Devotional Picks

I have been on the hunt recently for another family devotions book to do with my kids around the dinner table. The one above was recommended by a friend from church, so I picked it up at a local Bible bookstore.

It's listed as an 8-12 year old book, but it's probably not going to hold the interest of anyone over the age of 11. It certainly is full of odd and interesting animals -- each devotion is along the lines of a "What am I?" quiz, with lots of info about the animal, but not revealing what it is until the very end. Then there's a scripture and an application lesson followed by a prayer. The devotions are short -- maybe even too short -- and they feel light on content, especially spiritual. In fact, the spiritual content almost feels like an afterthought. The devotions seem targeted for much younger kids; I think a child as young as 5 could probably track with this pretty well, though the social/spiritual issues might not ring any bells with them quite yet. It does have some pictures, but they're cartoony, not meant to faithfully render the animals in the devotions. Still, any pictures are helpful with smaller kids.

I am going to try this one for a few more days with my kids, but I think it may go back to the store. My hunch is that it might work better as a read-on-your-own book than as a family devotion.


Did You Know Devotions was option two. I liked this one, maybe because I'm kind of a trivia geek. It's actually quite similar in format to Weird and Wacky, but instead of wild animal facts, it tells little stories about odd occurrences in history -- like a recipe book sent out with a recipe for caramel which was missing a key ingredient. Without that ingredient (water) the mixture would actually explode on the stove. The story is then tied to a biblical truth and a life lesson. It's for 6-8 year olds, but I think it could go a little older -- maybe to 10 or 11, depending on interest level. It seems to be better adapted for family devotions and it seemed to have a little more spiritual heft than the first book. No pictures in this one, so not as little kid-friendly.

Still looking for the perfect devotional....