1 Peter

 We've been studying 1 Peter as a family and at church lately.  We are participating in the Bible Bee this year.  They send participants a curriculum for the summer.  It is an in depth study of a book of the Bible- this year its 1 Peter.  Along with the study, participants are given lots of verses from various books to memorize.  It is a lot of work and commitment!  My husband and I have been able to join in the memorizing, too- what a blessing.  It is so easy not to take the time to memorize Scripture!  How else can we hide His Word in our hearts?  While memorizing so many verses all at once, I can't help but meditate on them, too.  It is so life- giving and joyful and peace- provoking.  Now, will I remember all of them...I've already forgotten a few.  But I've still benefited a great deal. 

3yo boy loves to hold a Bible if our family devotions end up being late (past his usual bedtime).  On more than one occasion, he has grabbed one just to snuggle up with.  I think its cute. 

My favorite verses, so far, in 1 Peter are:

1 Peter 2:4-5  Coming to Him as to a living stone, rejected indeed by men, but chosen by God and precious, you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

There is so much depth to this passage.  We run this race for great purposes!!!!

Family Devotions

I thought I'd share how the Lord has blessed us with a helpful resource for family devotions. We visited a church on our last vacation (to Texas). We found that they encouraged what they called Family Alter Study Time. They offered a free printable "curriculum" that each family could follow throughout the week at home. The Scriptures and topics coincided with the topic for the following church service.



We decided to use those plans they had already so thoughtfully put together for our own use. Since my husband is the preacher at our little church, he is able to adjust a FAST to fit the topic for the week and add/change things if need be. Then, he can offer them to the families in our church who are interested in participating. (However, I would find it useful for our family even if we didn't do it as a church.) Since the focus for a week is not too broad and we cover the same passages most days, we get a good grasp on it. When Sunday rolls around and the children (and adults) who have studied it hear about it in the message, they perk up and are able to answer questions and get involved.



It has been a major support for our family because it is a simple plan for the whole week. It is something we can really stick to. If we fall behind it is not difficult to jump right back in. We like to do our family alter study time just before bedtime. But, we can adjust and do it during dinner if we know there are other things happening. We've even rarely done it in the car while traveling. It is a fairly short, but meaningful time for us to hear from God's Word as a family, hide it in our hearts- and to do it consistently.

My husband chooses a memory verse to add the the FAST each week. We have this old barber's station in our living room that had a scratched up mirror. I scraped it and painted it gray, and got very tired of looking at the blank piece of glass for years. Then, I realized I could write on it with white board markers! So that is where I write our weekly verses- it has helped ME tremendously in memorizing them.

So, here is the link if you are interested in looking at the FAST plans. Happy family devotions.

http://www.fairparkbaptist.org/FAST/FAST.html