801 Questions Kids Ask about God

November 4, 2008 by Rick Osborne  
Filed under Resources for Parents

801 QUESTIONS CHLDREN ASK ABOUT GOD

The best time to teach anyone anything is when he or she asks a question. Why? Because that is the time when the questioner has a desire to learn. Unfortunately, when our children ask us questions about God, Heaven, the Bible etc. we are often not prepared with the answers and the moment passes. Or worse yet we do our best to answer without really knowing for sure what the Bible says.

This book is a compilation of the original 8 books in the ‘101 Questions Kids Ask’ series. It was put together to provide parents with a handy reference for help answering their children’s questions when they arise.

The big difference between this compilation and the original books is that only a small amount of the over 800 illustrations have been included and the ones that are included are very small. This is ideal if you want the handy reference but if you are looking for a family devotional for your young children (ages 4 – 8 ) or a personal devotional for your older children (ages 7 – 12) it is best to use the original individual titles. The illustrations draw the children in and keep them wanting more.

Ideal as a ready reference for families with children of all ages.  Buy Now

Amazing Questions Kids Ask Series

November 3, 2008 by Rick Osborne  
Filed under Resources for Kids

AMAZING QUESTIONS SERIES

The best time to teach anyone anything is when they ask a question. Why? Because that is the time when the questioner has a desire to learn. Unfortunately, when our children ask us questions about God, Heaven, the Bible etc. we are often not prepared with the answers and the moment passes. Or worse yet we do our best to answer without really knowing for sure what the Bible says. This series of books was created to help with this need and help parents give their children great answers when they are the most curious. In order to really make the book authentic every question we used was actually asked by a real kid. Millions of families have not only used these books for a handy reference but also as family and children’s devotionals to inspire more curiosity. Can be read with 4 – 8 year olds and is also ideal for use as a personal devotional for 7 – 12 year olds to use on their own.

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Kid’s Quest Study Bible

November 1, 2008 by Rick Osborne  
Filed under Resources for Kids

KID’S QUEST STUDY BIBLE

This best-selling whole text Bible is ideal for curious 6 – 9 year olds. Over 500 real questions that children actually asked with answers from the Bible and winsome illustration are appropriately placed throughout the Bible text to draw your child in.

This Bible is ideal when used in combination with the Amazing Questions Kids Ask books as a Bible/devotional combination that will help you move your child from a Bible Storybook to a whole text Bible when the time is right.

The Jason & Max characters and the Q&A format are common in both resources so that as your child moves back and forth both a seamless continuity and your child’s interest are maintained.

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Talking to your Children about God

October 27, 2008 by Rick Osborne  
Filed under Resources for Parents

TALKING TO YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT GOD

A parent’s practical guide to God, Bible stories, children and church, bedtime prayers, virtues, and other spiritual stuff.

This book answers over thirty how-to questions commonly asked by parents about everything Christian.

Questions like, “How can I show my children that the Bible is trustworthy?” and, “What can I tell my kids about Heaven?”

The text does not just stop with the answers but moves beyond and supplies easy tools for getting the job done.

This book is recommended for parents who want practical hands on help with the basics.

A great gift idea for new parents, for relatively new Christians with kids, or for those who are contemplating reconnecting with their Christian heritage now that they have kids.

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What would you change about your family

September 25, 2008 by Rick Osborne  
Filed under Family LIfe

I’m not a fan of the Simpsons but I had to chuckle when I heard an ad for the show. Homer said, “Why do things that happen to stupid people keep happening to me?”

Very few of us would ever seriously ask that same question but how about if we tweaked it slightly, “Why do things that take place in stupid families keep on happening in mine?”

Isn’t that kind of what we’re asking when we get frustrated and throw out questions like, “Why must everything be a fight?” “Can’t anyone clean up after themselves?” “Would it hurt anyone to help out a bit for a change?” “For once, could you please just get along?”

One day many years ago, a friend and fellow worker very politely pointed out that I had a bad habit of interrupting him pretty much whenever he spoke. I admitted I had the problem, apologized and told him that I was going to do something about it. In the days that followed, he politely reminded me time and time again. I responded the same way each time.

A week or two later my friend reached the end of his patience and said, “Every time I talk about this, you say that you’re going to do something about it. Stop putting it off! Make a decision to change and do something about it now.”

I stopped and prayed on the spot for God’s help and I made a decision. Once the decision was made, I began paying attention and I put some effort into learning the skills I needed like really listening and following up with a question.

Albert Einstein once defined insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

I stopped interrupting however the biggest benefit of my friend’s rebuke was that I later learned how to apply the change principle in my family. Let me give you a brief example.

Once our family was suffering from chronic tornado kitchen syndrome. At first I whined, I complained and I asked the ‘Homer Simpson’ style questions.

My wonderful wife pointed out that perhaps we needed to do something different if we wanted change. (Where had I heard that before?) After some prayer and thought, I taped a note to the kitchen counter and had a family meeting and the fun began. If a single thing was out of place after someone left the kitchen they were on kitchen duty until the next time someone was caught. For awhile everyone was catching everyone else and kitchen duty revolved frequently. Within a few weeks everyone was getting the hang of ‘the game’ and those caught were spending longer periods of time on kitchen duty which made it even more important not to mess up.

What needs to change in your family? Is it the way you communicate with each other, are the kids not helping out, is the sibling rivalry fierce, are you constantly cleaning up after everyone? Here’s what you do, pick one thing that you want to change, pray about it and ask for wisdom. Now go looking for wisdom, search this site or other Christian parenting sites, Google the problem, read a parenting book, anything you need to do to find an idea or solution.

Proverbs 9 says that wisdom has prepared a huge banquet and she’s yelling, “Come and get it.” Finding the wisdom is very seldom difficult once you’ve decided on change. Now have a family meeting and get started.

What I found out was that small efforts at change can yield big results. A simple fun game in the kitchen led to everyone learning skills that began to spread to the rest of the house. My simple decision to stop interrupting people led me to better communication skills and therefore to better and stronger relationships.

The things that happen to stupid people happen to Homer Simpson and us not because we’re stupid but because we keep doing the same things over and over again and that’s stupid. And if we expect any change without changing, according to Einstein, that’s insane. Start today and fight stupidity and insanity with a little change.

For more quick and easy parenting tips for bringing change to your family, we recommend the e-Book “The Seven Mistakes Parents of Toddlers Make”

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(RICK OSBORNE / Christian Author, Speaker & Dad – your source for Christian Parenting advice)