The Bible – God’s Love Letter To Our Kids

Recently, as a young mom and I were bonding over dinner, my friend shared that she was planning to dedicate her children to the Lord in our church’s next child dedication service. To prepare for the ceremony, she excitedly described how she was going through the process of picking a personal life verse for her son and her daughter. With great enthusiasm, she handed me page after page of computer printouts filled with Bible verses that she is prayerfully considering choosing for her kids. Even though her children are still quite young, my friend understands how picking the perfect verse is a way she can lovingly impart God’s blessing upon them and provide them with a special message from God that will guide them through the rest of their lives! This encounter left me thinking about how important it is for our children to personally hear from God from their earliest days. As parents, we can convey God’s great love to them in ways that they can easily understand. Speaking God’s truth clearly and concisely into the hearts of our precious sons and daughters is crucial to their emotional health and spiritual well-being. We want our kids to know that God loves them beyond measure. We want them to grow up understanding who they are in Christ. If I could, I would ingrain the following Bible verse on every child’s heart: ^“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. – Jeremiah 29:11 I want my kids to grow up understanding that the Bible is God’s personal love letter to them. I want them to turn to their Bibles whenever they need inspiration and encouragement. I want them to understand that through Scripture, they can always fill themselves with God’s wisdom, strength and everlasting hope. For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope. – Romans 15:4 Because young children soak up unique and creative learning experiences, I highly recommend using Glenys Nellist’s amazing Love Letters From God book series as a way of showing our kids how much God loves them. In Glenys’ latest book, Love Letters From God: Bible Stories For A Girl’s Heart, she features the stories of 14 amazing women from the Bible – women that our kids can learn numerous life lessons from! This beautiful book is filled with the warm and inviting illustrations of Rachel Clowes, but what makes this book and all of the other books in this series truly stand out is the gift of a letter that accompanies each story. Awaiting your child’s discovery is a customizable, lift-the-flap envelope that contains a personal message to your child from God! Each letter reinforces a key message from the Bible story and contains a vital truth that our children need to hear. For instance, in the story Eve: The First Girl, here’s the memorable takeaway excerpted from the letter: Just like I made Eve, I made YOU… and everything I make is good. Even if you make some bad choices, like Eve did, talk to me about it. I will cover you with love and forgiveness, just like I covered Eve. YOU are good. I love you, Your Creator, GOD I don’t think that any of us – especially our kids – can ever tire of hearing how much God loves us or how He offers endless grace, mercy and forgiveness to us, no matter what we do! As a young girl, I always got extremely excited when I received a personal letter from someone I love. In a day and age where handwritten letters are a rarity, can you imagine how delighted your child will be to receive a personal letter from God – and how much of an impact the enduring biblical truths contained in these letters will have on their precious lives? Another thing I appreciate is how Love Letters From God sets the stage for us to teach our children to search God’s Word for His personal promises and commands to them. By reading this series, our kids learn how to listen for God’s voice and discern timely lessons from the lives of biblical role models who are facing challenges just like them. Now, if your kids are highly inquisitive and challenge you to learn more about the Bible characters through their many questions, you’ll be delighted to learn that Glenys Nellist is hosting a 14-week Bible study on her website that’s based on the lives of the women in Love Letters From God: Bible Stories For A Girl’s Heart. This Bible study provides the perfect opportunity for us to prepare for story time with our kids, learn and grow with them, and share and bond with other moms we meet! Finally – if you want to share a fun craft activity with your kids – why not gather some paper and markers and invite your children to respond to God by writing love letters to Him? Or, if they’re old enough, provide them with a special notebook and encourage them to begin their own journal, filled with prayers, songs, Scriptures and love notes to God!

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Your Turn

Have you ever written a love letter to God? Do you have a special Bible verse that you hold near and dear to your heart? Please share your thoughts and stories in the comments – we’d love to hear them!