The Very Best, Hands-On, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions by Tim Shoemaker (book review)
How can you not be tempted by a book with that title?! And tempted in a good way because family devotions are a good, godly thing! But, let's be honest, they can get to be dull. And frustrating (probably for kids, but definitely for parents). Have you ever sat your kids down and have this grand plan in your head of how they are going to revel in your wisdom and worship songs, just raising their hands singing to the Lord. No? Just me? Moving on...
Anyway, Tim Shoemaker's The Very Best, Hands-On, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions brings you an answer to the dull. The 52 devotions found in this book can be called many things but not dull. They are activities that get your kids involved and center around Christ.
My family hasn't had the book long so we haven't done many of the devotions...in fact, we've done one. It was "Christianity and the $2 Bill;" the theme: "A true relationship with Christ changes everything and should make us inseparable from Christ. I happened to have $2 bills saved back for the kids so the prep was nothing for me! We talked about how a $2 bill has a little something that makes it more valuable than 2 $1 bills - it's rare and unique. You use the $1 bill to showcase how we are our own people most of the time - spending ourselves the way we want. We feel like our own master but in reality, we were slaves to sin (Romans 6:17-18). The $2 bill "represents our being forever joined together with Christ (Romans 6:19-22). The book suggests giving each kid their own $2 bill as a reminder to remain in Christ throughout the week - I kept theirs for save keeping and hung one up on our bulletin board.
It was a nice, quick, easy devotional for us. I know they are not all like that. This one was too long and too dull for my 4-year-old but the big boys seemed to understand and maintain some interest. It helped I passed out candy while they were listening.
One thing I dislike about this book - and it's not the book's fault, but just the life season I'm in - is that it demands preparation. Lame, I know. But with kids 12, 10, 4, and 1, life is just chaos - even when we don't have outside activities. So the devotions I'm looking at doing next are ones that require less prep. That's not to say they won't be just as foundational and fun. Plus, my big boys are easily impressed, which is a bonus for me.
I'm going to move on to the Pick Your Poison devotion. Each devotion has a theme; this one is "Dangers of compromising, letting the world seep in." You go to the grocery store to the cleaning aisle (with your kids). They have 15 minutes to "record as many product names as they can that contain some kind of warning like 'poison...'" Then you go home (or, the devotional says, out to eat is better so kids don't scatter when you get home). The lesson talks about how a grocery store is full of good food but in the middle of this good food are products harmful to us, some that could even kill us. We teach the kids about toxic friendships and other examples of things that may be toxic to a Christian.
That's one of the tamer devotionals. Others include items like fire, squirt guns, Jell-O brains, dry ice, going to the cemetery or funeral home, and making or using a potato gun. Like I said, I am starting with the tamer ones with less prep because of my season of life, but I've read through almost all of them and I can't wait to do more! There are some that are dangerous or are for older kids, but there is so much put into this book to help you as a parent lead.
I feel like this would be a great thing for youth pastors and leaders to use to help teach kids also. So could be a great gift for them!
I could go on and on but I think you'll just have to get your own copy to start on these adventurous devotionals with your family!
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and may not be the same as yours. Links in this blog post link to AmazonSmile where, if you chose to purchase via this link, you would be supporting Emmaus University in Haiti.
Anyway, Tim Shoemaker's The Very Best, Hands-On, Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions brings you an answer to the dull. The 52 devotions found in this book can be called many things but not dull. They are activities that get your kids involved and center around Christ.
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| image via Baker Book House |
It was a nice, quick, easy devotional for us. I know they are not all like that. This one was too long and too dull for my 4-year-old but the big boys seemed to understand and maintain some interest. It helped I passed out candy while they were listening.
One thing I dislike about this book - and it's not the book's fault, but just the life season I'm in - is that it demands preparation. Lame, I know. But with kids 12, 10, 4, and 1, life is just chaos - even when we don't have outside activities. So the devotions I'm looking at doing next are ones that require less prep. That's not to say they won't be just as foundational and fun. Plus, my big boys are easily impressed, which is a bonus for me.
I'm going to move on to the Pick Your Poison devotion. Each devotion has a theme; this one is "Dangers of compromising, letting the world seep in." You go to the grocery store to the cleaning aisle (with your kids). They have 15 minutes to "record as many product names as they can that contain some kind of warning like 'poison...'" Then you go home (or, the devotional says, out to eat is better so kids don't scatter when you get home). The lesson talks about how a grocery store is full of good food but in the middle of this good food are products harmful to us, some that could even kill us. We teach the kids about toxic friendships and other examples of things that may be toxic to a Christian.
That's one of the tamer devotionals. Others include items like fire, squirt guns, Jell-O brains, dry ice, going to the cemetery or funeral home, and making or using a potato gun. Like I said, I am starting with the tamer ones with less prep because of my season of life, but I've read through almost all of them and I can't wait to do more! There are some that are dangerous or are for older kids, but there is so much put into this book to help you as a parent lead.
I feel like this would be a great thing for youth pastors and leaders to use to help teach kids also. So could be a great gift for them!
I could go on and on but I think you'll just have to get your own copy to start on these adventurous devotionals with your family!
Disclaimer: I received this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and may not be the same as yours. Links in this blog post link to AmazonSmile where, if you chose to purchase via this link, you would be supporting Emmaus University in Haiti.
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