Resources for Growing in the Here and Now

On Monday I talked about meeting God in your mothering because your parenting and your spiritual life are not mutually exclusive. Now, there are some great resources out there to help you along the way.

• The Jesus Storybook Bible - This children's picture Bible does a great job creating a whole narrative out of the Bible that all connects and points to Jesus as the Savior of the world. Not only will your children love it (it's written for mid-elementary school children, but my two-year-old has recently reached the point that he loves to listen to it). And you will probably see Scripture in a new light and from a new angle while you're reading!
• YouVersion and Bible.com - The Bible App is available for all your electronic devices. It's great to have your Bible available just about anywhere, but what I particularly want to point out here is that most translations have an audio version available built directly into the app that you can stream and listen to during the day. 
• Seeds Family Worship - Bible verses set to fun, modern, praise-and-worship style music. I keep some of these both in my car and in my sons' room. You will find that not only will your kids think they are fun, but you will catch yourself memorizing Scripture too!
• Thriving Family - Put out by Focus on the Family, this magazine and corresponding website are offered totally free! Each month's issue offers practical tips on how to fit faith in to your family and point your children to Jesus. They also have a great archive of family devotional activities that you can do during meals, on a walk, or even in the car!
• Quiet Waters - This church-wide spiritual retreat happens twice a year at Two Rivers Church, and the fall 2013 event is next week! This is an event that we regularly attend as a family. While you may not normally think about taking your children to a retreat, we are always blown away by how excited other people are that we are exposing our children to this type of event (instead of being annoyed by them, like we might expect). Try out just a couple of sessions together, or take a leap and try the whole thing!

What other ideas or resources do you use to seek Jesus as a family? Leave other ideas or links in the comments so we can all benefit from them!

Special Offer: 20% Off Truth in the Tinsel

Earlier this week I let you know about fun, Jesus-centered ways to talk about Halloween with your kiddos. If you haven't looked at it yet, check it out here.

But we all know how quickly time flies, and pretty soon Halloween will already be a distant memory. That's right - I have a Christmas deal for you already! Right now, readers of the blog Free Homeschool Deals can get 20% off of the ebook Truth in the Tinsel by Amanda White.

photo source

This ebook is an advent plan to point little ones to Jesus during the Christmas season. For each day of December, there are Bible verses, crafts, and ways to talk to your preschoolers (and older kids, too!) about the Christmas story and the true meaning of the holiday we celebrate. One of the best parts is that the author, a children's ministry expert, started developing these activities when her daughter was only one year old! So the activities can be used in some form from a very early age. 

There is also have a Facebook page and Pinterest board for further ideas. The author is also updating the blog on the book's website during December to give you further extensions if you have already used the activities with your kids. 

So if you like to think ahead, be sure to grab this one while it's discounted!

Coming Up (and A FREE Resource!)

Don't forget that this Tuesday, October 9, at 9:30 is our next MOPS meeting at Two Rivers Church! We are so excited to see all of you. Our speaker will be Lisa Scott, a speech pathologist with lots of experience with children and a mother herself. She'll be addressing various issues involving behavior, learning, and development in young children. We are so excited to learn from her!

Lisa and her family.

I also wanted to share a FREE resource with you: Thriving Family is a marriage and parenting magazine put out by Focus on the Family and is free to anyone who requests it! You can visit their website, give them a call, or download the free iPhone/iPad app. The magazine includes parenting tips for any age and stage, fun family activities, easy devotional ideas, encouraging stories, and marriage pointers - and there's even more available for FREE on their website. Take some time and go check it out!