If you follow both of my websites, you know that I did a top ten list for Gettingmyacttogether.com last week. I would never just shun my original website by not giving it a “Top 10 Most Popular” post too.

Over the past couple of years, I have tried to take storiesofourboys.com into a more focused direction.

Y’all know I started out blogging about parenting four boys, and my oldest son was absolutely not having it. He was right. You can only put so much on the internet about your real life. I tend to be an open book, so I had to be reminded of this.

Since then I have moved on to other topics.

Believe it or not, my Bible archaeology articles bring the lion’s share of people to my blog. That helped me decide to dedicate more of this website to articles relating to faith, Bible Archaeology, and travel. I cannot ignore my parenting/home school roots here though. The home school articles still do well.

The funny thing is we are not currently a home-schooling family. However, we have gone in and out of that lifestyle repeatedly, thanks to all the moves and COVID. Therefore, the home schooling niche still has a place on this website too.

The only way I know to categorize all those things in one place is to call this a faith-based website.

I write about all things related to Christian parenting and Christian beliefs.

The travel ties in because Christian families should go on vacation too. ha!! I don’t know. I just love travel, so it stays. To be fair. some of my travel does involve areas related to our faith, like Israel and Rome.

However, I always feel like I need a disclaimer. When you see me sitting on my rear end, eating Nacho Cheese Doritos, drinking Coca-Cola, and watching Designing Women in the middle of the day, you may feel disillusioned. The fact is that’s sometimes exactly where you find me. I am no picture of Baptist mom perfection, so please don’t expect that here.

I’m just another sinner saved by grace. I just happened to enjoy reading up on Bible archaeology discoveries and sharing neat Christian parenting resources that I may come across.

So without further ado, here are the Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2023 on Stories of Our Boys.

By the way, the articles on this website still get far more page views than the ones on my new website, Getting My Act Together. This website doesn’t have any viral breakaway articles like my other blog does. However, its articles consistently do well and keep their traffic over time.

That’s why some of these articles make the top ten list here every year. Thankfully, I do have a couple of new ones on the list for 2024!

#1. 14 Tips for Your First Year of Classical Conversations

I wrote it in 2015, when our family was actively involved in a Classical Conversations community. While the curriculum has seen many changes since that time, the tips in this article are still extremely relevant.

If you are thinking about trying Classical Conversations, definitely give it a read. I know you will find it helpful.

#2. How the Sumerian King List Relates the Bible

See, there are plenty more archaeology nerds out there, besides just me, who want to know about ancient history and how it relates to the Bible! I love this stuff.

The Sumerian King List is from ancient Mesopotamia, The fascinating thing about it is that it references their kings as the ones before the “Great Flood” and after it. Oh, and by the way, just as in the Bible, the kings from before the flood lived insanely long lives. Intrigued? Check out the article.

#3. What it was Like to Wear a Linq Heart Monitor for 3 Years

As you can see, we cover many different topics on this blog! I have a rare heart arrhythmia called ventricular tachycardia. That is how I ended up wearing a Linq monitor inside my chest for three years. Thankfully, I am okay. My v-tach episodes are short and infrequent, and that is the key to my still being alive, without needing a zapper or a pacemaker.

#4. 20 Boy Mom Quotes that Will Make You Smile

I am excited to see this one do well. For one thing, I enjoyed writing it and creating all those Canvas. Secondly, it was actually written in 2023 and is one of my two articles from this year that made this list.

Plus, I wrote this article using my new “keyword research method” I learned from the blogging classes I took. That feels wonderful to see the classes I paid money for actually paying off for me.

I used to always write about whatever random ideas were in my head. Now I am using keyword research to become a better blogger and answer questions people are actually asking Google.

And yeah, boy mom quotes is a fun topic that is right up my alley.

#5. 10 Exciting Archaeology Finds that Support the Bible

Like I said, Bible Archaeology posts have turned out to be my specialty. In this one you will learn about Hezekiah’s Tunnel, the Tel Dan Inscription, ancient New Testament manuscripts, Peter’s house, and so much more.

It is so fun to dig in to all of these discoveries and see the Bible coming more to life.

This is the other post on the list that I wrote in 2023. I discovered this topic using my new blogging skill of keyword research too. This article marks so much progress for me as I try to turn this from a hobby to a job. It’s a big deal!

#6. 10 Facts You Never Knew About the Early Church

This post was inspired by the book, Tried by Fire by William J. Bennett., where I learned so much mind-blowing reality about the early days of the church that I just had to share! I think the time after Jesus, but before Catholicism was truly established as a powerful world influence is fascinating.

The way the church grew is incredible. Check out this post to learn little known facts about early followers of Jesus.

#7. Ow! What Just Stung us in the Gulf of Mexico?

I wrote this one around 2018, after our kids were stung, yet again, in the Gulf of Mexico. You know, most people have never been stung by a jellyfish. I have only been stung hard once, and that was when I was around fourteen.

But we have had numerous encounters with getting stung at the beach. Rarely do we lay eyes on what actually stung us, so I did some reading around on the internet to learn more.

#8. What the Nuzi Tablets from 1450-1350 BC Tell Us About the Bible

When I hear about an artifact from ancient times, I like to do a deep dive to see how they might tie in to the Bible. This is one of my hobbies. I have several excellent archaeology books I keep on hand for my ancient times rabbit holes that I get into. So you can rest assured when you read articles like this one on my website, they are well researched and do not come from Wikipedia.

I break this stuff down into only the most interesting tidbits. You might find it surprisingly educational and yet easy to read!

#9. Jerusalem in Pictures: Golgotha & the Church of the Holy Sepulchre

My Israel posts are my personal favorite of anything that I have ever written. To me, it was the absolute most exciting place I have ever travelled to. I still cannot believe I even got to go!

This post has tons of full color photos of the very place where Jesus was crucified and buried. The location of Golgotha is not a random guess either. This is backed up by the Bible and archaeological evidence as well as local history. I feel like most people would love to see it and will never get to, so I tried to share everything about it that I could in this series.

Then I took all of my posts on Israel and weaved them together in an e-book. You can find the book on Amazon.

#10. Which is Better: Home School, Public, or Private School?

I began writing this list of pros and cons in 2014. This particular list was revised and re-written in 2021. As a military family, we move every few years. That has created the abrupt decision process of choosing our kids’ schools over and over again.

At this point, I have the unique perspective of having sent four boys to all three of these options: home school, private, and public schools. My honest favorite is private school. The problem is that is not always affordable.

There is a balance to life, and we each have different circumstances, as do our kids. That’s why we all have to choose what is best for ourselves. In this list, I provide the pros and cons that we encountered that affected us the most.

2023 was a fun year for me to bring Storiesofourboys.com back to life.

I largely hung up my hat on this website from 2018-2022. Now I am excited and happy to call myself a blogger again and pursue it in earnest. This year I took this website from costing me $500/year to actually making about $500. Plus, I made additional income on my new blog, Getting My Act Together.

Looking to the Future

In 2023, I also became a contributing writer to Newsbreak.com and several publications on Medium.com. For 2024, I plan to continue to contribute to all four websites (my two blogs, plus Medium and Newsbreak).

Do I want to go get a “real job”? Heck no! I want to continue to work for myself. I am putting in the hard work now, making almost no money, with the hopes of making more as I grow. So far I consistently grow each month, and that is the whole goal.

In 2024, on storiesofourboys.com, I will be bringing you articles on sending kids to college, more Bible archaeology finds, and keeping the faith through all that life throws at us. I also still have one last Italy post to share, on that eight hour train ride we took from Naples to Sicily!

Can anyone go to Sicily without constantly quoting the Golden Girls? I sure couldn’t it.

Thanks so much for all your support!

You will see a lot more articles here this year, so I hope to see you more often! Your support, just by reading my stuff, means the world to me.

Happy New Year, y’all! I hope your year is off to a happy start!

The post Stories of Our Boys Top 10 Most Popular Posts of 2023 appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

It’s been a month now since we moved into our new home in Virginia. It’s been 6 months since I blogged regularly, and there is so much I could tell you, I almost don’t know where to begin!

This move, our 10th as a military family, is complete. We are still fulfilling medical requirements and registering for things like school in the fall, but for the most part, we are finished.

It’s time to get back to blogging, which I can’t wait to do!

If you live nearby, and I haven’t paid you a visit yet, don’t worry, I will. And if you were afraid (or relieved-ha) I had given up writing completely, let me assure you that I haven’t.

I needed time off to focus on my family and this move, but at this point I’m really just sitting around playing the Jeopardy app on my phone, so… time to get back to work, eh?

Good-bye, Old House. Our Georgia friends will always hold a special place in our hearts.

End-of-year gifts from John David. Good-bye Pre-school.

Hello, moving boxes, you old rascal you.

Hello, RV and hotel stays.

Good-bye dear friends. Thank you for being there for us. I love this Georgia-shaped cutting board I received as a parting gift.

Hello again, moving truck. Better late than never… This is the tree-sized limb that almost fell on my rental car on moving day but missed it by a hair. Thank you, Lord, that it missed!! And thank you to my friends and neighbors who helped me clean up the debris.

Hello, new kitchen and hello to you too, you dear old boxes. Every single one of you showed up unharmed.

“Sometimes you gotta go where everybody knows your name…”

Returning to this place has been even more magical for us than I even dared hope.  The boys are running around with other boys all day long. The trampoline, which was mostly unused the past two years, is back in daily play. Bicycles are being ridden again. The sounds of children playing Nerf-war games echoes through my house.

Ahhhh yeah.

Alan has been on vacation for a month, so I feel like I am too. We are all on this restful, ridiculously long, staycation. I get to sleep as late as 8:30 in the morning some days, and going for walks on sidewalks in my own neighborhood is such a breath of fresh air.

But my favorite part is that everywhere I look there are friendly faces, both old friends and new friends too.

playroom photo wall

Moving to encouragement and familiarity, rather than to fresh new beginnings, was exactly what we needed. There’s a time for new adventures, but there’s also a time for returning home. We are lucky. We have many ‘homes.’

The v-tach is back.

This was especially timely as we had other worries. Right before we left Columbus, my heart began acting up again. It felt like a punch in the gut when my cardiology clinic called about my implanted monitor reading, saying that I needed to meet with an electrophysiologist about a possible ablation. (It’s a procedure where they go in through your leg with a catheter and burn off the cells of your heart that are causing the trouble.)

I’ve been trying to avoid having an ablation, but my heart keeps acting up. It’s all unsettling and tiring. What mom needs yet another thing to WORRY about???

Most days I’m fine. I’m not even a big worrier, but it’s there in the back of my mind. I pushed off the electrophysiology appointment. I’m going in July.

That’s why it’s that much sweeter that this move was to a place we hold dear, rather than to a new frontier, if you will. We have health issues to sort through and children to raise. It feels like the perfect time to be back in our beloved Virginia.

Thank you for welcoming us back.

Daniel, anxiously waiting at the door for his friends to arrive.

This summer we are memorizing Psalm 23 as a family. (Yes, even little John David). It felt fitting because it’s a short but mighty message, and God has taken such good care of us.

Psalm 23

SaveSave

The post I have missed you, and I’m back. appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

We’re sending 30 Days of Tween Parenting Encouragement out today, as a gift, to ALL of my blog newsletter subscribers.

Lee Felix of Like Minded Musings, did an excellent job compiling this book, with contributions from 30 different bloggers, who are all parents of tweens, including yours truly. Visit Lee’s blog, and give her a follow or a Facebook Like!

I wrote chapter 16 of this book, 2 Must Read Character-Building Books for Tweens. Be sure to look for me in there. I was so honored to be a part of it.

Here are a few of the many topics covered in this free e-book:

-Social Media Responsibility

-Giving Structure without Being Overly Strict

-Helping Your Tween Deal with Pressure

-3 Steps to Loving Your Tween with Purpose

-How to Connect to Your Tween Boy

-Anxious Tweens

-Tween Girls and Body Image

-How to help your tween set up a quiet time

and much, much more!!!

Ready to download your FREE copy?

The post 30 Days of Tween Parenting Encouragement E-book appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

our view, walking to Jaffa

For me, touring Israel was all about the history. I wanted to EXPERIENCE the Bible lands. Historic sites, ground that Jesus walked on, that was what we were after.

On day 1, we crashed with jet lag and didn’t leave our hotel. Day 2, we rushed off to Jerusalem, as fast as our tour bus could take us. On day 3, Alan was working, and Julie and I were feeling out our surroundings, so we walked all over Tel Aviv, to see what we could find interesting. Day 3 was exhausting, and sweaty, extremely sweaty.

This whole trip was so sweaty, I needed 14 changes of clothes. I actually had to find a local store and buy more underwear because silly me, I’d anticipated 1 pair a day, not two.

Day 4 brought the excitement.

Day 4 was one of the highlights of the trip. For day 4, Julie and I were on a mission. Jaffa, also called Yafo, also referred to in the Bible as Joppa, is exactly 3 miles from Tel Aviv. You could see it from our hotel, and we decided to just walk there.

There is a beach walk that connects Tel Aviv to Jaffa, so you couldn’t ask for a more pleasant walk…..well, unless it had been a shaded beach walk, but that is a rare find indeed.

So off we went, down the beach to see Old Jaffa. Jaffa is where Jonah went to run from the Lord, sailing to Tarshish. Jaffa was also the home of the famous Simon the Tanner. I’ll tell you more about ol’ Simon in a minute here.

port of Jaffa

The port of Jaffa was also where Solomon shipped in the cedars of Lebanon. Plus, after World War II, this port was where vast numbers of Jews arrived to return to the Promised Land.

It is one of the most historic cities there is! According to archaeologists, Jaffa has been constantly inhabited since about 1900 BC, and perhaps even longer. (source 1)

view of Jaffa from the beach, by the port

This area is currently run by Arab Christians, according to locals, but just like the rest of Israel, it has fallen under many different countries’ rule over the year, to include the Turks.

Yafo/Jaffa is diverse.

I definitely saw more Muslim people in Yafo than I did in Tel Aviv.

There were loud prayer calls and women in full Islamic garb. That was the first time I had ever been walking around a city and suddenly heard the loud sounds of the Muslim call to prayer. These are sounds my husband is extremely accustomed to, considering all of his time in the Middle East, but it was a new experience for me!

This plaque is on one of the Old Jaffa buildings.

Armenian Convent of St. Nicholas

I thought these blue doors and vents looked pretty against the sand color bricks.

More of these gorgeous bougainvillea plants.

You go up these stairs, and you are suddenly in an extremely unique, ancient place. Even the ground is brick. If you ever go to Israel, be sure to see Old Jaffa!

This is the way to Simon the Tanner’s house! Up the stairs into Old Jaffa, and then keep turning corners and getting lost until you stumble upon it. Follow the light house.

view of Old Jaffa

We glanced at the map the first time around, not knowing what to look for.

After walking through Old Jaffa and not finding Simon the Tanner’s house, we decided to try again. We looped downhill all the way back around to where we started from. The SECOND time around, we studied the map as hard as our eyeballs could stare, and then made another go of it.

beautiful Jaffa

It felt Medieval-ish to me. I don’t know how old it was. We missed the guided tour, so we were on our own.

Searching, searching, where is that Simon the Tanner’s house???

I bet Cornelius’s messenger in the Bible didn’t have this much trouble finding it…

By the 2nd time around, we knew if we could just find THIS lighthouse, we could find ol’ Simon’s house.

We got in a ton of steps and stair-climbs that day.

So all of a sudden, when we least expected it, we realized we were standing right in front of it!!! Ha!

Simon the Tanner’s house!

Want to know who Simon the Tanner is?

Well, after Jesus died and rose again and ascended to Heaven, the disciples kept up their work. They were still going around teaching and preaching the good news of Jesus: Jesus died to pay the price for our sin. No need to make animal sacrifices. Instead of a Messiah to come, we now have faith in a Messiah that IS.

However, the disciples were only teaching this method to Jewish people, not Gentiles.

It was time for a change.

First of all, Peter was staying at the home of a tanner. That was considered an unclean trade (source 2), which fits this story perfectly.

As a Jew, there were many foods that were unclean, and Gentiles were unclean. Therefore, when Peter had a vision of a blanket of unclean food, with God telling him to eat it, he was perplexed.

The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour^[b] to pray. ¹⁰ And he became hungry and wanted something to eat, but while they were preparing it, he fell into a trance¹¹ and saw the heavens opened and something like a great sheet descending, being let down by its four corners upon the earth.

¹² In it were all kinds of animals and reptiles and birds of the air. ¹³ And there came a voice to him: “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, Lord; for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean.” ¹⁵ And the voice came to him again a second time, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and the thing was taken up at once to heaven.   Acts 10:9-16

While Peter was still pondering the dream, a man came to fetch him to come tell Cornelius, a Gentile, who loved God, about Jesus, in the town of Caesesarea.

By the way, Israelites do NOT pronounce Caesarea the same way we do. Over there the C makes the k sound in that word, so it was confusing!

So Peter went to Cornelius’s house in Caesarea, and this is a snippet of what the Bible says about the meaning of the dream he’d had at Simon the Tanner’s house:

 ²⁹ So when I was sent for, I came without objection. I ask then why you sent for me.”    Acts 10: 28-29

That’s when Peter learns that Cornelius worships the Lord, along with his family, and God has sent Peter to tell this man and his family the gospel:

³⁰ And Cornelius said, “Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour,^[d] and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing ³¹ and said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.

³² Send therefore to Joppa and ask for Simon who is called Peter. He is lodging in the house of Simon, a tanner, by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you at once, and you have been kind enough to come. Now therefore we are all here in the presence of God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”     Acts 10:30-33

For the full story, read Acts 10.

Ok. Now that we’ve had our one Bible lesson, let’s see a few more photos to round out the visit.

A tomb, maybe?

This used to be a government building. Only this front remains. The back was bombed out by one of their wars.

another view of the bombed out government building

whale fountain in Old Jaffa—perfect for the Jonah and the whale story

just an interesting building in the more modern part of the city

a church

I just liked the architecture.

Old Jaffa (beyond the parking lot)

view of Yafo

Jaffa

We found this at the port. I had never heard this story. Have you?

Hope you enjoyed the tour!! Want to see more? Here are a few more of my previous Israel tours:

Jerusalem: Mount of Olives and the Last Supper

Tel Aviv 

Sources:

1.  The Jaffa Cultural Heritage Project website, Historical Overview, jaffa.nelc.ucla.edu/site.html#overview
2. Acts 9:3 Peter and Simon the Tanner, readingacts.com,
3. Acts 10, Bible Gateway Online, English Standard Version

The post Intriguing Photos from Touring Old Jaffa, Historic Home of Simon the Tanner appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I don’t know about you, but I have always done some of my very best thinking during prayer time or listening to a church sermon. It isn’t on purpose. It’s just that it can be frustratingly hard to focus.

Prayer is something I start with the best of intentions. Like this….it’s funny…..

“Dear Lord, thank you so much for this day, and my husband and children, and this house. You have been so good to me……Ugh, it’s a lunch-packing day, and I forgot to buy bread. What is that brown smudge over there? I’m going to have to clean that up. Oh, Lord, do help Gracie with that problem she’s having. I meant to pray about that. Sanctify her heart. My bra hurts. My pants are hot. What did I set the air conditioner on? This summer I’m going to save $250 by not joining the neighborhood pool…Oh yeah, please help Gracie. Give her wisdom for this.”

Yes, it’s that bad. No, all of those thoughts are not prayer thoughts, or even related thoughts. This is how brains sometimes work!

We have to INTENTIONALLY find a way to focus on our prayer, and I recently came across a plan that smoothed out that jacked up roller coaster ride that used to be my prayers.

I found it in this book:

I’m reading this book with a small group of women at my church. Page 15 had the prayer-changing-strategy that I found so helpful.

First, the authors, Ralph W. Neighbor, Jr. and Bill Latham, take you through the Lord’s prayer to remind us how Jesus said to pray. Most of us are familiar with that.

But then, they actually break it down to prompts that you PERSONALIZE for your life on that day.

These are the questions they ask you to fill in:

1. “What will you say to God to show how you respect and honor him?” Then they give you space to write out what you are actually going to say.
2. “What part of your life and your world do you need to commit to God’s control today?” ____________________________________________
3. They ask you what you need to ask forgiveness for. Ouch. Yep. Be honest.
4. “Where do you need God’s protection in your life today?”  I love that we have this sort of heavenly Father. He WILL give you protection where you need it, when you ask him.
5. “What can you say and do to recognize God’s rule over your life today?”

These 5 simple, PERSONAL, questions provide you with an outline to focus on your prayers.

It’s not just a list of gimme, gimme, gimme either. It’s a true heart check and conversation starter.

Yes, many of us keep a prayer list of names and needs, but this is better than that alone because it changes everyday, and it encourages you to give God glory and thanksgiving, rather than just a list of requests.

I found it much easier to FOCUS on what I was praying, using this guide, than my typical mode of just letting the words flow from my mind and heart with no aforethought. There’s nothing wrong with that, but as I showed at the beginning, I simply have trouble FOCUSING.

Many people use a 5 step outline for prayer, but I found this to be even better for my mind-wandering because it required me to write down what I wanted to say on this particular day, what was relevant at the moment.

I hope you find this useful. I think it would be wonderful to fill up an entire notebook of prayer outlines like this, all filled in.

“Our Father in heaven,

hallowed by your name.

Your kingdom come, 

your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, 

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.”

–Jesus, in Matthew 6: 9-13

I hope you all have a wonderful week. It’s the first week of summer here! Time to have fun with the kids!

The post 5 Steps to Focus on Prayer, Rather than Letting Your Mind Wander appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

Our number one priority is that we set our children off on the right track spiritually.

We aren’t training them to live to please just their parents, society, or a set of rules.  Once you’re an adult, those things all become mushy anyway.

We’d rather they have a relationship with God. It’s not about religion; it’s about knowing how to pray, knowing why they believe, having faith, and making these choices on their own. It’s about feeling responsible to a being higher than ourselves.

We want them to know that through any crisis in life, and the good times too, they can cry to Jesus, to our Heavenly Father. Alan and I will eventually die. Their brothers will too, so they need someone who will always be there. That’s what they can find in their relationship with God.

Here are 5 super simple ways we foster their relationship with God:

#1. We teach them to pray.

From the time they are babies, we pray with each child individually before they go to bed at night. Sometimes it’s just Alan or me, but usually it’s both of us with each boy. When they are babies, I say all the words.

By the time they are talking, I let them say their own prayers, and I give them ideas for what to say by having them repeat after me. I change it up, not saying the same old thing every night.

For example:

“Thank you for this day. Thank you for my mommy, my daddy, my brothers, and (whoever else comes to mind). Thank you for my toys. Thank you for my house. Thank you for my food. Please help (insert sick relative) get better. Amen.”

By the time they are 3, they rarely repeat after me. They say whatever is on their mind, and sometimes it is adorable, and sometimes it is downright hilarious.

One of my boys used to say, “Thank you for

my mom and dad. Thank you for polar bears. Please help the polar bears. Thank you for badgers, raccoons, sun bears, grizzly bears, dolphins, beluga whales…” and he’d go on and on and on naming every animal he knew. So precious.

As they get older, we add in teaching them about praying for forgiveness when they’ve hurt their brother or disobeyed.

Daniel, proudly displaying an award he earned at church.

#2. We take them to church.

It’s so much work when they are little to get them all cleaned up and dressed and to the church on time, but it’s so incredibly worth it. Hearing these Bible stories from another adult, hearing about how God loves them, and getting another Christian’s perspective on walking with the Lord is powerful. 

It backs up everything they are learning at home, encourages them in their faith, and exposes them to other leaders and kids like them. I have had so many mentors over the years that were my Sunday school teachers and other Christians who enhanced my understanding with their unique experiences.

#3. Talking about what the Bible says

I should actually do this more. I tend to remember when I discipline the boys. I tell them, “Hey, Mom doesn’t like to punish you, but it’s my job. God tells me to. The Bible says an undisciplined son is a shame to his parents.” And well, we all know that’s true.

I try to remember to use Biblical examples when I’m coaching them on how to handle difficult people or situations or jobs.

#4. Modeling good habits

Feel free to laugh at me here because I guarantee you I’ve taught about as many bad habits as I have good…ahem…

But that’s okay. Kids need to know that people aren’t perfect, and we have to love and accept all sorts of people and be very forgiving.

We all know “more is caught than taught.” I want my children to see me reading my Bible, see me praying, see me helping the poor, and know that I am a kind, loving person who truly believes what I’m teaching.

For example….

I remember when I was home-schooling. Caleb and I were both going through a phase where we were having trouble with our out-of-control emotions. His was probably the result of my BAD modeling because I was going through a difficult time, but at least I was able to coach him on how to control his own emotions, by learning from my own mistakes.

I said, “Caleb, you may not ever be able to master your feelings on your own. When you feel that anger start to rage, and you want to give in to it, immediately stop and pray. Pray for God to help you keep it together.”

So one day, one of my boys came in, all upset and indignant, to tell on Caleb.

“Mom! Mom! I accidentally (did whatever), and Caleb got mad, and he HIT me, and then he just got down on his knees and started PRAYING!” said the flabbergasted and deeply offended brother.

I was so happy I could have soared with the birds.

“Oh, wow! That’s wonderful!” I joyfully answered.

“What! Wonderful?? What! He HIT me!!”

“Don’t you see? It would’ve been much worse for you if he hadn’t stopped and prayed. He stopped and prayed to keep from hitting you any more. Be thankful!”

#5. Using illustrated children’s Bibles to teach them God’s Word, like the Story Traveler’s Bible.

Reading the Bible to the boys goes over a whole lot better when we use a book with mesmerizing pictures, like this one. You should’ve heard the weeping and gnashing of teeth we used to hear when Alan would make our 7, 6, and 2 year olds listen to an entire chapter of the KJV Bible straight up.

Bible time should not be torture. We’ve come a long way since then.

Allow me to introduce you to a fabulous new children’s Bible that our family is currently enjoying reading:

Includes 85 Bible stories

I love the details of the Bible stories that it includes.  Plus, it’s so helpful how she includes these memory verses in the margins!

The boys love the brightly colored illustrations by Tim Crecelius.

In fact, for a week I could not find the book, and I thought I’d looked everywhere. It finally turned up in my nine-year-old’s room, in his little reading corner.

Now that’s good silent reading material!

Look at these beautiful pages:

In this book, 3 modern boys and girls travel through time and visit all of these old Bible stories and places.

the Samson story

You can order the Story Traveler’s Bible here, on Amazon.

***When you order through links on this page, I do earn advertising fees.***

The post The Story Traveler’s Bible: 5 Easy Ways We Teach Our Children About God appeared first on Stories of Our Boys.

I have followed the Duggar family since 2009. That’s 6 years. I’ve read their books, I’ve watched their show. I’ve been influenced and inspired by their values and practices.

I feel so incredibly sorry for Anna. She married a man that she thought was everything she wanted. Now she has this nightmare to live through.

But I’m glad that Josh was busted. There are STILL lessons we can learn from the Duggar family, lessons that they didn’t teach on purpose.

More like observations! Here are the ones that stick out to me the most:

1.No matter how well you shelter your children, no matter how well you try to hide from the world, sin is still here. It’s in us.

2. No matter how many values we teach our children, if they don’t choose them for themselves, there’s nothing we can do but pray. This happens everyday in America. Parents sacrifice everything, set all sorts of boundaries, and we teach and teach and teach.

Ultimately, each man chooses for himself what path he will choose.

3. I wish that from the beginning, the Duggars had chosen a different title sequence for their television show.

No, they didn’t really have a theme song. Instead, Michelle went through and named all the ways their family is different from “the average American family” i.e. “all of us.”

I wish instead they had said something more like this,

“Hi! We’re the Duggars! People are always asking to film us, so we say ‘Come on in.’ Just know it’s crazy in here. It’s messy, and we have dealt with dark issues in our family. We are no different from you. There are just a few more of us. We’re Christians, but not because we did anything to earn that. We’re Christians because we believe in the forgiveness of Jesus. We make mistakes. So do our kids, and we’re just regular people, doing our best to become better and make the world a better place.”

But that’s not what they said. Instead, they talked about how little t.v. they watch and stuff like that.

This is a great reminder for us to not fall into that trap ourselves!

How often do we consider ourselves righteous because of the good or different things that we do?

I still think the Duggars have contributed many good things to society. They challenged our idea that every family should have 2.5 children. Hey, maybe a big family would be fun!

Their girls are incredibly sweet, and I expect to see great things from them. Their Growing Up Duggar book is an encouraging read.

The Duggar books gave me good ideas for wrangling my children, but I will rest easy knowing I do not do everything exactly the same as they do. Things didn’t turn out perfectly for them.

And you know what? My boys won’t turn out perfectly either. Let me just go ahead and give you the news: My boys will disappoint you eventually. I will too. I will disappoint you.

4. As a Christian parent, I start to wonder, “Well, gracious, these parents did so much. How do I keep my kids from falling into the pornography trap?”

I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that Alan and I had 2 great sets of parents to learn from. I think it’s time we all stop looking to t.v. stars or experts we’ve never met for parenting advice, and think about what worked for our own parents. And if you had bad parents, find other mentors, friends, or relatives that you can learn from.

I’m all for listening and reading about parenting, but it all must be taken with giant grains of salt. We all have different parenting styles. We all have different children. The more babies I rock, the more I am convinced that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all-approach’ to raising children.

No matter how we do it, there’s that whole nature thing. Each person is responsible for their own choices. I addressed this in my testimony: My Story of Faith.

We will always teach our boys the truth from the Bible, and there is no topic of conversation that we will shy away from. We discuss ‘hot topics’ with our oldest two boys often.

However, at the end of the day, they will make their own choices. I can be Jesus to them to the best of my ability (which is not very good), but I cannot choose Jesus for them. Only they can do that.

But you can bet I’ll be praying!!!

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