Monday, December 30, 2013

14 Bible Verses For Parents in 2014

New Years can be a time for reflection.  A time to think about the way we live our lives.  God's Word is the best source to guide us in any goal, resolution, or change that we might decide to make in the New Year.  Here is a list of Bible verses to help light your path as you think about your family in 2014. (I did 14 verses, because 2,014 verses would be a little cumbersome as a blog post!)

1. Proverbs 1:7
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction." 
As parents we need knowledge.  Also, so much of our children's lives is spent acquiring knowledge.  It is great to know where we both should begin, having awe and respect for God.  Check out this related post.
 
2. Psalm 145:4
"One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts."
What a delight to teach our children about God's amazing power and mighty works.  Check out Psalms 78 for more about teaching our children about God's power and might. Check out this related post.

3, 4, & 5. Ephesians 6:1-3
"Children, obey your parent in the Lord: for this is right. Honor thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth."
As a parent many of my desires for my children's lives can be boiled down to: for it to be well with them and for them to live long on the earth.  Teaching obedience is work, but it has great results!

6. Proverbs 29:17
"Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart." ESV
Correcting my children takes effort and work, but in the end there is great rest and delight.

7. Proverbs 16:24
"Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones."
By working on speaking pleasant words, I am giving my family something that is sweet to the soul and healthy for them also! Read more here.

8.  Psalm 128:1
"How blessed is everyone who fears the LORD, Who walks in His ways." NASB
As we fear, reverence, the LORD God and walk in God's ways we will be blessed this next year.  Continue reading the rest of Psalm 128 to see how the whole family benefits.

9. Psalm 127:3
"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward."  ESV
Teaching, training, feeding, clothing, and loving children takes a lot of work, but they are also such a wonderful blessing from God.  Continuing reading Psalm 127.

10. Deuteronomy 6:7
"You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk to them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." ESV
With the beginning of the year, it is a great time to decide to be diligent this next year in teaching our children throughout daily life.  Check out this related post.

11, 12, 13, &14. Proverbs 6:20-23
"My son, keep your father's commandment, and forsake not your mother's teaching.  Bind them on your heart always; tie them around your neck.  When you walk, they will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.  For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the ways of life" ESV
This is such a beautiful long term goal we can have for our children.  For what we teach them this year to be held onto in their hearts.  And then in the years to come God's Word to lead them in life.

© Brigette Hill, 2013

Monday, December 16, 2013

"God's Word is Light" Teaching Ideas

 
Theme Verse
“Your word is a lamp to my feet” Psalm 119:105a


Song 
The B-I-B-L-E
A lamp unto my feet, (fingertips together, then open wide, sign language for light)
It lights the path I walk upon, (walk two fingers on arm)
The B-I-B-L-E


Parent Preparation 
Psalms 119:105, Psalms 43:3-4, Psalm 119:130, Proverbs 4:18 (10-19), Proverbs 6:23 (20-23), Romans 10:9-10, Ephesians 6:1

Supplies
pen, paper, Bible, flashlight, print out of teaching

Day 1
  • (Read Psalm 119:105)
  •  “Your” is talking about God.
  • “Word” how do we know God’s Word?  We read the Bible.  God told men what to write down.
  • “Lamp” (show your child a lamp)  What does a lamp do? Why do we turn it on?
  • “Feet” - What do our feet do?  When we walk do we need a light?
  • If I don’t have light when I am walking I might hurt myself.
  • Light helps me know where I want to walk. 
  • The Bible helps us know how we should live our lives.

Day 2
Night Walk Activity

  • Go outside at night when it is really dark.  Take a flashlight and let your child hold it.  
  • As you walk, note how the flashlight helps you know where there are bushes, rocks, trees, and holes.  Note how walking around these things keeps you from getting hurt.
  • (Read Psalm 119:105)

Day 3  
  • (Read Psalm 119:105) 
  • Light helps us to see how to go the places we want to go.  
  • God’s Word helps us to know about good things to do, how to get born again.  (Read Romans 10:9-10)  God’s Word provides light for our lives.
  • The Bible helps us know good things to do, like obey our parents. (Read Ephesians 6:1) Disobeying your parents is like going off the path and running into a bush.
  • When we don’t know what to do in life, we can look in our Bible and it can tell us what to do.

Additional Activities
  • Day Time Light Activity:  Find a spot in your house that you can make dark during the day.  This maybe a closet, a bathroom without windows, or make a blanket tent.  Put different objects in the space.  Have your child to use a flashlight and find the objects.
  • Observe Light:  During your day note to your child how light helps you during different tasks. 

"God's Word is..." Teaching Series
1. God's Word is True
2. God's Word is Light
3. God's Word is Sweet
4. God's Word Stands Forever
5. God's Word is For Toddlers

© Brigette Hill, 2013

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

"God's Word is True" Teaching Ideas

Theme Verse
“All your words are true” Psalm 119:160a NIV

Song  
The B-I-B-L-E

Supplies 
Pen, paper, Bible, items for “Real vs. Pretend”, and print out of teaching. Optional supplies: picture of a man writing (from “The Really Big Book of  Bible Story Coloring Pages” page 319) pictures of men that wrote the Bible from a children's Bible or coloring book (such as Moses, David, Paul)

Parent Preparation
Psalm 119:151,160, Numbers 23:19, 2 Timothy 2:15, 2 Timothy 3:16, 2 Peter 1:20-21, Jeremiah 36:1-32

Day 1
  • (read verse for the week)
  • The Bible has words.  Can you find words in my Bible?
  • Men wrote down words as God told them what to write down. (use picture of a man writing)
  • Tell me a word and I will write it down.  I wrote (child’s name) words.  When men wrote down what God said they wrote down God’s words.  The Bible is God’s Word.  God spoke them and men wrote them down.
  • Different men wrote down different parts of the Bible.  Some of them were Moses, David, and Paul (show pictures). 

Day 2
  • Read Numbers 23:19a.  God is not a man, and He does not lie.  This means that His words are not a lie.  Since the Bible is God’s Word, then the Bible is not a lie, it is true.  If I said that I was a cat is that true?  No that is a lie because I am a person.  If I said we were in a swimming pool is that true?  No that is a lie.  We are in a room.  The Bible does not lie and it is always true.
  • (read the verse for the week)  When you wake up in the morning God’s Word is true, at lunch God’s Word is true, when you go to bed God’s Word is true.  God always does what He says He will do.


Day 3   Real vs. Pretend Activity
  • Our play food is very realistic looking!
    Ahead of time gather items so that you have a fake version and a real version of multiple items.  Things that I have used before: play food and real food, fake and real flowers, fake and real animals/reptiles, real baby and a baby doll.  Also gather a Bible and a book that has pretend characters in it (Winnie the Pooh, Elmo, etc).  2 boxes are also helpful.
  • Hand each item to your child.  Talk about which one is real and which one is pretend.  Put the real items in one box (or pile) and the pretend items in the other box (or pile).  At the end pass around a story book (Pooh or Elmo) talk about how this is pretend.  Then pass around a Bible and talk about how this is true.
  • Read Psalm 119:160a


Additional Activity:
  • Bible Show and Tell
Have child stand up show his/her Bible. “This is my Bible.” or just “Bible”.  Help your child find some words in the Bible and then have the child point and show “these are God’s Words” or “God’s Word”.  During the Show and Tell reinforce with your child that we are gentle with the Bible and we use “nice hands”.

"God's Word is..." Teaching Series
1. God's Word is True
2. God's Word is Light

3. God's Word is Sweet
4. God's Word Stands Forever
5. God's Word is For Toddlers
  
© Brigette Hill, 2013
  

Thursday, December 5, 2013

A Parents Heart: Teach Diligently Deuteronomy 6:7

By Katie Zitelli
December's verse to mediate on is "You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:7 ESV
  1. Print out the verse. Half Page or Full Page. (thanks to Katie Zitelli for the printable!)
  2. Post it where you will look at it often this next month. (such as refrigerator or bathroom mirror)
  3. Meditate on it.  In the Bible "to meditate" is to think on and to consider the verse.   It isn't a passive state of thinking, instead you literally “talk to yourself” about the verse. 
Teaching my children the Bible during everyday life, gives me a chance to teach my children how to live God's Word, not just have knowledge about it.  It is the essence of of practical teaching!  During everyday life all the "visuals" are already provided! 

When you think of the different activities that this encompasses, it is really exciting to think of all the teaching opportunities we have as parents.  This helps me to see even more the time I spend with my daughters as such a valuable treasure.
  • "sit in your house" - we sit together when eating meals, watching TV, reading books, playing games.  
  • "walk by the way" - going on hikes, walking in the neighborhood are both great chances to teach the Bible. 
  • "when you lie down" - putting children to bed is another time to teach the Bible as you review the day.
  • "when you rise" - starting the day is another awesome time to speak what the Bible says. 

When looking at this verse from Deuteronomy 6 in the context, it has great guidance for us as parents to prepare to teach in all of these situations.  It has to do with our heart.   "5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise." Deuteronomy 6:5-7 ESV 
 
Recently I was reminded of these verses while on a long car trip with my daughters by myself.  During the trip I wasn't actively seeking God and putting God's Word in my heart.  As we stopped to eat our lunch outside, my daughters were watching some birds eat crumbs.  I started to think, "What should I teach them from the Bible that relates to birds?"  But then I realized that those thoughts weren't coming out of a love for God, and having God's Word in my heart, instead it was out of obligation. So, while my girls watched the birds, I humbly prayed to God and turned my heart back to His Word.
 
As I love God with all of my life, I put His Word in my heart and live it, then I will know what to teach my daughters in daily life.  What a joy for us as parents, we get to grow in our walk with God while teaching our children.  God's ways are higher than our ways. 


Related Posts  

  1. A Parent's Heart: Love God, Deuteronomy 6:5     
  2. A Parent's Heart: God's Word In Our Heart, Deuteronomy 6:6

  © Brigette Hill, 2013

Monday, December 2, 2013

What To Look For In December At Humble Hearts

Look For:

  • The parenting verse to meditate on this month is Deuteronomy 6:7.  I'm excited about this one.  This verse inspires me over and over again.
  • The teaching series "God's Word is....".  When teaching my children the Bible, I constantly come back to what the Bible is, and why it is so important.
  • A resource recommendation of a Children's Bible.
  • A new verse to the song "The B-I-B-L-E".
  • 14 Bible verses to look at when considering parenting and family goals for 2014.

Related Past Post:

© Brigette Hill, 2013