Free Illustrated Bible Verses (KJV)

Teach your child a new verse every month with these free illustrated Bible Verses!

Each verse directly applies to things children will face in their daily lives, such as:

• Salvation
• Obedience
• Being kind
• Being generous
• Being cheerful
• Being diligent
• And more!

You can use these along with the Bible time suggestions for toddlers and preschoolers to help your little ones get to know God and his word better.

Each verse is full sized with colorful illustrations that are appropriate for each month of the year.  All scriptures are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

These cards are free for subscribers.

Download these today and help teach your little ones God's Word!

Bible Time Suggestions for Toddlers and Preschoolers

The Lord has impressed upon me the need to be pouring Scripture into my children while they are young.  One tool that I have used to accomplish this is a daily Bible Time.  I struggled at first to know what to do with my young children since they don’t understand a lot of Bible terms, and they get the “wiggles” pretty quickly.  Through suggestions of godly older ladies, and some trial & error, I have put together three elements to make Bible Time fun and successful.

I have four children ages four and under, so our Bible Time isn’t always daily, though that is the goal.  And it usually isn’t at the same time every day, because we have to flex our schedule around the ever changing needs & schedules of twin babies.  To accommodate this, I put my Bible Time items together in a basket near the couch so that it is always easily accessible whenever we have a few minutes to sit down together to read, sing, and pray.

Just as in a corporate worship service, I believe that the key ingredients of devotions or Bible Time with our children are reading God’s Word, praising God through song, and bringing our requests to God through prayer.

Reading God’s Word

Be careful in selecting a children’s Bible.  Many have quite diluted the Word of God.  Others have introduced many inaccuracies or changed God’s Word in order to make it “child friendly.”  The Egermeier's Bible Story Book was suggested to me, and we love it!  It goes through the Bible in order, but divides the stories/chapters into kid-friendly portions.  Though written in story form, it follows the Scripture carefully and closely.  And the pictures are very beautiful!

Right now we are reading through it in order from Genesis, but we have also picked stories to correlate with a “letter of the week”.  (Lazarus, Lot, and Salt & Light for the letter L are some examples).  I read one section to the children.  Often they are riveted and ask me to continue reading, but sometimes they are squirmy and so we end with just one story.

Singing

My children love to sing!  And though they have favorite songs, they are eager to learn new ones also.  I have been trying to introduce them to a couple of new songs per month.  I often visualize the songs by printing the lyrics and adding clipart in Microsoft Word.  Sometimes I print out the words and we color the pictures together for a craft project.  (I like to laminate them to make them more durable). Even though my kids can’t read yet, the pictures help them follow along as they learn the song.  We also sprinkle in some songs that have hand motions, which is very helpful if they kids are squirmy.

My kids get a good dose of children’s Bible songs at church.  We sing their favorites and teach them new ones too.  I also want them to learn the good old hymns, which are so rich in doctrine and Scripture.  We take it slow when learning these new songs to be sure they understand.  After we sing the song, I discuss the words and the meaning with them.  Through this repetition they come to understand what the song means.

For example, Nolan loves to sing “Nothing but the Blood of Jesus.”  Our visual folds out into the shape of a cross.  After we sing I ask them questions like, “What shape is this?”  “Why is it a cross?”  “Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?”  “What is the only way we can be clean from our sins?”  “What is sin?”

Prayer

We have three different approaches to praying with our kids.  We mix them up based on the time and their attention span that day.  Sometimes I ask them to share one blessing and one prayer request, and then we pray for those things.

Another way to guide prayer time is to pray for missionaries.  We have a basket of prayer cards, and my kids love to pick out a card and pray for that missionary.  This teaches them to be concerned with the needs of people around the world.  It also helps them put a face to people we are praying for regularly.  When a missionary was badly burned in an accident, we showed the kids his picture to help them make associations as we prayed for his recovery.  And they each have a favorite card they dig through the basket to find!

The last tool we use is a jar of “prayer sticks.”  We wrote blessings and special people on popsicle sticks.  We let the kids pick a couple of sticks out at prayer time, and that is the blessing/request for which they are to pray.  Some examples are people with chronic illness, family members (we have all of our grandparents on sticks), and people in need of salvation.  Some examples of blessing are friends, books & toys, health, etc.

Do you have a daily Bible Time with your children?  So often they are a thirsty sponge, absorbing everything they encounter.  It’s important, and a great opportunity,  to “fill them up” with the things of God!  What have you found to be the best way to have a devotional time with young children?

Will You Say Yes?

This post was originally published in 2012.  Although the circumstances are different now,  I still need to be reminded of this.  I pray it will be a blessing to some of you as well.

I have a deep admiration for God's servants. When I see people who have given their whole life to Him to do whatever He asks, no matter how hard, I am motivated to be like that. I am so encouraged when I see people who are making sacrifices and living through difficult circumstances with a smile on their face.

I've watched a missionary family live with numerous health problems and deal with inconveniences like their water being turned off for nearly a week. I've watched a family proceed with multiple international adoptions in spite of the lack of finances and the emotional, physical, and spiritual toll it takes to parent adopted children. I saw another missionary family lose their 3 year old daughter in a tragic car accident, yet they are choosing to be thankful for the way God is using that accident for His glory. These are just a few examples. Everywhere I go I see people who have said “Yes” to God, no matter how hard a thing it is that He has asked them to do.

I have spent much time in prayer asking God what it is that He has for me. What hard thing is it that He wants me to do? I am determined to say “Yes”. I will trust him for the grace each day to do whatever He asks of me.

…Or will I?

Fast forward a few days, and in your imagination come join me in my home. I get up early, eager to tackle my lengthy to-do list. I have big plans for all that I am going to accomplish. I read my Bible and pray, then get up and start working on my list, humming as I go. I'm excited to face the day, determined to be a great mommy and homemaker. Several short minutes later, my well-laid plans are interrupted. I hear a baby crying. “He never wakes up this early,” I think. “Pleeease go back to sleep so I can get some work done.” After a couple more minutes, I decide that I'd better go get the little fella. I'm too late. My oldest boy, who shares a room with the baby, has already awakened, and there's no getting that one back to sleep once he's up. To top things off, he gets so lonely while I'm feeding the baby that he has to wake up his little sister so she can play with him.

Okay, I can adjust. I'll just go ahead and start working on the things I had planned to do after the kids were up. Then I'll get them down a little early for their naps and go back to working on what needs to be done while they're sleeping.

All 3 kids are cranky all morning from getting up so early. I'm stopping every few minutes to console a crying baby or try to thwart an emotional meltdown from my 2 year old. In between grouchy spells they're running around like little crazy people, getting into everything they're not supposed to get into. I'm trying to maintain some semblance of order, so I stop to deal with each issue that arises and clean up each mess. By lunchtime, I've accomplished the amazing feat of getting everyone dressed and fed. That's it. Oh! And I did throw in a load of laundry and make a loaf of bread. Well, I dumped the ingredients into the bread machine, if that counts. I'm eying the clock and eagerly anticipating naptime so I can at least get a little bit of work done. I'm hoping that everyone (including myself) will be in better spirits after a good afternoon rest.

Naptime, however, is delayed due to the fact that the timer on the bread machine says that the bread will be finished exactly one hour later than I thought it would be finished. I'm almost out of groceries, and that bread is about the only thing in the house that I have to feed the kids, so I'm stuck waiting for it to finish before we can eat lunch. Combine hungry grouchy with tired grouchy, and we have a house full of very grouchy people. And Mama is getting grouchier by the minute. I'm very close to surpassing the grouchiness of my children. Yes, that happy, humming mama that arose so excited about her day is acting like a child who is not getting her way.

But wait, it gets better.

Much to my relief, naptime finally arrives. I make sure the two older older children have gone potty, and get everyone tucked snugly into their beds.

For about fifteen minutes.

That's when I hear the footsteps in the hall. “Mommy, I have to go potty,” I hear a little two year old voice say. “You just went potty. Go back to bed,” I reply through gritted teeth, trying hard not to sound as irritated as I feel. As she turns to walk away, I see the little bulge in the back of her Pull-up. I roll my eyes, thinking to myself, “WHY does she have to go stinky during her nap every. single. day????!!” I change her Pull-up and put her back to bed.

For another fifteen minutes.

“Mommy, I have to go potty again.” I check the Pull-up. Stinky again. I change the Pull-up again and put her back to bed.

She's up and down several more times after that, not to go potty, but just the general two year old naptime avoidance tactics. By the time I finally get her to actually go to sleep, my oldest boy is up. He's actually taken a good nap, so I have no reason to make him go back to bed. I try to make him sit quietly and read books so I can have a few minutes of quiet. Yeah, right. Four year old boys and quiet don't belong together in the same sentence.

I finally give up and go to the kitchen to start supper. My husband walks in the door, and is greeted with what is by this time a very grouchy wife. I start complaining to him about my day, how I'm so tired, and how I didn't get anything done today and that I barely have enough strength to make supper. (Which is true. I'm still nursing the baby, and I hadn't had enough to eat throughout the day.) He just smiles at me and goes to play with the kids. I sit down with my head in my hands and wish that supper would make itself. There's not even anything that I can eat for a quick snack to give myself an energy boost. I get up and manage to pull together some chicken and pasta, and while I'm cooking, the Holy Spirit speaks to me in His still, small voice.

“Didn't you tell me that you would do whatever I asked of you? And that you would do it cheerfully? Do you know what I've asked of you today? I've asked you to love your husband and to love your children, and to have a good attitude even when your day doesn't go the way you planned it.”

I confess to the Lord my selfishness, and for the rest of the evening I choose to be joyful. I choose to say “Yes” to God, although I wish I had obeyed a whole lot earlier.

What about you? What is God asking you to do? We all have different life circumstances, and the thing that He asks you to do will be different from what He's asked me to do. Maybe, like me, you haven't even stopped to recognize what it is that He's asking of you. Will you take the time to realize what it is? Then, will you say “Yes” to Him?

Thoughts from The Imperfect Grandmother

I am honored to have my mom posting some things from her heart today.  And while she wrote this from a grandmother's perspective, there is so much that we young mothers can learn from this too!  (Titus 2:3-4   The aged women likewise…that they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children…)

I sure wish I were closer to perfect than imperfect, but unfortunately, the closer I get to heaven, the more I realize that I need the Lord to help me through each phase of life! In fact, in some ways it gets harder as life goes on because now not only do I have four children to be a godly example to, but now I have 15, (soon to be 17) grandchildren to pray diligently for and be a godly example to.
My daughter recently gave birth to her fourth child and we were privileged to keep her other three while she had some R & R after the birth. Throughout those three days, the Lord was showing me what I can learn from keeping these precious grandchildren. They are not necessarily in any special order, but just random thoughts.

1. They need love, attention, discipline, and did I mention that they need love, attention, and discipline, and oh, teaching. Teach them diligently. Teach them the Word of God in the Way. Use every day incidences and objects to teach and instill the Word of God in their hearts. Deuteronomy 4:9 Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy sons' sons; Deuteronomy 6:7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

2. Focus on them, not yourself. They are your main mission. Meet their needs, physically, emotionally, and Spiritually.

3. Don't be too quick to judge them expecting them to act like mature adults. Remember they are very young.

4. They need to see Christ in my actions, not just hear about Him in my words.

5. They may claim to be saved and only God know their hearts. If they claim to be saved, teach them as though they are, but always giving the gospel so that it becomes clear in their hearts and minds. Pray that you will see evidence of their salvation or that God will reveal to them that they are not saved and that they will see themselves as a sinner and accept Him.

6. Often as I see my grandchildren do many wicked things, I become angry and frustrated. I remind myself, what if God became so angry and frustrated with me every time I disobeyed or did so wickedly. While thinking back, I remember many wicked things I did after salvation, yet God in His mercy still loved and forgave me and gently led me on.

7. Forgive them as God forgives you.

8. Teach them God's Word and how to live a victorious Christian Life.

9. Never give up on them.

10. Don't break their spirit, but don't give in to their will either.

11. Be merciful and kind. Oh how merciful and kind God is toward me. What if He screamed at me every time I sinned or rebelled or disobeyed? What if He punished me unmercifully without love and thought?

12. Remember how often I act like a 2 year old when God is dealing with me. I am so quick to forget what He told me and to go my own way without a care at all.

13. God definitely made younger women to care for children. Yes, Sarah and Elizabeth had children in their old age, but they only had one. But God does give grace and strength and joy in it all!

14. Sit back and enjoy them! They are great entertainment and can really give you a good time.

15. Snatch any quiet moments to be alone with the Lord in His Word and in prayer. While keeping grandchildren or your own children, there may not be a long length of time that you can sit and meditate on God's Word, so learn to recognize and be prepared for any small windows of quietness that God may give you. In the quietness of your heart, meditate on Scripture and pray without ceasing. Be thankful for any quiet time that God gives you. Use it for getting to know the Lord better through His Word and for praying. Pray continually for your grandchildren.

Summary: It is a privilege to be a grandmother. I desire that my grandchildren see this in their grandparents:
Proverbs 16:31 The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.
Luke 1:6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.

Remember: Proverbs 17:6 Children's children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.

Psalms 103:17 But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children…

What imperfections do you need to weed out from your mothering or grandmothering?

How to Practice Safe Babywearing

Taking 4 kids to the grocery store, to the park, etc. is a little challenging, and it is definitely nice to have my hands free while still cuddling my newborn.

But there are some things about safe babywearing that I didn't realize, and perhaps some of you didn't know these things either. Boba is helping to spread awareness of how to practice safe babywearing.

Because an infant's hip socket is still developing, wearing baby incorrectly can cause a condition known as hip dysplasia. This condition occurs when the baby's hips become dislocated or misaligned.

Hip dysplasia has several different causes, and therefore cannot be 100% prevented; however, wearing your baby in the correct position can go a long way toward reducing your child's risk of developing it.

To carry baby correctly, he should be facing toward you and his knees should be higher than his rear. When a baby's legs are left to dangle or when his knees are at a lower level than his bum, his spine and hips are unsupported and can be injured.

An outward facing position is not good for mom's spine either as it throws the weight of the baby forward, leaving your spine to compensate.

This article at bobafamily.com explains the consequences that outward facing baby carriers have on baby's spine and hips a lot more in-depth.

You can also find a lot of information on hip dysplasia in general at hipdysplasia.org.

I've also created a Pinterest board dedicated to safe babywearing that you can check out:

I think I would be inclined to wear my babies a lot more often now that I know how much better an inward facing carrier is for their development and for my aching back! Boba is the only company that exclusively sells products that leave baby facing inward. I sure have been enjoying lots of sweet snuggle time with my 2 week old, but an inward facing carrier would make it a little easier.  

To learn more and connect with Boba, “Like” them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Boba. The opinions and text are all mine.

How I Get My Babies to Sleep Through the Night

How to get your baby to sleep through the night — that is definitely one of the first things a sleep-deprived new mom wants to know!

First of all, can I just say that I have never understood that thing called “Mommy Wars”?

Why in the world do women get upset because they parent their kids one way and another mom parents hers differently?

I mean, that just really confuses me as to why that's a big deal. Whatever works for one mom is not what works for another mom.  So what?

That being said, I'm sharing today how I get my babies to sleep through the night. If it's not what works for you, that's okay. But for some of you who are desperate for a good night's sleep and you think this is something you'd like to try, here's the info.

The main thing that I have done is to put my babies on a feeding and sleeping schedule from the day they are born.

I'm not talking about taking this to the extreme and making your baby scream because it's 2:30 and he's not scheduled to eat until 3:00.

Here's a basic rundown of a typical schedule for a newborn in my house:

7 am- first feeding of the day; play until sleepy; nap until next feeding time

10 am – feed; wake time; sleep

1 pm – feed; wake time; sleep

4 pm – feed; wake time; sleep

7 pm – feed; wake time; sleep

10 pm – last feeding for the evening, go straight to bed for the night

During the day, I wake the baby when it's time to eat if he's still napping.

I can't believe you would wake up a sleeping baby! Why don't you just enjoy the quiet?

In my experience it has always been worth it to do it this way. It helps the baby develop a routine, and pretty soon they begin to feel hungry or sleepy at the times you have scheduled. It works extremely well for me, especially since I have a lot of responsibilities at church.  I can have the peace of mind that my baby is not going to be hungry while I'm in the middle of trying to play the piano for the service.

When I put the baby down for the night, I don't wake him up until he wakes up on his own. I feed him however many times he wakes up during the night, and in the morning, I try to get him right back on schedule for the day by feeding him around 7 am. If he wakes up at 6:30 hungry, I'll go ahead and feed him and then try to gradually get him back on schedule the rest of the day. For instance, the next feeding time is at 10 am, but he'll probably start getting hungry around 9:30. I can probably hold him off with a pacifier or some other distraction until 9:45, and do the same thing at the next couple feedings until he's back on schedule. If the whole day stays off by 15 – 30 minutes, though, it's not really that big of a deal. I want to be clear and state again that I'm not an advocate of taking the schedule to an extreme and letting baby scream just because it's not time to eat yet.  Gently holding him off for a few minutes is an entirely different thing.

When baby is on a routine like this, I always know exactly what he needs. All I have to do is look at the clock to know if he's crying because he's hungry or because he's tired. I have known several families who have followed similar schedules with their babies, and their babies are some of the most easy-going and easy-to-care-for babies I have seen.

After the first 8 – 10 weeks, all 3 of the babies I've had so far have slept through the night. When they are on a consistent routine, their bodies easily adjust to knowing that nighttime is for sleeping and daytime is for eating, playing, and napping.

I keep them in a bassinet in my room until they start sleeping through the night, then I move them to their own room. I have a high need for sleep, and I'm just an all-around better mommy when I get plenty of rest without baby noises keeping me awake. Again, if that's not what you like to do, that's okay too. Do what works for you.

I used the book On Becoming Babywise to help me figure out what type of schedule to make for my babies at different ages. It was helpful to know how often they needed to be eating and sleeping in order to be healthy. I know the book in its entirety is somewhat controversial, but I found the practical info invaluable.

As I've said several times, I know there is not one right way to parent, and all parents will find that different things work better for them.

I've shared what works for me because I was so grateful that someone did the same for me before my first child was born. I had no clue you could help a baby get on a routine. I thought you had to wait until they got themselves on a schedule and play every day by ear. I thought that all babies wanted to nurse all day long and never be put down. That is so not me. I love my babies, and I spend plenty of cuddle time with them, but I would just be one worn out mama if I carried them around and nursed them all day. (Some mama's love it – go superwoman!)

Our days generally run fairly smoothly even when I have a newborn in the house. I know for the most part when they'll be eating and when they'll be sleeping and I can plan my day accordingly. (I hope I'm not shooting myself in the foot by saying these things because I still have 2 more weeks before the newest one will be born! Hopefully he/she won't be the exception!)  *Update: Our new baby slept through the night by 6 weeks!

Mama, if you're tired, I sincerely hope you'll find a way to get some rest – whether it's the way I do it or another way that works for you.

Leave a comment and let us know your struggles and/or what works for you!

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