A great children's bible study....

We study the bible daily as a subject in our homeschool. I found a really great resource to help me in our bible study. It is free, it is accessible on the net, and the kids enjoy it - that was a winner for me. It can be found here. From what I can tell all the scripture is from the New King James Version and I like that. While the curriculum does not give a script to tell the story (we use a children's bible and a NKJV to explain the passage) it does give you resources to enhance the learning and (most important for me) a chronological order to present the material in. (Check out the study before you read the rest or it won't make a lot of sense.)


This is what our daily bible study looks like:

We take 2 days to study each lesson. On day one we turn over the cover sheet and copy the memory verse, then I read them the story out of a children's bible while they color the coloring page, (this is to help the understanding for my smaller children). Then we break up into 2 groups.

My oldest 2 children grab their bibles and answer the questions on the fill in the blank page and my 6yo works with me on it, while my 3yo finishes coloring or sits in my lap. After everyone has finished the assignment we come back together and go over the answers.

Next we review our memory verses and I use this system. (Check it out it really works)

On day 2 I read the story out of the NKJV and then we work on our crossword puzzle breaking up into the groups mentioned above and again we finish up with our memory work and prayer.

After we have finished up a story we keep the title page and 2 other pages of their choice and punch holes in it and keep it in their bible notebook.

This has been a great study that has worked really well for our family. For more WFMW ideas check them out for the last time at Rocks In My Dryer.

bible study revisited...

Remember a couple of days ago I was telling you all of a bible study that I was working on and really enjoying. It wasn't a commentary or anything of that nature it was just a great bible study with questions coming directly from the text. Well, now it doesn't have to be emailed to you. It is on the web at www.thebiblestudyprogram.com!!! It is a wonderful study!

Bible Study (updated)

I have recently started a bible study program that is very neat. It is emailed weekly to you and then each day except for Sunday you read one chapter of the old testament and one of the new. There are daily questions after each reading. In 2 1/2 years you will have read through the entire bible and studied it at the same time. I am really impressed with it because it uses only the bible without added doctrine or traditions of men included. If you are looking for such a study just email me at sewsweetbows@cox.net bellfalls@cox.net your email address and I will get it added to the list.

Easter activity

I wanted to let you all know of another great Easter tradition that we have started in our house! Each year after 2 worship services, all the days festivities, and all the candy, we all hunker down in our jammies and gather on the couch. Each child and parent too is handed a plastic egg with their names on it. Inside each egg is a verse that we want the child to use as their theme verse for the year (or a little more or less - depending on when Easter falls).

As hubby and I watch over the kids we try to identify character traits that need a little tweaking. We then try to find a verse that teaches a lesson in this area and give it to that child in their egg for them to meditate on that year.

For example 2 yo DD will be given Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. We have noticed lately that 2 yo is not "obeying all the way, right away" and we need to nip it in the bud. She is a happy little thing but really wants to do her own thing, who doesn't!

Each of the other children have been given verses picked especially for them. Hubby and I also have verses that we will use. Mine is 2 Peter 1:5 - 11. I really want to commit this to memory and get to the part about self - control. I'm so impulsive that a little self control would go along way!

Have a great Easter!

Food for thought...

On Sunday I heard a comment that has struck something in my heart. That I thought might be profitable for someone else to hear as well. We were talking about love and self-control and a host of other rabbit trails that kept creeping up in bible class, but a comment by a fellow Christian landed in my must remember recesses of my brain.

She said, "In todays day in age instead of controlling ourselves and loving others we love ourselves and controll others." Isn't that so very true!
2 Peter 1:5-8 says:
"But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ."

This verse says that in order to love we must first add self-control to our faith, but back up, in order to achieve self-control we must first add the habits of virtue, knowledge and then self-control to our already established faith! That is quite a list. So today lets look at virtue what is the definition?

According to dictionary.com it is moral excellence! Ok so what are morals? Boiled down to its most basic of definitions (again taken from dictionary.com) it is the distinction of right and wrong. So the first in the list is to be virtuous or to be excellent at knowing right from wrong. That is pretty basic, next....

Knowledge. Well the definition of knowledge is: acquaintance with facts, truths, or principles, as from study or investigation...

WHOA! So basically in order to achieve love (agape) in the layering of principals I must first obtain virtue and then knowledge, but did you notice the part of the verse I put in bold, I must be doing so ALL diligently! Keeping with the rest of this blog post, what is the definition of diligence: constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.

Ok, so this is not something that I have ever really given time to ponder. If I want to love with a greater love (agape) then I first must have virtue and then knowlege that I have sought with great perserverance and effort. Wow, I have some work to do! What is great is that studying the bible has other benefits, it will grow our faith. Romans 10:17 says,"So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." So we can grow in faith if we hear the word of God, the bible, God's written communication with us today!

So to try and love in a greater sense and to achieve controlling ourselves and loving others there is much work involved. I'm inspired to study. During the next couple of days I will study the next in the list. Have a great day!