My Bedtime Story Bible

When my children were young, we sang through chores, memorized Bible verses I'd written on index cards, and ended each day with a story and a prayer. Today, kids often put themselves to bed without so much as a “night, night.” Things change! But as Christians we have the power to effect change for the good.

Establishing a bedtime routine with your children, grandchildren, or other kids in your care begins with a decision to, yes, just do it! However, the strength of that resolve comes from a belief in the importance of ending each day with snuggle time and a word of blessing. What an inheritance this can be to each new generation!

Since parents who did not grow up with such routines might not know where to begin, author Jean E. Syswerda briefly addresses this in the “Introduction” to My Bedtime Story Bible with suggestions for using the book and personalizing the stories. The Bible has many, many stories, of course, but the ones selected will introduce children to key Bible characters with whom they can relate.

But, how can children identify with Adam and Eve or Noah, Joseph, and Moses or other Bible people who lived in different times and places foreign to most of us? As we grow and mature spiritually, our belief in God provides that ongoing connection, but until we’re awakened to a life lived by faith, one thing we all have in common is the need for sleep!

And so, after telling the story of Adam and Eve with word pictures and language children can understand, the author ends with “Good night, Adam. Good night, Eve. Good night. Sleep tight,” followed by a “Tuck in” prayer-thought pertinent to that particular story and a child’s bedtime needs for pleasant thoughts and a restful night. The colorful artistry of Daniel Howarth brings each story to life too, showing young readers a broad view of the Bible from Genesis through the life of Christ and the early church.

As we’re reminded to “Thank God for a warm and soft bed to sleep in,” may God help us to remember to pray for other Christians around the world and pray, too, for the restoration of the church as one Body of Christ in Jesus’ Name. Oh, what a sweet dream that is!

© 2014, Mary Harwell Sayler, reviewer


My Bedtime Story Bible, hardcover




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