Gift Ideas for Kids!

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In my mind, a classic, can’t miss gift pairing for a kid is a great book + a cute stuffed animal. What could be better than curling up with a good book and a snuggle buddy, you know? So, with the help of my own kids, I tracked down a great stuffie to pair with each of my kids’ books, and maybe it’ll spark your imagination as you purchase gifts for the kids in your life this Christmas (or really, any time!).

Three things:

  1. Each of these books was written for kids ages 4 through 8 and are are available wherever books are sold.

  2. You can find the exact link for each stuffed animal beneath each photo, and each photo is linked to my Amazon storefront, where you can see options Amazon currently has available. (That means this post contains affiliate links, which does not cost you anything, but it can benefit my ministry in a small way.)

  3. According to my 10-year-old daughter, this is “a really snuggable gift.”

On Parenting with Wisdom

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While washing grapes,

while watching them swim,

stories I never meant to collect,

stories too heavy for me to hold,

flood my mind:

A library of scary,

dewey decimal-ed,

organized without my permission.

The anxiety creeps in.

It fills my belly.

It clamps around my jaw.

I used to give it the wheel,

let it decide where to turn

let it lure me with its promises:

“I will keep you safe”;

“I will keep you in control.”

But now I’m three kids

and ten years in,

and I’ve started to see what this is:

anxiety, not wisdom.

And I’ve learned that anxiety isn’t good at driving.

(It will pretend its keeping us safe

and then drive us off a cliff.)

Wisdom needs the wheel.

And you know,

with all these stories we collect,

it’s as if we think fear of stuff

is the beginning of wisdom,

but it’s not.

“The fear of the Lord

is the beginning of wisdom.”

So I have to hit the brakes.

I have to see where I am:

I’m in the library of scary,

soaking up stories that are not my business,

acting on themes are are not mine.

I have to return the stories I’ve checked out,

and read another instead,

I have to start by fearing God,

who has all power,

who is in charge,

and can be trusted

(even when I don’t understand what He’s doing

or agree with what He allows).

And so when the anxiety rises up,

when I’m washing the grapes,

while I’m watching them swim,

I’ve started to do a new thing:

Get small before my big God,

and pray stuff I know about Him

about stuff I don’t know about my life:

“Dear God you are God.

You made me, and you love me.

You made my kids, and you love my kids.

You have every day of our lives

written in your book.

I know I can ask you for things.

Because you’re my Father who loves me.

And I know I can trust you

to give and withhold

based on what is ultimately good

(and you decide what is good

and I’ve decided that’s good).

And so, I ask you: protect my kids—

I know you know this lump in my throat—

and protect me because

I am prone to collect anxieties

you’ve told me to hand to you.

And the anxieties hurt me,

and tempt me to parent unwisely,

and tempt me to think I’m in control,

and tempt me to think

I can keep us safe from everything,

and to think I hold the whole world in my hands.

But my hands are too small,

and I have more limits than I can count.

I cannot keep watch

over every grape.

I cannot keep watch

over every splash of water.

But fueled by your grace,

I can be a wise and watchful parent,

knowing I am parented

by the wisest and most watchful parent.

Help me not to collect anxieties

(they do not come from you),

but to collect wisdom instead

(this comes from you).

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” Proverbs 9:10a

“Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.” James 1:5

Bibles for Me and My Kids (from a Bible teacher and Bible study writer with lots of opinions)

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If there’s anything I’m OpInIoNaTeD about, it’s Bibles. I realized a few months back that I passed this trait down to my 10-year-old daughter, who shared with me her firm specifications for a new Bible. I found one that met her standards and bought if for her for her birthday a few months ago. (Scroll down to see!) I felt kind of proud of her and yet kind of worried about both of us.

BUT! Perhaps our particularities can help you if you’re on the hunt for Bible for you or your kids. Here’s a run-down of the Bibles I’ve “lived in” over the past decade and the Bibles I’ve gotten for my kids, discussed starting from the bottom of the pictured stack and working our way up to the top of the stack. (You can click each link for a better look at each Bible, or check out my recent reel that gives a peek inside each Bible.)

*Some of these items may be affiliate links. That means if you shop using the links, I may receive a small commission from the brand at no cost to you.

For Mom:

Note: Previously, I only used one Bible exclusively and obsessively, but over the past five years or so, I’ve noticed I’ll “live in” a Bible for a year or two and then switch it up.

ESV Single-Column Journaling Bible (Crossway) - (I’ve linked the closest option, which is a large-print version, but here’s a similar one with the 7.5 point size font.) This is my tip top favorite. This particular cover doesn’t seem to be available anymore in the 7.5 point font, but they have lots of fantastic options. I ended up setting this Bible aside as my everyday Bible because it was falling apart and it stressed me out to think about recovering it, although if I ever do, I’ll send it to Crew + Co. Also, I’d written in it quite a bit, and I was starting to get distracted from the Word by my own words, which is an interesting predicament.

The Jesus Bible, ESV Edition (Zondervan) - This cover is everything! I’ve followed artist Britt Bass for a long time, and I seriously flipped out when they came out with this cover. I made sure to get it in ESV because that was my preference at the time, but they also have NIV available. My only grievance with The Jesus Bible is that there are A LOT of extra pages inside, and it feels like they get in the way when I’m trying to flip somewhere. (This is what my daughter was getting at, btw.) It’s not really a journaling Bible, but for the most part, the margins offered me what I needed, and I love the two ribbon markers. I ended up setting this Bible aside as my everyday Bible because I wanted to gain familiarity with the CSB translation for my work with Lifeway and because it’s the translation used in our kids’ ministry. (More on CSB below!)

The Holy Land Illustrated Bible in CSB (Holman) - This Bible has some really fascinating extras that I enjoyed — tons of cultural, architectural, and contextual information collected from years of articles written by scholars and once published in something called The Sunday School Less Illustrator, I “lived in” this for about a year and really enjoyed it, but I honestly prefer a single column situation with wide margins. I’d also tried Bible tabs for the first time with this and realized they weren’t for me. (Although these are all really cool.) This was my first opportunity to spend in-depth time in the CSB translation, and I enjoyed it tremendously. It’s super readable yet faithful, and it makes sense to me that kids’ ministries are using it. I made sure my older kids had a CSB after all of this, especially since that’s the translation they memorize verses in at church. (Scroll down for more info on kids’ Bibles!)

Lifeway Women’s Bible in CSB (Holman) - I bought this happy yellow Bible to use when I filmed my Bible study Come Home, and I promised myself I wouldn’t take extensive notes in this lest I distract myself. I’ve kept it crisp and clean, but honestly, this thing is begging for me to write all in it. There are spacious margins, the extras are not burdensome whatsoever (and written by some of your favorite female Bible teachers), two two ribbon markers (I really do prefer a Bible with TWO!), and great font choices. (If you’re a font person, you know how much that matters.) Maybe I’ll settle into this one next year.

CSB Single-Column Personal Size Bible (Holman) - This Bible was a gift, and I started using it in January. It’s smaller than all the others, and I’ve really enjoyed that for hauling to church and out of town and whatnot. The cover feels fancy to me, the pages are thick enough for note-taking and highlighting, and it’s got the two ribbon markers. (I’m not sure why this matters to me, but it does.) However, I have to admit that I miss big fat margins. I am a margins gal!

For Kids:

CSB Hosanna Revival Bible (Holman) - Most would not consider this a kids’ Bible, but it was exactly what my 10-year-old daughter had in mind: no extra pages, single column, note-taking margins, and CSB translation. The cover is absolutely beautiful and feels so “her” to me! (This particular one is getting harder to find, but Hosanna Revival has lots of great options in different translations if you poke around.) She’s loved it, and I think it’s a great fit for any kid who feels a little too old for a Bible marketed to kids, and it’s especially good for a kid who’s drawn to note-taking. (My older kids both have a pen bag full of highlighters and pens that they bring with them to church each week and grab when we do some kind of Bible study at home. They LOVE having their own stash!)

CSB Explorer Bible for Kids (Holman) - I have had my eye on this one for my 8-year-old son for a few years, and I decided to give it to him as a gift before he went to kids camp. (We studied John 3:16 and memorized the CSB version.) He loved the explorer theme and getting a new Bible that felt like it had a boy like him in mind. (Of course he spilled water all over it at camp, but this is just what it is to be an 8-year-old boy!) The extra features are exciting and informative (great intro pages to every book, QR codes with videos, etc.), and I feel like he’s got lots of stuff he can look at when his attention span can’t hang during the sermon.

NIV Thinline Baby Gift Bible (Zondervan) - Our youngest is four and can’t read yet, but he was given this as a gift during his baby dedication, and he’s carried it with him to church for a few years now. He’s definitely a rough-and-tumble kind of kid who literally cannot turn a page in a book without ripping it, so this Bible has had to be glued back together a time or two. At first, I felt protective of the physical book, but then I realized that it honors God and His Word so much more for a kid to faithfully bring it to church, even if that kid can’t read yet. Plus, it makes my son feel like a big kid. (He’s not happy when we forget it in the car.) Within the next year or so, I’ll probably buy him the same one big brother has.

I’m sure there are zillions more great options, but these are ones my family has used and enjoyed, and I hope this list helps you. Of course, two things must be said after a list like this:

  1. The best part about any Bible is that it’s THE BIBLE, God’s Word. It’s a true treasure, a delicious feast, the way by which discover God’s goodness. (There’s a reason that when I teach people to study the Bible, I frame all of it up with delight!)

  2. The Bible is for all of us just as it is, and we don’t need something perfectly branded to us. However, it can be fun and meaningful to find or give a Bible with a cover and features that fit a particular life stage or preference. (And by the way, if you’d like me to chat with my pastor husband about what Bibles he uses and recommends for other men, let me know.)

Want to study the Bible with me? You can check out my studies here or find my downloadable Bible study tool, The Simple Study Binder, here.

Want some recommendations for Bible study tools? I’ve got some listed in my Amazon storefront here.

New Testament Survey for Kids (An Accidental Conversation)

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New Testament Survey for Kids (An Accidental Conversation)

He was flipping through the tiny blue New Testament he was given as a baby, wondering about the words in red. “The words are red when Jesus talks,” I explained, smiling as I remembered that was even a thing. What a wonderful thing!

What came next was an accidental New Testament survey, six-year-old style. (I thought I’d retell it to you because sometimes talking to a kid about the Bible makes you love the Bible more.)

Read More

Mothering on Mother's Day

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Mothering on Mother's Day

Mother’s Day is a day shaped for sweet celebration—but it also exposes: who we’ve lost, who we long for, who we have never known. If you've ever spent a Mother’s Day service weeping or avoided it altogether, you know what I mean. (Precious brother or sister, if that's you, I hope this and this can serve you. May God bless you and keep you.)

And yet, even for the woman who is not currently experiencing any acute loss or longing, it can be an unexpectedly difficult day. This article is for that woman—the one whose circumstances seem ideal on paper. The one whose house and hands are full, who is hungry to be acknowledged and appreciated.

To this woman, I want to offer two pieces of counsel:

  1. Look out.

  2. Get dressed.

Read More