One of the many things I appreciate about my 8-year-old is that she is
a good communicator. Lately she’s been expressing to me that she
just doesn’t understand the Bible. She thinks this is part of the reason
“church services are boring.”
I spent a little bit of time stressing about how I don’t make her sit in
church service enough. But I quickly turned my energy toward
searching for something positive that I can do to bring the Bible to her
in more concrete and meaningful terms.
Less than a week later, a possible solution landed right in my lap (in
that way that God has). I attended a discussion group at church called
“Growing Kids God’s Way,” at which the group facilitator, Jan, had 10
or 12 books spread out for parents to look over. I gravitated to the
ones that present kids and parents with a daily trivia fact, situation, or
devotional to discuss (Many of these types of books are available on
the Internet, for example at www.christianbook.com).
“Go ahead and check one out for the week,” said Jan. “And let us
know next week how it’s working for you.” Bingo.
The book I chose is called Sticky Situations, by Betsy Schmitt. Each
page contains a situation kids might encounter in daily life. This is
followed by a multiple choice question about what the main character
in the situation should do. Each page suggests a Bible passage to read
in order to find out if the answer chosen is the answer the Bible leads
us to choose.
Amy loves everything about the routine we’ve created with this book.
At tuck-in time, we read the sticky situation for the day. I give her the
multiple choice quiz. (Sometimes the answers are “dead giveaways,”
according to Amy, but one or two so far have been a little tricky).
Then we read the Bible passage to figure out if it supports the answer
she chose.
We’ve read about fifteen of these passages so far. One highlight was
the chance to review the story of Moses receiving the Ten
Commandments. Amy didn’t remember hearing this story before. She
was impressed by the special delivery on Mount Sinai.
Another exciting revelation was our reading of a passage I feel is really
important for young girls to hear frequently: 1 Samuel 16: 1 – 13 (especially verse 7). It
says that a person’s heart is more important and beautiful to God than
a person’s appearance.
My report to the parenting group? I’m so jazzed! My daughter is
thrilled to learn about the Bible little bits at a time, through points she
can apply to real-life situations. And who knows – one of those Bible
passages may just sound familiar to her in the next Sunday school or
church service.
Mama J (Diane Fromme) is a writer, parent, and stepparent located in
Northern Colorado. For more information on her stepparenting book,
go to www.dianefromme.com.
2 Comments on A Creative Way to Talk about the Bible
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I love this idea!! My 9 year old is saying more and more often that she doesn’t want to go to church. I blame this on us, as parents, because we basically “took the summer off” from church. I think this will be a great way to bring the bible home. It will be great for my 8 year old daughter and my 6 year old son as well. I’m thinking we may do it as an after school routine, maybe as part of homework, since I am too tired at bedtime to be effective and mornings are usually pretty full of getting ready routines. Thanks for the great idea, Diane!
(Ok, maybe I should trade in my dancing boots for this parenting class! )This is a wonderful idea. I need to prioritize in my home. This book idea is so great, but the first thought in my mind is, “oh my, one more thing to fit into our day”, but the importance of this book idea is so high, it needs to take priority!