Children’s Bibles have come a long way!

It used to be that Bibles written for kids were collections of disjointed stories whose focus seemed to be on human achievement and a very tame God. This set kids up to be adults who have no idea how to read and interpret the real Bible and that have faulty views of God.

Children need to understand that the Bible tells one overarching story, and all the events described need to be viewed in light of that one story, the Gospel, or “good news”.

I’ve come up with a list of what I consider to be the #bestkidsbibles that communicate the Gospel well. If you want your child to understand the comprehensive message of the #bible, check these out!

I’ve put together a list of my favorite children’s Bibles and WHY! So if you’ve ever asked yourself, “What is the best Bible for kids?” you’ve come to the right place!

This post contains affiliate links for your convenience. Please read my full disclosure policy here. 

Best Bibles for Kids

The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name

This was the children’s Bible that renewed my faith in children’s Bibles. It’s still my favorite. Sally Lloyd-Jones treats the Bible with the wonder and delight it deserves. There are roughly 40 stories in this collection, but the beauty of this book are the themes the author weaves through each story. No longer is the Bible seen as a collection of random stories but a cohesive message telling the story of a God who sends a Rescuer.

We have loved this Bible so much that it’s fallen apart, been taped back together, and is now beyond repair. The language Lloyd-Jones uses will help even seasoned readers of the Bible see the glory of God and the passion of Jesus in a whole new light. It has brought me to tears on many occasions. It’s a must have. In fact, I worked with a bunch of other bloggers to come up with activities for each and every story in the Jesus Storybook Bible. 

The Big Picture Story Bible

Ok, this Bible has stolen my heart. It’s different than the other Bibles in that it is intended for the very youngest crowd. Even kids as young as 18 months will get something out of it, but older kids will learn tons too. My 5 year old and 3 year old never want me to stop!

I’m AMAZED at how well the author explains the stories and themes of the Bible to such a young audience! The writing is short and simple, the pictures large and imaginative, but the lessons are profound. Even a toddler will start to see the Bible as a big story about a big God with some big promises. I’ve been renting this from the library and even though I’m a total cheap wad, I’m buying this to use over and over again.

Jesus Calling Bible Storybook

This Bible is very similar to the Jesus Storybook Bible. It’s roughly the same size and styled similarly. It’s also geared towards the same age. I preferred the drawings in this Bible. They just seemed more friendly. It also covered more stories which was really cool. I would still pick the Jesus Storybook Bible over this because it focuses on God’s overarching plan working throughout history. The stories seemed more isolated from the whole of the Bible. It also had a section at the end of each story titled “Jesus Calling”. It was an application section written as if it were written by Jesus himself to your child. While I get the idea behind it, I just wasn’t comfortable attributing words to Christ, especially when my boys are too young to always understand fact from fiction. I don’t want them to ever be confused about the reality of the Word of God.

The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden

If you really want a quick overview of the themes of the Bible in chronological order, this is the book. Divided into ten chapters, this book is gorgeous and hilarious all at the same time. The illustrations are quirky and retro. The focus is on God’s control over it all and how he is the one that does it for us screwed up people. It’s humor and writing are engaging for my 3 year old and I used it for my 5th and 6th grade Sunday school class and they LOVED it! Perfect for families!

The Gospel Story Bible: Discovering Jesus in the Old and New Testaments

I must admit, I’m not as familiar with this Bible as my kids just don’t seem to be at the age where they’re into it. Each story is on a single page with one illustration. It seems to be more geared toward oral narration than reading a good book. I think it would work well in a Sunday school setting or for family devotions. In fact, it has an accompanying book Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God for just that!

The Action Bible

This is such a unique idea for a children’s bible. Written as a graphic novel, this Bible is picture rich. It is definitely geared toward and older crowd, probably boys, as it emphasizes action stories. The stories seemed to be more disconnected from each other, but they cover a lot of both the Old and New Testaments. While this Bible doesn’t seem to have as much theological depth as some of the others, it will certainly draw older boys into God’s Word and hopefully get them interested in reading more.

Please note that some of the pictures are quite dramatic and may scare the younger crowd. I let my five year old “read” some of them, but mostly I picked certain stories to read to him. He’s still really sensitive to fear. 

ESV Grow! Bible

When your child is reading on their own, get them in the habit of reading the real Bible on their own. This Bible is in a great translation that is both readable and accurate. It has lots of study notes and things to help kids relate the Bible to their world.

The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New

While not actually a children’s Bible, it was so cool that I had to mention it. The Ology is actually a systematic theology textbook designed for kids. Don’t know what that is or why you should have it? Well, instead of presenting the ideas of the Bible chronologically, this book explains the teaching of the Bible by topic and in an order that builds on itself. It’s the perfect compliment to these Bibles and can be used as a Bible curriculum. It’s probably best for a little older crowd (think 5-12 years old).

Share your thoughts below on the best children’s bible!

The post Hands Down the Best Children’s Bibles for Teaching the Gospel appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

This story is certainly not the simple birth story I expected to write. This story is still unfolding and I promise to write an update soon. Our family is already so thankful for the outpouring of love and prayers we’ve begun to receive!

(For an UPDATE on what we found out about our little guy, fast forward a year and read this.)

 But let me back up and tell you about how “Lovebug” was born in the first place…

Birth Story…

I’m not going to sugarcoat it. The last half of this pregnancy has been ROUGH. My hips have refused to work, leaving me dependent on canes, walkers, and the kindness of others.

Our birth center of choice hadn’t actually opened up yet, despite six months of promises. Their other location was available, but too far away to guarantee I’d make it there in time. (Hello, local news team! Why yes, I did just have this baby along the side of the road!)

I was stressed and in pain. There were so many unknowns.

Even in pregnancy I called Lovebug my most cooperative baby. He and I seemed to have a connection.

Every time I’d think to worry because I hadn’t felt him kick in a while, he’d move around within 30 seconds! Every. single. time.

He was every bit as cooperative in birth.

He waited to come until the birth center had been open two days. I had been saying all along that my best guess for his birthday would be the 20th, since my older two children had been born on Fridays closest to their due date. When I was feeling “off” on Friday morning, I asked my husband to stay home from work. When my soon-to-be middle child refused to nap, I asked my mom to take the older two boys to her house so I could get some sleep.

I’d been SO nervous about having a roadside baby because I only had eight minutes to spare with my last delivery. So I was hoping this time that the start of labor would be OBVIOUS.

Lovebug was cooperative again!

One swift kick woke me from my nap, with my water breaking and contractions starting immediately.

It was perfect. Husband was already home. Brothers were already at the grandparents. I had just had a nap!

The gifts just kept coming.

On our way to the birth center, the on-call midwife made contact with us. I was shocked to hear the voice of the same midwife who had delivered Lumpy, my absolute favorite! She wasn’t even supposed to work at the new location, but because of all the special accommodation for me, she happened to be our gal.

I started to cry happy tears right there. It was such a sign that God was right there with me, easing my fears.

When we arrived at the birth center, we quickly settled in. However, I was none too pleased when I found out I was only 3cm dilated. (My first birth had taken over 28 hrs and forced me to face my fear of death!)

At that point, I hissed to my husband, “Why do I keep trying this stupid natural birth thing!” 

10-15 minutes later, they were checking my progress again. Contractions were nearly a minute and a half long and barely two minutes apart (hardly any down time). I was at 7cm and already wanting to push.

I didn’t realize that a water birth was an option with my water breaking and all, but I gladly accepted the offer.

As I climbed into the tub as large as my bed, I had a contraction and settled in to start pushing. Unfortunately, the tub was so massive that my feet couldn’t reach the far side and I felt like I could slip under and drown! Andy leaned over the expanse, holding me under the arm pits.

Pushing feels good in a awful sort of way. It’s the most primal I have ever felt. The growling screams coming out of my throat scared even me!

About three contractions and his head was out. In my confusion, I panicked at the thought of his head underwater. But everyone assured me to wait for the next contraction to push his shoulders out. That hurt worse than crowning. He had come so fast that he presented transverse, meaning sideways! So those shoulders pretty much wrecked my tailbone, ouch!

The whole labor was one hour and twenty minutes, start to finish. Crazy!

I’ll always remember the weight and warmth of him as they placed my son on my chest. Perfect.

Birthmarks…

After climbing out of the tub and flopping onto the nice warm bed, I started to inspect my new child up close. He looked liked he’d been in a bar fight. But all my boys looked like that moments after birth. It wasn’t until about 15 minutes later that my midwife first mentioned the “bruise” I saw on his eyelid and forehead.

“It could be a birthmark. We’ll know soon.”

I was incredulous. My son’s flawless, lady!

But soon after, she confirmed that our little boy has a permanent birthmark covering a good chunk of his face.

I felt so shallow, but I cried anyway.

How would this affect him? The phrase, “A face only a Mother could love.” kept taunting me.

Nobody wants their child to be judged or excluded before they’re even known and that was my huge worry.

Or what I THOUGHT was my huge worry.

A couple days passed and then I received a random Facebook message that rocked my world.

A gal I barely know, told me that because of the type and location of my boy’s birthmark, he could be at risk for glaucoma and a syndrome called Sturge Weber.

Good ole Google told me a bit about SWS. I saw words jumping off the page like “seizures”, “mental retardation”, “physical handicaps”, and “progressive brain atrophy”, each phrase a new icy finger of terror gripping my heart.

I started sobbing uncontrollably as I told my husband the horrifying possibilities. That night was one of the worst nights of sleep I’ve ever gotten, and trust me, I’ve had some bad ones! My mind would not shut off. I honestly contemplated taking him to the ER in the middle of the night to get a brain scan done. I could not stand the thought of not knowing.

So does my precious son have Sturge Weber Syndrome?

I don’t know yet.

Why write this post now, pulling you into my world of unknowns? I debated for a long time about when to write this post, before or after test results came back.

But this story, our story, isn’t really about test results. It’s about a covenant.

A Covenant…

Not exactly a word used much in today’s culture. But it’s at the forefront of my mind right now.

I’ve always heard that God has made promises to us. But I’d always feared taking Scripture out of context, applying words to myself that were really meant for the original audience of the Bible.

I found myself believing that most of God’s promises had loopholes and fine print. I couldn’t really trust and rely on much of anything beyond basic salvation.

Then I started studying covenants.

The God of the Universe is in a covenant with me. One that He initiated. One that He has been steering all of history towards. One that was sealed with His blood. One that He is incapable of breaking. One that I can’t do anything to screw up or make void.

And what are the terms of this covenant?

I bring my filthy rags, He brings flawless righteousness. (Isaiah 64:6)

I trade a sin riddled heart, He gives me His. (Jeremiah 17:9)

I die to myself, He lives life abundantly in me. (Galatians 2:20)

The external becomes internal. The impossible becomes reality. (Jeremiah 31:33)

Forgiveness, Life, and God’s unrelenting favor (Jeremiah 32:41) because He has united Himself to me in this glorious covenant.

I can’t possibly pack all that God has promised to me into a couple paragraphs. But the gist of it is this.

He wants to shower me with good, real good. And He’s faithful and more than capable to do it.

It’s as good as done.

So where does my son play into all of this?

It’ll be easy to see God’s goodness if my son doesn’t have Sturge Weber, and we pray to that end.

But if he does…

God knows all and has everything under His authority. He has also PROMISED to do nothing but good to me. It might be incredibly painful, but it will be best. Having a son with SWS will be the best gift, the better gift.

I’m a parent. Every day my children and I disagree on the definition of “good”. They think it’s mounds of candy and never-ending TV. I have slightly more perspective.

Sometimes I insist they go through something hard; something that can’t possibly see the benefit of.

God may be asking me to do something similar. I don’t know.

So as I wait, I can truly find a “peace that surpasses all understanding”. Not because I have faith in a positive outcome, but because I have faith in the covenant God.

(Welp, it’s been a year. Read this to get the update!)

The post Birthmarks, Birth Stories, and a Covenant appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

So much fun and chaos gets packed into one month. And the awe and wonder of the incarnation, God becoming man for us, can get lost in the shuffle.

These Christmas Nativity activities are a great way to refocus and open up discussion with your kids about the true meaning of Christmas.

Enjoy, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Nativity Sets

* Small World Nativity Play by Sun Hats and Wellie Boots

* Lego Nativity Set by Frugal Fun for Boys

* Use Toilet Paper Rolls to Make a Nativity Set by Happy Hooligans

Make Wise Men with Shampoo Bottles by No Time for Flash Cards

Small World Nativity Play by The Imagination Tree

Manger Figurines by Mama’s Happy Hive

* Felt Nativity Scene by Mama Smiles

Ornaments

Jesus in the Manger Ornament by Something 2 Offer

Baby Jesus Ornament Made with an Envelope by Mrs. Jones’ Creation Station

* Lighted Nativity Ornament by I Can Teach My Child

Kid-Made Nativity Ornament by Mom Inspired Life

Printable Worksheets

Free Printable Nativity Preschool Worksheet by Learning 2 Walk

Free Printable Nativity Pre-K/K Worksheets by This Reading Mama

Other Crafts and Activities 

* Stars and Angels Mobile by Mama’s Happy Hive

* Stain Glass Nativity Craft by Housing a Forest

Nativity Tree by Sun Hats and Wellie Boots

* And Another Nativity Tree by Sun Hats and Wellie Boots

Draw the Nativity with Geometric Shapes by Mama Smiles

* LEGO Nativity Puzzles by I Can Teach My Child

Make a Christmas Story Bracelet by Adventures in Mommydom

Nativity Memory Game by My Joy-Filled Life

The post Christmas Nativity Activities for Kids appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

There I was, a grown woman sitting crossed-legged on the floor with a Bible in my lap.

I’d grown up immersed in this Bible. My parents were solid Christians. I went to church, well, religiously.

I was a Bible quiz champion, a church camp counselor, a Biblical Studies major, and eventually a church planter/missionary.

But in that moment, alone in my brother’s room, I rejected everything I’d built my life upon. I looked at those ancient words in utter disbelief and declared (to whom, I don’t know) “There is no God.”

This was not my first crisis of faith…

All sorts of different things have trigger my doubts. Everything from an Astronomy class lecture, to a cute boy I really wanted to date. Sometimes it’s an aspect about the God of the Bible that really rubs me the wrong way. Other times it’s life circumstances that make me question the idea that there’s truly an all-good, all-powerful God.

These doubts have had a way of throwing me into a tailspin. My entire view of the world would be called into question and I could’t just ignore it.

Depression would usually follow.

I have felt that truth is impossible to find, or maybe even non-existent. Who to trust? Everyone lies or bends facts. I couldn’t even trust myself. I knew my own thoughts and desires were easily corrupted and biased.

I felt trapped and unable to cope with life. The only escape hatch seemed to be an existential black hole of isolation, not trusting anyone, even my own reason and experience.

Yet, every time I wanted to jump reality’s ship, I felt like it was a coward’s way out and it would never satisfy.

Eventually I’d get the courage to examine the facts again. I’d ask myself, “What do I KNOW?”

Like, undeniable, bare bones facts. No presuppositions. No unfounded assumptions.

I was always left with two truths that I couldn’t deny, though I desperately wanted to.

1. Someone/Something more powerful than me designed the universe.
2. There was a real person who lived, died, and came back to life.

Now, I know you may not believe these two things, but in the weeks to come, I want to share with you just some of the facts I have to back those two claims up.

They’re so overwhelming to me that I’d have to be intellectually dishonest WITH MYSELF to deny them. (And trust me, I’ve wanted to.) So before I go rattling off facts, I want you to know that I’ve felt the anger, the fear, and the despair. I’ve tried to wiggle away from my eventual conclusions, but I just can’t seem to do.

Another crisis of faith will probably come my way sooner or later. I’ll want to run away from everything I’ve believed.

But I’m starting to get wise in my old age…

I know that these two pillars of truth will hem me in. And on the foundation of those two undeniable facts, there has been built an incredible wealth of truth that anchors my soul in the worst tempests.

So here’s what this series will cover…

• Evidence for an Intelligent Creator
• Evidence for the Life, Death and Resurrection of the person Jesus
• Should the Bible be trusted to give insight into these first two facts?
• So what DO I believe?

This is MY way of processing and may not be yours. But please don’t ever think Christianity is an unreasonable belief or a blind faith. We are to love the God of the Bible with all our MINDS! Truth can stand up to questions.

But be ready.

The answers won’t allow us to be indifferent, they demand a response.

Will you get up off the floor and join me in this journey?

The post The Skeptic’s Guide to Faith appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

My boys are early risers.

I, am not.

When I just can’t keep my eyes open at 5:30 am, I resign myself to turning a movie on for the kids.

I really want the shows we pick to be either educational, or a support to our family values.

I’m so thankful to have found a show that the kids adore and that promotes godly virtues.

I remember when VeggieTales first came out. I was in middle school. Even though the show is meant for a younger kids, I thought it was hilarious! The characters, talking vegetables, learn moral lessons in every episode all the while cracking up their audience, no matter their age.

Each show features an ethical dilemma common to kids, from sharing, to telling the truth. The VeggiesTales characters then act out a story that helps children work through a godly response to the hard things in life. The storytelling is imaginative and FULL of music. My boys sing the songs constantly. They’re quite catchy.

Now the good old characters of Bob the Tomato, Larry the Cucumber, Junior Asparagus and gang are jumping off the screen, and quite literally, into kids arms. The folks at VeggieTales have partnered with Walmart to provide adorable plush toys representing the stars of the show.

My two year old, Lumpy, was a bit in awe that he could actually HOLD Bob the Tomato!  Here they are getting acquainted.

Lumpy loves to talk to Bob.  I even hear him reenacting the stories and lessons he’s learned from the movies.

These toys would be a great way to get siblings to role play and work through any relational problem they have. My boys know the VeggieTales stories backward and forward and will pretend to be the characters as they discuss their feelings and try to find a solution to their brotherly bickering.

So head on over to Walmart to pick up an adorable plush VeggieTales toy if you wanna see smiles like these…

You can visit VeggieTales on Facebook HERE!

The post Bring Moral Lessons to Life with a Great Show and Matching Toys appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

The last chapter of the Jesus Storybook Bible cover’s the apostle John’s vision of heaven and the culmination of history. It’s beautiful and… well… a bit hard for a preschooler to grasp.

We used this sensory play and sorting activity to help understand a bit more what heaven will be like.

Supplies:

A tub or bin

Rainbow Rice

Next you’ll need to gather objects that represent things that do or don’t belong in heaven.

For things that do belong:

The word “God” = Being in the very presence of God is what makes heaven heavenly.

Musical Instrument = Worshiping God around the throne for all eternity

A Lion and a Lamb = The Bible says the lion will lay down with the lamb. I explained to my son that there will be peace between everyone. (Yes, my lamb is a lame bunch of cotton balls. You gotta get creative!)

A lego house = Jesus tells us that he is going to prepare a place for us and that there are many mansions.

For things that don’t belong:

The word “Sin” = Sin will be no more in heaven. We’ll be completely rid of the sinful flesh. Hallelujah!

Skull sock = Death will be no more. We’ll be alive with Him.

Bandage = No more pain and hurt.

Tissue = No more sickness and tears.

My boys loved sorting through the objects and discussing what belongs in heaven and what doesn’t. The greatest parts are that God’s there and sin isn’t! (And my boys were pretty thrilled that Legos will be in heaven. Wink. Wink.)

The post Activity for the Jesus Storybook Bible: Heaven… Sensory Play and Sorting Activity appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

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Today’s lesson is about the life a Saul/Paul. His life was radically changed. He started out as an adamantly religious man who was all about appearing holy and following rules. But his heart was messed up. He was such an enemy of God, that he was persecuting the early Christians. The story describes him as being blind.

But then Jesus introduces himself.

You probably know the story, but Saul’s encounter with the risen Lord left him changed, and physically blind for a time. But as the author points out, he was actually seeing truth for the first time.

We decided to do a little role play as I explained this story to my boys. It was simple but effective. Here’s what we used.

Supplies:

Swim Goggles

Black Construction Paper

Scissors

Tape

Instructions:

Cut the dark paper and fashion it around the exterior of the goggles with tape. Place the goggles on the child’s head and discuss what it is to be blind in your eyes. Example: It’s dark. You don’t know what’s going on. You can get hurt more easily. Then ask them what it might mean to be blind in your heart like Paul was before Jesus opened the eyes of his heart. My son and I talked a lot about how different Paul was as a person once he could “see”.  Pray together that God will open your eyes to the truth. Spiritual blindness is beyond dangerous.

Want more activities that bring the Bible to life and show your kids what God is really like??? Check out our 40+ other posts!

The post Activity for the Jesus Storybook Bible: The Life of Paul appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

This chapter covers what happens to Jesus and his disciples between the Last Supper and the Crucifixion. I must admit, I was a little stumped for ideas. I wanted to treat the subject matter with the seriousness it deserves, but also at the level a preschooler could grasp. Sally Lloyd-Jones, the author of the Jesus Storybook Bible, emphasizes a couple things in this chapter. First, is that the worst part of Jesus sacrifice was not his physical death, but his separation from God the Father. The second emphasis was on how God’s plan was unfolding exactly the way it was supposed to, even though it seemed like everything was going terribly wrong.

I decided that the second point was something I could explain to my son through an Easter object lesson in nature.

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I’ve got to admit, I was ill prepared when this idea struck me. After talking about the story of Jesus arrest, we discussed how it looked like everything was falling apart. Then we watched a movie about caterpillars turning into butterflies. Thankfully, Loopy had forgotten that caterpillars turn into butterflies, so the transformation was extra dramatic. As we watched, we talked about how things did not look so good for the caterpillar. His skin busted open, he struggled and squirmed. And eventually it looked like he died. BUT this was the plan. THIS was how it was supposed to be.

The connection between the caterpillar/butterfly and Jesus’ death was obvious to Loopy. He knew that the plan was to save the world from their sin. (Please note that the butterfly doesn’t die in the cocoon, but Jesus most definitely did, and rose again.) Peter’s sermon in Acts 2 is a clear explanation that Jesus death was “according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.” So that’s a great passage to study as a family.

If I had been thinking further in advance, I would have had Loopy see the transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly first hand. We’re going to be ordering this butterfly garden kit and I can’t wait!

Can you think of other examples in nature where things seem to be falling apart, when actually they’re going exactly as planned? I’d love it if you’d share in the comments below!

The post Activity for the Jesus Storybook Bible: Good Friday (Jesus’ Arrest) An Easter Object Lesson appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

(Sorry if I sound emotional. We just did this activity a couple minutes ago, and my son is starting to really grasp just what Jesus has done for him. I’m overwhelmed by the grace extended to me and the joy it is to share it with my children. Wow.)

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Supplies: 

Jesus Storybook Bible

A Hand-held mirror

Coconut Oil

Wash Cloth

Cotton Swabs

Something dark, skin-safe, and difficult to remove but certainly not impossible: We used Organic Mascara because I had just run over my tub with the car so it was demolished anyway. I’m not sure what else would fit the bill, maybe charcoal? Be sure to use common sense and don’t endanger your kids or their surroundings!

Instructions: 

Read the story “Get Ready!” on page 170.

Have your child close their eyes. Use the cotton swabs to rub the “dark stuff” on their face.

I wish I could have gotten the mascara on his face without him even having a clue. But I down played it as much as possible. I wanted him to be surprised at just how messy he really was.

Hand your child a mirror so they can see what they really look like.

I reminded Loopy that God’s Word is like a mirror. When the Exiles returned to Israel and read the law, they were appalled at how far they had gone in their disobedience. They wept because of how “unclean” they were and they KNEW they couldn’t fix themselves.

Have your child attempt to clean themselves up with nothing but their hands.

At first, Loopy thought he could easily remove the mascara from his face. But he soon saw (because of the mirror) that he was actually making things worse.

He asked for help.

And I gave him the gospel.

As I used coconut oil and a cloth to gently wipe away the soot, I told my son what God has done for all of us. He gave us the law to act like a mirror; to show us how messed up and hopeless we really are. It’s not pretty and we can’t do anything about it.

That’s the bad news. But the good news. Oh the good news…

is that Jesus came to die on our behalf so we wouldn’t have to suffer the full consequence of our sin. He doesn’t just forgive sin, he wipes it away. It’s been paid in full.

I desperately want my kids to understand that they can’t do a darn thing to save themselves. It’s all grace. An over-the-top all-sufficient grace. They don’t deserve it but it’s theirs if they ask for it.

When Loopy looked in the mirror and saw a nice clean face, he was full of thankfulness, not pride.

This has been my favorite activity that I’ve EVER posted. I saw so many concepts that I’ve explained a million times, really start to click in Loopy’s mind. It is my number one priority that my kids understand the gospel. I’m just marveling right now and the privilege it is to raise kids.

If you’d like a further explanation of the gospel or to ask any questions, I’d be beyond honored to talk with you. You can email me privately here or comment below. Please know I’ve already been praying for you!

Want more activities that bring the Bible to life and show your kids what God is really like??? Check out our 40+ other posts!

I’m crazy excited to share a giveaway with you generously sponsored by Zonderkidz.  One of our family’s all-time favorite books is the Jesus Storybook Bible. And we want to share the joy with you! One lucky winner will receive the Collector’s Edition of the Jesus Storybook Bible valued at $44.99. This package includes  a beautiful copy of the book, the audio rendition of every story (extremely well done!), and a DVD collection with animated versions of the stories. What a great gift to give a child for Easter! Be sure to follow The Jesus Storybook Bible Facebook Page for more information, and stay tuned for the rest of the Jesus Storybook Bible Hands On Activity Series.

The giveaway is open to the US only and ends at 12:00 am CST on April 1, 2015. Please enter using the Rafflecopter form below. If you have trouble seeing the entry form on a mobile device switch to the classic version or click here to enter.
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The post Activity for the Jesus Storybook Bible: Ezra, Nehemiah and the Return from Exile appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.

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In the Jesus Storybook Bible, the author covers the lives of Jacob, Rachel, and Leah. Jacob is the son of Isaac and will continue the family line that God promised would change the world. Jacob loved Rachel for her beauty and rejected Leah for her lack of ascetics. The author focuses on Leah and her realization that she is “lovely because God loves her.”

This lesson is very applicable to us grown up readers too. I have a passion for this topic because I think as a nation we care WAY more about what’s on the outside than what God see’s on the inside. The Bible says in 1 Peter 3:3-5a

^“3 Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. ⁴ You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God. ⁵ This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful.”

…pretty straight forward right?

Instructions:

I started by going to the craft store and buying two identical boxes but you can use whatever you have around the house.

I found some wrapping paper we had on hand and wrapped up the first box super neatly and nicely. This will represent Rachel in the lesson. (You can add specific things to the box that your child would like i.e. stickers of things they love etc.)

Inside  I put… NOTHING. I didn’t feel like it was necessary to represent Rachel as having bad things in her.

Then I took a plain white box (Leah) and banged it up by rolled it around in the mud.

Inside I put a baby to represent Jesus (the first thing i could find was a 11-12 week in utero baby to size haha, but I would have preferred a nativity baby Jesus) and a beautiful cross to represent Jesus and hidden beauty. Get creative with what you put in your box for the story.

Then I put the boxes right next to each other and asked baby brother what they were. He’s almost 3, so I wasn’t sure how this would go.

After we established they were both gifts, I asked him which one he wanted and he went right for the pretty one! (Yes ! It worked!) He opened it and was disappointed and right away said, “Let’s open the other one!”

“A baby!”, he shouted. He shoved the pretty one aside and has been toting the plain one around all morning showing everyone what’s in his box.

If I were talking to older children, I would drag the anticipation out a bit and talk about what we expected to be in each box. Then after all is opened, I would talk about how just because something seems pretty or exciting to us when we look at it, doesn’t mean what we find inside will be the same. Looks can be deceiving.

The message we’re trying to get across to children (and to us too!) is; what other people think of us means nothing compared to what God thinks of us. If we believe in His Son and what He did for us, we KNOW God loves us and has a purpose for us not based on how beautiful or appealing to others we are on the outside.. but simply because of our hearts, attitudes, and ultimately because of His sovereignty.

Don’t forget to check back and read ALL the interactive activities for the Jesus Storybook Bible. 

The post Activity for the Jesus Storybook Bible: Leah and Rachel, Beauty on the Inside appeared first on My Mundane and Miraculous Life.