One of the things I’ve really tried to be intentional about, especially as Emma is entering her teen years, is getting her in the Word. Over the years, we’ve done a bit of reading together here and there. We’ve read all the children’s Bibles on our shelves – many times. We’ve check out more from the library.
We’ve read selected passages as they come up in our homeschool lessons. And, we’ve worked on memorizing Bible verses from a very early age.
Now, however, I want to switch from momma-led Bible reading to intentional reading. Reading for knowledge. Reading to seek to know more about Him. Reading because she wants to grow closer to the Lord for herself.
Teen Girls in the Word
Let your daughters see you reading the Bible. Last year, I committed to reading the Bible from cover to cover with She Reads Truth. It was so awesome sticking with it and marking each book “read” as I wrapped it up.
While Emma (12) didn’t read through with me, she did check in on me periodically. She cheered me on all year long. I hope this entices her to read through the Bible and learn God’s word long before she hits her forties!
Study the Bible with them. For the past few years, we’ve been working our way through the worldview series from Apologia. We’ve done one per year, and we’ll finish that series next year. They’ve been great books that have opened up discussions about what we believe and comparing that to other religions.
After we finished our worldview book this year, we decided to try out The Bible Road Trip. I’ve had it on my computer forever, but I’d never opened it up to explore it. I can’t believe I waited so long. We love it! Basically, this curriculum will take us through the entire Bible over the course of three years (though it will likely take us longer). We are reading each selection (about 3 chapters/day) out loud taking turns with each new paragraph. It’s so cool to think that when we’re through, we’ll have read (out loud) the entire Bible!
Give them study tools of their own. In order to encourage Emma to study the Bible on her own, I’ve given her some of my favorite tools. First, she has a spiral notebook for writing verses and study notes. She writes them with our favorite erasable gel pens
Get them a Bible of their own. When our kids get baptized, we give them their very own Bibles. This is a big milestone, and we want to encourage them on this monumental day.
Recently, I discovered a new Bible specifically written for teen girls. The NIV Bible for Teen Girls is an incredible resource, and Emma has traded in her first Bible for this one. She really likes all the unique features this Bible has.
- She loves the color scheme. The greens and peachy-pinks make this Bible so pretty, and she loves to take it to church with her.
- The introduction pages are her favorite. Each book has an introduction page that includes information about the time period and characters in each book. There are a few familiar verses highlighted, as well. But the best part is the summary. She likes to read the summary before she dives in so that she has an overview of what she’s about to read. I specifically like this for the Old Testament books that often make my eyes cross as I read through the battles and names I can barely pronounce.
- As I was thumbing through her new Bible, I noticed that many verses are highlighted by the publisher. Upon further investigation, I discovered that these are ‘promises of God’ or verses worth remembering. I play to pull some of these out for us to memorize together.
- She loves the devotions. Each devotion is written by popular Christian females including Bethany Hamilton. Each starts with a bible reading, and then the devotion ties into that.
- She’s learning more about women of the Bible. 50 women are highlighted throughout this Bible in separate character sketches. Each one digs a little deeper into the women God used to spread the Word or those he used to teach valuable lesson.
Good luck!