Hidden In Their Hearts

I memorized my first Scripture when I was 18.

I was at my very first youth camp and put John 3:16 in my pocket the very day I first decided Jesus was my answer.

I've added a few since then, but am ashamed to say, I've been a poor student of The Word.

I've been a Christian for 11 years now and there are many parts of the Bible I've never set eyes on.

Which is shameful considering I just inhaled over 900 pages of The Hunger Games Series in under 6 days.

I'm now slowly working my way through my Bible everyday and feeling pretty great about it.

Along with that, I'm determined for my kids to have Scriptures written all over their hearts.

Ready at a moments notice to combat any problem with a rock solid piece of Truth.

Any doubt, insecurity, or wavering faith, beaten back with what He told us was true.

Josie is completely fascinated with all things Jesus.

She recently gave her Uncle Aaron and Nora a full run through of the Bible on their way Up North.

She knows the stories and gets most of the facts straight.

Sure, sometimes it's Noah at the Burning Bush and she's convinced Jesus was an only child, but she understands and remembers more then most adults.

We've used a few different Kid Bibles as nighttime devotionals for her.  We read a story each night.

There are a ton of great ones, but here's what we used.

My Great Big God was the first devotional we bought her.  It's short rhyming poems about some of the main stories.  Josie loved it.  We just started reading it to Gabe and they are short enough for him to sit through.

Last Summer, we got her this Read With Me Toddler Bible.  The next one up seemed to advanced for her and this toddler one ended up being perfect.  This is by far her favorite one to read.  The illustrations are pretty funny and the stories are just long enough for right before bedtime.

She got Jesus Calling for Christmas and I love it but she doesn't quite get it yet.  We try to read these at dinner but forget a lot.  It's written as though Jesus is talking directly to the child.  I think this would be better for a 6 year old or older then a 4 year old.

We also limit what she's allowed to watch on TV pretty strictly at home.  

So she's watched a ton of Veggietales, which I like the concept of but don't like how they usually soften up some of the stories making them kind of fairytale like.

Last year I found the What's In The Bible Series.  

It uses puppets and walks kids through the entire Bible.  The first video even covers where the Bible came from and all those kind of facts.

It's Apologetics for Little Kids.

And I'd be lying if I didn't say I've learned a ton that I never knew too.

I love that it doesn't sugarcoat stuff.

Like when God killed all the first born sons when Pharaoh wouldn't let the people go, they say it.

The first 5 videos are out and we love them all.  I can't wait to have the entire collection.

And now we are moving beyond the basic Sunday School Bible Stories and starting to memorize a verse a week.

I made some super elementary cards with the verses on them and some kind of picture to help her remember.  We also tried to come up with hand motions to help her retain it.

We go over it multiple times each day.  Before each meal, when we start school, when Andrew gets home, and before bed.

I had a hard time finding verses that were age appropriate without being way too easy for her, so I thought I'd share our list here.

If I was really fancy, I'd make downloadable cards.  But as you can see from my example up top, my computer skills are minimal.

So here's a list of references we are using.

I hope these are useful to you and that you find a way to embed God's Word on your own babies little hearts.

It's never too late to start!