Today is the Feast of St. Francis on the traditional church calendar. Catholic or Protestant, there are lessons to be learned from Francis of Assisi’s story. He’s known in Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches as the patron saint of animals and the environment. Born into privilege and wealth, he eventually gave it all up to serve Christ and further the gospel.
I’ve written often about how important I think it is to teach the Bible to children as one big story rather than a collection of loosely related stories with a moral or lesson about God. A close second for me is the importance of teaching our children their spiritual heritage…the history of the church from the days of Acts right up to the present day. When we do, we so clearly see God’s hands on major events in history (which is, after all, really “His Story”), and there are many, many figures throughout the history of the church, from the early church fathers, to the Reformers, to modern missionaries, whose lives are wonderful examples for us and our children. We need to be familiar with and take advantage of our rich heritage! This is why I love Crossway’s new title, The Church History ABCs (keep an eye out…I may have an extra copy of that one to share in the near future!).
I’ve also referred to Loyola Kids Book of Saints
Take advantage of these “teachable moments” with your kids!
I’ll leave you with the “Prayer of St. Francis” (which may or may not have actually originated with him):
- Lord, make me an instrument of your peace;
- where there is hatred, let me sow love;
- where there is injury, pardon:
- where there is despair, hope
- where there is darkness, light
- where there is sadness, joy
- O Divine Master,
- grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console;
- to be understood, as to understand;
- to be loved, as to love;
- for it is in giving that we receive,
- it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
- and it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life.
- Amen.
-
Don’t miss the rest of my Family Discipleship series to read about other resources our family has found helpful.
If you’d like to make sure not to miss future updates, you might want to consider subscribing by email or feed, and be sure to check out the new Home With Purpose Facebook page also!
and 
are aimed at 8 to 12 year olds. They’re fairly short…just over 100 pages each…but packed full of Biblical truth.
“Blinking Fireflies” 
, which I’m using with my preschoolers right now. Well, earlier this week 
The video is well worth your time. I encourage you to 
: This fantastic resource is 600+ pages! It covers the 
historical and spiritual purposes of each day, has Bible studies to go along with each one, not to mention a multitude of activities, crafts, recipes, games, and songs. It’s set up so that it can be used as a year-long unit study for homeschoolers, but 
the format is designed where you can easily pick and choose ideas without doing it all. Many excerpt are available at 
by Martha Zimmerman is another great resource. She carefully explains each feast from 
: Simple and straightforward, this 
: A fantastic resource for older kids. It includes background information, a “Digging Deeper” section with personal application, an “Exploring Scripture” section with a brief Bible study, an explanation of current traditions, ideas for celebration, and a memory verse for each holiday. Excellent!
with my two youngest (four and one) in mind, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that my older two (twelve and nine) enjoy them just as much!
