We have a ten-year old. I've had a delightful time this past year tracing all the ways my daughter is growing in her faith. While I'd be the first to admit I don't know if we're doing this faith-training "right," I'm pleased when I see evidence of the Holy Spirit in her young life. As I consider our summer together, I keep hearing God whisper a certain word in my spirit. He does that to me, as I wrote about here. Rather than choosing a word for a year, as some do, he gives me words for certain seasons.

When it comes to the summer stretching out before us with my little girl, the word is intentional.

We'll be intentional with time in God's word, and offering further instruction about being a Christian in today's church. We can't guarantee the outcome of our children's faith upbringing, that's God's job, but we can help them along the way every opportunity we're given. 

I pray she'll grow up knowing two things: 1) Jesus is the yes to every life situation she might experience. 2) We find Jesus, and community, at church; both our local church and among the wider fellowship of believers.

So, here are the books we're using to help our daughter grow in her faith this summer:

Three Minute Devotions for Little Hearts (by Jean Fischer) approx. 7-12 years old

She received this devotional from her GEMS teacher, and she came home excited to have her very own devotional book (like Mom). It sits on her night stand and she reads it every night before one of us goes in to give her the priestly blessing. Devotions were a huge part of my young faith, so it does my heart good to see her doing this on her own.

History Lives Box Set: Chronicles of the Church (by Brandon and Mindy Withrow) approx. 10-15 years old.

We're going to read this set together. Maybe I'm looking forward to it more than she is, but later she'll thank me. I've shared on here before all the elements of the Christian faith I didn't ever hear about growing up; spiritual disciplines, the church calendar, and church history. I'm exposing my daughter to all that I can, so she'll know her place in an ancient, eternal faith under the headship of Jesus Christ. 

The Action Bible: God's Redemptive Story (edited by Doug Mauss, Illustrated by Sergio Cariello) approx. 4-15 years old.

My daughter has read through the Bible in its entirety one time so far, and this is the Bible she used to do it. Simply put, I love this Bible. It tells the story chronologically, has amazing illustrations and reads like a graphic novel. This one also sits on her night stand and she returns to it again and again. 

Kids Read 1 and 2 Corinthians (She Reads Truth) approx. 7-12 years old.

There are a limited number of resources to help children develop a daily habit of studying God's word. That's why I am a LOYAL customer of the She Reads Truth "Kids Read Truth" collection. I've told you about them before. Last summer, we did a Bible study on Romans. It had verses to memorize, question/answer sections, word searches, crossword puzzles, coloring pages, etc. Very interactive, and this year we'll be studying Corinth. I'd encourage you to browse their entire kids section for ideas, because the card sets they offer are excellent as well. I'm sold.