I was going to let Derek do this post eventually since he is the spiritual head of our household, but when Christina blogged about Geneva’s children’s Bible and asked what the rest of us were using, I decided it was time for me to share (and maybe have him follow up later)! First of all, let me say that I am amazed at how quickly Tommy recognized his first Bible (a board book one from the American Bible Society, decent for babies) as well as Mommy’s (a brown ESV) and Daddy’s (a red NASB). He loved reading his Bible well before a year, and it quickly became the routine to have Bible reading time every night before bed–hopefully something we can keep up always. While there’s nothing wrong with collections of Bible stories (like The Beginner’s Bible, which both Grandmas have on hand), we think that even young children are capable of learning that God’s Word is more than just a bunch of random stories. With the goal of imparting God’s plan of redemption from Genesis to Revelation in terms that children can understand, one of the pastors from our church has written The Big Picture Story Bible. We love it! There are only 2o-some chapters, but we read one every night for family devotions. We’re basically going through the Bible once a month, which is good for Tommy and us! The same themes keep coming up throughout the stories–we worship a big God who has a good plan for His people and always keeps His promises. When we graduate to using big words like redemption and grace, we think Tommy will already be familiar with the concepts. I find the language very accessible for Tommy, he likes the illustrations, and I anticipate using it for some time to come.
Of course, we haven’t checked out every children’s Bible out there–what do the rest of you parents use with your kids? And at what age have you/do you intend to make the shift from Bible story books to reading straight from the Bible in family devotions?
We love that one!
we have the Jesus Storybook Bible. I love it.
We have an awesome children’s Bible called Little Boys Bible Storybook for Fathers and Sons. It was given to us as a gift when Aidan was born and I would recommend it to anyone! At the end of every “chapter” (or Bible story), there is a devotional and daily verse for Dads to do with their boys. We read it all together of course. They also have a little girls version. When I am reading my Bible or writing scripture on index cards, I read aloud often. Aidan will be sitting in his highchair or playing, but he is listening, and God’s Word never returns void!