Parenting: Long Story Short, Ten-Minute Devotions for kids (and you!)
I first came upon Long Story Short: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God in Bible-based homeschooling website, one of my favorite blogs on home schooling. It was on free download last year which was great because we were looking for a devotional to use for the kids that time.
I browsed through it in my Kindle and was pretty much happy by what I initially read. I showed it to Jay who agreed to try it out with our 9-year old Pablo whom we graduated from reading children’s story bibles to reading the real thing.
It’s been 9 months since we started him on it and so far, it’s going pretty well. We’ve also downloaded the next devotional, Old Story New: Ten-Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God
Typical devotions time with our 9-year old
Here’s how our typical conversations during devotions time go…
“Mom, why did Rebecca want Jacob to get Isaac’s blessing for the firstborn?”
I look at my son and smile, “why do you think so?”
“Hmmm…” Pablo drums his fingers on his chin, pondering, his eyes lights up, “Oh yeah! God already told Rebecca that the older will serve the younger!”
I nod, “let’s talk about Esau…”
Pablo interrupts, “he’s mad at Jacob!”
I agree, “yes, he was. Was it okay for him to get angry?”
Pablo, unsure, “ahm, no?”
“It’s okay if you feel angry, luv, it’s normal to feel angry at times. But how did Esau sin in his anger?”
Pablo answers with more certainty, “because he wants to kill Jacob.”
We both agreed that anger becomes sin when we choose to dwell on it and allow it to define our actions.
We talked about how the two of us have been handling our anger and promised to pray for each other. Pablo proceeds to pray by writing on his prayer notebook, a practice I taught him so he will understand that his prayers are between him and God.
So far, we’ve been blown away by our son’s insights and how much it has been helping him know the character of God more and more each day. I can’t stop raving about the book.
Brings you back to Jesus
Are you familiar with The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name? Long Story Short is along the same concept – where the author of the devotionals tie up the verses to Jesus and what he has done for us on the cross.
The difference is that your child is already reading your bible and instead of suggestive texts, it provides questions that encourages him to reflect, not just about what the verses mean, but on how he can apply the verses in his life.
Jay and I are very careful that our children learn the scriptures in the right context. We believe that this is the time to start teaching them, while they’re still young. It’s so much harder to correct an adult, truth be told.
We read the discussion points before we talk about them with our kids. So far, everything’s been biblically sound and we’re so encouraged at how much it has brought out of our children.
But more than that, our relationship improved. There’s considerably less friction between me and Pablo and I can really see the changes in the way he relates to us and to other people.
Last year, we were too focused on keeping up with the required syllabus and in beefing up the portfolio, we didn’t realise that our spiritual growth as a family, our relationship, had been strained. I’m really happy about Long Story Short because it really helped us teach our children about the word more than impose our rules on them.
How about the smaller kids?
Lukas only listens in, once in a while sharing his own input, like “Mom! Esau and Jacob are brothers just like me and Pablo and Judah!” And that’s alright. We put him on copy work with a verse from the same chapter that we read for the day to get him familiar with the scriptures.
Judah, on the other hand, still enjoys the Jesus story book bible (the other two still listen in, hehe)
If you’re interested to purchase an E-book copy of Long Story Short for your Kindle, you can find it in my bookstore HERE under parenting books category.
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“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6.
“but Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven” Matthew 19:14.
“For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.
30 Comments
Katrina Alcantara
Awww – when my daughter learns to read i want her to read the bible too just like how your kids appreciate reading the bible.
May De Jesus-Palacpac
🙂 that would be awesome.
Theresa Lucas
Love love love this blog! As a homeschooler myself this is amazing. We do devotionals every night and I’m proud to say that it has helped my son flourish…his reading has been getting better and better.
May De Jesus-Palacpac
yes, the comprehension, too. 🙂
sef tiburcio (@seftiburcio)
Good to know that your utilizing Internet for the learning of your kids. Way to go!
May De Jesus-Palacpac
I’m a big believer of the role of technology in the lives of today’s generation. It’s inevitable. 🙂
theresa
Cute kids. Being a teacher, I salute the type of moms like you. I’ve handled a lot of different problems with students and I think one big factor why they misbehave, become unruly or no discipline at all (to the point that they answer back elder people, take drugs or involve themselves in pre-marital sex at a young age) is their family as their support group to everything. Even in devotions or prayers. Thank you. For raising your kids in open group discussion like this. 🙂
len
This is a nice post! It’s nice to see childrenwho read while learning the bible…
Miriam Slozberg
Thanks for sharing! The internet can be a goldmine when it comes for providing golden nuggets for our kids! And for us.
Daphne Benosa
You’re doing a great job developing your kids’ critical thinking skills! Your kids are really smart, too! 🙂
Irish
I haven’t tried any of these apps yet. It’s nice to have something close to Jesus on your phone because reading it will be a lot accessible. I’m currently subscribed to a newsletter where it sends me Gospel’s daily message.
May De Jesus-Palacpac
You can download Kindle app for free on any Smartphone. 🙂 You can download, not just devotionals but free books – the ones you’ll eventually see in your favorite bookstores. Kindle has those for a given period of time.
Aisha Kristine Chong
This is great. A nice food for the soul kind of stuff for kids which is great.
Sam
As a child, one of my more vivid memories are when my mom would read us book and when she gave us an illustrated Bible for Christmas. It definitely made me read the entire thing
Franc Ramon
It’s nice that the kids are already reading the bible. The Long Story Short on Kindle is nice to have for everybody at home.
Alissa
This is a great way to teach your kids the bible. I’m sure they’ll grow up to be God fearing.
Jojo Vito
ebooks–Bible or devotionals will surely excite kids to get to know Christ.
Celerhina Aubrey
I really love the way you do home schooling and teaching your kids in general. I’ll check this one out. Must practice. 🙂
sarah tirona
this is so nice! will download also, thanks for sharing 🙂
Hui Zi
thanks for sharing. it’s also a healthy way to spend time with the kids.
Phenomenal Mama
My husband regularly does devotions with the kids, too. It’s a great way to spend the weekend nights with the kids.:)
melandria romero
this is also great for teaching our children to be more closer to the one who created us, the bible is too complex for them yet but the devotion i teach them to be more closer to Him is i think part of our love as a parent.
Lorly Omadto
definitely helpful devotional books to use for kids, even for kids who are not home-schooled. Learning from relating how kids view and understand God at an early age. I’ll have the small kids start a prayer notebook soon. Thanks for sharing!
Peachy @ The Peach Kitchen
I started my daughter with Bible Stories for kids but I think I wanna try the Long Story Short with her as well.
Ma.Me.Mi.Mommy
Reading about you and your kids’ biblical discussions is so admirable! 🙂 I hope I can do this with the kids next time as well and grow spiritually as a family.
Nhessie Agustin
this is nice sis! I love how you train your kids to be God loving and I want my boy to be the same when he grows up.
Maria Teresa Figuerres
This is a nice tradition that I’d like to start with my family, too. My son is turning 9 years old this July, and I’m really looking for a resource to help him appreciate the Word of God.
Mayu
I love your way of guiding your kids. From Bible lessons, to parenting, to cooking. Keep it up! 🙂
Mitchryan
You’re such an ideal parent, very dedicated, and patient. Devotionals are good ways to teach children good manners.
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