At our house, we joke about “turning over a new leaf.” It’s not a very funny joke, just one we fall back on when we feel the need to make a change, big or small. “It’ll be a whole new leaf!” we cry, determined to keep our bedroom tidy or to fold and put away the clean laundry before it engulfs our purple couch. But a few weeks later, cat hair drifts across the bedroom floor like tumbleweeds and we find ourselves asking, “Where is that new leaf anyway?”
Well, my friends, ’tis the season of new leaves. I know that some of you are renewing your gym membership while others scrutinize the very fine margins of your budget. You’re scouring your child’s toy box and donating half the toys to a good cause, or vowing to cut back on coffee/booze/sweets/Facebook, and so on.
Meanwhile, a handful of you are determined to be more intentional about reading to your children. You don’t want to read just anything to them, either: you’re thinking in words like “discipleship” and “training,” if you’re that sort, or you just want to fold something about God into your daily routine. You haven’t the nerve to tackle full-on Scripture and yet, you want to feed your children something substantial.
If you’re one of those folks, then I’d like to introduce you to Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing. Written by Sally Lloyd-Jones and illustrated by Jago, the team behind The Jesus Storybook Bible, this book is a devotional book for kids that is simple but not simplified, so it lends itself to a variety of uses. Older children can benefit richly from reading through it on their own, while families can read it together before bed or around the table. We like to read passages from it over breakfast, an association that has been cemented by our three-year-old, who calls it our “breakfast book.”
As always, Lloyd-Jones brings a depth and honesty to her writing that resonates with readers big and small: she doesn’t write down to anyone, which means that the whole family can enjoy the brief devotions (and stunning artwork). And from the verses cited after each entry, you can springboard into a deeper discussion of Scripture, if you feel so inclined.
Whatever your new leaf is this year: good luck! My goals are small this year, thanks to Phoebe, and consist of things like “brush teeth occasionally” and “start cooking again (eventually).” “Cuddle the baby as much as possible” tops my list, and I’m happy to report that I’ve got that one down pat.
Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing
Sally Lloyd-Jones, Jago (2012)