Little Visits at Bedtime: 105 Devotions and Prayers - Hardcover

Mary Manz Simon

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0758634420 ISBN 13: 9780758634429

Publisher: Concordia Pub House, 2012

Synopsis

Bedtime routines are especially important to your child's health and your sanity. It's the opportunity to turn off all the gadgets and electronics so you can share valuable time with your child, and it's a great time to anchor your family in faith in Jesus. Here's what author and practical parenting specialist Mary Manz Simon says:

Bedtime is more than a bridge between day and night. For a child, sleep-time conversations are an opportunity to review the day and share fears, hopes, and dreams. Shielded from the day's distractions, at bedtime, we recapture the purity of the parent-child relationship. The brief talk-triggers in Little Visits at Bedtime & will help you and your child expand on both the big events and small details that define life and God is truly with him or her. A little visit with God at bedtime transitions a child into a gentle close of the day as he moves from your loving arms to the comforting arms of his heavenly Father.

-Mary Manz Simon-
Little Visits at Bedtime was written for the sole purpose of helping your child make a smooth transition from a busy day to bedtime. It helps you and your child focus your thoughts and conversations on the blessings of your day and God's gifts to you. Every element on every page has a very specific purpose and intent.
Each bedtime Little Visit includes:

For Child and Parent
Let's Remember - a Bible verse
A Devotional Story - the devotional stories are long enough to trigger thought but short enough to allow time for parent-child conversation
Let's Talk - an open ended question to spark thought and conversation
A Bedtime Prayer - a bedtime prayer to be said before lights-out

For the Parent
Parent Connection - practical ideas and content related to child development
Bringing It Home - foundational content for your own spiritual growth
For more than 50 years the Little Visits series has been associated with family devotions that share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with children! Each book in the series reinforces scriptural truths and faith concepts centered on God's love for us through Christ Jesus.

About this title

About the Author

Dr. Mary Manz Simon is an early childhood educator and award-winning author with more than three million books sold.

Review

My 7 year old son and I have been talking about how God speaks to us. He was discouraged because he had never heard God's voice yet. I have tried to explain that God does speak to us in many ways, including through His word, the Bible. Seeing or Hearing is believing for kids - and adults.

On the night before my son's 1st day of school this year, God spoke to him through Little Vists at Bedtime.

Elijah was nervous about going to school. He didn't want to go to school because he wanted to be home and enjoy summer longer. I must admit that I felt exactly the same way!

We opened up Little Vists at Bedtime as we have been for the previous week. The title of the lesson was Puppy in School. How appropriate as my son was starting school the next day and we were planning on getting a puppy the next weekend. The story was about a service dog that was going to training school to help blind people. The story was simple and it was fun for my son to think about his future puppy. However, the Bible verse was pivotal.

Do not be anxious about your life. Matthew 6:25

God was telling my son not be to anxious about his life, not about school, not about the bus, not about friends, not about summer being over, not about anything. I used this time to also read another very helpful verse about being anxious.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Phillippians 4:6.

Author Mary Manz Simon states, For a child, sleep-time conversations are an opportunity to review the day and share fears, hopes, and dreams. This night's devotional allowed my child to talk about his fears and to have hope and peace from God. I was worried that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep because of his anxiety about school, as this has happened in the past. After I left his bedroom he was fast asleep by 8:30 pm. This was close to a miracle for my son to be asleep so early the night before a highly anticipated day. I'm sure it was because of this book and God's blessing on him. --Cindy Orley - Top Akron Blogger

Edition details

• Publisher: Concordia Pub House
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0758634420
• ISBN 13: 9780758634429
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 224