Morning Bells in Beyond...

[Tree House Academy]

Anyone else find this to be a bit over their child's head word-wise? My almost 6 year old just looks at me with a blank look when I read it to him. I kind of have to read it with other words to him and then we have to do a LOT of discussion. Anyone else have this issue? If so, do you have any tips for me. I want him to really enjoy it, but I think that is the one book in Beyond that takes the wording a bit over his head.

[grandsophy]

I was given a copy of that book, but didn't feel it would be relevant or helpful to my kids. We're skipping it.

[water2wine]

We did Little Pillows with Bigger and loved it. I think the language takes a little training of he ear to get used to but the content is amazing. I found actually that my little ones listened in on Little Pillows and loved it. Morning Bells is the same deal. I have read a couple to my Beyond kids already because they have asked. The message of God is so deep that I really feel like it is worth explaining the parts you may need to as you go and I think after time you will find that their ear will get trained to it. So if I had issues with my kids understanding as I did at first when I first started Bigger to a mild extent I found it was worth it to take it thought by thought and explain it until they got used to the language. We have had such deep conversations with Little Pillows my girls are excited to do Morning Bells and actually my oldest daughter has actually asked if she could listen in on that part of Beyond or read it herself. It's a wonderful tool and worth the effort I think learning the language of it. I guess ultimately if you find it just does not work you can save it for later but I would really try just taking it slow and explaining as you go. There is so much wisdom in those little books.

[sharonb]

I thought that at first, but today we read the Morning Bells selection for Unit 5, and it was really easy to understand (today's was about Christ's childhood). And even the selections that I thought would be over their heads were helpful. My 4 year old was listening in and started asking questions about a new heart (this was a week or so ago). So, I wouldn't skip it. It only takes a couple of minutes, and you never know what they'll pick up!

[Tree House Academy]

We did the new heart lesson today too. My almost 6 year old was beyond confused. He was thinking God takes our old one out...and then he wanted to know if we would die when we lost our hearts. Oh my...it made for a fun discussion.

[crlacey]

I've been trying to pre-read it and then just discuss the main idea of it with DD. Yesterday, we were able to read it from the book and then discuss, (we're on unit 9) but this is the first I've been able to read it as written and have her understand it.

[jewel7123]

I attend a Sovereign Grace Baptist Church, so my kids are used to hearing preaching like what is in both Morning Bells and Little Pillows. Not sure how much they actually understand, but I will definitely be reading these books to them anyway. The first time I read Little Pillows I actually cried it was so good. As water2wine said, the truth that is packed into these tiny little books is absolutely amazing!

[my3sons]

It's somewhat like reading the classics - the wording takes a bit to get used to, but once you do it's full of gold nuggets of wisdom. I would not skip this, or paraphrase it to be easier, as this will not help dc learn to think more deeply as they listen. It has worked best for me to read it as it is, and then share what it means to me personally after that. This has made for some great heart to heart (no pun intended, Rebecca ) talks. O.k. - I am getting my Morning Bells book out to try and remember the talk we had after "The New Heart" because I remember it was a good one. I am not so aged yet after all - I remember this talk last year.

I shared this after reading the devotional: I used to think, "How can I get a new heart?" when I was younger. And I also used to be worried that I maybe didn't get my new heart because as hard as I tried I still kept messing things up sometimes. Then, as I got older, I realized that getting a new heart meant having a different attitude about things, and that new attitude comes from believing in Jesus. And guess what? That feeling bad about messing things up was part of having a new heart! Having a new heart full of love for Jesus doesn't make us perfect - it just makes us want to do our best for Jesus. And it also gives us that sad feeling when we let Him down. I STILL make mistakes, every day, and I still need to say I'm sorry to Jesus when I do - in fact, I've even started praying Jesus would point out the mistakes I'm making so I can stop them and be even more of who He wants me to be. And then you know what? I feel all full of love for Him and my heart does feel happy, and new again! That's what Jesus wants for you too - a new heart full of love for Him. We get a "new heart" when we believe that Jesus died for our sins and is our Savior, but the good news is we can keep feeling that new heart grow when we make better choices that bring Him glory. Remember yesterday when you took Emmett's toy away and felt bad enough to tell me about it? That was your new heart letting you know that was wrong, and when you prayed for forgiveness and felt so much better, that was your new heart becoming more and more like Jesus! It feels good to become like Jesus, and we'll spend our whole lives trying to do that.

So, that's just an example of how we can use this excellent devotional as opportunity to share our faith. I also like to link it to the history, and the key idea always helps me do that. So for the one above, I also shared that we could see the Pilgrims had new hearts too because of the decisions they made. I asked why they moved to Amsterdam, and Riley told me it was because they wanted to worship God in their own way. When they could have gotten selfish and not shared the little they had with the new group of Pilgrims that came, they shared anyway, and God blessed that.

It makes me sad to think of any little ones missing this devotional - as my ds said, "that little book has a lot to it". Hope something here helps!

In Christ,
Julie

[Tree House Academy]

Julie, can you come to my house on Wednesday mornings? That explanation was wonderful! As a matter of fact, I am stealing it to use with my ds. Sometimes I have a hard time winging it to take it down to his level. He ends up looking at me like I have two heads. BUT, I can do this! We will keep trying. I can definitely see the "gold" in the little book. I just hope that my son will soon start to see it too.

[grandsophy]

I should have been more clear in my previous reply. I'm sure this is a valuable book for some families. It just wasn't a good fit for us. My kids have heard a lot of Bible-story devotionals in today's language, and they have never heard the King James Bible. They'll read the classics someday--but for now I want them to hear the gospel in accessible and relevant language. I don't want them to think they have to talk in outdated language (beautiful as it is) to approach God. And, as I try to juggle different grade levels, I need an open-and-read devotional.

My own childhood was filled with similar devotions, and it took me years to realize how relevant Jesus is for my daily life, or even to understand that He truly cares for me.

[grandsophy]

And please forgive me if I sound critical! I'm just prayerfully trying to teach my children about the Lord, and introduce Him as a loving companion and ever-present friend.

[my3sons]

I wish I COULD come over, Rebecca! Put the coffee on, and I'll be there. Seriously though, my dc and I don't have deep talks like that every single time, but one thing that has begun to resonate with me over the years is that the talks I have with my dc doing the HOD Bible and devotional times are the only talks I am truly getting done consistently with my dc concerning the Lord. I used to feel kind of lost, like what is really my purpose for the Lord? Most of my time is spent with my dc, and I don't have the time or the funds to be involved in things that take me away from the home right now. That's when I decided it's enough to pour myself into my dc right now, as long as I am also pouring in the Lord's wisdom and love too. Now, I look at each Bible time and devotional time as my chance to share my faith personally with each of my dc, and I feel like this is the purpose the Lord has given me right now. It gives me chills to think of moms all across the nation having heart to heart talks about the Lord with their dc every moment they can. Those kind of talks can turn a nation back to the Lord. Those kind of talks paired with God's grace can help us be able to spend forever with our dc - from now and into eternity. That's my desire for everyone - especially the ladies I care so much about on this board!

In Christ,
Julie

[water2wine]

It gives me chills to think of moms all across the nation having heart to heart talks about the Lord with their dc every moment they can. Those kind of talks can turn a nation back to the Lord. Those kind of talks paired with God's grace can help us be able to spend forever with our dc - from now and into eternity.

Julie I so agree with you! I do believe God is calling us for such a purpose. I believe He wants us to go really deep with our children in their understanding of Him. I really feel their task for Him is greater than ours.

We also can't afford the trips everywhere and all the extras. While those are great not being able to have all that activity does give you more time to reach your children's hearts for Him. And the closeness you build with your children I believe is deeper from those talks then all the trips to Disneyland we can't afford.