Peer Pressure: If your friends jumped off a bridge....

Peer Pressure: If your friends jumped off a bridge...by Sami Cone I'm sure all of us can remember a myriad of catchphrases we overheard our parents chastise us with over and over again as we were growing up, but perhaps none more than "If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you?" Perhaps it sounded a little different in your family. Maybe something like: If your friends said a bad word, would you? If your friends stole, would you? If your friends drank alcohol, would you? If your friend lied, would you cover up for them? Really, there are infinite possibilities that we could fill the blank with, but it all revolves around the timeless dilemma of peer pressure. And if we're being really honest with ourselves, that trend doesn't get much easier with age. Even as adults, it's easy to fall prey to "keeping up with the Joneses" and having everything look good on the outside even if we are falling apart on the inside. I recently had a talk around this subject with my preteen and had to face the fact that my words were falling on fairly deaf ears. As I swallowed my pride, I stepped back to realize I needed a new source of wisdom to convey my thoughts to my child. In that moment, three words popped in my head: Don't. Fit. In. The simplicity of the statement seemed almost absurd. After all, don't most of us live our entire lives trying to fit in? That may be the worldly standard, but Psalm 139:14 reminds us that we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" and ultimately called to a higher standard. In an instant, I reflected back to my own junior high years. Even then, though I desperately wanted to be liked, something in me caused me to stand out from the crowd. I didn't want to follow the trends, whether it was wearing parachute pants or the double Velcro Reebok hightop sneakers (Don't get me wrong, I still have plenty of big hair pictures from the 80's that prove I wasn't a complete original!). The point is this: as parents, we need to constantly reinforce with our children the importance of being unique, in both our thoughts and our actions. Standing out from the crowd isn't always easy, especially in Junior High and High School, but the reward when we do is worthwhile. For Mother's Day this year, my daughter gave me a gift that I treasure more than any other: a drawing with words that describe me in her mind. Among them were words like, "Different" & "Unique". The fact that she not only notices those characteristics but also values them brings me immense joy. Still, I recognize the fact that my words and actions are not solely responsible for influencing my kids. Exposing them to other adults I respect, good friends, daily Bible readings and yes, even quality books and videos that drive home this message are equally important to me.

Regardless of how you talk to your teens and pre-teens about the topic of standing out from the crowd, the important thing is that you actually take the time to talk about it.

Your Turn How do you encourage your children to deny peer pressure and stand out from the crowd?

Travel the Bible This Summer!

Travel The Bible This Summer!by Louise Bishop Do you want to travel somewhere new this summer but find yourself stuck at home? In my family, we love to travel, love to explore, and love to read! Try traveling or sending your young explorer to amazing places from the Bible this summer through the adventure of reading some great books! The Let’s Go Explore books will guide you through famous places of the Bible in amazing photos, with interesting differences in culture to learn and a list of sights to see. Your young travelers will end up excitedly sharing fun facts with you all summer long - including new vocabulary, fun facts and biblical references! Let’s Go Explore Jerusalem the holy city includes so much fascinating information on each page (as all the Let’s Go Explore books do). One of my favorite facts that I found is that 1/3 of all people that move to Jerusalem are from America! Also, 1/3 of the population is under the age of 15 and 1/3 of the people are Muslim. Did you know that? I’ve always been interested in architecture and would love to travel to Jerusalem with my kids someday. History and architecture are in abundance in Let’s Go Explore. The walls that surround old Jerusalem are over 500 years old and they actually found the Pools of Bethesda. How exciting is that? Remember, this is where a lame man was healed by Jesus. Jesus said "get up and walk" and the man walked. Amazing! Let’s Go Explore Galilee and Let's Go Explore Israel have beautiful maps. The Sea of Galilee is mentioned in the Bible in Matthew, Mark, and John. There are so many stories from the New Testament that took place in the area known as Galilee, including the cities of Bethsaida, Tabgha, Chorazin, and Capernaum where much of Jesus' ministry took place. And for your junior foodies, Let’s Go Explore Israelincludes some really great photos of meals and food from the area. You'll also love the photos of the beautiful, local sea life. These books are perfectly laid out for children to read. (My 6-year-old son loves them!) If you've got a roadtrip planned, pack these books for the ride and enjoy your kids Bible travel, too! * * * Your Turn Are you traveling this summer? Or having a stay-cation? How are you planning to engage your kids in reading about places they'd like to visit? Have you ever thought about how you could travel the Bible? I'd love to hear from you on our blog!

Save 20% Off the Let's Go Explore Series TODAY! Complete with photographs, maps, vocabulary call-outs, fun facts, and more, this is the perfect resource for the young explorer. Read about the Biblical significance and history of Israel as well as current and curious information about foods, clothes, places of interest, and other pertinent facts of interest.

Cultivating a Love for Jesus in Your Child

Cultivating a Love for Jesus in Your Childby Ruth Schwenk I didn’t grow up in a Christian home. My parents were (and still are) loving, supportive, involved, and hardworking. But I didn’t grow up going to church, reading the Bible, listening to worship songs, or knowing Jesus. It wasn’t until high school that a friend of mine invited me to church. Youth group sounded a little less intimidating than “church” so I gave it a try... and I loved it! Not only did I come to faith in Jesus, my family, in time, would follow. By God’s grace, not only do I profess Jesus, so do my parents. Maybe your story is like mine, or perhaps you did grow up in a Christian home. Regardless, God’s Word is powerful to change and transform no matter who you are or where you are at in life. Today, as a mom to four children, one of my greatest joys is passing on the faith I have received. “Mommy I want you to read my God time to me!” Those words are like music to my ears! They are a few of my very favorite words I hear uttered every single night from my sweet five-year-old, Sophia. She is eager to learn, and I am eager to teach.  This is the great joy and privilege God has entrusted to every parent. A very familiar passage to many is Deuteronomy 6:4-9: Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. As Moses reminds the Israelite community of all that God had done, and what was still before them, he makes it clear that parents are to be teachers. Among many other things, the home must be a place where we are passing on, by teaching, the faith we have. It can be tough to know what resources are age-appropriate for a young child. We have found a storybook Bible to be a fantastic choice for a young child. One of our new favorites we have used recently is the Jesus Calling Bible Storybook by Sarah Young. Each story is the perfect length to keep their attention. The language is simple and written so their young minds can comprehend the message. It is beautifully illustrated with bright and colorful pictures to go along with each biblical story. But most of all, we love that it is centered on Jesus! More than just information, we want our children to experience transformation because of Jesus, our great God and Savior! It really is all about Him! It’s never too early to begin cultivating a love for Jesus in the life of your child. God wants to work through YOU – as a parent – to help pass on faith to the next generation! * * * Your Turn How do you help cultivate a love for Jesus in the life of your child? What are your favorite memories of talking about Jesus with your children? Leave a comment on our blog! I would love to hear from you!

NOW Save 40% OFF - Jesus Calling Bible Storybookby Sarah Young Nothing in heaven or on earth can stop Me from loving you. Jesus is calling out to our hearts, and you can hear His voice in every story in the Bible. These carefully selected stories are paired with new children’s devotions from Sarah Young and will help young hearts understand God’s grand plan to send His Son, Jesus, to save His children and prepare a place for us in heaven.  Bestselling author Sarah Young has touched millions of lives through her devotionals based on Scripture and written as though Jesus is speaking directly to the reader. This book will lead God’s children, young and old, to talk to Jesus through prayer and to listen to His voice speaking love to their hearts.

Cultivating a Love for Jesus in Your Child

Cultivating a Love for Jesus in Your Childby Louise Bishop You know what’s easy for a child? A child has more understanding of God’s love and understanding than we do. They don’t need to see nails or crowns of thorns to believe. All they need is a story. All they need is something simple. All they need is for you to read to them and tell them about God. I read two books to mine recently and we talked about a few things but what I really love is just how easily they believe! They can hear a story like Noah and the Mighty Ark or One Lost Sheep, both children’s books by Rhonda Glowler Greene and believe them. They just believe. Rhonda uses phrases like “God’s rainbow promise filled the sky” and “The Lord God is our shepherd too, watching over... me and you” illustrating that God’s love is easy to see and trust. Her words romanticize the bible teachings we’ve heard all our life, but in a way that feeds children’s minds. My husband and I used to read the Bible to our kids every night. We had a Bible that was written in rhyme and was for them as they were babies and toddlers. Cute little poems made our kids know Jesus at a very early age and that’s what Noah and the Might Ark and One Lost Sheep both do as well. Each book is written in Rhyme like a very long poem and the pictures in the book are playful and adventurous. The parable of One Lost Sheep is from Luke 15:3-4. Then Jesus told them this parable: Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? The same thing is Jesus’ love for us. He wants all of His lost children to come home and to know Him. To us, it’s a story about God looking for us even though we don’t deserve it. Honestly as an adult I think, Just cut your loss you still have 99. But that’s not God’s love. To a child it’s a story about a shepherd taking care of his flock. He’s having fun caring for them and loves all of them equally counting to 100. Then without question he goes off to find his lost sheep. And then the story ends with the words I mentioned above, “God is our Shepherd”. And suddenly, of course to a child God loves us just like that. No questions asked. In Noah and the Mighty Ark no one gets left behind. The story references the Bible verse Genesis 6:14-19; God said to Noah... "Make yourself and ark out of cypress wood... Bring two of every living thing into the ark." I always looked at this as a story of destruction and that God promised never to destroy the world with a flood again and we are reminded every time we see the rainbow. To children this is a story of being saved. Noah was told to save every single animal “two by two” and Rhonda’s books illustrated that naming those that crept or crawled or hopped or flew. My kids LOVE this story, I think it’s one of their favorites in the Bible. And it makes rainbows so special to them. Teaching children Bible stories is so easy. Just spend time with them reading books like these two and tuck them in every night with a hug and a kiss. Why can’t it be that easy for us? * * * Your Turn How do you engage in teaching Bible stories to children? What are their favorite stories? Leave a comment on the blog! We'd love to hear from you! Save 30% Off Noah and the Mighty Ark and One Lost Sheep by Rhonda Gowler Greene Noah and the Mighty Ark, written by bestselling author Rhonda Gowler Greene and illustrated by Margaret Spengler, introduces children to the iconic Bible story and lets them know how much God loves and protects them. One Lost Sheep, written by bestselling author Rhonda Gowler Greene and illustrated by Margaret Spengler, introduces children to the icon Bible story and lets them know how much the Good Shepherd loves them. REGISTER NOW for this EXCLUSIVE Live Author Chat! - Tuesday, July 1st 2PM EST/11AM PST Would knowing that your prayers will be answered change the way you pray? Find out how Mark Batterson and The Circle Maker can impact your prayer life. Ask him your own questions through Twitter!

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