The past few weeks have been hectic, filled with holiday-prep and sneaking around doing various elfin projects. It may be a poor excuse, but that is my reason for being absent these past two week - holiday secrets!

A couple of weeks ago, in one of my many online shopping trips, I found a book that I wanted to buy for Seth & I to read together. After trips to three (!) area bookstores, I found what I was looking for:

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We've been reading this every morning for the past week, and have really enjoyed it. Like the name says, the devotions are short and simple. When I wake up, I call Seth to come and join me (he is, by nature, a VERY early riser, and is already up and dressed). We snuggle in bed, and read the devotion together. The lessons are short, and consist of a kid-friendly translation of scripture, a "real-life" analogy and application section, and then a 2-3 sentence prayer that applies the days lesson. The format is great, and we typically spend about 10-15 minutes reading and talking each morning. It has been such a great addition to our morning routine, and I'm hoping that we are able to maintain the practice throughout the year.

There are many (many, many, many) options for kids when it comes to Bible study, devotions, real-life applications, etc., but" Day by Day" stood out for many reasons, and I'm glad that I went with this one. First of all, I love that the lessons are meant to be short. While we take longer than the 7 minutes implied by the title, I was specifically looking for something that we could do in the mornings before school, without adding stress or a "let's get this done so we can go" type of feeling. These lessons fit the bill perfectly. Also, when I looked at the book, the first lesson I saw fit Seth perfectly...

"Laughing and playing with friends can be fun. Being with your family can be fun too. But when no one else is around, it's easy to get lonely and sad. Jacob felt lonely until God showed him that he wasn't really alone."

This is something that the Peanut struggles with. He loves to be around his family, and it is tough for him that he is always apart from someone...when he is with us, he misses his mother, and when he is with her, he misses us. At age 7, we still maintain a pallet on the floor of our bedroom, where Seth can be found every morning. He typically wanders in around 2am, just wanting to be in the same room as us. We welcome this, and I always want my children to know that if they need me, I am available - even if that means just being in the same room. This lesson reinforced what we always tell Seth - you are never alone.

2011 school pic (with vampire costume bow)

I'm excited about continuing the lessons, and to time spent in bed with my little man, talking through things that will help us both grow in our faith. Because, really, who wouldn't want to spend more time with that guy? :-)