Navigating Hard Things: Lessons from Esther

Moving 2,000 miles across the country took its toll on our family. Starting over was hard for my husband and me, but even more so for our then-8-year-old son. Leaving behind a life he loved, with friends he cherished, and a school he thrived in, hurt. Rather than a smooth landing in our new town, that first year threatened to crash our boat onto the rocky shoreline.

Life is filled with challenges and unexpected twists. Learning to navigate hard things as a family is not as simple as following a paint-by-numbers kit. But we can glean truth from Scripture to help our family walk through the ups and downs that come our way.

Read full article at vianations.org.

Read Around the World This Summer

INTERNATIONAL KID LIT PICKS 

Whether you're looking for a new book to explore together, a novel to fold into a library summer reading program, or a well-told story for a long road trip, here are some international kid lit books to add a splash of worldwide adventure:

Picture Books (ages 3–8)

Lailah's Lunchbox: A Ramadan Story: Lailah is old enough to participate in the month of fasting for the first time, but living in America makes it different. When classmates are confused about why she doesn't join them during lunch, a school librarian provides a quiet space for Lailah in the library.

Binny's Diwali: Binny finds the courage to tell her classmates about her favorite holiday, Diwali. This is a great book to discuss some differences between Hindus and Christians regarding religious beliefs.

Boxes for Katje: A Dutch girl receives a package in the mail from an American girl that sparks the beginning of a friendship and impacts an entire community.

The Pet Dragon: A Story about Adventure, Friendship, and Chinese Characters: Lin looks for her missing pet dragon. This book overflows with creativity and adventure!

The Floating Field: How a Group of Thai Boys Built Their Own Soccer Field: Desiring to have a place to play soccer, some Thai boys figure out a way to build a soccer field—one that floats! My eight-year-old really enjoyed this book and read it three times!

The Yeti & the Jolly Lama: An old Tibetan tale told in a modern way. With a touch more religious themes, some debriefing may be necessary, but these are good conversations to have with our kids!

King for a Day: Experience a kite flying contest with Malik as he protects another from a bully in this picture book.

For You Are a Kenyan Child: Experience a day in a Kenyan countryside village with a boy caring for his family's cows, but gets distracted with other things. A fun read with beautiful artwork.

Cora Cooks Pancit: A delightful picture book that weaves the excitement a child has stepping into a big kid job with Filipino culture. 

Finding My Dance: Tells the story of a Native American professional dancer, Ria Thundercloud. Ria started dancing at powwows and as her love for dance grew, she explored other types of dancing. While it was challenging to be one of the only Indigenous dancers around, she never gave up. I think slightly older kids would glean more from this book. The storyline deals with bigger issues than preschoolers and early elementary students can fully track with (but they can certainly read it and benefit from it!) I would suggest ages 7-11.

Chapter Books (ages 6–10)

In Fear of the Spear: This Imagination Station book gives kids a glimpse into a South American tribe touched by the gospel. This book touches on the deaths of missionaries to this tribe, but doesn't dwell on it. Debriefing how the tribal people are referred to at different points may be helpful to cultivate respect for those who are different from us.

Sunlight on the Snow Leopard: Jack and Annie visit Nepal on a mission to find a ghost (part of the Magic Treehouse series).

The Belgium Book Mystery: Two sisters travel with their parents to Belgium to solve a mystery. This book is a quick read, but gives a glimpse into life in Belgium.

Captain Coconut & the Case of the Missing Bananas: The perfect dose of silly while still folding in mystery, math, singing, and culture for young readers.

The Great Cake Mystery: Precious Ramotswe's Very First Case (Precious Ramotswe Mysteries for Young Readers): From the author of the African-based No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series with Detective Precious Ramotswe, young readers can join Precious when she was a girl on her first case tracking down a cake thief.

Meet Yasmin: Pakistani-American Yasmin uses her imagination to solve everyday problems.

Middle Grade Books (8–12)

The Bridge Home: Four homeless children navigate life in India together. This beautifully written book allows readers to experience what life is like for kids who end up on the streets in age-appropriate ways. The storyline is engaging and based upon the stories of real street kids. I recommend reading together and discussing how the author defined Christian beliefs versus what the Bible teaches.

Soul Lanterns: A Japanese girl explores the lasting impacts of the bombing of Hiroshima in her community. This book was translated from Japanese into English and allows readers to better understand how drastically the lives of Japanese people were forever changed in an instant. I would recommend reading this together so you can guide discussions as needed.

Zayd Saleem, Chasing the Dream: Pakistani-American Zayd dreams of becoming a basketball player even though his family wants him to play the violin instead.

Amal Unbound: Amal mistakenly insults the village landlord after his car hits her. Amal ends up as a servant in the landlord's household as punishment. With engaging characters and an intriguing plot, this book is a page turner!

I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World (Young Readers Edition): Pakistani girl, Malala, stands up for what she believes and made a difference in the world. This makes a great audiobook for a road trip!

The Boy at the Back of the Class: Introduces readers to a 9-year-old determined to befriend the new kid and who teaches us all the beauty in seeking to understand and care for our friends no matter the obstacles.

A Long Walk to Water: Follows the stories of two Sudanese kids about 20 years apart. Salva is a Sudanese boy who is displaced by the war and walks across entire countries to refugee camps. Nya is a Sudanese girl who walks miles to collect unsafe drinking water and doesn't have time to attend school because of the long journey.

Inside Out & Back Again: Journey with Hà from Saigon to Alabama when war reaches her homeland and her family must start over in the U.S. The family isn't well-received by some in their community and this topic can be a starting point to discuss the importance of reaching out to those who aren't like us. 

This book is written in verse. 

At two points, the topic of Christianity comes up. The first one is when the mom lies on their refugee application about being Christian to increase their odds of getting selected. The second one is when Hà's entire family is baptized even though they aren't Christians by a church. I think these provide reasonable talking points with our kids about genuine faith and helping others without strings attached.

May your reading transport your family around the globe this summer!

5 Activities to Connect With Your Child

My kindergartener’s blue eyes sparkled as we gathered the ingredients to make bars for our church’s neighborhood outreach. Since preschool this boy has loved creating his own baking surprises—essentially experimental baking without any recipes. Much to my surprise, sometimes his creations turned out more than just edible—even tasty.

As a way to support his creativity and curiosity with baking, I fought against my urge to suggest that he follow a recipe and let my then preschool-aged kid combine whatever ingredients he deemed necessary for his baking endeavor that day. My son was the baker; I was merely an assistant.

When our church asked for people to volunteer to bring baked goods for a neighborhood outreach, I saw an opportunity to combine doing something meaningful together and that he would delight to do.

For the first time, we decided to follow a recipe because my five-year-old wanted to make chocolate cookie bars. With his budding reading skills, he was starting to connect the dots that the recipes contained the secrets to baking some of his favorite goodies.

“We need flour and sugar,” I told him as I peered at the recipe. He marched toward the pantry to grab the ingredients off the shelf.

“What’s next?” my son asked.

“Butter and eggs,” I said.

“Um, where are the chocolate chips?” he asked in a silly tone of voice. A huge grin filled his face as he looked at me.

“Ops! Pantry!” I playfully called.

My son skipped back to the pantry to locate the most essential ingredient of all.

As I read the recipe out loud, we fell into step with our established baking roles—him leading, me assisting. When it was time to bake the bars, my son helped set the timer while I placed them inside the oven.

“What now?” my son asked.

“Should we play a game or read?”

“Let’s read first, then play a game!” my kindergarten proclaimed as he bounced into our living room to pick out a library book. Then we snuggled up on our couch to read.

I smiled to myself. I loved these moments to bake together.

After losing more rounds of Candy Land than should be possible, the chocolate chip cookie bar timer sounded. Once the bars had time to cool, we hopped in our car to drop them off at our church. As we drove, we talked about how these bars would be used to show our love for those in our church’s neighborhood and would include a note inviting them to our church.

When we arrived at church, my kindergartener clutched the chocolate chip cookie bars in his hand and shyly passed them to our pastor who was coordinating the outreach.

My heart was bursting with joy. The chance for my son and I to bond while doing an outreach activity so well suited to his interests was priceless. As I gazed at my kindergartener in the rearview mirror, pride was etched on his round face.

CONNECTING WITH OUR KIDS

I've found over the years, baking is a great point of connection with my boys! Recently, my nine-year-old wanted to bake apple pies together. While I wasn't quite as eager to tackle a bigger baking project, it was a great connecting point with him—and totally worth the effort!

How have you found baking helpful in bonding with your kids? What recipes have been the most fun? What are new ways you can keep connecting with your children? How can you combine interests with serving together?

As you mull over these questions to find your own ideas, here are five ideas for connecting with our kids.

1) Volunteering at an animal shelter can provide a way to serve while interacting with furry critters!

2) Start bike riding together. Explore your neighborhood or start hitting biking trails!

3) Start out with local hikes and build up to bigger ones!

4) Read How This Book Was Made, then write a story together!

5) Using The Big Book of Science Experiments, jump into 100 science experiments to do together!

Line-up to the Rest Time Rescue

Having a preschooler who refuses to nap but clearly needs rest can be a challenge. But one technique I discovered that worked to provide downtime was what I dubbed “the line-up.”

I would line-up various independent, quiet activities in the hallway for my preschooler to do during rest time. Since the attention span of a preschooler isn’t great, a lot of low prep, but engaging activities are necessary. Line-up the activities in the order you want your child to do them, but ensure each one doesn’t take too long or isn’t duplicated.

With trial and error, I discovered activities my child enjoyed while also establishing a quiet period each afternoon. I would have a bag of stuff in the closet to pull out and would alternate as needed. Additionally, expect interruptions as your child adapts to the line-up and grows in independence.

Here is an example of various activities I would place in the line-up on a given day:

1) Felt board

2) Lite-Brite

3) Paper maze

4) Stickers with paper

5) A low prep game like a Duplo Hunt (Hide a certain number of pieces in various colors in a room, then create a paper with each color for the found pieces to be gathered on. Once all pieces have been discovered, the child makes his own creation.)

6) Hidden pictures page

7) Preschool workbook page

8) Cutting and pasting activity

9) Stamps and paper

10) “Read” picture book to stuffed animal

11) Lacing card

12) Puzzle

13) Station to practice writing name

14) Less messy sensory bin (such as kidney beans with scoopers)

15) Paint-by-sticker book

16) Bowling set

At the end of quiet time, review the activities your child completed together. This is a great way to connect and allow him to show off all his work!

More Than the Winter Blues: Faith to Get Help

The gray Midwest winter day matched the gloom wrapping itself around my heart. Sadness loomed above me like Eeyore’s rain cloud. While saying goodbye to Christmas was always sad, the prospect of nothing ahead but the lingering cold and cloudy days stirred disappointment.

Nothing seemed to lift my spirits. My inner critic soared. I struggled to get out of bed in the morning. My energy levels dropped. I couldn’t shake this melancholy.

Why do I feel like this every winter? I wondered as I drove to pick up my kids from school.

Then it dawned on me. Growing up, my mother struggled with seasonal affective disorder. I didn’t think I ever would, but when we relocated to the Midwest years ago, my winters were marked by tears and weariness. Pushing through until spring felt more daunting with each passing year.

Perhaps it was time to admit I had seasonal affective disorder and do more than wait it out. But wasn’t my faith enough to beat this?

Read the full article on Christian Parenting.

5 Simple Ways to Fold a Biblical Worldview Into Your Family This Year

Years ago I stood in my kitchen as I stirred a pot of spaghetti. Guilt consumed my thoughts as I pondered how I was teaching my little ones about God's greatness and our joyful responsibility to share His greatness with the world. I struggled to find kid-friendly ways to live this out and resources to guide focused time. How could I showcase how amazing God was and our role in seeing the gospel reach the ends of the earth?

That was the beginning of my journey to help families access resources to disciple our children with a global and biblical worldview without it feeling overwhelming.

We can teach our children about God’s greatness with daily—or even weekly—habits that can take less than 10 minutes! This new year can be the year your family begins their worldview adventure and takes simple steps toward cultivating a perspective grounded in Scripture, but also incorporates God's global plan for all nations to know and worship Him—without even leaving your couch.

FOLDING IN A GLOBAL AND BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW

Here are five ways you can fold a global biblical worldview into your family today:

1) Determine a consistent time you could pray for the nations for a couple minutes together. 

Perhaps this is during a mealtime prayer, in the car on the way to school, or before bedtime. Select a time that fits with your family’s rhythms and then make a plan to pray. If you need help guiding your prayer time, consider using a resource like Window on the World, Wycliffe Kids Around the World with Kate & Mack, or even one of the free global prayer guides I wrote in my free resource library.

2) Read international kid lit together.

Each night before bed or during Saturday morning breakfast, read a chapter together! There are great international kid lit books for all ages—from picture books to chapter books to middle grade! I regularly share international kid lit book reviews on my blog and make recommendations on my World Religions Family Prayer Guides. But consider grabbing a copy of Cora Cooks Pancit, Sayd Saleem: Chasing the Dream, or The Bridge Home to get rolling today!

3) Read missionary biographies together.

Each night before bed or during Sunday morning breakfast, read a chapter together! YWAM has ample missionary biographies to kickstart your reading. And if you prefer to listen as your family does chores or eats, they also have audiobooks.

4) Incorporate discussion about world religions into your family’s life. Using my World Religions Family Prayer Guides, walk through what other world religions believe and how your family can pray for them. These free guides include a short video, activities, book recommendations, and prayer prompts. This can easily be used for homeschool purposes or for families who need a quick, reliable resource to direct their time.

5) Sign up to get a missionary’s newsletter from your church. 

Tracking with a missionary from your church will give your family a real-life connection between understanding God’s greatness, the need for the gospel to be shared around the world, and how someone from your church is doing exactly that! When your missionary comes back to visit during break, invite her over to hear more stories and let your kids ask questions about the culture and ministry. Plus you’ll encourage the missionary along the way.

I invite you to join me as we disciple our children with a global mindset. One that makes much of Jesus and shows how our prayers (and maybe even going!) is important in God's global plan for all nations to know and worship Him. 

Join my quarterly newsletter so we can link arms together! Let me save you lots of time by providing the tools and resources to keep things simple and meaningful as you disciple your kids in this essential area: God's worldwide greatness.

Reeling in Bonding Time

A couple years ago, I was struggling to find something new my seven-year-old and I could enjoy together. What had worked in the past just wasn’t landing the same anymore. My son was changing and I wanted to pivot as he grew.

After reading Adventuring Together: How to Create Connections and Make Lasting Memories with Your Kids, an idea began brewing in my mind. I wanted to find an activity we could learn together—something that neither one of us knew well, but that we could potentially enjoy doing together. And that’s when I recalled my own childhood of fishing for rainbow trout at the lake with my dad and brother. But the catch: I didn’t actually know much of anything about fishing. I had never even stuck a worm on my hook, much less understood which bait to use for various fishes.

When I pitched the idea to my seven-year-old his blue eyes glistened.

“We could check out a book from the library so we can learn some fishing basics first,” I suggested.

“Yeah, that sounds good,” my son quickly responded.

I found a fishing book for kids and after my youngest son was in bed each evening, my seven-year-old and I would read a chapter. We practiced tying fishing knots and gained a baseline for what we needed to attempt fishing together. My eldest was eager for this focused time together, and so was I. It felt like a stepping stone across the creek to connecting with him.

When spring finally came, we decided it was time to put our knowledge to the test. I was nervous so we opted to go fishing with my dad for our inaugural trial fishing trip—sort of like riding a bike with training wheels. That proved to be the confidence boost we both needed. After an hour, my dad left us to manage on our own.

And that’s when the fun really began. The fish were biting and we were just slow on the timing to reel the line in. When we ran out of worms neither one of us wanted to stop so we dug with sticks in the wet earth to find another worm.

“I found one!” my son called to me. His nose crinkled as the worm wriggled on his stick. Just like me, he wasn’t a fan of dealing with worms.

I took a deep breath. I really didn’t like hooking worms, but I knew it was par for the fishing course. My face contorted as I got the worm onto the hook. Then I exhaled, stepped a good six feet away, and nodded for my son to cast the line.

We didn’t catch a single fish that day, but we lost track of time trying to catch elusive fish and digging for one more worm. And that bonding time was worth every single squirming worm I had to hook.

CONNECTING WITH OUR KIDS
Years later, I'm still working to keep connecting with my boys in new ways together. And enjoying the journey together! I find doing something new for both of us is the most fun because we're beginners together. But really, anything that feels a bit like an adventure will work! We may do several things or find one thing that sticks for a long time! Remember the goal is bonding!

How can you find a new way to connect with your child? What childhood memories spring to mind that could serve as a point of connection? Or what's something new you both are interested in learning?

As you mull over these questions to find your own ideas, here are five ideas to connect with our kids.

1) Learn how to navigate by reading through How to Go Anywhere (And Not Get Lost). This interactive book will channel the inner explorer in you and your child through various ways to navigate outdoors and develop skills like: using trees to locate north and south, making a compass, knowing what time it is using stars, using the sun to figure out where you are, and other useful skills!

2) Grab some binoculars and a local bird-watching book, then head outside to discover birds in your neighborhood.

3) Dive into the world of baking! You can subscribe to a kid baking kit service (like Baketivity which sends a recipe with most of the ingredients to your doorstep) or try out recipes that sound fun or fit the season!

4) Swing by a craft shop and learn how to sew! Whether it's using a kids sewing machine or picking out a weaving loom! Learning together will be an adventure!

5) Gleaning from Adventures in Cartooning, create a comic series together!

Whatever you do together, may it be an adventure that deepens your bond!

International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church

 FAMILY PRAYER GUIDE

The first Sunday in November is international day of prayer for the persecuted church. A day set aside to intentionally pray as the Church for our brothers and sisters worldwide who are suffering for their faith. 

Across the globe, Christians suffer at a high cost for their devotion to Jesus. One in seven experiences intense persecution. For those of us who reside in the West, it can be challenging to comprehend such realities, let alone teach our kids about them. But we can teach our kids to pray for the persecuted church.

Below is a prayer guide to help your family participate in this special day of prayer.

Family Devotion: Remembering to Pray

“Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering." (Hebrews 13:3 ICB).

Can you think of a time when someone said something mean to you? It can hurt our feelings. We may feel sad or lonely. It can be hard to forget the words said. We may wonder if others still like us.

Sometimes following Jesus means those who aren't Christians may treat Christians unkindly—this is called persecution. Some countries say it's against the law to become a Christian. Some places won't let a Christian keep a job. Or some governments toss Christians in jail for teaching the Bible. Sometimes others make fun of Christians.

But we shouldn't be surprised when this happens. Jesus tells us in the Bible to expect that some people won't like believers because of their faith in God (John 15:18).

Even if Christians may be persecuted for their faith in Jesus, they aren't alone. They don't have to be sad. Jesus says He is always with us (Matt. 28:20). He promises to give us—and all believers—strength to keep trusting God.

Even if we aren't treated unkindly for our faith, we can understand how it may feel. And today's Bible verse tells us to remember Christians who are treated meanly by others. One big way we can remember them is by praying!

We can pray for persecuted Christians to trust God when others hurt them. We can pray they look forward to the day all sadness will end because they will be with Jesus forever in heaven! And no unkind word will be spoken again! 

Persecution Video

As a family, watch this short video (about 2 minutes!) produced by Open Doors for kids to understand how following Jesus isn't allowed everywhere.

Prayer Prompts

Using the prayer prompts, pray for persecuted Christians around the world:

1) Pray for persecuted Christians to not be afraid and to know God is with them.
2) Pray for believers in countries where being a Christian isn't allowed to keep meeting together to grow in their faith.
3) Ask for persecuted Christians to keep sharing their faith with others in wise ways.

  

Activities

Below are some activities to learn more about what it's like in places where it's dangerous to be a Christian. 

1) Swing by the Weave website to participate in two family activities to better understand what it means to be persecuted for following Jesus, discuss the Bible verses together on the topic, and pray for the strength of persecuted Christians.

2) Print off a prayer passport for kids. Children can pray for the persecuted church by getting a prayer stamp for 50 countries inside a prayer passport. Like getting a passport stamped, children can mark off their prayer participation for that country. Use this passport to guide family prayer for the persecuted church in kid-friendly ways over 50 days.

3) Print off eight Secret Church coloring pages that include a Bible verse and a kid-friendly aspect about the persecuted church in a different part of the world from Open Doors. These pages can meet little ones where they are developmentally but also provide a springboard for conversation about persecution as a family. 

Additional Resources

To keep digging deeper, here are resources to grow our children's understanding of persecution. As we increase our understanding, we can better pray for our brothers and sisters around the globe.

1) Courageous book series (Preschool–2nd)
This Voice of the Martyrs picture book series captures the importance of boldly sharing our faith, even when it’s hard. The set includes six books about well-known men of faith and how they remained faithful to Christ despite persecution.

2) Persecution: What can I do?: A 45-minute lesson that shares stories of persecution and our responsibility to pray for them (elementary kids).

3) Challenge on the Hill of Fire (ages 7–12)
This Imagination Station series book draws kids into the life of Bishop Patrick (the man behind Saint Patrick’s Day) as he stands up for his faith in God—even if it may cost his life. This book provides a unique lens for kids to understand the cost of following Christ in a story format.

As we teach our families about the persecuted church, may we model our responsibility and joy to pray for our suffering brothers and sisters across the earth.

Yes, Kids Can Learn from Revelation

During a difficult season when I grappled with how it seemed darkness was prevailing against the church, I studied the book of Revelation. Revelation may not be the most obvious place to look for comfort in a dark world, but it proved the right book to speak to my pain and confusion.

Revelation teaches us to view suffering through a heavenly lens. It tells us to identify with our Savior through trials and hardships (Rev. 2:10; Phil. 3:10). Four truths that sprouted from my Bible study buoyed my confidence that God’s light would overcome the darkness.

And as I studied, I was stirred with a desire to disciple my children so they have confidence when they face hardship. Here are four age-appropriate truths from Revelation that will help your kids withstand this world’s darkness.

1. We persevere by fixing our eyes on Jesus.

When we talk with kids about the Scriptures, we must highlight all aspects of Jesus’s character. We can show younger children Christ’s control over sickness, death, nature, and evil spirits in the Gospels or by using an oral Bible storying method. With older kids, we can walk through John’s vision of Jesus in Revelation 1. It’s there that John lets the church behold a vision of Jesus in all his glory (vv. 12–20). The same Jesus who deeply loves us (v. 5) is also the One who strikes John with holy reverence and fear (v. 17).

In the seven letters to the churches (Rev. 2–3), Jesus offers a reward for endurance. If believers fix their eyes on Christ, they’ll receive this promised reward. Here John shows us that understanding Jesus’s full character helps us to persevere. And staying focused on Jesus isn’t just for struggling parents. Our kids need to learn this too. They need to see that our faithful Christ will walk with them through every season—well beyond their years at home.

2. Suffering is normal.

Revelation was written to suffering churches. Believers at the time John penned the book faced false teaching (2:2, 14), and were banished from society (1:9), jailed (2:10), persecuted by the government for refusing to worship the emperor (13:15), and even killed (2:13) for their faith. Christians who remained faithful to Jesus suffered the consequences socially, economically, and physically.

Even today, persecution is par for the course for Christians, though what we experience in America doesn’t reflect what’s transpiring across the globe. The more we share stories with our kids of faithful Christians suffering, the more its normalcy will permeate their worldview (and ours). One way to instill this reality in our children is to read through the letters to the churches in Revelation 2–3. You can also subscribe to newsletters from closed-country missionaries and discuss real-life stories of believers who are faithfully following Christ despite difficulties. Talk about when persecution happens, why, and how God uses it.

Swing by TGC to read the rest of my article.

Bible Translation: Expanding Our View

3 Ways to Celebrate World Bible Translation Day With Our Kids

Eight Bibles grace my bookshelves, including six different English translations. I own five children’s Bibles. And this isn’t even counting the partial portions of the Bible I possess—such as a Greek New Testament, Psalter, or children’s biblical storybooks. But I’m not the only one with more than one Bible.

According to the Center for Bible Engagement, most American Christians have four Bibles in their home and have access to numerous English Bible translations. But possessing copious quantities of Bibles isn’t common. Many Christians around the world don’t even have their own copy of the Bible—much less several translations. Some believers must share a single Bible, while others read God’s Word in a second language because the Bible has yet to be translated into their heart language—the language one thinks, prays, dreams, and speaks in.

According to Wycliffe Bible Translators, 1.5 billion people don’t have a Bible translated into their heart language. While we can celebrate reading God’s Word in English—the heart language of many Americans—people around the world still lack access to the Bible in their heart language.

Given the excess of English Bibles and scarcity of access to the Bible for many Christians worldwide, this highlights the urgent need for Bible translation. But when we consider the need for Scripture in languages around the globe, we must not rely on our highly literate leanings to determine the best medium to translate the Bible into new languages.

FACTORING IN ORALITY

According to the International Orality Network, oral learners comprise 80% of the world’s population and navigate life best when information is delivered verbally. By contrast, Americans are vastly literate which means we navigate life better when we can read information.

In the days of Jesus, the culture was also oral learners. Jesus often spoke in parables to the crowds, the letters written by the apostles in the New Testament were intended to be read aloud, and even the book of Revelation was penned with the expectation to read “aloud the words” (Rev. 1:3).

While many literate endeavors have been made to reach oral cultures, ministry leaders have recognized the value of taking a verbal approach to sharing and teaching the Bible. With approximately two billion people without access to the Old Testament (some may have a New Testament), Oral Bible Storying (OBS) meets the needs of cultures who are oral learners—whose worldviews and principles are shaped by singing, chanting, or speaking—in ways written text cannot. The Word of God can be carried to the most remote locations or busiest street corners because the speaker knows it by heart and prefers to communicate in an easy-to-pass-along verbal form by cultural tradition.

Around the world, Christian ministries have implemented OBS to craft Bible story sets for specific cultures. Each Scripture story set in a people group’s native language will cover spiritual needs of that culture, what it means to follow Jesus, and the big picture of the Bible all told in sequential order. Around 70 stories are carefully selected to share the gospel in a meaningful way. Often these projects can take around three years to ensure faithfulness to Scripture. OBS is a powerful way to get the Bible into the heart languages of oral learners.

EXPANDING OUR VIEW

Since 1966, World Bible Translation Day has been held on September 30 to celebrate the translation work of St. Jerome, the man responsible for translating the Bible into Latin. The English Bibles we read today were first translated into English by John Wycliffe in the 14th century. Each year believers can rejoice in seeing the gospel advance around the globe as more Bibles are translated into new languages.

As we desire to see the gospel reach to the ends of the earth, we must realize what works for highly literate Americans, will not necessary be best for highly oral learners in other cultures. Translating the Bible into a written book for languages without it is immensely valuable. But translating the Bible into oral Bible storying sets is equally valuable.

As we pause to consider the Bible’s availability to people worldwide, we should expand our view of Bible translation beyond a written copy to also include OBS. Both mediums get Scripture into the hands of those who didn’t have access. But depending on the culture, one medium will benefit a larger segment of the population.

CELEBRATING WORLD BIBLE TRANSLATION DAY

World Bible Translation Day is a great opportunity to link arms for the sake of the gospel reaching the ends of the earth. We can participate in the work of translating the Bible into new languages across the world and bring our kids alongside us as we do so. Here are three ways to celebrate World Bible Translation Day as a family.

1) You can start praying for Bible translation work using Wycliffe’s Bible Translators children’s book, Around the World With Kate and Mack: A Look at Languages From A to Z. This book helps kids see the impact Bible translation has on communities around the world, and it fosters a heart to pray for the Bible to keep being translated into more languages.

2) Gather your family together and tell a Bible story verbally. For tips on how to easily do this, check out my article, “Use Your Words: How Oral Bible Storying Can Serve Your Family.” When you finish, have your family pray for more OBS sets to be crafted for oral people groups around the world.

3) Send your kids on a Bible scavenger hunt. Have kids find all the Bibles in your home. Then calculate how many Bibles, different Bible translations, and children’s Bibles your family owns. Share what you learned from this article with your kids. Take time to pray for both written and oral translations to reach people around the world without access to Scripture.

Both traditional Bible translation and OBS are vital to improving access to the Bible across the earth. And as we celebrate World Bible Translation Day, we can incorporate prayer for both avenues of faithfully translating Scripture in Bible deserts around the globe.

3 Ways Your Family Can Participate in Children’s Mission Day

As our families settle back into school rhythms this fall, we can kick off the new school year with an important tradition: Children’s Mission Day. Since 2008, Southern Baptist churches have celebrated Children’s Mission Day. Held on Sept. 17, the Women’s Mission Union (WMU) established this day to practically connect children to a world in need of the gospel by getting out into their local communities.

Where the mission meets its role

This special day helps families live out God’s love in tangible ways (1 John 3:18). Here are three ways your family can participate in Children’s Mission Day this year.

1) Host a pancake breakfast at your home.

Create flyers to pass out, and invite your neighborhood to your home for a pancake breakfast. Keep things as easy as possible, including using disposable plates and utensils. If neighbors offer to contribute, always say yes. With a simple offering of coffee, tea, pancakes, and syrup, you can springboard into building connections and chances to talk about your faith.

Kids can help with the creation and distribution of the invitations as well as set-up and clean-up. Children also make excellent greeters! Create a basket of Christian books guests can take for free, including options for kids. Suggestions: Mere Christianity, ESV Illuminated Scripture Journal: Psalms, What is the Gospel? tract, Jack vs. the Tornado, and The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross.

Be sure to pray together for your neighborhood as you prepare, and continue to lift up your neighbors as you get to know them better.

To read the rest of my article with more ideas, swing by the ERLC's website.

3 Guidelines to Teach Our Kids About Other Worldviews

In 2015, my family and I returned to the United States after living overseas for four years. During that time away, homosexuality had become a hot topic in America. Living cross-culturally for years, I wanted to sidestep this highly politicized issue. But when my son’s best friend at preschool had two moms, I was thrust into the center of it. Whatever I told my three-year-old would reverberate to the ears of classmates, teachers, and parents. I wanted whatever cliff notes version my son repeated to overflow with grace and truth.

We can’t hide from worldviews that run counter to Christianity—nor should we. However, we can find ways to point our children toward biblical truth without removing them from every tricky situation. Sometimes parental wisdom means shielding our children from topics they aren’t ready for, but if we want our kids to learn how to navigate life in a secular world, we must teach them about worldviews that don’t align with Scripture.

Navigating the Worldviews Maze

Rather than sidestepping worldviews that may make us uncomfortable, here are three guidelines to dive into understanding other belief systems with your family.

1) We don’t shelter our children from the secular world, but instead teach them how to navigate it from a biblical worldview.

If we believe the Bible is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword” (Heb. 4:12), then we don’t need to be afraid to discuss opposing worldviews. Scripture is powerful! When we hold the Bible’s truth against other belief systems, we give our kids a front row seat to its beauty and worth.

A friend raising her family in a conservative Muslim culture shared how one day her son realized all his friends weren’t Christians, and wondered which religion was true: Christianity or Islam. Rather than rushing to assure her child that Christianity was the right choice, she walked through what Muslims believe versus what Christians believe.

At the end of the talk, she asked her son which religion he thought was true. His response was quick: Christianity. Learning more about Islam hadn’t weakened his faith, but strengthened it. A word of caution: I’m not advocating deep studies into other belief systems. Instead, be open to learning about and discussing the basics of what others believe in contrast to what the Bible teaches.

Read the rest of my piece at the Gospel-Centered Family.

Resources for Teaching Kids About the Persecuted Church

Years ago, I sat in a church for a missions conference. Looking out across the full auditorium, the host said, “Please rise if you know someone who lost their life for Jesus last year.” Eyes glanced from left to right. Most didn’t know anyone facing such persecution. But slowly, a half dozen field workers got to their feet.

Across the globe, Christians suffer great costs for their devotion to Jesus. One in seven experiences intense persecution. For those of us who reside in the West, it can be challenging to comprehend such realities, let alone teach kids about them. But if we desire our children to understand the cost of following Christ and the state of the global church, we must intentionally teach them about persecution.
Why Teach Kids About Persecution

As an expert on the persecuted church, Ruth Ripken says, “There’s no such thing as the persecuted church and the free church, there’s just the church.”

Scripture describes the church as one body with Christ as the head (Col. 1:18; Rom. 12:5). While we affirm the reality of local churches, this universal body has no geographic boundaries (1 Cor. 12:13; Rev. 7:9). As members of that body, Christians are exhorted to remember the persecuted (Heb. 13:3), for when “one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor. 12:26).

Since many of us don’t experience persecution regularly, we easily forget the plight of believers worldwide. But if we ignore the hardships of our brothers and sisters, we’re possibly neglecting our responsibilities to them (Gal. 6:10) and unintentionally modeling callousness to our kids.

While Christian parents may feel powerless to help, we can still pay attention to the needs of the global church and model prayer for the persecuted within our families. And God may use this to prepare our children to one day suffer or to be those who take Christ’s gospel to the nations.

Read the rest of my article with resources for different age groups for kids on TGC.

HOW TO PRAY FOR UKRAINIAN FAMILIES

"Bring the globe to the living room, please,” I asked my eight-year-old son.

Once the globe arrived, my boys and I plunked onto the carpet as I pointed to where Russia and Ukraine were located.

“Russia attacked Ukraine,” I said, glancing at each boy to gauge his response. “This started a war. People can lose their lives in war.” Overwhelming sorrow filled my heart as my throat tightened and tears threatened to run down my freckled cheeks.

An image I had seen the previous day filled my mind: a young mother on a crowded bus, her toddler reaching a hand toward her face. The mother’s expression captured the exhaustion and sorrow of this moment in history.

I had to pause for several minutes to regain composure before guiding my kids through a time of prayer for Ukraine.

HOW TO PRAY FOR UKRAINIAN FAMILIES

The sadness of living in a broken world where war can transpire as quickly as a screen swipe is heartbreaking. The unfolding of war between Russia and Ukraine is unsettling. Families fleeing military attacks. Hordes of people seeking shelter in underground subways. A sobbing father saying goodbye to his daughter because he must stay behind to fight. This should not transpire. The shadows of evil seem to be prevailing, but the book of Revelation reminds us to hope in Jesus who will defeat the evil one forever.

In Revelation, Jesus reminds suffering churches to turn their eyes to the One whose life, death, and resurrection are shaping and guiding the past, present, and future. When nations are at war and families are caught in the crossfire, we can still trust in the One who rules over all and has conquered sin and death (Rev. 1:17, 18). Jesus is with us in the midst of these heartrending realities (Rev. 1:13) and deeply loves His children (Rev. 1:5).

Read the rest of this piece with 12 ways to specifically intercede for Ukraine on Momma Theologians.

USE YOUR WORDS: HOW ORAL BIBLE STORYING CAN SERVE YOUR FAMILY

 

Looking at the car dashboard clock, I had just enough time to read to my boys before pulling out of the driveway. I flipped through my Bible to Mark 4, and read the parable about the sower who casts seed that fell on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and on good soil.

Setting the Bible on the passenger seat, I shifted our vehicle into reverse and headed toward my kids’ school.

“Who wants to go first?” I asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

“Me! Me!” my preschooler squealed from the back seat. He launched into telling the story until he got stuck.

“What happens next?” I prompted. My preschooler turned to his seven-year-old brother.

“Other seeds fell among thorns,” his sibling prompted.

“Oh yeah,” my four-year-old said, and then confidently resumed. When he had finished, my oldest son launched into the parable. Once both boys had taken a turn, I told the story. Whenever I couldn’t remember a spot, one of them jumped in to nudge me back on course.

Incorporating Bible storying into discipling my children came from hearing how missionaries sometimes utilized this tool on the field. What started as a desire to memorize Scripture together and redeem the time in the car on the way to school, has transformed into some of my favorite moments with my kids each week.

Read the rest of my article on Gospel-Centered Family.

HOW TO HELP YOUR FAMILY PRAY FOR UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUPS

5 resources to highlight God’s heart for the nations

The Muslim call to prayer filled the Central Asian village. All the men in the house slowly rose from the floor cushions to cleanse themselves for prayer — all except the one Western visitor in a private guest room. Mohammed’s heart beat as fast as a hummingbird’s wings. He had waited years for this moment to transpire.

“I will stay with our guest,” he said, stroking his long black beard. Since hospitality and honoring guests are highly valued among Central Asians, the others nodded in agreement. Cultural standards dictated a guest should never be left alone. Mohammed could pray after the group returned.

Once he was certain the other men were gone, Mohammed leaned toward the guest and whispered, “All my life, I have wanted to be near to God.” With 10 minutes of privacy, the middle-aged Muslim man asked the visitor questions about a Bible passage he had read years ago. The guest wanted to give Mohammed a copy of the New Testament in his own language, but he wouldn’t be able to return to this newfound seeker’s far-flung village without raising suspicions. They would need to find a time when Mohammed could visit the city.

WHAT IS AN UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUP?

The concept of a person or group being unreached can be difficult to grasp in America where multiple churches exist on the same block. But in many parts of the world, this is not the case. A people group is considered unreached when less than 2% of its population is Christian and when that group lacks the momentum to see their people discipled. Simply put, when a people group is unreached, this means that from the time a person is born until the day they die, they do not have a chance to hear who Jesus truly is.

People who reside in an unreached country can’t walk down the street to a church to ask questions about Jesus, and it’s unlikely they’ll find a Christian in their community. If there are believers present, they are often not open about their new faith because of the persecution and high level of personal cost that comes with leaving their former faith behind. In parts of Central Asia, for example, it’s still illegal for a Muslim to become a Christian.

According to the Joshua Project, 42.5% of the world is unreached with the gospel. This includes 61% of people (about five billion) who reside in the 10/40 Window — an area between 10 degrees north and 40 degrees north latitude that stretches across Asia, the Middle East, and northern Africa.

Read the rest of my article on the ERLC website.

4 WAYS TO CULTIVATE MISSIONAL PRAYER AS A FAMILY

My 4-year-old son clasped his hands together and squeezed his eyes shut. He scrunched up his face with intense focus. In his sweet little voice he prayed, “God, please send dreams about Jesus to Muslims. Amen.” He uttered the last word emphatically.

My heart soared. Few things bring me more delight than hearing my boys pray—unprompted—for people across the world who don’t know Jesus yet. While I struggle to consistently disciple my children well in missional prayer, I’m amazed at what settles into their hearts when I take small steps.

While storybook Bibles, children’s devotionals, and Scripture memory programs are plentiful, the resources to teach our kids about missions can be sparse. But we don’t need a well-crafted curriculum to convey God’s heart for the nations to our children. With a little intentionality, we can help our kids develop a global perspective through prayer.

You can read the rest of the article on TGC here.