An Adventure Like None Other

Our kids are attending a local VBS, Vacation Bible School, this week and loving it. All over the United States, thousands of kids go to a local church’s Vacation Bible School or a church camp and enjoy stories with correlating songs, crafts, games and team building activities. Since I like to follow the holidays, seasons, and current activities when selecting weekly themes for kids’ books, this week I’m sharing books, videos, and CDs that you may want to pick up for your kiddos when they do VBS (or other church camps). Reading the Bible for themselves can be hard for kids, so selecting a friendly, but accurate version such as the NIV (New International Version)  helps them get into the adventure of a lifetime!

Introducing Our Featured Friend: NIV Adventure Bible
Features Written by Lawrence O.Richards, Zonderkidz

According to Wikipedia, “The Bible is widely considered to be the best selling book of all time, has estimated annual sales of 100 million copies,and has been a major influence on literature and history, especially in the West where it was the first mass-printed book. The Gutenberg Bible was the first Bible ever printed using movable type.”

As a former English teacher, I found the Bible referenced in most of the literature that I taught, from Shakespeare to Anne of Green Gables. Reading the Bible is an important part of every kids’ education.

This NIV version with the cool features like sections titled: Words to Treasure, Did You Know?, Life in Bible Times, and Live It!, help kids understand and personalize the book. If you are reading the Bible to your kiddos, have them follow along in their Bible. They may want to come up with a system of marks for parts that are special to them, or hard to understand, or extra-interesting.

Inviting You To Become FRIENDS With The Bible:
Feel, Relate, Imagine, Explore, Navigate, Develop, Share

These activities are taken from the special features throughout this book:

F- From Live It!, Numbers 14:1-24. When do you feel like it’s hard to forgive? When have you needed forgiveness?

R- From Life in Bible Times, p.240. How can your family relate to the people of Israel when God provided for them in a special way? Joshua told one man from each of the 12 tribes to pick up a stone when crossing the parted waters of the Jordan River. These stones served as a “memorial or special reminder” of God’s power and faithfulness to the Israelites. As a family, you could take some small stones and with your kids, write down ways God has provided for each of you.

I- From Live It! Revelation 21 & 22. Imagine what Heaven is like. “These verses tell us a lot about what heaven will look like. Name three jewels that will be found in heaven. What will the streets be made of? Will there be a sun or moon? Why or why not?” What are some things you value here on earth that you want to see in Heaven?

E- From Live It!, Psalm 30. Explore how people in your family overcame sadness. “Ask your mom or dad or grandparent about a time when one of them felt very sad. Why was he or she so sad? How long before the sadness went away? Ask too about times they felt very happy.” These talks can help children recognize their own emotions, cause of their feelings, and how to cope with them. “Sadness is like the night, when everything seems dark. But God says that joy will come in the morning.”

N- From Live It!, II Thessalonians 3:6-10. Navigate (make your way through) your neighborhood and community discovering ways you can work responsibly and earn money. “Here are some jobs kids your age can do. Do work for your mom or dad around the house, or help a neighbor. . . . Wash Cars. Wash windows. Can you think of other work you might do to earn money?”

D- From Life in Bible Times, p.827. Develop your own jewelry like those that men and women may have worn in Bible times.

S- From Live It! Psalm 135. Share something great God has done by taking turns going around the table as a family. “Count and see how many great things your family can remember about God.”

A Variety of Good Resources, Especially for Boys.

A Variety of Good Resources, Especially for Girls

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