Your QuestionsHere you can find some of our most commonly asked questions answered by the author of Entrusted with a Child's Heart, Betsy Corning. Or you may choose to submit your own question by using the Contact Us tab at the top of the page - we will be glad to consider it for future posting!
Your Questions - Entries from October 2011
FriFridayOctOctober21st2011
Helping Children Develop a Devotional Lifestyle?
Dear Betsy:
At what age would you suggest children begin to read their Bible and have a devotional life?
Curious…
Dear Curious:
Obviously, the Bible is difficult for smaller children to read and understand. And since you want to develop a love the Lord and prayer as a natural part of their lives along with an ever deepening trust in God, you will not want to approach this important discipline as a mere “task” to be performed. However, the truth is that we do not become disciplined in anything without a considerable amount of effort, obedience and perseverance. I often told my kids, “Don’t look for the shortcut. It will not really get you where you want to be.”
All that being said, we gauge our teaching and training so that it is age-appropriate, engaging, and at the same time a bit challenging. If they grow up seeing Mom and Dad reading the Bible, praying and memorizing Scripture, it will not only seem like a regular part of life, but they will be intrigued by what Mom and Dad are doing and learning. So along with modeling a devotion to God, we share “teachable moments” with our children about how God is working in our lives (Deut 6:6-7). In this way, developing a “quiet time” or devotional life can start well before their ability to read the Bible.
In Entrusted with a Child’s Heart, we suggest a “Thinking Time” (in the chapter entitled, “Character Building”) for children who have outgrown naps. Occasionally they still may need a nap so this is a good “transitioner,” but even older children benefit from some “down time” to just be quiet, focus on the Lord, pray and think. For me, it was so helpful for my children to rest and have a half-hour alone sometime between arriving home from school and beginning dinner. (You can see that the timing is strategic to keep the house calm while prepping dinner.)
Also, be sure to be reading great Bible stories and devotional books to them. You may want to start a family devotional time or a bedtime story and chat time. Two books along these lines that I recommend are The Jesus Storybook Bible and Choosing God’s Way, but there are many wonderful choices. Scripture memory is also a great way for children to tuck away truth from the Scriptures, especially since they are such little sponges and so able to memorize! Entrusted offers a Scripture Memory CD featuring 23 verses set to song that will appeal to all ages.
Continue to help your children cultivate a devotional style as they grow. Around the age of twelve or so they will be ready to begin reading the Bible. Set realistic goals for how long (five to ten minutes) or how much (ten verses or one chapter). Have them journal what they are getting out of their reading. When our children reached thirty days in a row, they received a special Bible like Mom and Dad. Help them grow into this discipline. (For more on this see the chapter on “Growing Godly Disciplines” in Entrusted with a Child’s Heart).
For parents interested in reading through the Bible with their teens, I recommend reading through chronologically to give the best overview of the entire Bible. The parent and teen read on their own, then once a week discuss what the Lord is teaching them. You may even have them color-code or highlight themes in the Bible. For example, when reading Proverbs, have them highlight “wise choices” in one color and “foolish choices” in another. For the older child or teen, they may be challenged with learning the “Top Fifty” Scripture Memory verses found in the Appendix of Entrusted with a Child’s Heart Book Format.
We are currently piloting and developing a curriculum for developing a devotional lifestyle called, Get The Word Out. Nancy, from our office, is using this resource while reading through the Bible (using a two-year reading schedule) with her sixteen-year old. We hope to have this new curriculum complete and available next fall. In the mean time contact us if you would like a copy of the two-year chronological reading plan.
Blessings,
FriFridayOctOctober7th2011
Top Tech Tips for Families?
This past spring, while speaking at a family conference, Dave and Betsy Corning met a dynamic couple named Robbie and Denise Grimes. They were so excited to hear that the Grimeses share the same passion for Scripture Memorization! In fact, their ministry, Higher Ground Family offers many biblical resources for families, such as a Family Devotional with Scripture Memory Songs, (coming out soon) and fun children’s DVDs that contain a biblical message.
Robbie also speaks at schools on the topic of modern technology. Since we frequently receive questions on this topic from parents, we asked Robbie to share his insights with us. We will pass on to our Entrusted blog readers five today and five next week.
It is such a challenge to keep on top of the latest technology advances and this is a source of real concern for many parents. For that reason, we are extremely grateful for Robbie’s expertise and for his willingness to share it with us.
Get in the game — your kids already are!
Robbie's Top Tech Tips for Families
- At a minimum, set the safe search settings in your browser or computer to “Block Inappropriate Content.” There are also accountability and filtering tools, like www.covenanteyes.com and www.netnanny.com. These filters and controls are helpful, but don’t rely fully on them. The Internet cannot be “childproofed.” That job is up to us as parents.
- Check social networking rules for the minimum age requirement, but also use your parental judgment to determine whether your child is educated and mature enough to handle this type of social interaction. Just because 13 is the minimum age for having a Facebook page, does not mean your child is ready to be a member of the Facebook community.
- Become a member and get to know the culture of the cyber-environments your children are interested in using before they join. Be sure they understand there will be an “open-door policy” with all technology they are using. They must understand you will be their “Friend” on Facebook and MySpace, will be following them on Twitter, and will be checking in on their other friends and the communication that is happening. Your children need to know you are there to help keep them safe.
- Utilize the parental controls that are available on your child’s cell phone. Most providers have options to limit the amount and times of usage and to block specific incoming and outgoing texts or calls. Certain plans also allow you to set up a list of approved callers who can call or send text messages to your child.
- Show your children positive ways to use technology. Model the use of an online Bible tool such as www.biblegateway.com or www.blueletterbible.org. Introduce them to a new educational game available on-line like www.funbrain.com, www.coolmath.com, www.exploratorium.com, or let the creative part of their brain grow by using a site like www.glogster.com.
- Stress the importance of security with the technology they are using. Children should NEVER submit any personal information online unless they’ve checked with you first. Some websites require an email address and first or last names. Explain the dangers of sharing usernames and passwords with others. Additionally, ensure that your computer software is up-to-date. This includes the updates for the operating system as well as a firewall and virus and spam protection. Some popular virus/spam programs are www.symantec.com, www.norton.com, and www.mcafee.com. A free virus/spamware program can be found at http://free.avg.com.
Applying Biblical Truth to Everyday Life
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