Rooted in the Word...a good Iowa illustration Part One Images

See the type of stalk these roots produced?

Look at this root and stalk, same field, same weather, same soil, and yet??

not a lot of support for a growing stalk of corn? 

comparison.... good stalk, next to three ears of corn grown from the same field, yet very different!

Look at what our well rooted stalk produced?

Which corn reflects your life?

The next post our my notes from messages in chapel, at Emmaus Bible College Fall 2012... but I thought some guessing would be fun and YOUR thoughts about how our roots affect how strong our stalk/corn is.  Keep reading for the message notes....

Whispers from the Word..

Day 24 of 31 days...

Boy, when you keep your eyes open, you can FIND lots of great resources....

Raising Godly Children has many posts-- I have only read a few.... but like the ones I see:

Child Training Bible

Kids Need the Bible

Kids Need Godly Heroes

Toddler Bible Reviews: The Good, the bad, and the grade.... many of her reviewed Bibles were new to me! 

David C Cook has been a curriculum resource for many years... I just learned that they have some web pages and one I even 'liked' on facebook and the man who asked a question, LOVED my idea, on what resources to make FREE for people... keep watching if it happens, I'll report it here...

www.sundayschool.com
so far I've found a downloadable tool to pick the right curriculum for your Student... great start...

This HomeFront online magazine is connected as well.... and has some neat ideas!  here is the link to the webpage

Tell Your Children the Bible is Not about them...

For those of you who like podcasts:
Don't Hide God's Word from the Little Ones

A WEALTH of podcasts/video... sorted by topic..

 http://www.childrendesiringgod.org/media/

Whispers from the web...

Day 21  of 31 days

Some days I realize, I have so much to share/offer that I haven't seen anyone else mention online... then others I realize how many people who are out there sharing my concerns, thoughts, and inspirations to get their kids in the Word... some of them it's just a post 3 times a year, and others talk about it all the time.  I'm just hoping to make this a go to place to see not my expertise, but what other real people think and how they plan to use the Word in their kids lives!  So I think Whispers from the web will be an ongoing feature on my whisperingtheword blog.   As believers we know that fellowship is sweet, and we need to find others in our own community and in the virtual world to help us be the best whisperers we can be! 

Great inspiration to give your kids easy access to Bible study materials with breakfast... this website has MANY links for grown up Bible study tips as well!

http://inspiredtoaction.com/2012/08/create-a-hellomornings-bible-study-basket-for-your-children/

Ideas for a child's bible study based on the Mom studying Colossians.... 

http://www.goodmorninggirls.org/2012/09/where-what-why-write-word-study-for-kids-in-colossians/

a blog that is new to me, but her concepts mirror my personal discoveries as a mom to a 2 year old, 6 year old and 10 year old!

http://www.notconsumed.com/2012/10/18/parenting-a-hurting-child-teach-them-scripture/

Whispers from the Web...

Day 23 of 31 days....

Pinterest Boards to follow....

Remember my talk about Post its as Magic...

here is a board of ways to use Post It uses with kids. Comment if you have ways to make them fit 'biblical education! 

here is my board of spiritual disciplines (bible study, prayer)

here is my board of children's ministry.

Here is my NEW board of child storybook Bibles...

Theological thoughts about chldren's materials part 2

Day 20 of 31 days....

Sin, the fall, Jesus death on a cross, evil in the world, poor choices by man, punishment of God as seen in His sending a flood to DESTROY sinners....

My thought today is simple, yet profound for those muddling their way through ALL the resources for children that make the Bible developmentally/age appropriate wording.... but do they eliminate the FULL breadth, length, width of Biblical truth by being too nice, too friendly, or just plain skipping some vital elements of theology and doctrine? 

Kids need to know that there are consequences to disobedience.   Kids need to see it in the Bible storys that they are taught.   An example from a recent Sunday School lesson to help you understand this point, think about the story of Elizabeth and Zacharias. (taught in Luke 1). 

Read it here: from the ESV translation
In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah,of the division of Abijah. And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 7 But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren, and both were advanced in years. 8 Now while he was serving as priest before God when his division was on duty, 9 according to the custom of the priesthood, he was chosen by lot to enter the temple of the Lord and burn incense. 10 And the whole multitude of the people were praying outside at the hour of incense. 11 And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. 12 And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the angel said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, 17 and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared." 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, "How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years." 19 And the angel answered him, "I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time." 21 And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. 22 And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. 23 And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home. 24 After these days his wife Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself hidden, saying, 25 "Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people." 

Most storybook Bibles mention Elizabeth and her child, some mention her husband, but none of the big stack I looked at last week, bring up the fact that Zacharias questioned the Angel, and then was speechless/mute for her pregnancy because he did not believe his words... so they miss that opportunity to talk about a consequence in not immediately recognizing God's plan/promise.   Now this is a MINOR example, and I know that if all the details were included in every storybible- they would be too long, too detailed, and not on target for children, but I'm going to take some time and look at this concept in ALL my children's bible storybooks, and see if they bring up sin, consequences, and other troubling concepts that we all need to KNOW as we read God's Word.   

It's something to think about.... and a caution for using something that isn't complete, isn't a translation, and therefore isn't a full picture of the Bible.   Bible stories are great, and necessary for the full picture of theology, but if the versions we present to kids only tell the nice, polite part of the story, we are unintentionally hurting the biblical knowledge we seek our kids to have!    

Theological thoughts in story Bibles....

Day 19 of 31 days...

A break from my research and teaching ideas, to think through and journal my personal thoughts about the deeper aspects of whispering the Word with our kids with all the wonderful options available in the 21st century American world.  This is more my musings and processing, as I realize how much 'weight' selecting a Bible storybook to use with children can have that I a humble teacher who loves God and loves His Word may not focus enough on.  I am blessed to teach at a Bible College where I work with men who are truly gifted theologians, and they inspire me to stretch and grow in my own applications of theological concepts, research, and plans.  

Theology..

We learn theology from the Bible.  We learn doctrine from the Bible. We also learn stories from the Bible.  We learn who God is from the Bible. We learn what God promises to believers and unbelievers in His Word. We learn what these big and little words are in a biblical light....

 
So when we look at a Bible storybook, we often think only of the story part.  Which for many purposes is okay. But if we read enough Bible storybooks with our kids, to our kids, or let them read it independently, we better stop, pause, pray, and ask for clarity that we are not allowing the 'story' to be so enjoyable, that the weight, reality, and real meaning in the original book is lost! 

We need to be sure that in the big picture, we are still focusing our children on ALL the aspects of the living, active, Word of God which is sharper than any two edged sword...  If they only see the stories of the Bible, especially if those stories are all focused on the happiness, blessing, and joy found in following God, we need to rethink our plan.  The Bible is a great book and draws us in because it is balanced, it is action packed, it has all the BEST elements of any favorite book-- good/evil, joy/sorrow, trials/blessings, action, drama, love, hope, war/battles, redemption,.... but are we showing our children a full enough picture in our attempts to make them readers who enjoy the Word?   Are we giving them enough milk to sustain their spiritual growth, and make them think critically about who God is, how He planned for Jesus to come as the Word, and to redeem our lives? 

more to come....

Advice on choosing Storybook Bibles from others...

Day 18... of 31 days...

Here are some blogs that give solid tips and reviews on children's storybook Bibles...

A guest post on how to buy your first storybook bible...
http://www.redeemedreader.com/2010/12/buying-your-first-story-bible/

an indepth review with links to other reviews....
http://www.redeemedreader.com/2012/10/shopping-for-bible-storybooks/

another one from the same site. I love both of the Bibles she reviews here;
http://www.redeemedreader.com/2011/12/the-word-of-god-for-kids/


I found this review when I was searching for other insights that I may have missed and I like it;
http://www.atgrace.com/events/choosing-childrens-bible

more to come... but these were my favorite for today!