I wrote last year about my commitment to my daughter to read her the entire Bible before her 18th birthday. This promise morphed into a weekly family Bible-reading extravaganza, where we spend 45 to 60 minutes simply reading the Scripture and letting the children ask any questions they have. I’m now writing with an update.
Jan Rowley, Creative Commons
- We’ve been working on this for a little over 3 years, so it’s become part of our ingrained family routine.
- 45 to 60 minutes may sound like a long time, but it goes quickly when the children get to play during the reading (my original post describes how we do it).
- We don’t actually do it every week. If anyone is traveling, we skip it. But I would estimate that we miss only 1 or 2 weeks each quarter.
- Going through the Bible in canonical order, we’re now in the middle of Jeremiah.
- All the names in 1 Chronicles 1-9 were rough, and the kids were the least engaged for that section. But I spread those chapters over 2 sittings so it wasn’t too painful for them all at once. And they’re able to bear the occasional “boring” section when they get to play with whatever they want. They’re not required to just sit and listen.
- Proverbs 10-29 was also rough. When the topic changes every verse, it’s hard to listen to a lengthy reading!
- Surprises:
- They loved the Psalms. Even though there are many of them, most of them are short. And the children really followed along with the mood of each poem.
- They also loved Job. The drama engaged them, as the characters took turns making their speeches.
- My sons loved Isaiah, though they’re not sure why. One of them could explain his love only by saying, “It was really interesting.” Jeremiah has not been as interesting for them.
- While I’m sure none of the children would choose Bible reading time over, say, going to the local pool, I get almost no complaints from them about doing it. The only exception is when we’re in a dry spot (usually a list of names): After 30 minutes, I might start getting questions about how much longer we’ll be reading.
- Almost every week, though, most of the children are sad when I stop. They keep asking for “another chapter!”
- It doesn’t take nearly as long to read the Bible out loud as I thought it would. I’m surprised that we’re in Jeremiah already. At this pace, we’ll finish long before my daughter’s 18th birthday. We might even get through the Bible twice.
- I’m now using the CSB Reader’s Bible. I love the CSB translation, and the children follow it well. And a reader’s Bible gives me “permission” to keep reading and reading and reading, without any distracting verse numbers, chapter numbers, or section headings telling me that I should stop.
I hope this encourages you. You don’t need a perfect plan, a perfect curriculum, or a perfect set of family devotions. And you don’t need to do it the same way I have done it. But be encouraged: You can simply read the Bible to your kids!
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Thank you for this encouraging post. As a family we try to pray together every evening before bed (mostly a fairly short prayer, sometimes depending on circumstances or stated prayer needs it may be slightly longer) and probably spend on average 3 to 4 nights a week in active Bible study. My children are 19, 13 and 11 so it is hard to always engage everyone at their level. I started a “read through the Bible in a year” plan with them but to my shame I put it aside by the end of week 12 (which took us closer to 20 weeks). I just found myself becoming frustrated at the perceived boredom from the younger two. Your post has opened my eyes to my own weakness. I was making this about me and my need to get it done my way. I make the same mistake in my more detailed studies that we do together. Often there is a negative atmosphere because I become frustrated at one of the children seemingly not paying attention.
Thank you so much for reminding me that my family is just like every other family wanting to glorify God in their devotions together and struggling through our humanness to do it. I should not make it about me and my desires to see it done in a certain way or within a certain timeframe. It is okay to take days or weeks to cover what I would want to do in a single sitting. I need to trust God to open hearts and minds and simply remain faithful in my duty as a husband and father to lead my family in reading the Word together.
Thanks for writing, Gary, and I’m glad this was encouraging. I used to demand that all the children sit still and “pay attention.” And it was frustrating for everybody. Since I began allowing them to do whatever they wanted during the time, as long as it is quiet, not electronic, and in the same room, everyone has had a far more enjoyable time. And I’m often surprised by how much they’re still hearing, even if it seems like they’re not giving it their full attention. Their questions are great. And sometimes I just ask, “does anybody know what [what I just read] means?”
I should also mention, though, that I don’t have any teenagers yet. I imagine things will be different for me when we get to that phase. Thanks again for commenting!
Yes, teenagers hold a different challenge. In my case I have been very fortunate with my eldest in that she has always been able to sit still and focus when it comes to reading – she is a consumer of books! She even enjoys reading passages from Leviticus and genealogies (must be her mother’s genes).
I do agree that we should be a little more “flexible” with younger children when it comes to sitting quietly. I find it is a constant tug-of-war between the idea of accepting that children today are perhaps more prone to short attention spans and acknowledging that in the case of Bible reading we ought to show proper reverence and an attitude of worship to the Word of God. I don’t think 11 and 13 is too young to understand that coming to the Lord for an hour requires some personal sacrifice of being able to do other things.
I am very fortunate to have been blessed with a wife who has far more patience in these things and helps to be my guide when it comes to whether I am wanting my children to honour God or simply to live up to my expectations. As you say, little “tests” through questions more often than not surprises by how much they have listened and understood even through the perceived lack of focusing.
This is a great post. Thanks! What is your take on using the ESV for kids? Is it too wooden?
I started with the ESV, and it was fine. But they did even better with the CSB, so I switched to that.