Setting Patterns

Every time I talk to a young boy or girl of reading age, I ask the same question.
What book are you reading?
They know that they are going to get that question from me.
Often, I know the book they are talking about; sometimes they have to describe it for me.

The question is not just a talking point.
The question is not just small talk.
The question is an important one.
It is an important question because reading is important.

Come into my home and you will know how important reading is to me and my family.
We have books everywhere.
I want to hold the actual book in my hand.
I want to see it, feel it, and be able to write in it as well.

The books are a part of me.
The books are a part of the history of our family.
Many hours were spent reading aloud.
My children read books on their own but I read aloud to them throughout their childhood.

Some of my fondest memories are sitting on the porch swing, under a blanket and reading.
Some of my fondest memories are sitting on the floor between my boys’ beds and reading.
Trips to the library were every other week.
Choosing books and making the library day a special activity was so important to me.

I look at the three tall bookshelves that hold the books I read to my children and smile.
I can find a book in an instant.
I can remember who loved which book.
I can remember how many times we read some of their favorites.

My daughter and my precious granddaughter came over on the weekend.
We were talking about the daily routine that is being established.
Everything is still so new.
Patterns are being laid down, even this young.

It was a simple remark made in passing.
I asked my daughter to repeat it.
What I heard the first time was correct.
What I heard warmed my heart.

Every night, when we put her to bed, we read a story from the Jesus Storybook Bible.
We just read Noah’s Ark last night, she added.
My precious granddaughter is two weeks old.
She may not understand the words that are being read to her, but she will.

Reading aloud is about voice, cadence, expression, and time to be close.
Reading aloud is about being together.
Reading aloud is sharing a story.
Reading aloud is an opportunity to teach in an enjoyable way.

Even though my granddaughter is only two weeks old, her mom and dad are setting patterns.
They are beginning to do something now that they will continue to do through her childhood.
They are lovers of books and avid readers.
Their daughter will catch their enthusiasm and joy in the written word.

They are washing their daughter in the water of the Word of God.
Even now, even this young, they are allowing her to hear God’s Word before she falls asleep.
They are setting a pattern for their sweet daughter.
As she grows, she will learn; the words will be Life to her just like they are Life to her parents.

This is not a lesson in futility.
This is a beginning of a lifetime love of reading God’s Word.
This is the beginning of learning about the Lord Jesus.
This is the beginning of talking to Him in prayer.

A Winnie the Pooh book is sitting on a small table next to a comfy rocking chair.
I gave that collection to my granddaughter because her mother and father loved it so.
They will read that to her, and other wonderful books as well, to help her imagination.
They will share their love of books as they begin her on a journey of wonder.

These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. (Deuteronomy 6:1-9)

My granddaughter is already the recipient of this peripatetic type of teaching.
Peripatetic teaching is teaching that is done while walking alongside.
It is living and breathing what you teach as you go about your day.
It is natural, not forced teaching; it is part of the way of things.

How blessed she is to have a mom and dad who take her teaching seriously.
They have much to teach their little girl.
First and foremost, they will teach her about the Lord Jesus whom they love and serve.
They want her to know Him; they pray for her to have a vibrant, saving faith.

It is their responsibility as Christian parents to teach her God’s Word.
It is our responsibility as her family to come alongside them in support as they teach her.
I have my own copy of the Jesus Storybook Bible.
I am sure it will be opened many times as I cuddle with my granddaughter.

There are many books I want to share with her.
There are many books I want to share with all the grandchildren God chooses to sends us.
The most important book is God’s Word.
Sally Lloyd Jones, who complied the Jesus Storybook Bible for children, said it best.

Every story whispers His name.
Amen.