Whether I’m talking to moms with a couple of children or a whole house full of kids, it doesn’t take long during conversation for the topic to come up of how different children can be! Raised in the same house with the same parents and given relatively the same experiences, children are wonderfully made in their own unique way. In our boys early childhood, we become very aware that we needed to parent each one differently. Therefore, it came as no surprise that we also might need to have different approaches when laying a spiritual foundation for our kids.
This summer we started reading 1st Samuel together so that our older boys would:
- 1. Begin to develop the spiritual discipline of reading God’s word .
- 2. Start to grasp what it means that the word of God is alive and active sharper than any double edged sword.
- 3. Learn more about the character of God and draw their own conclusions about him through his word!
We gave our boys the following journal prompts, and my first born took off!
With a combination of drawings and writings, he was in the word and encouraged his brother to do the same. He also found great joy making connections between what he read and what he found in God’s creation like this ‘Ebenezer’ stone from 1st Samuel 7.
But our second born was close to tears at the thought of having to sit still while listening to me read an entire chapter of the Bible. And to think he had to answer two whole questions was overwhelming!
One day as he was just getting started with the grumbling and whining about Bible time, I asked him to find his army guys! His eyes brightened as he ran downstairs and began to dig through the toy boxes to find his figures. When my five year old saw his brother’s excitement, he asked to join! So, the two of them set up for the battle between the Israelites and the Philistines and re-enacted the events as I sat with them and read 1st Samuel 14.
Banks gladly read a few sentences here and there to help understand what was happening in the story. But the BEST part was that they each wanted to be Jonathan and the Israelites, so they took turns with each side. I was elated at the repetition! We used some real honey to engage their taste buds and then called it a day.
Lastly, I am not an artist so the thought of drawing anything turns me off right away, but our younger two boys love it! It captures their attention right away and they enjoy continually going back to add more details to their creation. With this in mind, we made a “Great Things Poster” based off of the verse in 1 Samuel where he encourages the Israelites to remember the great things God has done for them.
“Be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.”
1st Samuel 12:24
We wrote the action words that Samuel calls us to at the top of our list as a reminder that our attitude towards God, our thoughts, and actions can all bring glory to Him. This summer we are going to keep a running record of the Great Things we notice God doing in the world.
This was not at all how I envisioned teaching God’s word to the boys at the beginning of the summer but sometimes saying yes to God means being willing to start something new without having all of the answers and instead relying on His Spirit to guide our steps as we seek more of Him.
Mr. Marc was our next door neighbor and often played songs on his guitar as the boys ran around in the backyard. As part of the Speer Family, he grew up singing gospel music and continues using his gifts to record hymns for CB&J today! These hymns are a timeless way to remind children about the character of Jesus, and we are grateful to be able to share these with you.