"AAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
The Israelites had invaded. Those of us who were Midianites screamed in terror as we were utterly petrified and completely thrilled all at the same time. Hiding out in a field (and some of you reading this will know which field I am remembering), we were swept up with the drama as we waited for the story to continue. Our imaginations and our hearts had been captured and, at that moment, I fell in love with the Bible.
All this happened around thirty years ago (ssshhhh - my boys think I'm seventeen), but I will never forget the commotion and the awe as all round me the Bible was brought to life.
The Bible is exciting. It's not a boring, enormous rule book. It's a love story, full of adventure and is sometimes downright bloodthirsty. Teaching our children the Bible isn't a chore, it's a pleasure. To see their faces light up when they suddenly understand something new is a privilege for us as parents.
Our job is to show our children how to fall in love with the Bible. Of course, it's a book and logically, you can't fall in love with a book. But it is so much more than that. The Bible is God's word to us. When we have a love letter from someone precious to us, we treasure that letter and read it over and over again, memorising every phrase and hiding them away in our hearts (or at least I do, perhaps I am just an old romantic). It's the same with God's word. When we treasure those words and try to live our lives by them, we will see our lives change.
So, how do we help our kids fall in love with the Bible? We bring it to life. Choosing appropriate Bible stories for their ages, we can read, act, draw and make them out of lego, duplo etc, and of course laugh over them (yes, we are allowed to do that too). We can help them apply these stories by bringing them in to every aspect of our lives. Daniel and the lion's den, for example, is a great story for anxiety over starting a new school. God protected Daniel, and so He will protect them. These words are not just for adults, they apply to our children too. For under 7's, we have found 'The Jesus Storybook Bible' to be a fantastic resource that not only speaks to our children, but has also been known to make me cry too! (http://www.jesusstorybookbible.com/) We have also used lots of Bible story cd's, which are brilliant for car journeys or bedtime (especially when you can't bear to read them yet another story...).
As our children grow older, we can encourage them with bible reading notes to help them develop good habits for themselves. Finding a good time in the day to do this is sometimes hard, but each family is different. There are lots of great resources out there, but we use 'XTB' and 'Discover' from The Good Book Company (http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/children). These have always been age appropriate and enjoyed, even by boys who don't like writing (and believe me, my boys hate writing).
This isn't the job of the Sunday School or Kid's Club Leader, it's our privilege and as we teach our children to love God's word, we give them strong foundations on which to build the rest of their lives.
So, get donning those tea-towels and start letting God's word captivate the hearts and minds of your children - it is an investment worth making!
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