The Jesus Storybook Bible

When Maddy turned 3, Tim and I realized that Maddy was ready for a little more in depth Children's Bible. We did a little research and at Christmas time, got her the "Jesus Storybook Bible".

It is just a tad above her reading level and takes a little effort on our part to keep her sitting still for a full story (we also have a very active child). But sitting still quietly for longer periods of time is something we are working with her on, so I guess we are  hitting two birds with one stone.

I'm happy to see that she is intrigued by the stories and the pictures(although she wishes there were more :).  She really gets into it and asks so many good questions! Tim and I really like that the constant theme points towards Jesus Christ.  It's kid friendly and interesting and still maintains the facts of the scriptural stories. That's a hard thing to find in a children's Bible book! I think it's something that we will continue to re-read with her for many years to come, gleaning new and deeper truths as she grows in her understanding and, Lord willing, faith.  I would recommend it to anyone with children!

Missionary friends of ours in London (David and Annalisa Wilson) wrote a  blog post on the book recently including this great article written by the author of the book, called "Teach Children the Bible is not About Them". It's a quick and excellent read -such good reminder as a parent. Her main point is that we don't need to "pull a moral" out of each and every story in the Bible to teach children how THEY must act. The story of the Bible is bigger than that. It's about Christ and His work on the cross!

This quote from the article says it best, "When we drill a Bible story down into a moral lesson, we make it all about us. But the Bible isn't mainly about us, and what we are supposed to be doing---it's about God, and what he has done!"