“Breakfast with Jesus: 100 Devotions for Kids About the Life of Jesus” by Vanessa Myers
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For years I’ve enjoyed having a daily devotion book to go through on my own. In fact, these days I use two. I pick one out for myself for the year and then also use the devotion book that is put out by my denomination and given out at my church.
But something newer to me is devotion books with my kids. We have read through the Bible and Bible stories many, many times. We have done short devotion series for toddlers and read through one or two verses a day during Advent. Going through an actual daily devotion book together wasn’t on our radar until last year.
How my family uses a devotion book together
We started the year with my daughter and I each using the same devotion book, “Grace for the Moment” by Max Lucado. I had the adult version; she had the children’s version. We found that just before bed was her best time to read it, but it was also a difficult time for her because it got her thinking about serious stuff that caused her to have trouble relaxing.
So we decided about a third of the way through the year to change it up and read the devotion book together each evening before we did our bedtime book. That format has worked so well for us.
While our kids have always prayed at bedtime, having the family devotion time each evening has been a blessing. Our kids, who are 6 and 10, have come up with terrific questions and insights that have lead to great family discussions.
All about “Breakfast with Jesus”
Heading into 2020, I have been thinking about what we’ll do during family devotion time. We don’t want to go through the same devotion book again. But it is also tricky to find a good devotion book for kids younger than teenagers. When fellow blogger Vanessa Myers mentioned a blog tour for her new devotion book for kids in a blogging group I’m a part of, I was excited to participate.
As a graduate of divinity school, children’s ministry director and mom of two girls, Myers knows a thing or two about sharing Jesus with children. While she had previously written two devotion books for adults, “Breakfast with Jesus” is her first devotion book for kids and, frankly, she’s done a great job.
I started reading through the devotion book on my own first to see what I thought about it and whether it would be a good fit for my family. I’m not interested in vague stories covering board topics. I shy away from writing that talks down to kids or talks above their understanding. I want something with a life application for them for now.
I was reading with a critical eye. And I ended up reading twice as many devotions as I planned to. They drew me in. The devotions go through the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and focus on the life of Jesus from his birth to his death to his ascension into heaven.
Each day has a short Bible reading, a focus verse, a devotion and a suggested activity that can be personal (starting a prayer journal) or community-oriented (donating to a food pantry). They were all practical ideas that worked or could be easily tweaked to work for most families.
(For example, one of the first suggestions is to go on a hike with your family and thanking God for the beauty of nature. If the weather isn’t agreeable for a hike, the car ride to school or even looking at photos of nature online could work the same way.)
While this is a book that my 10-year-old could read through on her own, it’s more than my 6- year-old could handle just yet. However, the book lends itself well to reading as a family.
My 10-year-old daughter read through a few on her own to give me feedback and really liked it. Her input was that she felt like Myers knew what she was talking about and made it relevant to her daily life. She liked that each devotion had a related prayer as well as feasible activities to live it out.
Myers suggests starting the day with the book, hence its title “Breakfast with Jesus.” The book even includes some breakfast recipes. It could be read at the family breakfast table. One Amazon reviewer said her kids read it out loud on the way to school. I think those options would work, but reading it in the evening would also be OK if that works better for your family. (It does for mine!)
The point is to help our kiddos develop a habit of getting into God’s Word and applying it to their lives in relevant ways that are based on sound doctrine. “Breakfast with Jesus” accomplishes that.
Giveaway details
You can buy “Breakfast with Jesus” on Amazon as a paperback for $13.99 or for Kindle for $8.99. But, you can also enter for a chance to win a complimentary copy from Vanessa Myers just for Families with Grace readers! You have a week to enter through the link below. Paper copies can be mailed within the United States while international copies can be sent digitally.
In order to enter the giveaway, you MUST “like” Families with Grace on Facebook and complete the giveaway form (below). You can earn extra entries by signing up for the Families with Grace email list (which will also give you a free copy of the 7-Day Acts of Grace Challenge Devotion AND 10 Ways to Start Living as a Family with Grace Now!), follow Families with Grace on Instagram, follow Families with Grace on Twitter and follow Families with Grace on Pinterest. Just indicate those options on the giveaway form. (You do not have to be new to Families with Grace to participate!)
a Rafflecopter giveawayThe giveaway starts at 12 a.m. EST on Dec. 30, 2019 and ends at 12 a.m. EST on Jan. 6, 2020. A winner will be randomly selected and, once confirmed that they fulfilled the mandatory guideline of “liking” Families with Grace on Facebook, will be announced on the Families with Grace Facebook page by 2 p.m. EST on Jan. 7, 2020.
Find the next stops on the “Breakfast with Jesus” blog tour on Jan. 6 at Fruitful Vine Woman and Homeschooling One Child.
