The Mediations of Our Heart

I believe it is our job as parents to equip our children with the tools needed to navigate the world and to succeed. This is especially true when we are talking about our faith and our faith stories. 
Storytime means everyone and it is a perfect time to talk about faith.
  • How do we know who God is?
  • What do we know about God’s character? 
  • How can we “prove” to our children that our understanding of God affects our lives?
The most tangible way to answer any of these questions is through scripture. How do we know who God is? We know who God is through the person of Jesus Christ and we learn about who Jesus is in the Bible. If it seems simple, it is.
When we read scripture together and talk about scripture as a family, we begin to see that the stories that happened so long ago continue to guide of understanding of the world around us. I do not believe we can read scripture in a vacuum but we must discuss how these Biblical stories teach us how to respond to the world as followers of Jesus. The earlier this practice begins the better.
During the next few days I will be providing you with ways to read scripture and talk about scripture together. Please don’t begin with the Gospel of Luke or Paul’s Letter to the Romans. Start with the small bite size pieces. I will give you some examples to help you all along the way.

The first technique for reading scripture is from Faith Inkubators, www.faithink.com. It is FAITH5 by Rich Melheim.  Melheim provides us with a wonderful format for how to apply scripture reading at home to our daily lives. It is simple and can be done with any age.
Here are the steps to follow:
1. SHARE highs & lows of the day (I ask my younger kids what made them happy and sad during the day.)
2. READ and highlight a verse of Scripture in your Bible. (The highlighted section below with the verse for today.)
3. TALK about how the verse relates to your highs & lows
4. PRAY for your highs & lows, for your family, and for the world
5. BLESS one another
Today is: Genesis 9:8-11

God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”

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