“Start children off on the way they should go,
    and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (Proverbs 22:6 NIV)
 
Parenting is hard. Covid seems to only have increased the number of challenges out there. The pressure is enormous to get your kids active with life-learning activities and building skills that help them grow to be healthy and happy.  Recently a parent of young children came to me with the question of how you start talking about faith with kids. Even as adults, sometimes there are times in our lives when we feel closer or further away from God. 
 
One of the ways to start is to keep it simple. Sometimes, especially if we feel uncomfortable ourselves, we launch into long speeches, with too many commas and not enough pause for breath or conversation. The reason why the hymn “Jesus Loves Me” is so universally beloved is the complexity in its simplicity. 
 
Another aspect to keep in mind is that faith is often caught and not taught, or shown and then grown. We can try our hardest to teach all the aspects of faith, but the learning also comes from seeing the ways we live our lives. Take time to pray before meals or bedtime. Offer up thanksgiving to God when things go well and asking for God’s help during trouble. 
 
We have many different resources that are available in our bookstore for all ages. One of my favorites is the Spark Story Bible. Questions and other ideas have been added to help the story come to life (plus, it’s fun to find the wormy on every page!). These simple stories can be added one at a time to your bedtime routine or included in a Facetime call to grandkids or nieces and nephews. This Bible also makes a great gift to your godchildren.
 
God’s Peace,
 
Pastor Tim