I'm gonna be really honest with you all and tell you that I grew up Catholic and there wasn't a whole lot of emphasis put on the Bible. Don't get me wrong. I had a Bible (it was Precious Moments with my name engraved on the front and I still have it), I just didn't know what to do with it. Eventually I opened it and read a few pages, but if I'm being brutally honest, the first few books of the Old Testament (past the Creation story and the flood) aren't exactly easy for a 7 year old to read and understand without a child's Bible.
All that to say that now that I have a child of my own, I very much want her to know the Bible and all its glory. At 31, I know VERY little of what is contained in those pages. I can tell you the gist of most stories and probably quote 1 or 2 verses (not kidding), but like I said, verses weren't something we focused on parochial school. (NOTE: I have NOTHING against parochial school, I simply wish the Bible had been a more integral part of my schooling).
And ALL that to say that we have 2 great toddler devotional books and a children's Bible on the way (she has one, but it's for older kids) to help us teach Sweet P about the amazing power of God. We read one of the devotional books on a regular basis (both are ABC designed) and we've dabbled in the other, but we're saving it until Tot School starts for us next week. We decided to start helping her "learn" verses. I wasn't sure how this would go and honestly I wasn't really thinking she'd "memorize" or even learn the verse, but thought it'd be something to talk to her about. I was AMAZED at what she retained.
We spent about 3 weeks on the first one (simply because I didn't change it) and before long all I had to say, "Let's say our verse..." and out of the babe's mouth it'd come. We've learned one other since then and are now on our 3rd. I have to say, that even if she doesn't retain the information, the Farmer and I are having a great time learning these verses! And they are so applicable to our lives! Here are our first 3. The first one is from ABC Bible Verses, the second we chose one night when she was having sleep issues and the 3rd is from Big Thoughts for Little People (we have an old version that was the Farmer's as a kid!!!).
I'm so excited to introduce Sweet P (and us!) to a new verse each week. Since we don't officially start our Tot School until next week we picked a random verse (the 3rd one) this week. Here's what we've used so far:
"A soft answer turns away wrath." Proverbs 15:1 (this is such a great verse for both moms and kiddos!)
"When I am afraid, I will trust in you." Psalm 56:3
"Jesus said, "If you love me, obey me." John 14:15
What are your favorite verses: to use as a teaching tool or otherwise?
