Hi, friends! Please help me welcome Anne Marie to the blog again!! Her blog is a treasure trove of Bible lessons for you to use with your children, all FREE. I’m so excited she wanted to share this family journaling lesson HERE at His Mercy is New!! Y’all know how much I’m loving my journaling Bible and I’ve been wanting to do some of this with my girls, who I especially think will like this. Be sure to check out my recommended resources page!
Christian families are always looking for fun ways to get Jesus into their kids. Most of the time journaling is seen as work for kids, and fun experiences by moms and dads. {sad face} Why not make journaling fun for everyone? In fact, why can’t everyone journal about the same scripture and then share their thoughts? Family Journaling!
I did this recently with my own children (ages 6 and 8). I was encouraged by the conversation we had and intrigued by the pictures they journaled. Here is how I went about this: (which has inspired a new series, The Family Journaling Project, coming soon to my blog!)
The Scripture for Family Journaling
God loves to use pictures to teach us. I chose Psalm 1 for this first activity because 1) it has an interesting picture in it; and 2) my children had already memorized it for Awana.
I began by praying with my kids, and asking the Lord to open our ears and hearts to Him. Then I had the kids close their eyes as I read the scripture.
The Results of Family Journaling
After reading, I gave us about 15 minutes to write, draw, use stickers, color, etc. in our journals.
Here are the results!
{This is from my 6 year old.}
{This is from my 8 year old. The first tree is showing withered leaves.}
{This is mine.}
The Conversation from Family Journaling
While the kids were creating, I asked the questions, “What is righteousness?” and “How do you know if you are righteous?” This brought about interesting conversation and insight into the hearts of my children. We talked about Jesus, sin, and his dying on the cross. We discussed Psalm 1 and what it teaches about righteousness, wickedness, and comparing the two.
Although this activity took about 20 minutes, it opened my eyes to the heart condition of my children. It allowed us to talk about the Lord and what he desires from those who choose to follow him. Journaling also allowed all of us to ask questions of which we still need to learn the answers.
If you are interested in joining me over the next several weeks, I will be exploring various metaphors of the scriptures through The Family Bible Journaling Project. It’s going to be fun!
Anne Marie has a Masters Degree in Education with a focus on Christian Education. She is the author of the blog Future.Flying.Saucers. Anne Marie has a passion for biblically equipping parents and teachers so children can fly for Jesus. On Wednesday nights you will find her teaching Biblical concepts to Awana clubs at her church. All of her Awana and Bible lessons can be found on her blog.
Leave a Reply