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Today’s guest post is from author and speaker, Keith Ferrin.
When I was a kid, I didn’t like reading the Bible very much. I didn’t dislike it. I believed it was true, and I thought that was enough. Thankfully, that all changed in my 20’s. How that happened is a long story, but the bottom line is I love the Bible now.
My wife and I have three young children. We want them to start loving it now…not fifteen years from now. We know that if they believe it’s true – and enjoy it – they will be much more likely to read it, internalize it, and be shaped by it.
In my book – Like Ice Cream: The Scoop On Helping the Next Generation Fall in Love With God’s Word – I boil down a year of conversations with parents, children’s pastors, and youth pastors into nine principles for helping kids love the Bible. Let’s look at one of them.
First, the What: Read It Together.
Sounds simple, right? Except that kids don’t always sit still and listen. (Or is that just my kids?) That said, something that Emilie Buchwald wrote still rings in my ears:
“Children are made readers on the laps of their parents.”
I hear countless grownups tell me about the books that their parents read to them. Little House on the Prairie. Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys. The Chronicles of Narnia was the series in my house. I loved them then. I love them now. I want my kids to feel about the Bible the way I feel about the Chronicles of Narnia.
But how? Here are three suggestions.
One: Expect it to be good.
This is huge. Our expectations typically coincide with our experiences. If we expect the Bible to be fun, we are way more likely to enjoy it than if we expect it to be dry. Sadly, most of us expect the Bible to be true, but we don’t expect it to be engaging and fun. If our own expectations are low, our kids will sense it as we read to them.
Two: Learn from Curious George.
When was the last time you read Curious George to a little kid? Did you give the different characters voices? Did you read differently when George was joyful, scared, or getting into big trouble? Of course you did!
Do the same thing next time you read the Bible to your child. Pretend that you are reading Curious George to a five-year-old. Give the characters voices. Read with passion. Change your tone. Pause. Get louder or quieter. Your kids will have heaps more fun (and so will you).
Three: Change it up.
Once I started looking more intentionally, I found that there are an unbelievable number of wonderful children’s Bibles and storybooks out there. We read different ones all the time. Here are a few of our favorites from the last few years:
- The Toddler’s Bible and The Preschooler’s Bible by V. Gilbert Beers – These have really colorful, engaging artwork, as well as discussion questions woven conversationally into the text. (My reviews are here and here.)
- The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones – This Bible shows how Jesus is connected to the stories in the Old Testament as well as the New. Make sure you get one of the versions with the audio CDs included (Deluxe or Collector’s). The narration is as good as I’ve heard.
- The Action Bible by David C. Cook – Hands down, the best Bible for 7-12 year olds. Written in comic book style, my kids always want me to “read another story.” (Here’s my review.)
There are many, many more. Feel free to email me (keith-at-keithferrin.com) for recommendations – or with some I should add to my resource list!
Read expectantly. Read with passion. And read a wide variety. Then let me know how it goes. (I truly want to know.)
Giveaway
Keith is giving away a free copy of Like Ice Cream to one of you! All you have to do is:
Leave a comment sharing why you think it’s challenging to read the Bible to your children.
One commenter will be randomly selected and the book will be mailed to you next week! For those of you who can’t wait, you can get it from Amazon here.
Giveaway ends Tuesday, Feb. 5th, at 11:59pm EST. Winner will be announced and contacted the following day. Please be sure to include your email address in the comment form so I can contact you.
U.S. residents only.
Keith Ferrin is a storyteller, author, blogger, and speaker whose passion is helping churches, families, and students fall in love with God’s Word. You can see some clips and connect with him on his blog, Twitter, or Facebook. Find out more about Like Ice Cream: The Scoop On Helping the Next Generation Fall In Love With God’s Word here.
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We have had seasons where we are really consistent with Bible reading and/devotions as a family at the table. We do it because when I was a girl of twelve, the most peaceful experience I had at a dinner table was of this man named Loren reading the Bible to his little girls after dinner when I came over. I never forgot that Godly family. I hungered for that. We want our kids to hunger for that too. The difficulty isn’t in the sharing, it’s in the questions. They love to ask questions. So many at once. So many we don’t have prepared answers for. Young kids ask terribly advanced questions at times. They are so capable of learning the deep things of God!
I am amazed at the questions they come up with. (Especially at bedtime!)
We read the Jesus Storybook Bible during Advent this last year. It was great. Hohablog at gmail dot com
We have a children’s bible but of course it doesn’t have actual scripture in it. It’s kind of difficult to read to my children because they usually aren’t interested in it (especially our toddler). I’m also trying to get our oldest who is reading now to start trying to read the bible on her own like she does her favorite storybooks.
Sometimes I try to simply ‘retell’ the story I read in my own quiet time. They are typically more interested…and it cements the story in my own mind to book it down and retell it.
Translating the language on their level. Also, small attention spans
you want to know what makes it so hard to read the Bible in our family? That is a loaded question. Our family consists of seven children ages 16, 11, 8, 5, 3, 2, 1 and then i have a husband who feels he’s not a teacher to train them in the way they should go. So if you have an easy, no brainer way for my husband to sit and get involve in reading to the family, I am willing to listen. Sorry for putting my business out there but I feel he should be headship amd spiritual leader of our house and it is so hard for me to see him not take up the job God wants him to. So do I pick up this job and do it myself? I take them to church, we pary together, and we do talk about God. Just keep my family in prayer there is so much going on that overwhelms me…. thanks
That is a really hard one Amy. I would imagine he ‘teaches’ them other things like sports, schoolwork, chores, etc. For me, I see it less as ‘teaching them’ and more as trying to pass on a love that I have in myself. Sadly, too many fathers don’t do this. I think you need to do what you can to lead in that area until he does it. I certainly agree that he needs to be doing it, but the kids can’t be ‘un-lead’ until he does. No easy answer Amy. Praying…
My boys (ages 9, 7 and 3) all love listening to the Bible before bed (probably partly because it delays bedtime!) But I agree with reading it with feeling and stopping to ask trivia questions in between helps.
Yes. My kids have also mastered the “Art of the Bedtime Stall!”
In our home the challenge is making it seem interesting to children of varying ages and simply making the time a priority. I love the suggestions mentioned in this blog. Thanks!
Glad you found it helpful.
I think it’s challenging because we have children of all different ages. I usually have to read to them each individually so they understand it on their level.
One thing we have tried is to have our older kids either read the story to our younger one or recap it for her.
It’s tough for us because one of our daughters is only with us half of the time. So to make our other daughter wait on the days between is difficult. Then getting our older daughter back into the mindset, since it’s not enforced at her mom’s house, adds another layer. Any help offered is a bonus.
The crazy schedules of blended families definitely makes it difficult! I have found that the more I try to weave what I’M reading into regular conversations (in the car, at meals, etc.) the easier it becomes to engage them when I want to read a section of Scripture.
Sometimes I find that for my kids ages, the stories are to long and breaking them up, they forget what is going on the next day. neclifton@gmail.com
That’s where a good age-appropriate Bible is super helpful. Stories are summarized and told at their level.
I think it is challenging to read the bible to my children because reading to my preschooler can be challenging and I haven’t found the right bible for her as a toddler. I am going to check into the ones you have suggested. Her attention is hard to keep at times. To be honest, is all these excuses really just being lazy on my part as a parent? mmm
Let me know how you like the Bibles once you check them out. And oftentimes, busyness is the issue more than laziness! If identifying the problems leads you to solve them (rather than causing you to do nothing) then that would be the definition of “not lazy.”
We have used several different Bible story books through the years. I wonder when is the appropriate time to use those less and use the actual Bible more. This is something I’ve been wondering about. He is 8.5 now.
So right now what is hard for me to know when reading is how much to read, how much he’s getting, is a storybook more appropriate, and not wanting to be doing the same stories over and over that he’s heard all his life from the story books.
preciousmoments2004 at gmail dot com
I think the answer really depends on the child. I also like to use some of each. I have been pleasantly surprised when I read a Bible story from one of the storybooks and one of my older children “fill in” the missing pieces because they’ve heard the “real version” from the Bible.
It’s difficult to “find time” to read, so I have to make it part if our schedule. Even with that, I still fail
I once heard someone say, “God isn’t as much concerned that we do everything, as He is that we do the next right thing.”
It can be a challenge, because we are pulled in many different directions. We enjoy having a devotional after dinner every night (Keys for Kids) and then we also read before bed. I think the key is to make it a priority. Do we miss some nights after dinner, yes, but we always make it a priority before bed.
I couldn’t agree more Gwen! In fact, this blog post is based on Principle #7 in “Like Ice Cream.” I talk about making it a priority in Principle #9. Great minds…
As a relatively new Christian myself (13 years) I’m still learning the Bible…there’s so much to digest and understand. So my struggle has been when my very curious daughter asks me to explain a passage I don’t even understand. But it’s good at the same time because it helps her to realize I’m not perfect or a know it all and we can learn God’s word together. It makes for great discussion and teaching/learning opportunities.
The vulnerability is way bigger than you even know. Sometimes, the best conversations have come as a follow-up to telling one of my kids, “That’s a good question. I’m going to look at that some more and we’ll chat about what I find.”
What is the challenge is just to actually sit down and take the time and for my kids to feel like they don’t have to “watch tv” or be entertained completely visually.
Keeping it at their level…. fun…. and being consistent are the challenges i faced as a parent and now as a grandparent. Thanks for your encouragement through this book. Hope to win if not I’ll be checking it out next time i head to the book store. Janita
I believe the drawing is tomorrow (or sometime this week). If you don’t win, you could probably have your bookstore order it, but it is highly unlikely it’ll be on the shelf. It is on Amazon, though. http://www.amazon.com/author/keithferrin
My challenge is that my son is a very busy 3 year old and has no desire to let me read anything at all to him, no matter how much I try! Lately I have been telling him big dramatic Bible stories when we are in the car. He’s strapped in his car seat and can’t go anywhere! It seems to work better. He is learning about Jesus and enjoying it. I also like for him to see me reading my Bible so that maybe one day he will want to as well!
We don’t have a great night-time routine, and end up getting home sometimes 2-3 nights a week later than we would like, which then leads to bedtime being later than we would like…so it’s easy to just get them in bed and not do any reading…we need to start trying to read it earlier in the day.
This happens to us more than we’d like to admit as well. Sometimes, when I know the night is going to be late, I’ll read during one of the meals. I have even read during breakfast and then eaten my breakfast later. Not ideal, but sometimes ideal isn’t always possible.
We are home schoolers and include a Bible read each day. I do find that my daughter will ask to read other books twice and not the bible. But one day she wondered why we did not read from Mommy’s Bible. We started the very next day and it does seem to be getting more interesting to her. I hope to make it her favorite and sure could use the help. colleennye92@gmail.com
I have found a lot has to do with consistency, as well as HOW we read. Sadly (and I’m not saying you do this), many of us read books other than the Bible with way more emotion and passion than when we read the Bible.
It is challenging reading with little ones who don’t sit still or longer than two seconds and are rarely quiet!
True. Hang in there. It does get easier. (Just not as quickly as we’d like.)
So Interested in this book. I think we think it is difficult because it might be over their heads or how does it relate to their little lives. I also think we have just never gotten into the habit of reading it. When we ourselves struggle to make it a habit, it is even harder to make it a habit with them.
I couldn’t agree more Sarah. I have said many, many times, “Our kids do what they see us doing, not what we tell them to do.” The first principle in the book is all about this concept.
It can be challenging at times because my kids are only 4 and 1. My 4 year old is more engaging and usually we sit together right before bed time to read sections out of the book “Jesus Calling Bible Storybook” by Sarah Young. Sometimes she is engaged but sometimes her mind is wondering if the section we are reading is longer than usual. I usually try to ask her questions about what we read. I like this book too because it includes a section where Jesus speaks directly to the child. My one year old usually only likes to look at the pictures in the Toddler Bible and that is all he can handle. I agree that making it fun and entertaining when we read to them will help. Thanks for this opportunity.
I’ll have to look at that Storybook. I’ve read Jesus Calling, but haven’t seen this one. Thanks for the tip!