August 18, 2010

Leading Our Children to the Throne of Grace



Devotional times...what does that mean, exactly?
We are to live a life of devotion to the LORD.
We are to guide our little (and not so little) ones
to do the same.
How do we go about it?

"...precept upon precept; line upon line...
here a little, and there a little."
Isaiah 28:10 selected

Daily.
In the rhythm of life.
With the LORD's help and grace.
We cannot do it in our own strength ~
We need HIM each step of the way!

When we sit down, and rise up, and walk by the way ~
taken from Deuteronomy 6:7.

While the children are young, we have a morning devotional
time with them ~ one on one, or one on two.
When the children begin to mature in their own walk with the LORD,
we encourage them to get alone with God and His Word
before the day begins.

We gather as a family after the evening meal.
We set the time aside to read and pray and sing.
The focus is God's Word.
We systematically read through a few verses at a time
(sometimes the entire chapter)
as we make our way through a book of the Bible.
We discuss the questions that may arise.
The Word of God is held in high esteem ~
other books are helps, but not the focus.

We also use the London Baptist Confession of 1689 which
C.H. Spurgeon held to in his congregation about 150 years ago ~
it is solely based on Scripture and features a question and answer format.
We have found it to be very beneficial in grounding us in those things
that are to be held fast to in our faith...a great blessing!

Do we sound PERFECT?
WE are NOT ~
but HE is!
AND we look to HIM for the way to go.
We need HIM to lead us as we lead our young ones.


All of the books pictured above, and linked to below,
have been a blessing to our family over the years.
The boys have each used "A Faith to Grow On"
for their own personal quiet times in days gone by.
Pastor John MacArthur teaches the basic truths of God's Word
faithfully in an easy to understand format...
in "bite-sized" chunks.

The book pictured above has a different cover than the one
you will find at the link provided, but the content is the same.

The "Miller Family Series"
of books incorporates Biblical truths into stories
that each of our children have enjoyed.
We have used these books as read-aloud supplements
to the Word of God during quiet times.
The Miller family is fictional and the stories are set
in an Amish community.

Another amazing book is a rewrite of the classic by Bunyan.
We have read it aloud to our children more than once, much to their delight.
"Little Pilgrim's Progress"is true to the original
and is certainly appropriate for any young teen.

Don't steer clear of it if your children are younger,
you will all benefit from reading it out loud ~
it has been an INCREDIBLE blessing to both of us as parents
as well as our children.

One word of caution if you will be reading this to young children ~
Please be aware that this is a faithful adaptation of the classic,
which means that there are some potentially frightening scenes included.
These deal with Christian's struggles with various enemies as he
journeys to the Celestial City.

Helen L. Taylor is the author and she does a wonderful job of
simplifying this beautiful Christian Classic.
You will not likely find it in your local Christian bookstore.
If you click on the titles above, you will find that they link
to the sites where they can be purchased.

"Leading Little Ones to God"
has a more in depth and thorough handling of the Doctrines of Scripture.
Do not be afraid to delve into these deeper truths with your children...
they are very rich and necessary for their appreciation of the God we serve.
This book has chapters that are usually only a couple of pages long ~
a very manageable amount for family devotional times.
You will likely find that the ideas presented here will
facilitate wonderful discussions with your children.
Once again, the cover is different from the one you will find at the link,
but the content largely remains the same.

Seek, with the Lord's help, to set aside time each day
to have devotions with your children.
It is vital to their Spiritual growth and
to their knowledge of the Holy.
We are, after all, called to this ~
"Train up a child in the way he should go:
and when he is old, he will not depart from it."
Proverbs 22:6

May the LORD give us each the enabling, the strength,
and the grace to carry out this all-important calling.
HE is able!

In Him,
Camille


*A repost from the archives with some new information added
*Resources recommended from our experience only ~
not compensated or solicited

14 comments:

Heather said...

Camille, I'd love to hear about your one on one times in the morning. I've always had a Bible time with all 4 in the morning (for homeschooling) but Meghan is getting too old for the way I have to simplify it for the younger ones. She has her own devotions but I'd love to have a separate special time with her.
Also, glad to hear your commentary on Leading Little Ones. I've almost purchased this one several times!

Wanting What I Have said...

You provide such rich and wonderful resources! I am "starring" this post for reference! I'd heard about the Millers from Heather...am adding them to our book list.

Update: we're still reading through When You Rise Up. It's good, rich, and has been used by God to put my heart at rest. Thank you so much for sharing!

Kim Hyland said...

Camille, thank you for the gentle admonition to be faithful and deliberate in the spiritual training of our children. Your "devotion" to the Lord and to devotions ;) is inspiring. Blessings to you.
~Kim

Cheesemakin' Mamma said...

What a wonderful post, Camille! It really affirms what I've been trying to do in my own home. I'm really striving to make a devotions with my kids a daily thing. Right now we are reading a kids version of My Utmost for His Highest. You're supposed to read one everyday, but my kids just beg for more, so we usually end up doing at least 8 a day. I love it!

Barbara said...

Amen that is wonderful and the daily devotions for the family really makes a family stay close, to each other and to God, we are to train our children in the admonition of the lord, amen, hugs and blessings, Barbara

Camille said...

Dear Heather ~ So lovely that you are having these special times with your children...it is so precious! The "one-on-one" times are actually at the moment "one-on-two" as Fraser and Emma both need direction in their quiet times with the LORD. Soon Fraser will be branching out on his own, as the two older ones do. My husband would rotate through the children as well at various times so we can train them in the way to have their own personal times with the LORD. At the moment we are going through "A Faith to Grow On" and we recently finished "Leading Little Ones to God". We pray and read the Scriptures and the book. The children are free to comment and ask questions. The purpose of the time is training for their own future devotional life. One of our boys recently was inquiring about taking Communion, so my husband did a series of devotional times with him to really explain and teach the significance of what he was about to do. They used a little booklet by Dr. Peter Masters, which was greatly useful. Our oldest has gone through the book "Letters to Young Men" by W.B. Sprague with my husband ~ it is a wonderful resource which points to the Word of God consistently. We have the book "Letters on Practical Subjects to A Daughter" by William B. Sprague which we will go through, Lord-willing, with Emma as she gets to the early teen years. Maybe it would be appropriate for your Meghan as she is at that age already. The language is older, but there is such rich truth found within...I am sure it would be a benefit. Hope this helps you...let me know if I didn't properly address your question.

Dear J ~ Oh yes, the "Millers" are wonderful books to get your hands on! I am so glad you are enjoying "When You Rise Up" ~ it has been such an encouragement to my heart as well. :)

Dear Kim ~ Welcome! Such a blessing to be given these children to teach and train for HIS glory! Oh that we would seek HIM for the enabling to do it...here a little, there a little...diligently. HE is faithful! :)

Dear Jackie ~ I am so glad to hear that you are already instilling this in your children as well...the LORD's Word will not return void...how comforting that is!! How wonderful that your children beg for more...that's one area we should indulge them in!! :)

Dear Barbara ~ *SO* true! We grow close to one another as we grow closer to the LORD...HE created us this way! How powerful it is to teach our children that God is with us through whatever we have to face...they will always know where to look for to receive strength in every situation. Thank you for adding your wisdom here. :)

Blessings to you each one!
In His Love,
Camille

Unknown said...

Camille.. God Blessed you as a mom and wife,,and Im sure he is looking down at you and is saying
very well done, my faithful servant..
God Bless

Tami said...

Wow!! Sooooo love your book recommendations! Our devotional time is in the evening, but as my little ones grow, I want them to have their morning time too as I do. It feels as though I am fumbling in the dark sometimes as to how to parent my children so differently than I was raised. So to have good, thought out, real recommendations and inspirations as to HOW to abide in the Word and how to LIVE the abiding, well that's just the kind of thing this gal right here needs. It's always a blessing to hear (read) from you!
Love and Blessings,
Tami

Camille said...

Dear Karen ~ Thank you for your sweet encouragement! Oh, it's ALL the LORD...how precious HE is!! Thankful for HIM and HIS goodness in our lives!! :)

Dear Tami ~ You are a blessing to me! Thank you for stopping today. :) How WONDERFUL that the LORD gives the needed grace and wisdom (James 1:5)...we ALL need that! Be encouraged...HE will guide you in this parenting journey. :)

Blessings to you both!
In His Love,
Camille

Teresa said...

Camille,

You're a wise lady to raise your children in God's Word! We have devotions with Abby in the evenings, just reading God's Word and talking about it. We read the Pilgrim's Progress book you have and loved it as well.

It's so important to ground them in God's Word and cultivate their love of Him.

Teresa

Heather's Blog-o-rama said...

I enjoyed reading about how you do do devotionals with your kids. Oh, Pilgrim's Progress...my dad gave me the origianl as a kid...and it's been a long time since I've read it...I'll have to reread it again!!! Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from Oregon, Heather :)

Camille said...

Dear Teresa ~ Oh yes...God's WORD is so rich and wonderful! Might we be used of the LORD to instill the love of it in our children! Only the Holy Spirit can do the work...we seek HIM for it to be done in each heart. I am so glad you have devotions with your Abby...AND that you have the "Little Pilgrim's Progress"...it's such a treasure! :)

Dear Heather's Blog-o-rama ~ Oh you are far ahead of me...I haven't actually read the original ~ I've heard it on CD ~ dramatized...that's it. Well done for tackling it! Such a wonderful work by a godly man...we are blessed to have access to such encouragement! Have a lovely weekend too! :)

Blessings to you both!
In His Love,
Camille

Make a Joyful Noise all ye Lands said...

We love our family devotional time also. Have weeded out our schedule to allow for this in our evenings. We also read the Millers. Are blessed by these books.

Camille said...

Welcome Lands Family! ~ How precious that the LORD is leading you in these ways...HE is faithful! It's lovely to "meet" you! Thanks for stopping by. :)

Blessings,
Camille