Children's bibles  are a great way to dive in to the story aspect of scripture and understand it in a simple manner. God uses them to speak not only to children - I have learned bunches as I have read them, as well. Penny received her first children's bible as a baby shower gift. Once she was old enough to sit long enough to look at pictures we read it to her. She accumulated a handful of favorite stories and we read them over and over and over. And the bible became well loved and warn and taped from reading it so much.

I love reading the bible with her but it gets a little old reading the same thing again and again and again, so we started looking for more options. I thought I would share some of our bible stash, if you will, just in case you need some options, too. We received some as gifts and found others second hand.

The Rhyme Bible: Growing up, I loved Roald Dalh and this has a Roald Dalh feeling to it. Fun and catchy phrases with intriguing sketched / water colored illustrations.

Alice in bibleland: Parallels the Through the Looking Glass concept of Alice in Wonderland but with bible stories and captivating rhymes. Each book is a difference story. 

The Beginner's Bible: Easily understandable bible stories with clear concepts and basic illustrations.

The Jesus Story Book Bible: More descriptive stories with entertaining illustrations. The artwork is more interactive (i.e. full page horizontal pictures) and great for discussing and interpreting.

Tiny Bears Bible: Charming, simple poems about bible stories for the little ones with adorable illustrations to represent them.

Praying that this gets you thinking about your child's spiritual formation, no matter the age. Praying that you would lead your child in studying the bible and that it would be a fun and memorable experience for you both. Praying that you would find materials suitable for your child that keeps questions coming and learning abounding. Praying that you would not dismiss the messages as you read, no matter how small or simple they appear; God's word is always there to teach.

Praying that you would make time to read and teach your child more about God's word if you have do not have routines set already. Praying that you and your child would see glimpses of God's glory as you learn and grow together in this adventure. Praying that the concepts learned would overflow in to your daily life and be engrained in the heart of your little disciple, God's masterpiece.

Here's to discipleship and reading and learning and growing with your child.  

I have posted before about being obedient. It is something that God keeps challenging me with lately. It is not easy. Just like it is not easy for my three year old to keep her play kitchen cups empty of water, along with the rest of her kitchen set and the floor and any bowl in the vicinity.

Pure obedience. I have been searching for what this looks like in my life personally, so naturally I looked up the definition in my bible's concordance for further study.

Obedience: submissiveness to authority; following orders.

It is about following what God has to say through the bible. Obedience and listening go hand in hand. Without listening you will not know what you need to obey and if you hear what God has said, you should then obey.

Hearing God through the chaos and distractions can be tough. This is another topic on itself. I highly recommend the book Hearing God by Dallas Willard. It is sure to change the way you listen.

We are called to not to be merely hearing but doing what it says (James 1:22). Your stomach may be in knots and sweat may be collecting. Being obedient takes courage and bravery and trust in God in what he has asked you to do and for him to follow through.

For me this week, it looked like writing about this. For the past few months, it has been sharing my writing in general. It may seem silly to you but it is not easy for me. Being obedient refines you. It takes you out of yourself and in to God's plans and works for you. It makes you do things that seem crazy to others and possibly yourself. It keeps you relying on God to pull through on the plan he has.

The bible has a lot to say about obedience, with numerous accounts to back it up. From Abraham to Moses to David and Solomon. Their lives all demonstrated it. But what does this look like in the 21st century in your life? I pray that you would seek God for guidance and open your heart to his words. Search the bible and be in prayer.

I pray that if God has asked you to do something already that you would take the first step toward whatever it may be. Fill out the application. Make the call. Say the words that silence has filled. Do something. Whatever your something is. Whatever God has called you to do.

You will be blessed by it because God's word does not return void.

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

God does not ask us to do things that will hurt others or ourselves but those that help them and glorify him.

Here's to tuning in to the still small voice of God and being obedient to his calling. And more prayers to help you answer the calling towards obedience. Here's to opening your eyes and heart to God's guidance. 

For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does. Psalm 33:4

There is something about the way the words dash across the screen and the cursor dances with each pause and the pencil scrapes the page that makes writing so intriguing. Half the fun is not knowing exactly what will come out. And when the letters form words they become subject to the readers themselves. The writer paints a picture but it is the reader who openly interprets it and imagination and emotions spring to life. What was the color and shape of the pencil scraping the page? Perhaps similar to my favorite grey mechanical who lost his eraser years ago but keeps on trucking along. And the paper. Yes. The paper. Is it typical three whole punched binder paper? Or is it bound in a fancy notebook brimming with colors and quotes and doodles in its margins? Those are the juices that are allowed to run wild as the reader is taken through the words so carefully selected and pieced together.

More or less. Vague or scattered with details. Oh the choices and possibilities on the page are endless. Stories unfold and pictures are painted, without acrylics or canvas. Just pure imagination and life experience. Yes. We must not forget life experience. It weaves in emotions and memories that correlate to the words we read on the page and allows us to sympathize. To smile. To cry. To love. All because of some black type. Oh, the beauty of the written word.

The bible says that God's word is truth (Psalm 119:160). That it is alive and active (Hebrews 4:12). It is amazing how reading words can change your life. How each time you read a passage something sweet and new is revealed. Like unwrapping a piece of fine chocolate and anticipating its taste. Sometimes it does not taste like you had imagined and the aroma seems a little off but you keep unwrapping and take another bite because it is chocolate after all. And God's word is like that. It is not always sweet and pretty but it has substance and depth that nothing else can compare to. How God uses the word to breathe life and hope and love is remarkable. My own words cannot do it justice but I am okay with that.

After all, does the clay say to the potter, 'what are you making?' (Romans 9:21)

I pray that if you have never taken the time to read the bible, to open up its pages and let the word speak life in to your life, that you would do so. Reading books about the bible or bible commentaries or blogs or other articles are all great resources but you are missing the meat of it all. What God has to say to you through words that span centuries and millenniums is nothing like you can get through other means. And just in case you need a little help in your own study, this method might come in handy.

Here's to more truth and less noise. More of God's word and less of everyone else's. 

Personal bible study. It can be a daunting thing when you first dive in. Which book to read? Where to start? What does THAT mean? How does this apply to me?! So much can start to bubble about from one simple action that you may be overwhelmed at where to start. And of course you are reading your bible daily, right? There can be a lot of pressure to read your bible and do this and that when you start following Christ and get deeper in to the relationship. Just remind yourself that there is no competition. No comparison. Everyone is blazing their own journey with Christ and if you let Him take the lead and guide you, it will be your greatest adventure yet.

So back to bible study, I was in a lull in my personal studies a few years back and came across this method, referred to as SOAP. It really changed the way I read and studied the scriptures and left me with little notes from God, if you will, written in my own hand. Each morning I read a chapter or two in whatever book of the bible I am studying, depending on how much time I had, and then filled out each part of the SOAP acronym. It is truly awesome how much God will reveal from his word if you just take the time to study and listen.

What does SOAP stand for, you ask?

Scripture: Which scripture stuck out to you most? Write it down. 

Observation: What you think about the verse? What does God seem to be revealing through it?

Application: How do you apply this little truth to your life?

Prayer: Write a prayer asking how to implement this verse in to your life.

I have a notebook I use each day to keep it all in one place. I have heard of using binder paper and a file folder with each book of the bible on its own tab so you can keep all of the studies you have personally done for that particular book in one place. That seems super handy and eventually I will do that, too but for now it is all bound together in a notebook.

After the chapter is read, the verse or verses that I had stopped at during the reading or jumped off the page at me are written down. Then I underline or highlight or add brackets, whatever my little heart so desires, to the parts that are most important to me. This is the observation. I write a bit about what I think about the verse, what God seems to be revealing through it. Next, is how to apply this little truth to my life. Perhaps I do not know what it means and that is why the verse stuck out to me, so I look it up in the application part of my bible - life application bibles are awesome when you are new to studying the bible or have been for awhile. If there is nothing in it for that particular verse I will ask someone about it and start a little google search to see what others have said about it. God will reveal tidbits about it that way, too. I finish it all up with a little prayer. Prayers about implementing this verse in to my life and for forgiveness for doing otherwise. Yes, these verses may be used to convict you and for God to change your heart. Prayers of thankfulness and praise.

There is so much that God does during this time. All of this usually happens within thirty minutes or less but it makes a HUGE impact on my day. For me, trying to get up before the kiddos do seems to works best but not all days work that way. Naptimes or after breakfast during play time works occasionally, too. After awhile, looking back at what God has shown you through each of your entries is really rewarding. Scattering your pages are little incites and wisdom from the creator of heaven and earth. Wow. That is a gift you can give yourself daily, just take a few minutes.

I love to give this method to friends, so I thought I would leave you with a printable to post in your own personal notebook or one for a friend. There is nothing better than sharing a great way to get to know Jesus better. And a side note, washi tape is perfect for adhering it  to the inside of a notebook. Cute and fun.

Here's to losing yourself and knowing Jesus more. More studying and less scrolling and more peace than you know. Click image to download.