27 Sep 2015

Teaching Your Child the Discipline and Joy of Reading the Bible

by | posted in: Bible, Books, illustrated faith, Kids r Readers 2, parenting, Shepherding Children | 2
Illustrated Faith 1-2-3
Illustrated Faith 1-2-3

 

When our children are small, we teach them many important things to do: tie their shoes, brush their teeth, look both ways before crossing the street.  We teach them how to go to the potty, drink from a cup, and use a fork.  We teach them how to do so many things that are crucial for life.

Sometimes we forget to teach them important spiritual disciplines to help them get to know the God who created them.  The most important one we can teach them by both example and instruction is reading the Bible.  And what a better way to teach them how to read – then to read the Bible.

Why do we need to teach our children to read the Bible?

  1. The Bible is God’s voice to us today.  He breathed the Bible into life.  He used common sinners to record what the Spirit breathed.  This was written down and kept for us for all of forever.  This is by far the main way he chooses to communicate with his children today.  It is how they will know what is right and wrong.  It is how they will know what God is like.  Psalm 119 tells us so much about the importance of knowing the Word of God.
  2. The Bible tells them how they were created.  Even from a young age, our children will be bombarded with many deceptions about who they are.  God created them in His Image and it is crucial they understand that.  They were created beautifully and wonderfully: no matter the skin color or chromosome count, or their family status.  Psalm 139 and Genesis 1 tells us that.
  3. The Bible tells them why they were created.  All of creation exists for one reason: to bring glory to God.  God created human beings in his image so we could reflect the grand glory of God to the world.  Isaiah 43 clearly illustrates that truth.
  4. The Bible helps us get to know God.  There is no person we need to know better than God.  And we can know God by reading His Word.  We can know his actions, his character, and his truth.  We can know His plan for salvation.  Psalm 19 and the Gospels illustrate this.

These are just the simple basics of why we need to teach children the Word of God.  We need a book on teaching Spiritual Disciplines to our children – anyone know of one.  I guess I could write it if someone is willing to publish it.  Any takers?

Tommy Nelson just released a 365 Read Me a Bible Story for young school age children and gave me a copy to giveaway.  What a great way to get them in the habit of reading the Bible and learning God’s truth.  It has fun pictures, a Bible passage for each day of the year, and a short recap of that story.  What I would like to see is some follow-up questions that will help parents engage with their children during family discipleship time.

The most important thing to remember is that children are going to learn by your example.  If they see you reading your Bible, living it out, memorizing it, quoting it, then they will hopefully desire to know the Word as well.  We can pray that God would give them a heart like his – that desires to know God intimately through his Word.

If you would like to win a copy of this Bible story book from Tommy Nelson – tell me which of the 4 reasons listed above is the most important to you – and why and maybe how you are teaching your children that.

5 Sep 2015

Blogtember: Music for the Car Ride

by | posted in: hymns, illustrated faith | 0

Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul

To be honest, I don’t listen to my ipod and I don’t have music loaded on my computer because it slows down the overall working of the computer – so I’d rather just have quiet in my home and then I definitely listen to it in the car.  You can always hear my older son asking for it by pointing to the radio dial and saying “more more” from the back seat.

SO, instead of pushing shuffle, I’ll just tell you what is in my 6 CD changer in our highlander:

  1. Sovereign Grace.  This CD is such a blessing to my soul – reassuring my of my position in Christ.
  2.  Getty.  The songwriting of the Gettys (and Stuart Townend, they often write together) is untouchable in these days. And the fiddle and penny whistle is well-worth the listen.  I love their live albums the most because you hear people singing passionately and expressively which encourages me in my walk.
  3. Hillsong United.  Whenever I want to rock it out in my car, this one gets played.  Mercy Mercy is my favorite song on the disk for sure.
  4. Daniel Renstrom.  A friend of mine and a lover of children learning the truths of the Word. My boys know this one by heart!  And some of my fave hymns on it too.
  5. Sojourn.  I attended church in Louisville and got to sing these songs weekly.  This CD is another reminder of the Gospel to my sweet soul.
  6. Songs from Luke.  The authority of Christ – Not In Me – Come to the Feast – definitely some of my favorite new ones.
21 Aug 2015

Coffee With Lindsey Hohman Designs

by | posted in: Bible, Coffee with..., creatives, flowers, illustrated faith, kcreatives photography, photo shoot | 1

Lindsey Hohman Designs

Watching people who are really great at what they do do what they do – it excites me!  And I want to introduce you to one of those people.

Lindsey Hohman.  I met Lindsey while we were both getting pedicures at a spa night hosted by her sister-in-law.  I immediately was connecting with her down-to-earth personality and her creative bent toward everything.  This girl has so much creativeness that it oozes out the ends of her hair.

You can see it in everything she does and her style fits her home perfectly.  When I left her home a few days ago I called my husband and told him I found our dream house.  No joke.  Gray, white, lots of light, hydrangeas, plenty of space, a huge back yard, a rocking chair front porch, Gator stuff in the house.  Yup.  I hope this girl keeps me as a friend!

Chalkboard Lettering

Lindsey is a handletter-er genius and it flows from her.  I wish I could do it – and I can’t.  We all have our gifts.  Apparently.  But, I love her whimsical style of writing and her soft style of watercolor.  I love her floral looks but it doesn’t make everything too girlie.  She is authentic.  She loves Jesus, the Bible, and the Gospel.  She uses an ESV Journaling Bible.  She has two really cute kids.  She loved my food.  Yup.  She’s a winner.

Coffee with Lindsey Hohman

Our kids played, we ate and talked, and she was kind enough to answer some questions so you can get to know her a bit.

First, the question every one will want to know, what is in your coffee cup?  Sweetness.  Hazelnut coffee with french vanilla creamer.  Stevia for more sweetness.  If its not sweet, I’m not drinking it.

What are you learning from your art?  I’m learning to view God in the light of grace.  I am getting out of the box of “I need to do this before I will be ______”  Living in grace and not living in law.

“Its a challenge to see you how God sees you.” – LH

What’s one area as a business creative in which you want to grow?  I need to work on my shop set-up.  Learning which avenues are best for which art styles.

What are your favorite materials?  I love being creative with paints and pens and chalk. I like manipulating them in different ways to get a different effect.

Watercolor Flowers

What inspires your creativity?  LOTS.  I am a visually-inspired person.  I love pretty things.  Magazine and Pinterest lend inspiration.  I love to sketch and doodle.  If I’m listening to someone talk, I’m usually doodling.  Watercolor is a new medium.  One thing I’m learning is you can’t base your creations on others’.  A lot of my inspiration comes from magazines and other print work. I love taking time to sit alone a read through a magazine!

How do you balance being a wife and a mom and a creative?  Inclusion and patience.  Basically, multitasking.  I can’t do just one of the other.  I am always Mommy and _____.

Mommy and Creative

 

Lindsey, thank you so much for hanging out with me. I look forward to future play dates, cupcake dates, and creative sessions with you.

Green Hydrangeas

 

Almond Cupcakes

 

Lindsey Hohman

 

Psalm 51

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lindsey Hohman

 

LHDMemory

 

 

Lindsey Hohman necklaces

 

 

 

And yes, Lindsey made that necklace!

All photos are property of kcreatives photography.  Use with permission.

12 Aug 2015

the psalms and our emotions

by | posted in: Bible, Books, illustrated faith | 0

The psalms and our emotions

As a wife and a mom (and basically as a human being), I experience many different emotions every single day.

Love.

Joy.

Irritability.

Fear.

Impatience.

Sadness.

Anger.

Bitterness.

Things are out of control.

Competitiveness.

And the list could go on, but you get the picture.

God created us as whole beings, therefore emotions themselves aren’t evil.  But, they have been affected by the fall – when sin entered the picture long ago we have a different bent on emotions.  But, the good news is we have been given something to help with our emotions.

Psalter by Crossway

We have been given the Bible, especially the book of Psalms.  The Psalms to me is probably the most helpful book in the entire world when knowing how to deal with my emotions.  One of my friends told me early this year that one of the best disciplines I could would be to journal through the psalms, praying through them, crying out to God using his very word to direct my thoughts.  This practice has been so helpful in turning my thoughts and emotions back to God. This practice doesn’t necessarily have to go with hard times when our hearts are torn.  But, it can help us specifically praise the One who deserves all the credit when things are going well in our lives.

Crossway recently came out with a Psalter that is amazing.  My sweet husband just gifted it to me.  He placed an order with random other household goods from amazon that he knew I would open.  I found the psalter.  I called him hoping I hadn’t ruined a surprise – he said no, just thought it would be a happy.  It so was!  I’d been wanting it forever!  It is the perfect compact size to carry with me everywhere.  It has thick pages perfect for people like me who like to write in their Bibles.  And it is only the Psalms – which is perfect for reading and re-reading.

Another book has recently come out that has been helpful as I’ve started reading it.  And this post has also been encouraging.  IF you want a prayer journal that a wife can pray for her husband through certain books of the Bible, you can find one here on the blog for free that I wrote for the book of Nehemiah or the one I wrote for Ephesians.

One of the best parts about the psalms and the most instructive is how the writers deal with their emotions.  They aren’t afraid to tell us what they are really feeling: doubt, fear, worry, anxiety, questioning, joy, praise, adoration, etc.  But, even when they are struggling in their faith – they always come back to the understanding that God is in control.  He is most glorious.  He is in charge of all things.  And that is why they praise.  They know that every situation will be handled by the Great BIG GOD who is gently leading and guiding them through all things.

I never want to shy away from my emotions.  I do want to run to my God who knows me and knows how all of it is going to turn out.  And you don’t have to not share your emotions with others.  Christians should not be a stoic people.  (I mean, clearly, the Psalms is anything but stoic.)  But, with our sharing, let us always return to the hope of Christ. May we always take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

9 Apr 2015

Illustrated Faith: Getting Started & Supplies

by | posted in: Bible, illustrated faith | 0

Illustrated Faith Getting Started

There is a whole new movement called Illustrated Faith.  Just a group of people wanting to meditate on the Word of God by making their Bibles more colorful.  Really, my Bible has never been more colorful – but here are some real reasons I do it.

I can get easily bored with just reading the Word.  I’ve not found it helpful in retention to read on my iphone.  I read it there – but if I’m really wanting to study and read for retention it needs to be in a quiet place with a writing utensil in hand.

I love creativity.  Being a mom has really sparked new creativity in me.  I’ve always been a creative person, but the last 3 years has brought more of that out in new ways.  I still write and cook – but also doing art for people to get the Word in the homes is something I’m really enjoying.

Meditation on the Word is commanded and a joy.  Right now I’m writing out Deuteronomy in a Journibible (more on that soon) and then meditating on a portion or a truth found in those verses by drawing or cross-referencing (looking for other verses that speaks of the same thing).  Today’s reading sparked an obedience and boundary issue with me – and I wanted to search out the Scriptures to see why God set up the boundaries he did for us and why he demands obedience from his children.

How do you get started in Illustrated Faith.

1.  Get a Bible.  Any Bible will do – but I use a Journaling Bible from Crossway which has wide margins, perfect for journaling (whether writing or drawing).

2. Get a notebook or paper if you don’t want to colorize your Bible.  I understand that may not be your thing.

3.  That’s really all you need, but here are some fun extras: watercolor, markers, colored pencils, stickers, etc.  Its like high school art class all over again!  I didn’t love it much then but I love it now.

Read – think – pray – journal.

That’s all there is to it.  I always carry a pencil with me now.  As I take notes in church or Bible studies I think of ways to be creative.  It gets the Word in me – and isn’t that what the base of Psalm 119 is!  You can find a lot of my doodles on instagram but I might start putting some on the blog as well.

Go – learn the Word and be creative!  The point of doing this isn’t to see how creative you can be but how to bless your soul (and others you share what you learn with) by being in the Word!