Are your kids bonding with their Holy Shepherd?

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Lambs look so cuddly don’t they? (Yes, dirt and all.)

My favorite stuffed animal as a child was a lamb. Yep. Serious loving. If that sheep could have talked it probably would have said, “Stop squeezing me so tight!”

Psalm 23 gives us the words of a different lamb doing some talking.

This lamb is describing the care of a watchful, loving shepherd.

He lets me rest in green meadows;
he leads me beside peaceful streams.

Psalm 23:2, The New Living Translation

The author David (of David and Goliath fame) wrote Psalm 23 over 3,000 years ago, painting a tranquil portrayal of life lived under a close relationship with God. Trusting. Loved.

Are your kids fostering that sort of a relationship with God?

Help ensure they do by talking about Psalm 23 around the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.) If you’d like to print out the following Family Faith Companion Guide click here.

• Play a couple rounds of the game Twenty Questions. Point out that in order to figure out what the object is, you need to gather clues that help you describe something.
• Say: The Bible gives us a description of what our relationship with God can be like. Let’s read that passage. Be thinking about what sort of picture you get when you hear these words.
• Get out a Bible and read Psalm 23. (If your child is in 3rd grade or up, ask them the clue for quickly finding the book of Psalms.) Or check it out on-line: here.
• Ask: What do those words describe to you?
  What would it mean to a sheep to have a green pasture and still water?
• Say: That sounds like one very contented and trusting sheep! David’s words describe what God can be like for us! Protective. Caring. Always watching over us.
• Ask: Do you suppose those words describe your relationship to God?
  How does God take care of you?
  What are your quiet waters?
  How do you get there?
• Say: Sheep are covered in scratchy wool. That wool can get bugs and stickers in it and sheep don’t have arms to reach and scratch.
• Ask: Have you ever had itchy bug bites?
  Do certain situations or things that people do, sometimes irritate you?
• Say: When we have troubles, we need our shepherd-God to help us so that we can find rest and enjoy our lives!
• Close with a short prayer. A suggestion: Lord, thank you for being our protecting shepherd. Help us to turn to you, our friend, trusting in your care so that we can reach green, restful pastures. Amen.

How did this work? Share about your family devotional time.