When I was growing up, my parents gave me an allowance so they could teach me how to manage money. They taught me how to use a bank account, save for big purchases, and tithe. It was not an extravagant amount of money. I remember when my allowance was a single dollar. On Saturday night, I would set out a dime by my church dress before going to bed. Then I’d put the dime in the offering plate at church the next morning. Now, parenting my own children, I feel at times that I am much less organized than my parents were. I have only recently started talking to my children about finances, and the fact that everything is digital and automated today makes it harder for me to model money management to them in ways they can visualize.

Little has had a more dynamic impact on contemporary culture than electronic technology. I would argue that electronic technology is our feeble human attempt to copy God’s astonishing creation of our capability to communicate who and whose we are. This creative package includes the brain and its extended nervous system components, including the eyes, ears, mouth, nose, and communication modifiers—memory, emotions, and body posture, to name a few.

Children’s Bibles serve a useful purpose in our homes. From the time our firstborn was four months old (in other words, when we emerged from our sleep-deprived fog enough to realize it was possible to start an intentional bedtime routine), we have read Bible stories with our children before bedtime. We started with an illustrated beginner’s Bible, moving up to Bibles with more of the stories and more details as our kids get older. Now we go back and forth between the Bible and storybook Bibles (as we have a wider range of ages in our family).

Homeschooling takes a ton of work, but there are resources out there to help! Christa Petzold shares her favorite books for teaching the faith while homeschooling. 

When we read with children, we know how to correct their mistakes, but sometimes we don’t know how to help them pronounce, understand, and retain new words. Here are some tips for teachers, parents, grandparents, and anyone else who works with children on how to teach hard Bible words.

Our new normal will not feel normal. In many states across the country, local governments are rolling out reopening plans. This all coincides with school letting out for “summer”, which feels different than it ever has before. After months of being at home completing a half year’s coursework through remote learning during a pandemic . . . what happens now?

One thing that helps us to remain grounded as worries abound is this: This is not God’s first pandemic! We follow behind the One who goes before us, and He is our ever-present help in time of need.

My friend’s son is having a hard time with this unique time of isolation. He’s frustrated, angry, sad, and scared. He misses his friends, his school, his Sunday School teachers, and going to the park. Every day in the morning, at meals, and before bed, his mother encourages him to pray for the emotions he is having and for the struggles going on in his little mind. Children are called to participate in the kingdom of God. They are not excluded from Jesus and His ministry.

In the beginning was . . . routine. In the first verses of Genesis 1, routine is immediately evident. God designed His majestic creation with order. Before there was even a sun in the heavens, there was evening and there was morning. There was a routine.

I grew up with one Bible in my household. It was a children’s storybook Bible. Featuring over a hundred stories from the Old and New Testaments, it was my only look at the Word of God. It had pictures that had been illustrated by children around the world paired with a short paragraph of text that summarized the story of each specific passage. That version of the Bible was my only way to God’s Word.

Being a teacher involves patience, dedication, passion, lots of hours, and above all, love for your students. In these times of uncertainty when so many don’t know when they will be returning to school, how schools may look in the future, or if students are hearing the loving words of Jesus that they desperately need, be certain Jesus is with us as our guide.