In January 2020, prior to the closing of many church doors due to COVID-19, I served as a Sunday school teacher at my church. Completing Bible lesson activities and posing related questions, I asked young girls how their love for someone grows?
Their response: You spend time with that person.
Then I asked, how do you grow in your love for God? This time they were instructed to draw their answers, and their illustrations were revealing. Most drew church buildings, highlighting the beautiful role church has in helping them know God and His Word. However, my daughter, the youngest in the group by several years, drew something entirely different–not a building but a person–her dad. She drew her and her father, a Bible in between them both, and a speech bubble that read, “Ask Daddy.”
This spoke deeply to my heart. The truth is that many parents, like me, have left our children’s spiritual development to Sunday school teachers or youth group leaders. Perhaps it’s because we’ve felt ill-equipped to help our children mature in this way. (“Leave it to the experts” was my subconscious belief.) Though we can undoubtedly honor and learn from church leaders, we are gifted with the vital responsibility to help shape our children’s spirituality.
Parents like me are being awakened to that truth, perhaps all the more after officials closed church doors. My daughter, Ariella, drew a timely point–a biblical one at that. Moses refers to it when he exhorts Israelite in Deuteronomy 6:7;9:
“Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up…. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
So, tag, parents! We’re it! Discipling our children in God’s Word is mainly our role. Not the church’s, not Sunday school teachers, not youth leaders, but ours! The question then becomes, how? How do parents support their children’s spiritual growth in an age-appropriate, fun, and effective way?
Julie Parido, the author of Draw the Verse, has our solution. It’s a unique, fun, and effective way to sow the seeds of Scripture into our hearts and minds–together!
Children and parents alike will enjoy bringing key verses to life through Parido’s debut book, Draw the Verse. Spending time together in God’s Word, you and your children will memorize key verses through drawing. Intentionally designed to give parents a creative and tried-and-true tool to cultivate a love for knowing God and remembering His Word, Draw the Verse is an exciting approach that you and your children will want to engage with week after week. What’s more, drawing is scientifically proven effective. According to Edutopia.org, “Across a series of experiments, researchers found drawing information to be a powerful way to boost memory, increasing recall by nearly double.”
Each of the 24 memory verses in Draw the Verse contains combined features to aid in the scripture memory journey:
READ IT! – introduction to the memory verse of the week,
DRAW IT! – two corresponding sketch illustrations to “draw the verse” with your children, complete with easy-to-follow instructions,
LEARN IT! – a kid-friendly verse explanation,
DISCUSS IT! – questions to aid in conversations surrounding the verse
LIVE IT! – ideas for practical application along with a weekly prayer prompt, and
STUDY IT! – additional scripture references for further study related to the memory verse.
For 24 weeks, Julie Parido invites kids and parents to add their creative touch to verse-specific illustrations that will help you memorize God’s Word together through drawing. As children visualize and illustrate scriptures, research proves this further embeds seeds of truth into their minds, ready to be applied to life at a moment’s notice.
Draw the Verse is where scripture memory meets science. This easy-to-use, engaging tool with its research-based approach will inspire kids and parents to experience the Bible in a fresh and creative way, which even novice drawers can enjoy with ease. Children’s (and parents’) artwork can then be prominently displayed, serving as a springboard for further conversation throughout each of the 24 weeks.
Memorizing God’s word has never been more creative, fun, and scientifically backed! Parents, it’s time we enjoy quality time drawing the Word of God into your children’s hearts and minds—all from our kitchen tables.
Draw the Verse is just what you and your children will enjoy, so pick up your copy today. Parents become the “experts” when we engage our children with God’s Word the Draw the Verse way!
Written by Marissa Aulick
Featured Image by Wokandapix from Pixabay
DRAW THE VERSE
Julie Parido
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