My faithful readers: The next post in my spiritual journey series will be posted no later than Tuesday. A local friend invited me to join in a blog hop that I’m so passionate about I had to participate. I hope you’re blessed by it, too.
I am a fan of the written word. Sometimes I’ll blame the old soul I seem to harbor as I’m always last to jump on the latest technological craze. But the more I think about it, the more I realize that’s not the real reason I prefer bound books over powered tablets and web searches.
There’s something to holding the words tangibly in your hands. Whether those words make you laugh, cry, or simply be informed, there is power behind them. And to be able to touch where that comes from is a gift I will always cherish.
If you were to visit my home, you might notice there are bookshelves in every living space we have. Including the hallway. Though my husband and I might not have every shelf lined wall-to-wall with books, one thing is certain: books are prominent here. Especially now since we’ve added the title of parents to our names.
It’s no secret that a parent’s passion will transfer, in some respect, down to their children. And the passion for reading was one we didn’t want to leave behind.
Books can take you places you would never experience otherwise. They can reveal insights you might not have thought of on your own. They can bring humor, perspective, and confidence to your very being.
So we started early, reading the board book classics to our children before they could even coo. We said goodnight to the moon and hello to the brown bear so many times I could recite them backwards if necessary.
Soon we were laughing at the piggie and the elephant, rhyming with Dr Seuss, and were curious right along a little monkey. And I don’t know how many times our firstborn has asked us for a big red dog of his very own.
It wasn’t until later he realized these books were transformed into tv series. And I wouldn’t want it known any other way around.
Now, when my 1st grader has a question, we look it up in a book. He learned to savor a dictionary early on. And when we make our weekly library requests, he gives me lists of things he wants to learn or books/authors he wants to read.
And I’m starting to see … me.
I’ve personally exhausted the library’s offerings of Madeleine L’Engle (A Circle of Quiet being my favorite), C.S. Lewis, and even Lynn Austin (Chronicles of the Kings series — look it up!). When I’m feeling stagnant in the kitchen, I check out cookbooks (America’s Test Kitchen books are my favorite, although Pioneer Women holds a close second). When I’m feeling flat in my spiritual life, I’ll check out a devotional (too many to mention, though I’m currently reading Beth Moore and Francis Chan).
When I’m curious about how to parent better, I’ll dip my hand in the pool of all the Christian parenting help books (Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Tedd Tripp being the only one I’ve read more than once– and one of the only ones that holds a space on my bookshelf).
But all of that is nothing if we don’t show our children the most important Book of all…
You see, it’s been our goal from day one to create a passion for seeking out the truth. And though we may use many books now as examples, we’ll always resort to the one simply known in my home as The Book.
- It’s the only Book I know that you could call Living…
- It’s the only Book I’m aware of that could have an exhausted author list (over 40), but all writers point to One.
- It’s the only Book to my knowledge that was originally written in 3 languages and has been translated into more than 2,000 today.
There’s a reason it’s the best-selling book in the world and there’s even a more important reason we want it to be the number one book for our children.
Maybe if we instill a passion for the written word now, they’ll be drawn to seek The Living Word later on. Perhaps if we show them how to seek answers in pages today, they’ll seek out Its answers when they are planning their tomorrows.
One thing I do know: Reading the Bible each day can bring humor, perspective, and confidence to your very being.
Friends, I do believe it all starts with me. This is one passion I need to have personally as it’s the most important one to pass down.
So in our household, when we’re faced with an issue, instead of saying “There’s an app for that”, we say “There’s a Book for that.” And we pull out the Bible placed on every bookshelf or even on our smartphones. We show our children the Written Word so they can know where to turn when questions rise within.
And tonight, when I’m reading another chapter aloud of the Sugar Creek Gang, or when the boy begs my husband to do just one more I Spy riddle, we’ll happily oblige. And find he’ll do the same when we’re tucking him in, asking him to read just one more verse…
How about you, friend? What children’s book do you enjoy? What book have you been reading lately? How do you instill the value of The Bible to your children? I’d love to hear.
Thanks for sharing your time with me.
Simply striving,
Nikki
NOTE: Though I prefer you check out your local library and am not an affiliate, I have provided Amazon links to books mentioned for easy reference. Thank you, Amazon, for providing an app for that.
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simplystriving 