Living Font – The Bad Brothers Sell Joseph

Though we’ve now fallen out of the habit, about two years ago it was a regular routine to read a couple of stories from my daughter’s favorite Bible story book each night before bed.  The kids were each allowed to choose a story, and my then four year old daughter would take a few minutes to slowly peruse the book looking for an interesting picture or a story we hadn’t read.  My two year old son?  He chose a story called, “The Bad Brothers Sell Joseph” every…single…night. The story’s title became an inside joke between my husband and I, clearly a remnant from the book’s original publishing date long before “PC” stood for politically correct.

I thought about those funny evenings this morning, my daughter rolling her eyes, my little son adamant that this was the story he had to have read to him…again.  We’ve been battling my now four year old son’s sleep problems for weeks and slept through our alarm this morning, completely missing church.  To replace that time of worship I turned again to our Bible story books.  It felt natural to hold Bible study in my son’s bedroom, a reminder of a bedtime routine that somehow faded away.

What happened in our lives that we stopped taking that time each night to teach our children about our faith?  We simply filled that time with other habits.  In the same way that my son found comfort in hearing the same story told over and over again, we also can find comfort in making time with God’s Word a regular part of our routine. Whether it’s story time with our children, time alone with a devotional, or reading a favorite scripture to start our day, it’s important that we make the time to cultivate love for the Word of God in our family’s lives.  Even if it means having to read “The Bad Brothers Sell Joseph” for the three hundred and forty-second time…

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2 Comments

  • I love it! My 3yo gets into these episodes where he has to read the same book over and over. I should definitely add some Bible stories to his collection, since he still hasn’t warmed up to Sunday school.

  • Amy this is something we have fallen out of as well. I’m planning on having a daily(or weekly) verse this school year that we discuss each night at dinner. (or at least memorize) Hope we can get back on the wagon!