Daily Devotionals for Kids and Family
I have heard it said from parents that they don't know where to start when it comes to teaching their children about God at home. They don't know where to begin or know where to start, especially with young children. And with all of information out there, there are a lot of devotionals that, honestly, cheapen the Gospel or over simplify the awesomeness of God. So I thought I would share a few things that we have really loved and have and currently are using.
My #1 most FAVORITE children's Bible ever is The Jesus Storybook Bible where every story whispers His {Jesus'} name. The first time my husband and I read this to our daughter, we were both brought to tears. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful and artistic. But the language in how the author chose to write grips the heart and doesn't minimize the power of scripture. It is a powerful children's Bible that we still use.
3 years ago I wanted to begin doing a morning devotion with my daughter before we started school and I really fell in-love with Leading Little Ones to God by Marian M. Schoolland. It has a simple devotion with discussion questions, a poetic hymn and prayer at the end. Each devotion takes approximately 15 minutes, maybe less, but it really was a wonderful way to begin our mornings by placing our focus on Jesus.
One small disclaimer, the very last lesson is about the "end times," which I appreciate, however, it may be a tad confusing to a young audience (under 8) to wrap their head around. But the rest of the devotional is wonderful for ages as young as 3. It's a really lovely devotional.
After doing Leading Little Ones to God for 2 years, I decided it was time to switch things up. Mainly because I wanted new material and came across these two devotionals that are really awesome! I wanted something that went through the entire Bible and was also age appropriate for an older child, yet age appropriate for even younger kids.
Long Story Short and Old Story New are award winning devotions that make it easy to discuss both the Old and New Testament. They are fun and engaging and really help begin the dialogue to so many conversations. The devotion takes approximately 10-15 minutes, but the impact and conversations that take place after are life long.
Being intentional and engaging with your children about scripture is so important. The conversations that have birthed just from a 10-15 minute devotion have made a big impact for both of us. It has been so rewarding to be able to study, learn, and grow together and most importantly, start out days out by putting our focus off of ourselves and back on Jesus.
I hope this has been encouraging to you if you haven't known where to start. We have loved these devotionals and children's Bible and I hope you will too.
