories
*The Picture Bible
*Family Bible Library
Youth Devotional Books
Key for Kids
Bible quizzing cards
Scribing—writing out a book of the Bible in a journal
Quote-ables—writing out verses, quotations, etc. in a journal
Biographies of godly heroes
Case for….books
Case for….books for kids
Psalm a day
Proverb a day
A Gospel chapter a day
Authors our teens have read widely for devotional material:
C. S. Lewis
John Piper
A. W. Tozer
Ken Ham
Genevieve Foster
Martin Luther
Amy Carmichael
Hannah Hurrnah
Joni Eareckson Tada
John Bunyan
Josh McDowell
Lee Strobel
Elisabeth Eliot
Kay Arthur
Andrew Murrey
Charles Sheldon
R.A. Torrey
Henry Morris
Gary Parker
William Durrant
Franklin Graham
David Wilkerson
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Friday, May 6, 2011
“When You Rise Up”: Faith in the Mornings— Children’s Personal Devotions Part II of III
“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 will give a random list tomorrow of various things that I can remember our children doing for “personal devotions.” Some of these were “assigned” (if needed) and others were what the kids did themselves. Some of the lengthier ones were probably done later in the day as assignments. With chapter books, etc., we just encouraged the kids to do a “chapter a day.” Our experience has been that we need to look at things that we do in our family in the long-term. Everything doesn’t have to be done “right now.” “Slow and steady, steady and slow…that’s the way we always go…” (I will have homeschooled for thirty-three years, including when I started homeschooling my sister, when our homeschooling journey is over. I will have had "children" at home for thirty-six years by the time our youngest probably leaves home around twenty! It's definitely going to be the long-term things, schedules, lifestyle choices, and daily relationships that make the difference in that lengthy period of time.)
Note: I do the same thing for my own “devotions” (which are usually spread out over three different periods of time—in the morning, another quick time of slowing down in the late afternoon/early evening, and at bedtime—a chapter from the Bible; a chapter from a discipleship type of book I am reading; a short prayer/worship time. (Oh, plus praying for my kids when I dry my hair—efficiency expert here!) This is not a spint—it’s a marathon that I want to run (and want my children to run) all of my life.
Once our kids were teens, we seldom told them what to do for devotions. We mostly just spot-checked with them to see how their morning times were coming along. I often pick up books for the kids for discipleship, etc. and sometimes assign these for school (or for devotions) as well. Tomorrow—random list…I do mean random!
I will give a random list tomorrow of various things that I can remember our children doing for “personal devotions.” Some of these were “assigned” (if needed) and others were what the kids did themselves. Some of the lengthier ones were probably done later in the day as assignments. With chapter books, etc., we just encouraged the kids to do a “chapter a day.” Our experience has been that we need to look at things that we do in our family in the long-term. Everything doesn’t have to be done “right now.” “Slow and steady, steady and slow…that’s the way we always go…” (I will have homeschooled for thirty-three years, including when I started homeschooling my sister, when our homeschooling journey is over. I will have had "children" at home for thirty-six years by the time our youngest probably leaves home around twenty! It's definitely going to be the long-term things, schedules, lifestyle choices, and daily relationships that make the difference in that lengthy period of time.)
Note: I do the same thing for my own “devotions” (which are usually spread out over three different periods of time—in the morning, another quick time of slowing down in the late afternoon/early evening, and at bedtime—a chapter from the Bible; a chapter from a discipleship type of book I am reading; a short prayer/worship time. (Oh, plus praying for my kids when I dry my hair—efficiency expert here!) This is not a spint—it’s a marathon that I want to run (and want my children to run) all of my life.
Once our kids were teens, we seldom told them what to do for devotions. We mostly just spot-checked with them to see how their morning times were coming along. I often pick up books for the kids for discipleship, etc. and sometimes assign these for school (or for devotions) as well. Tomorrow—random list…I do mean random!
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
“When You Rise Up”: Faith in the Mornings— Children’s Personal Devotions Part I of III
“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
Over the past nearly year and a half of this blog, I have talked about how we developed morning routines for our children different times. (Go to PP 365 at blogpost and click on one of the “contents” links—schedules, chores, charts, etc. for more help in the “morning routine.” The morning routine will change your life! )
Once our children were old enough (ages three or four) to change out of their pj’s; tuck their pj’s under their pillow; put dirty clothes in the hamper; “make” their bed (i.e. lie in it completely covered up from head to toe and wiggle out of the bed while trying to leave the covers/sheets intact then smooth it all and fluff the pillows!); brush their teeth; and put their books (that they “read” in the mornings while waiting to be gotten up) away, we incorporated “personal devotions.”
For the little kids, this meant setting the timer for five minutes while “reading” a picture Bible/story Bible. I say “reading” because most of our kids were late readers rather than early readers, so they simply “studied” the pictures of these Bibles, often reciting the stories from memory or making up the story all over again aloud or in their heads. As the children grew, their “personal devotions” grew with them.
Just like the morning family devotions, we always kept the personal devotions short enough to actually do. (I have learned the hard way that if something is too difficult or lengthy for the time slot that it is put into, it will seldom stick.) Since we homeschool our kids, they usually have “Bible class” in which they complete Bible curriculum; read certain assigned discipleship type books; and/or read Bible with Mom during school, so the personal devotions were what each child wanted or needed through the years (as they matured in their walk with the Lord)—with some input/direction from Mom and Dad as needed.
Thus, these personal devotions could be as simple as a chapter a day from Psalms or a prayer journal/Bible scribing time that they themselves chose to do that maybe took thirty or forty-five minutes. In a couple of days, I will give some ideas for kids’ morning personal devotions for various age groups.
Thanks for joining us as we seek to teach faith and character “when we sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up”!
Over the past nearly year and a half of this blog, I have talked about how we developed morning routines for our children different times. (Go to PP 365 at blogpost and click on one of the “contents” links—schedules, chores, charts, etc. for more help in the “morning routine.” The morning routine will change your life! )
Once our children were old enough (ages three or four) to change out of their pj’s; tuck their pj’s under their pillow; put dirty clothes in the hamper; “make” their bed (i.e. lie in it completely covered up from head to toe and wiggle out of the bed while trying to leave the covers/sheets intact then smooth it all and fluff the pillows!); brush their teeth; and put their books (that they “read” in the mornings while waiting to be gotten up) away, we incorporated “personal devotions.”
For the little kids, this meant setting the timer for five minutes while “reading” a picture Bible/story Bible. I say “reading” because most of our kids were late readers rather than early readers, so they simply “studied” the pictures of these Bibles, often reciting the stories from memory or making up the story all over again aloud or in their heads. As the children grew, their “personal devotions” grew with them.
Just like the morning family devotions, we always kept the personal devotions short enough to actually do. (I have learned the hard way that if something is too difficult or lengthy for the time slot that it is put into, it will seldom stick.) Since we homeschool our kids, they usually have “Bible class” in which they complete Bible curriculum; read certain assigned discipleship type books; and/or read Bible with Mom during school, so the personal devotions were what each child wanted or needed through the years (as they matured in their walk with the Lord)—with some input/direction from Mom and Dad as needed.
Thus, these personal devotions could be as simple as a chapter a day from Psalms or a prayer journal/Bible scribing time that they themselves chose to do that maybe took thirty or forty-five minutes. In a couple of days, I will give some ideas for kids’ morning personal devotions for various age groups.
Thanks for joining us as we seek to teach faith and character “when we sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up”!
Monday, May 2, 2011
“When You Rise Up”: Faith in the Mornings— Faith Listening—Part II of II
“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
Yesterday I mentioned the advantages of having the computer in the main areas of the home for general listening together of things (as well as for protecting kids from dangerous internet activity). I will spend much more time on protection later in our character training journey, but suffice it to say that having the computer in the main areas of the home, not allowing internet activity when a child is home alone, and not havng internet (or television) in kids’ rooms (ours do not use laptops in their bedrooms-they use those in main, high traffic areas as well) are all ways to start in the protection of our children from dangerous internet actiivity.
We have the i-tunes loaded on the main computer (our desktop) with uplifting music. Any one of us can click onto I-tunes and choose a song or series of songs to have playing aloud for all to enjoy. I especially like to do this first thing in the morning before or after the Bible has been played.
While we enjoy contemporary Christian music and choruses, we also have a large number of hymns on our i-tunes collection. We do not sing enough hymns nowadays! Sometimes we just listen to a hymn over and over (oftentimes with the words nearby) to help us memorize the words to one.
Music is an amazing vehicle that God uses to speak to His children--let's use it in our homes first thing in the mornings too!
Yesterday I mentioned the advantages of having the computer in the main areas of the home for general listening together of things (as well as for protecting kids from dangerous internet activity). I will spend much more time on protection later in our character training journey, but suffice it to say that having the computer in the main areas of the home, not allowing internet activity when a child is home alone, and not havng internet (or television) in kids’ rooms (ours do not use laptops in their bedrooms-they use those in main, high traffic areas as well) are all ways to start in the protection of our children from dangerous internet actiivity.
We have the i-tunes loaded on the main computer (our desktop) with uplifting music. Any one of us can click onto I-tunes and choose a song or series of songs to have playing aloud for all to enjoy. I especially like to do this first thing in the morning before or after the Bible has been played.
While we enjoy contemporary Christian music and choruses, we also have a large number of hymns on our i-tunes collection. We do not sing enough hymns nowadays! Sometimes we just listen to a hymn over and over (oftentimes with the words nearby) to help us memorize the words to one.
Music is an amazing vehicle that God uses to speak to His children--let's use it in our homes first thing in the mornings too!
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