I was thirteen when I opened up a Bible and saw Jesus. I did not know the Bible had “books,” or that there was an Old and New Testament. I dd not know there was a love that covered my sin and I had no idea where to begin with this holy and sacred Book.
Someone put a Bible in my hands moments after I gave my life to Jesus. Imagine a small group of girls, now to me Sisters-in-Christ, circling around me in excitement and wonder, as they watched me hold that Bible with all vigilance and expectation. They showed me Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus…I repeated each Book after them and devoured each detail they shared with me until late hours of the night. I couldn’t hear or learn enough, fast enough. I wore the pages of my first Bible thin, learning what I could, reading and highlighting and asking questions to whomever would listen.
My life changed the day I discovered the Gospel and the Gospel saved me.
My life changes every day I pick up my Bible, open it and read it. The more I read, the more I want to learn and the more I learn, the more I discover my pursuits are directed.
But what happened when God gave me kids?
The thing is, I grew up with a good moral compass, but did not know how to read or study the Bible until I was a teenager. So, what happened when I had children and wanted to teach them the Word of God and the LIFE in its pages?
I was worried I would do “it” wrong. I was concerned I “wasn’t doing enough.” I took it to heart and carried the responsibility like a weight.
My purpose had outweighed my passion and I lost sight of what was really important.
So, on the days we I could muster up the energy and gather my growing family together after the Builder (a.k.a. husband) left for work, I would take out my Bible and read to them. We learned together.
My kiddos were not lined up in a neat row, void of movement. They were not sitting at the table with their Bibles open and listening attentively. They were wiggling and giggling and hanging off of the edge of the couch. The baby was nursing, the dishes were undone and the middle schoolers were doodling in their notebooks. And I was holding onto the Bible for dear life, wondering when in the world this was going to “click,” or someone would come along and teach me a better way. That “someone” never showed up in my life.
Who needs perfect when you have the gift of being present. Every day that we open up the Bible to read and learn together opens my eyes to the daily gift of showing up together. Try it. There is no wrong way.
But God showed up every day in my home, with me reading the Word to my kids. And this grew and grew and grew into something that sparked a flame and a love for Jesus in my kiddos, so that one day I woke up to my children asking me, “When are we doing devotions mom?”
And I sat and let the tears fall unabashedly in front of my children. They knew right there that God is real and living and shows up every day whether we do or not.
~I began to add inflection and character to my voice as I read, and the Bible came alive to them.
~I added in different elements to our Bible time together. We sang, did memory verse work, flashcards, actions and journaling.
~I made it engaging and interesting. We looked at maps and considered culture.
~I talked about application to our personal lives and we took time to pray and ponder what the Bible was teaching us individually and as a family.
~I added in character correlation and the Bible became a living, breathing part of our every day movements.
~I allowed them to lead our time together once a week as they grew older.
~I had to work at this. I had to help them, and guide them and give them the tools they needed as they grew to be able to do this on their own. It wasn’t scholarly or a demand for perfection or full attention.
But the Word of God drew them in, in moments I thought they weren’t really listening.
Teaching my children the Word of God is the number one investment into my family that I will never regret.
Now is the time to pick up your Bible.
Now is the time to open it up and read the words within the Word.
What is the one thing keeping you from those two “simple” steps?
After 29 years of raising my children (and still at it today,) I created a Bible Study Bundle for families just like yours. If you are looking for a way to begin, I would love to invite you to stop over here and see the resources I created from the very places of learning HOW to teach my kids the Bible. Enjoy!
Check out our Bible devotional resources for your family at September & Co. here: September & Co.
