I feel the same way about kid and family devotion books as I do about Bible storybooks: I think most of them are stupid.
It’s true.
I feel like most Bible storybooks (with the exception of the Jesus Storybook Bible, of course) are watered down versions of the Bible that don’t share much truth or power. Most devotion books I read through seem to be written by curriculum writers or an author who thought, “Hey, I should write a kids’ devotional book. That might sell.”
I was asked to review Mealtime Devotions and I said yes because it’s part of Adventures in Odyssey (my fave!) and written by Tricia Goyer (one of my heroes). After a few days of doing the devotions with the kids, I emailed Tricia because I had a sneaking suspicion that Tricia actually tried these devotions out on her kids. And whadya’ know? She did! Her kids were 5, 7 and 10 when she wrote this and (and!) she was also involved in her church’s children’s ministry at the time. (<–see why I love her?!)
I love using a book that was actually crafted for parents by parents. Anywhoo, I can’t believe how much I like this book and could talk all day about it–so much so, I decided to do a vlog for you! Here’s a scant 4 minutes of me talking your ear off about how we use this book at home…
{click here if you can’t see the video}
If you don’t have time to chat (*sniff*), here’s a brief rundown:
1. I love this book.
2. My kids love this book.
3. You should get it and try it out.
4. It’s written by Tricia Goyer and Crystal Bowman, not by John Avery Whittaker who is a fictional character.
Do you do family devotions? Any recommendations?
affiliate links included. i was sent this book to facilitate this review. opinions my own.
We are also HUGE fans of the ‘Jesus Storybook Bible’ and I’ve actually just invested in her new devotional ‘Thoughts to make your heart sing” which looks really good. The Good Book Company do some fantastic family devotional materials which start from age 1 and are really engaging and creatively written, while staying true to the Message… Their website is http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk and I’m pretty sure they sell their stuff in the US too. Def worth checking out
Thanks, Claire! I will check them out. 🙂
a
We do devotions (try to daily) and usually use Keys for Kids. I have never heard of Jesus Storybook Bible, will have to check it out. And this one you talked about today sounds great! My kids love Adventures in Oddessy, and my son goes to bed every night listening to one of their stories. Can’t wait to read it with them!
Eeek! You MUST get the Jesus Storybook Bible. I think it should be required reading for every kid…and adult! 🙂
I’m gonna check out Keys for Kids, too!
a
Amanda, you are officially my FAV! I literally talk about you like you are my RL friend b/c God has used your blogs, your podcast interviews, etc. to speak SO MUCH into my life!! So when our DVD player in the van went on fritz recently, I played the first “album” of AIO & the kids LOVED it!! So they are totally hooked & I am THRILLED to surprise them with this new meal time devotional! We started doing family devotions at the dinner table b/c they are captive at dinner & the best way to minimize my 4 kids’ interrupting each other/us b/c their food is in their mouth! 🙂 But we determined that we do family devotions TTS b/c we have other things going on MWF. And then on Sunday we use 24 Family Ways that is by Sally & Clay Clarkson–even has coloring pages for my littles!! THANKS so much for all you do–I adore you!!
Angela! You made me smile today!
And so glad you have joined the ranks of Adventures in Odyssey fans. I would literally listen to them WITHOUT my kids! 😉
a
We’ve been doing Training Hearts and Teaching Minds (Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism). They are not our kids favorite, but we want them to get the content and they are short, so relatively painless! The idea is to teach kids the absolute fundamentals of why we believe what we believe–the big picture questions that are not so easy to answer. We try to make it as fun as we can.
They love The Jesus Story Book Bible here too. I wish that they like Adventures in Odyssey. My husband I used to call it our soap opera when we first got married and didn’t have kids. Our radio station aired it and we listened almost every night.
I had to laugh because we are so similar. I’m not a big ‘family devotions’ fan either – partly because I have a hard time finding good resources and partly because I actually prefer weaving it into everyday life or rockin’ it with a fun theme for hands-on fun. 🙂
I am a big AIO fan, so I’ll have to check this out. Did I ever tell you that my son got to do an audio spotlight with Chuck Bolte. I was totally acting like a weird star-struck girl when I made the connection with who he was… hahahaha. He and my mom work together, so when he mentioned needing a young boys voice, she volunteered my son! 🙂
WHAT?!!! I’m so jealous. Phil Loller, Paul McCusker, Chuck Bolte…all of them are my heroes!!
a
(ps–sorry I’m seeing this like 2 weeks later…)