As young as 5-6, when they learn to read. I got Precious Moments NKJV because my kindy required us to have a real Bible when we were 6. So I got my kids the same when they turned 6 or before.
In the Jewish culture, they started formally studying the scriptures at 5.
30 I and My Father are one.”
John 10:30
61 But He kept silent and answered nothing.
Again the high priest asked Him, saying to Him, “Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?”
62 Jesus said, “I am. And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.”
Mark 14:61-62
13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
20 Then He commanded His disciples that they should tell no one that He was Jesus the Christ.
Matthew 16:13-21
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
John 1:1-5
And Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord and my God!”
John 20:28
is mostly the same as with the younger kids:
Baking, decorating, setting up a super large Christmas town out of Lego together in the living room (check out YouTube for inspiration), setting up a Nativity Scene in the front yard out of pallets, have friends come over a couple of days before, hot cocoa with marshmallows and peppermint candy sticks, s'mores, reading the Christmas story in front of the fire, sharing your Christmas stories, take lots of photos with themed wear or matchies, plan Christmas at a log cabin instead, get a puppy... the list is endless
1. There is a difference between canned food and fresh food. Similarly, devotionals we buy from the shops are to me like canned food -- someone else has come up with them some time ago and preserved their devotionals in a book which we buy from the shelf. But spiritual fresh food is when we hear from God what He is saying today in our current situation. Don't get me wrong -- the Holy Spirit can use any situation to speak to us, just like canned food may still be nutritious. But eventually, I still prefer to eat my fresh veggies which I harvested and they're much more nutritious.
2. Devotion is not Bible Study. The word 'devotion' itself comes from the word, 'devote' which is when we devote our time, life and energy to God. The purpose of devotion is to develop intimacy with God whereas the purpose of Bible Study is to understand the Word of God. One feeds your Spirit, the other your head. Again, don't get me wrong -- the Bible says we study to show ourselves approved and many times over in Proverbs, the Bible says how important knowledge, wisdom and understanding is. Nevertheless, reading a love letter from my husband builds my relationship with him and studying a book about how men's brain works are two very different things. Also, many non-Christians still study the Bible today and remain in their various other faiths while some Christians go to Bible school hoping to be a pastor and leave as an atheist.
3. If you seriously want to hear from God, speak to Him and listen. Try asking Him a question and ask Him to give you a book, chapter and verse. Then close your eyes and wait for it.
4. I also recommend reading the four gospels to enhance that relationship with Jesus. Start with John. And as you read, listen to His voice, not yours. And read with your heart, not your head.
Nothing can replace my relationship with my kids. I want to be the one to show them the answers to a difficult question, the one filled with joy when they first learn to read, the one who shows them all the multiplication hacks and the one who opened up their eyes to countries they've never been to before.
Plus, nobody else is more responsible for their education than I. I can't blame the teacher if anything goes wrong. And even if I try to, what do I get throwing the blame around? Ultimately, I will do my best to teach my own kids and nobody else will put in the kind of effort I am willing to.
Hide everything. Take one basket of toys at a time. Pack different sets in different bags for when he goes out so when you're in a rush, just grab one bag with toys he's not played with in a while and that will keep him occupied especially when you're going somewhere he needs to keep quiet or like a long drive.
As an English teacher, I try to encourage students to engage in as much dialogue as possible in their writing. Pick up any good book and just scan through the pages to find out the percentage of content that is actually pure conversation and thinking to oneself; and you'll realize that more than half to 80% of story content is indeed made up of dialogues.
She just needs a few pointers:
1. Punctuation -- I can't emphasize this enough -- open with open inverted commas, and end with a comma or full stop (she needs to be able to tell which), before her closing inverted commas.
2. Each conversation and reply is a paragraph by itself -- each person in a dialogue will open a new paragraph unless it's the same person continuing a sentence after an action, i.e. "Hello," he said while looking at her, "How are you?"
Posts
