Psalm 23 – Family Faith Companion

A blessing: in pursuit

Posted on November 9, 2011January 18, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

Make sure to remind your child that God is active in his pursuit of them with his goodness and mercy (his loving kindness). What can our response be?

To turn around, and actively pursue his presence!

Here is a blessing to match these thoughts:

Say your child’s name and…

Jesus does not stop in his job to provide you loving kindness. May you turn right back around and crave friendship with Jesus.

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits:
Twirling girl by Karah Levely-Rinaldi, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

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A blessing: goodness and mercy are pursuing you

Posted on November 2, 2011August 25, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

The good shepherd At the end of Psalm 23, Psalmist David is really raving about the benefits of living under the care of a “Good Shepherd.”

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Psalm 23:6

Goodness and mercy, follow me?

What?

The Old Testament was originally written mostly in Hebrew. In it’s eventual translation to English (via Greek and Latin) something got lost. Peeking at the Hebrew version (along with an on-line Hebrew lexicon for translation!) we see that the word “follow” in this case was “radish,” meaning to pursue or to chase!

Can you see it?

God’s goodness and loving kindness, actively pursuing you!

One kid chases after another on a beautiful beach with a Hawaiian sunset

Bless your child with these words, saying their name and…

God’s loving kindness is chasing after you.

Don’t you wish that for your kids? I sure do!

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

p.s. In the Games Workshop this month as our Cool Disciples have studied Psalm 23, they’ve played a relay race game called “Follow me to the Lord’s House.” Here are team members getting ready to race to the Lord’s House, dressed as a sheep with “goodness and mercy jingle bells” around their ankles! Fun!

In the games workshop for Psalm 23, members of a team become one SHEEP.

Photo credits:
Good Shepherd by waldryano.
Scene of a chase by Lance Shields.
Both photos licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Bottom photo copyright Robert Langdon from our program at Green Wood. Used with permission.

A blessing: personalized

Posted on October 26, 2011October 26, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

We can’t constantly be with our kids. Psalm 23 can steel us. Without fail, God is with our children. So say a blessing for your child that reassures them that God is always with them and strengthens and protects them.

Say this to your child (inserting their name in the blank):

The Lord is ___’s shepherd.

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
Mother and child by Ross Griff, who licensed this photo on Flickr under

Are your kids bonding with their Holy Shepherd?

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

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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.

Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Little lamb by Chris Rice, who licensed this photo on Flickr under

A Blessing: Comfort

Posted on October 19, 2011October 18, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

A painting of a shepherd with a rescued sheep.

Psalm 23 can be offered as a source of support for so many of our daily situations. It’s a multi-purpose tool!

Consider just a few possible uses:

Child stressed out about a test? Suggest she think about being led to calm waters.
Mom in need of revived energy? Psalm 23 reminds us that God always offers restoration.
Child fearful of what lurks in the closet? Emphasize that God is our shepherd; his trusty shepherd’s crook makes us feel secure.
Dad worried about the finances? Our cup overflows.

Here’s another way to present Psalm 23: Use it to bless your kids.

Say your child’s name and the words from Psalm 23 that are applicable to your child at any particular moment. For example:

May the Lord comfort you and lead you beside still waters.

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
Shepherd painting by Harold Copping, a photo offered for free use at Bible Picture Gallery.

A Blessing: Restored

Posted on October 12, 2011October 11, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction. Psalm 23:3, The Message

A second chance,
A breath of fresh air,
Revived energy,
Mended strength,
A restored soul.

Remind your child with a blessing that tells that God does all of that for us.

Say your child’s name and…

May the Lord renew your strength and your soul.

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
A beach scene by Leland Francisco, who licensed this photo on Flickr under

Psalm 23 – Should it be memorized?

Posted on October 11, 2011August 27, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

Did you learn Psalm 23 as a child? I don’t remember how old I was when I learned it; I might have been a teenager. All I know is that it sure is hard for me to learn Bible verses at my age! I wish I’d learned a lot more of them when I had masterly memorizing skills.

Should our kids be encouraged to learn Bible verses?

A multiplication facts practice tool In today’s educational settings is memorization still taught? Why should we memorize a Bible verse, let alone a whole chapter’s worth; we can just look it up on our ipod/ipad/smart phone, right?

In a dire moment would you take the time to look it up?

The key is to have readily accessible the words that can steel us in times of trouble. The only way to do that is to put God’s word into long-term-readily-available-brain-storage, often known as “learning it by heart.” (Call it memorization if you must, but maybe not in front of your kids.)

Hints for memory work with kids:

Repeat it. Have your child work on a memory task for only 5 minutes at a time. Repeat every day, always reviewing what was learned in the past before adding something new.
Tie it. Tie your memory work to a certain event—while waiting for dinner, or while in the car.
Write it. Ask your child to make a set of flash cards for reviewing verses. If you have a kinesthetic learner (one for whom learning takes place by doing a physical activity as opposed to listening) repeatedly writing out of a verse may be helpful.
Type it. If you let your child use phone apps here’s a great one: The Bible Memory App for Kids. I use the adult version. I’m up to 30 verses memorized! (Hmmm, maybe my memory skills aren’t as bad as I thought!
Sing it. Make up a tune or use a well-known tune.
Draw it. Encourage children to draw pictures that represent a verse.
Dramatize it. Enact being a shepherd or walking through a dark valley or an overflowing cup. I can see it!
Game it. Write out the verses on slips of paper then cut the slips in half. Play a matching game to see who can fit two strips together.

What other ideas do you have?

Photo credits:
Multiplication by jma.work licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Sheep Sketch by Jennie L.C. who had originally licensed this photo on Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
App screen shot from BibleMemory.com.

Comparing us to sheep?

Posted on October 6, 2011October 26, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

Have you ever been compared to a sheep? Not very appealing is it? Yet that is what the 23rd Psalm does – we are sheep and God is our shepherd.

How quaint, you say. But that is the Old Testament. Not very applicable to us today. Sheep indeed!

Okay. So most of us don’t encounter sheep everyday. But what if we embark on a study of the meaning of Psalm 23? Come along for the journey! Ask questions by leaving a comment below. Let’s do this together.

Posts in this series so far…