With Valentine’s Day approaching, I have been trying to choose books about love for my daughter, Juliet, and I to read together each night. I want her to know how deeply and unconditionally I love her and also how God’s love for her far surpasses my own great love.

As I looked at our shelves the other night, The Runaway Bunnyby Margaret Wise Brown jumped out at me. “That’s perfect!” I thought to myself. We’ve read this book a million times before, but we’ve never had a conversation about how God loves us as unwaveringly and as fiercely as the mother bunny loves her little bunny.

If you’ve never read the book, it begins like this:

“Once there was a little bunny who wanted to run away. So he said to his mother, “I am running away.” “If you run away,” said his mother, “I will run after you. For you are my little bunny.”

“If you run after me,” said the little bunny, “I will become a fish in a trout stream and I will swim away from you.” If you become a fish in a trout stream,” said his mother, “I will become a fisherman and I will fish for you.”

The story continues in this way with the little bunny coming up with another and yet another thing to turn into and his mother responding with how she will chase after him and find him NO MATTER WHAT. It’s a beautiful story of unconditional love.

As I thought about the picture of love presented in this book, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the love stories of the Bible such as the book of Hosea, the story of the prodigal son, and the greatest love story of all: Jesus coming to earth and becoming human just because He loved us so much. No matter how far we ran from him, and no matter what we became, He was willing to leave heaven behind and give up His life because we are His children and He loves us.

I thought to myself, “This is going to be great! We’re going to read a great book together AND have a meaningful spiritual conversation!”

It didn’t exactly turn out that way. Here’s what happened:

As we began reading the story together, Juliet asked me, “Mommy, why is that bunny running away? and I said, “Why do you think he is running away?” and she said, “To join the circus!” (Towards the end of the book, the bunny tells his mother he will join the circus.)

I took this moment to tell her that I was like the mother bunny and that if she ever ran away, I would always go after her because she was my little bunny. She just sort of nodded and then we continued reading.

A few pages later, Juliet suddenly jumped up, and exclaimed, “I’m the little bunny!” and ran away. I put the book down and proceeded to chase her down the hall and tackle her in my room.

I again reminded her that I would always catch her because she was my little bunny. She smiled, giggled, and then announced, “I’m a butterfly, I’m going to fly away from you!” and ran down the hall. I responded with, “I’m a net and I will catch you!”

We played this spontaneous little game over and over again—she was a little bird; I was a nest. She was a lady bug; I was a little girl with a bug-catcher. She was a roley poley, and I was a pile of dirt. Again and again, she ran away from me, and again and again I caught her.

Then we sat down, finished reading the book, and got ready for bed. As I tucked her in, I said, “God is like the mother bunny, too. No matter what you do, no matter how far you run away from Him, He will always come after you because you are His little bunny and He loves you.”

And she said, “Hey. You have hair in your nose.”

So maybe we didn’t get the meaningful spiritual conversation in, (we did have a discussion about the benefits and purposes of nose hair) but we did make some memories and invented a fun, new game! Even though she wasn’t really ready to talk about God’s love for her, I think the seed was planted.

And like that mother bunny, I’ll keep chasing her down and telling her tirelessly about God’s love, over and over again. And the best part is, I don’t have to do it on my own. He won’t stop His pursuit of her either.

Vanessa is a regular contributor to Impress Your Kids. She is a stay-at-home mom to an energetic three-year-old, Juliet. They spend their days together reading books, attempting crafts, and occasionally beating tree trunks with large sticks. You can read more about their adventures at Silly Eagle Books.

I found the best Thanksgiving book at the library this year! It’s called Over the River and Thro’ the Woods. There are many different versions of this book but NONE are as adorable as this one illustrated by Normand Chartier.

Does this title sound familiar? That’s because you probably sing it every CHRISTMAS! But guess what? It’s really a Thanksgiving poem!

Once I read it, I knew I had to own it. I was tempted to “accidentally” forget to return the book to the library. But instead, I got it from one of Amazon’s partner sellers for $3. It’s in our bookstore now! Is it not super adorable?!

“I will praise God’s name by singing to him. I will bring him glory by giving him thanks.” Psalm 69:30 NIrV

Last night we did our first family devotional time. OK, it wasn’t exactly a devotional. But it was a family activity. And it was about Jesus. So, I’m going to call it a devotional.

We sat down together and read The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs. Then we acted it out. Here’s how it went:

First we picked out a beautiful pumpkin from the pumpkin patch grocery store. Then we washed it off and opened it up! (Psalm 51:10)

Then we cleaned him out–all the hidden, dirty things inside! (Ezekiel 11:18-20)

We gave our pumpkin a new face! (2 Corinthians 3:18)

Finally, our pumpkin was lit from the inside and shining for the whole world to see!
(Matthew 5:16)

The Pumpkin Patch Parable tells this same story in more details and gives scriptures every step of the way. The scriptures and the story point to the miracle that Jesus does in our lives–he chooses us, washes us off, takes away all our dirty sin, gives us a new heart, a smile on our face and a light to shine to the world! It’s a beautiful picture and a long-standing object lesson that we are able to see for  weeks to come! Lydia and I were chanting, “Let your light shine! Matthew 5:16!” the whole time we were looking at our shining new pumpkin. It made quite an impression!

I know this is a blatant rip-off of the Halloween Jack-o-Lantern. Liz Curtis Higgs describes it as redeeming something that God created–a pumpkin. And can I say something else? God knew. God knew people would use the pumpkin as something scary. And that his creation would be a symbol for a mostly evil holiday. And I think he put this symbolism together for this very purpose–to redeem it and remind us how He has redeemed us!

This is an excellent book with sweet pictures and a very profound message. I encourage you to get this book even if you don’t do the carving of a pumpkin together. It will help your kids associate a pumpkin (or jack-o-lantern) with God’s love instead of with Halloween!

See my review of Liz Curtis Higg’s The Pine Tree Parable! One of my FAVORITE Christmas books!

I started reading Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Ted Tripp a few weeks ago. Usually it doesn’t take me so long to read a book but non-fiction is hard for me. I really have to focus. Anywhoo.

I’ve been mulling over one main point for a few days. I think I’m going to quote some of it. Ready to read?

You make a grave mistake if you conclude that childrearing is nothing more than providing the best possible shaping influences for your children. Many Christian parents adopt this “Christian determinism”. They figure that if they can protect and shelter him well enough, if they can always be positive with him, if they an send him to Christian schools or they can home school, if they can provide the best possible childhood experience, then their child will turn out okay. (emphasis mine)

Uhm. Guilty on all counts! From the time you get pregnant and pick up a parenting/pregnancy/kids magazine, you are told all the RIGHT things to do. And you feel like everything is an “if…then” statement. “If I breastfeed, they won’t have allergies.” “If I wear her in a sling, she won’t cry.” And as a Christian parent, “If I read her Bible stories and make her watch Christian TV shows, she’ll turn out right.”

The problem with these thoughts is that KIDS ARE PEOPLE, too! When we discipline our kids respond…not as we want, but as their heart leads them. I’m not suggesting that kids are static beings and however they are wired is how they are wired, the end, too bad for you.

According to Trent, “your son or daughter responds according to the Godward focus of his or her life…your children are responsible for the way they respond to your parenting.” Just doing the “right” things doesn’t make good kids…God’s Spirit on the inside of them is what makes them turn out right.

This alternately terrifies and encourages me! I’m terrified because ACK! I have to leave the eternal salvation of my children up to…MY CHILDREN?! It’s almost humorous to say, but that’s how it feels. I KNOW what they need, Who they need and how and when they should respond. You mean, I may do it all “right” and my kids may NOT follow the Lord?!

One of my favorite things at church is baptism. Before each baptism, there is a short video about the person getting baptized–they tell their background, their journey to God and finally say, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior!” I could watch their stories all day long. But it saddens me, too because almost every adult says, “I was raised in a loving Christian home.” Then they went to college, experienced a tragedy or married the wrong guy…or whatever led them away from God. And they spend years running from and ignoring God. How could their family been a loving Christian home and they turn out so WRONG?! (I’m using hyperbole here.)

It’s because the focus of their life–as a child and teen was not Godward. Their parents may have brought them to church, they may have prayed over meals and even done a family devotion. But for whatever reason, they didn’t have a Godward focus. And THEY chose–outside of their parents good intentions to pursue their own agendas.

I said this frightens AND encourages me. How can it encourage me, you ask? Well, it encourages me because it shifts my focus. I can easily get caught up in memorizing a scripture, making a Bible craft, watching a Christian show, reading a Bible story that I forget this parenting gig is NOT about ME. It’s about my children. I’m God’s agent right now. I get to introduce my children to Jesus in their formative years. I’m not trying to check off a list of things to do, or a filling in a formula.

Hopefully, I’m crafting a life that honors God. A life that is focused Godward. Hopefully, I’m living it every minute of the day. The real true things that will give my kids a Godward focus in their life is not a craft, an outing or a story. It’s the example that my husband and I live and the home we craft.

Of course, that can be terrifying, too. But how much more rewarding? We get to experience God’s grace in our lives and then see it at work in their lives, too. Impress Your Kids’ main goal is to show you all the little things you can do to focus your children and your family on God. It’s easy for me to get caught up in a cool activity or creative craft when I’m posting. I pray instead I will use this blog to help me (and you) focus our homes Godward.

I’ll close with a question from Shepherding a Child’s Heart…it’s the prayer of my heart…

Are you and your spouse spending time in prayer for God to reveal himself to your children? Ultimately God initiates any work in your children’s hearts.

:: :: ::

And here are a few scriptures to study:

Proverbs 29:21 early influences shape a life
Proverbs 4:23 focus is on the heart
Proverbs 9:7-10 wise versus the foolish
Proverbs 22:15 a child’s heart
Proverbs 4:23 importance of the heart

photo by just Luh

When Lydia was a little over one year old, I picked up the book, Playtime Devotions at my church’s bookstore. Two things drew me to it:

1. It is a part of Focus on the Family’s Heritage Builders program. I love their whole mission.

2. It’s a hardback spiral bound book so you can stand it up and read it while still playing with your kid. GENIUS.

I so appreciate the instructions on the inside of the book because it encourages you to sing these songs, read the scriptures and say the prayers over your kids NO matter their age–yes, even over infants! The idea is that your baby will begin to associate your love with our Heavenly Father’s. I just love love love that!

There are about 30 devotions in the book each consisting of a key thought, Bible verse (paraphrased), a song or fingerplay and a prayer. Each song or fingerplay is usually to the tune of another familiar song. There are several renditions of Patty Cake, one Where is Thumpkin? and even Oh My Darlin’ Clementine.

Our favorite devotion is God is With Me Everywhere based on Psalm 139:8. The activity is an action rhyme. And I’m going to type it from memory…because we have done this about 4billion times:

When I’m high up in the air (both arms in air)
Or deep down in the sea (bend down)
Anywhere I go (both hands out)
God always goes with me (hands on heart)

In the morning sunshine bright (both hands above head like sun)
In the darkness when I can’t see (cover eyes)
Anytime or anywhere (one hand out at a time)
God always goes with me (hands on heart)

Lydia was still only a year old and she could say this whole thing and do the motions! We worked on it so often because, you guessed it, she was fearful of going into the nursery at church. We would do this before church, after church, at home, before bed and a million other times during the day. She loved it. We loved it because it introduced her to a real theme that, unbeknown to us, is a constant battle for her.

Some of the other topics include God Made all of Me, Talking To God Is Important, I Can Share and Go To Church. They are all easy 2 minute activities you can do with your kids. I highly recommend this book. Not because it’s so amazing and original (because honestly, how many Patty Cake songs can you do?!).  I recommend it because it is an way for you to  introduce and focus on God’s Word when you “sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up…” (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

I had totally forgotten about this book until a few weeks ago when my good bloggy friend, Jessie asked me about it. I decided to review it since we read it so much with Lydia…and now I’ve just inspired myself to start reading it with my 11 month old Asa!

Do you know of any good kids’ devotional books?