Sharing a love for the Bible with your family

Singing songs after dinner: that's what I grew up with. Even at the campsite I took the guitar with me (even though I was secretly ashamed sometimes). But now that I have a family of my own, I think it's so nice and important that we now also sing after dinner (and we also continue this on holiday). Now that we have been trying to memorize more and more texts in recent years, we sing Bible texts after dinner. The younger children like this, the older ones think it's a bit exaggerated. The funny thing is that - even though the teenagers sometimes sit a bit uninterested and slumped at the table while singing - I sometimes hear them humming through the house afterwards.

What helps me to remember in parenting is that I only have to answer to one. And that is up to Jesus. For Him I raise my children in awe of Him. And that happens by trial and error. Because I am not a perfect mother either. But if I want to give them God's love for the Bible, then I have to do something for it.

For example, we give the children a Bible if they know the alphabet. That is usually around the age of seven. We then make a nice outing of it. They can choose a Bible themselves in an evangelical bookstore. I often buy a suitable diary with it, so that they will develop a love for God's Word. Then we take them out for dinner to their favorite restaurant. There we explain the importance of Bible reading. In addition, it is very important that your child also sees you reading the Bible, because giving a Bible is valuable, but living it is the most important thing! Christian parenting is (mainly) living by life.

By reading the Bible, they get to know God. And when they get to know God, they learn to hear His voice. My father always said: 'When you pray, you speak to God and when you read the Bible, God speaks to you.' Reading His Word, the Bible, teaches you and your children to understand His voice. For example, my thirteen-year-old son woke up one morning. In a dream he was in a fight, but then he heard the roar of a lion and the fight was over. De Leeuw only had to roar once and there was no more fight. It reminded him of what he had learned from the Bible. Jesus is the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5).

What power there is in Bible reading. And not everyone wants that anymore. I find myself sometimes having to blow the dust off my older teenagers' Bibles. They don't care about it or don't think it's important, but by continuing to stimulate them (sometimes by putting the Bible on their pillow), by continuing to pray for them and by continuing to live it, they will one day long with all their heart for words from God. Trust and don't give up!

"I trust that He who has begun a good work in you (and them) will complete it." (Philippians 1:6). Hold on to that. And until then, you can raise for 'the audience of One'. You may live it (in His power – Philippians 4:13) and pray for your children. What an honor. You are His image bearer, so in your family their image of God.

Also check out the website of Priscilla Docter! https://priscilladocter.nl/