Watering

 Gardens need plants to be a garden; we also have to keep those weeds out, but let us not forget that plants will never grow without water.

Ephesians 5:26 "That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,"

 The Word of God is likened to water in this passage. Reading Bible stories to your children right out of the Bible is great. They love it. Why not read to them about Noah straight out of the Bible. Let them picture what they think Noah looks like. How about Jonah and the big fish? Let them hear how Jesus spit in the dirt and rubbed it in the eyes of a blind man and it healed him, or of how he stuck his fingers in the ears of a deaf man and spit on the ground and the deaf was made to hear. Don’t you think they would enjoy it? Give them a love for the word of God by showing them how exciting the stories are in the Bible. Read it to them daily.

 One of the best rewards we give our children is a Bible. They are not allowed to carry a Bible when they are young. I want them to know that the Bible is not just another book, but an important special book. When they start learning how to read out of a lesson book I then let them carry a small New Testament. As an incentive to finish the book they are rewarded with a Bible of their own. Oh what a happy day when they get to go and pick out their own Bible. We then start in Genesis and let them read the word of God themselves. We take our time at it. They may only read one verse at a time. We slowly work up to reading more as they can handle it. I never want it to be a burden. It is such a blessing to see the day they have read the Bible completely through. It is an accomplishment that most adults can’t say they have done. They are getting something more out of it than anything I can do. They are learning how to read out of the Bible. They are getting washed by the words of God. They are getting a since of accomplishment as they read the word of God.

 Having children memorize the word of God is a good thing as well. It is not only watering the garden but also planting seeds as it waters. There are some easy verses for children to learn. You could half some of the bigger ones. If your child is older, then they could say the whole verse, or you could take two weeks to learn it instead of one. Learning a verse is quite easy. At first I read the verse to the child. Then I have them repeat it after me a little at a time. We then practice the verse once every day. This could be at the same time that you read a Bible story to them or they read to you. By the end of the week the verse is memorized. You can start the practice of learning verses at young ages such as 2 years of age. I have had a child learn the books of the Bible at that age thinking all the while he was playing.

Here are a couple you could start out with.

• Ephesians 6:1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
• Colossians 3:20 Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord.
• Matthew 5:16a Let your light so shine before men, …
• Proverbs 20:11 Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure, and whether it be right.

 There are so many good ones. You can pick them according to something that your child may be learning at the time or needs to learn such as "Children obey your parents in the Lord".

 Memorizing verses and reading the Bible is not only watering the soul of your child but is also good for them. It is an excellent speech therapy time as you help them to pronounce the words. It is good exercise for their brain.