Bible Resources Reviews:
Picture Book Brings Church Home:“Our Home is like a Little Church”
Written By Lindsey Blair and Bobby Gilles
Illustrated by Tessa Janes
(Format: Picture Read-aloud Book)
Formerly self-published as “Pastor Daddy”, “Our Home Is Like a Little Church” is now published this year by Christian Focus Publications. “We pray that God will use this little book to encourage parents to lead their children spiritually – and do so in light of God’s grace,” say the publishers. “It was written to teach preschool children the Christian truth evident in its title – that the home is a “little church” where parents teach their children God’s commands and lead them to worship the one true God. “, says Sojourn Pastor of Children’s and Parents Ministry Jared Kennedy. “The book expresses our conviction that God intended the home to be the front line of ministry to children – not the public Sunday school or public church gathering alone.”
The book works towards this end in its fun friendly design as well as storyline. Design-wise: each left-hand page of a 2-page spread shows and tells what happens in an official church, for instance, the first part:
“My family goes to Sunday church,
We see the pastor there.
He teaches us the Word of God
And leads us all in prayer.”
On the right facing page of the spread, our home “church” is compared in words and illustrations:
“We pray and praise God at our house.
He makes our family glad.
Our home is like a little church.
The pastor is my dad.”
The whole book follows these comparisons on each spread. This effectively carries across the message the importance of family home Christian life along combined with public church life. Blair and Gilles’ prose is melodic and memorable in its nice rhymes, and is presented in a fun font typographically that adds to the book’s appeal.
Janes’ illustrations, meanwhile, are colorful, cartoonish and friendly, giving kids the idea they could draw something like this a making the book still more accessible and down-to-earth.
We enjoyed the book. We plan to keep it for when our kids are grown and we have grandkids.It would make a fun Father’s Day gift for DAD, to encourage him in your family walk with God and show him how much you appreciate his efforts in that realm.
For more information on the book, including a video, you can also visit the official "Our Home is Like a Little Church" page: (please click book cover page above)
We were pleased to receive this nice full-color 16-page softcover book in the mail on a complimentary basis from Sojourn Community Church as part of a Book Blog Tour. Thanks!
Help with Memorizing Bible Verses
From the
"Star Family Singers":
Wow, the other day we were so excited and blessed to receive a big box of Christ-centered fun goodies from the Star Family Singers! We'd seen several of these items offered on their website, (and some on their show on the Christian Television Network",) and we were intrigued and hopeful their stuff would help our family (and others!) learn more about the Lord and Hide Him in our Hearts. (Just like their television show does. We have Dish Satellite and find it on Channel 267, so if you have a different provider ask them where to find it!)
Anyhow, their gift of enabling us to review their products feels like such a treasure we're so thankful for!
"Hide The Word In Your Heart Club":
The Star Family Singers have a free club in which kids and adults alike can earn fun button badges by memorizing verses from the bible. You can participate by mail or online.
To help with the verse memorization, of course you could simply use your bible. But the Star Family offers a Memory Booklet along with a cd disc for the main 12 verses they suggest be learned. (and more) It has a low-priced suggested donation too!
While simply laid out, it's a definite help in someone's search for being close to Jesus. How? Here are some ways:
- Kids or adults can listen to the vocals while playing or working or eating breakfast or napping or whatever. Sometimes hearing stuff over and over again in the background sinks it into our memories better.
- Reading the verses while listening at the same time is another good form of memorization. Great project for homeschoolers!
- This is a great way for kids to learn to read along or for even young kids to learn to read from the get-go, too! That's how kids learned to read in the "old days" -- from the bible, which was often the only book a household would own!) It's so inexpensive, too. There's also a "How To Start A Hide The Word In your Heart Club" booklet. My boys started one immediately with a friend who is totally unaware of Jesus and the bible. Woohoo!
- Motivation: Besides pleasing God and helping ourselves, my kids enjoy learning verses all the more because of the added fun incentive, of course, of the goal of earning badges. (Especially fun for those of us in the middle of nowhere who can't get to a Boy Scout or Awana group.) Some might want to turn this into a friendly competition, such as who can earn more badges first.
Ifyou'd like to order a copy of the "Hide the Word in Your Heart Club" set, go to their website at www.heartclub.com and press on "catalog" (It's near the bottom of the first page.)
Happy verselearning and badge earning! I'll review more wonderful Star Family Singers (and many other products including a homeschooling book by The Old Schoolhouse,) next time. Have a blessed day!
