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Jonah Being Swallowed by the Fish, 1476, Kennicott Bible, Public Domain
I was particularly harried that day. (Who am I kidding? I was particularly harried every day!) It was a bright fall morning and I'd just gotten my two teens out the door to different high schools. My little boys were loaded in the back seat, snug in their car seats. The plan was to drop them off at the church preschool, then scoot upstairs to my Bible study. I was in a hurry. But my three-year-old's question stopped me in my tracks.
“Mom, why is Jonah called a prophet? Why don't we call him a missionary?” came the sweet little voice over the sound of the latest Casting Crowns harmony.
I turned down the radio.
“Wait. What?” Maybe I misheard him.
He sighed and started again. “Why is Jonah a prophet and not a missionary?”
I was slightly taken aback by the perceptive question this little person in the back seat was asking, but I stumbled through an answer.
I finished my explanation, heard the little “Oh.” from the back seat and turned Toby Mac up a little.
“Mom?”
“Yes?” Now I was nervous.
“Why did Satan want to hurt Job?”
*****
That morning is so clearly illuminated in the recesses of my memory banks. It was the morning that I realized (four kids into this parenting deal) that my kids were capable of much deeper thinking than I'd given them credit for. They were hearing the actual Word of God, processing it, and formulating opinions about theology.
I'd love to tell you that I was a stellar mom, that I read the Bible to my four kids every night, and that I initiated these conversations. But that wouldn't be the truth. Remember the always harried thing?
The truth is, I was a new-ish believer, I had four kids from drastically different backgrounds spread across a broad range of ages, and I just wanted the little people to hear about God. Also, I needed sleep. One of my little guys didn't. I don't think he slept at all. Maybe an hour or three here or there.
I devised a plan. I found a CD player (this was back before MP3s, friends), gathered some audio books, and played them in the boys' room for an hour or so every evening after I said goodnight. The audiobooks we chose just happened to be a children's version of the Bible.
I felt good about playing the Bible for my littles. In fact, I loved the version I found. The text was read by other children, which my boys loved, and it skipped the gorier and the more monotonous parts of Scripture. Mostly, I was just thrilled to have silence in my bedroom for a brief period of time. I have to admit, I wasn't really looking ahead enough to understand what an impact those nightly audio Bible sessions would have on my boys.
But God knew.
Today, we study the Bible together, have family worship, and read Scripture independently. But the boys still listen to audiobooks at night. They still love their Adventure Bible. And now I'm using it for the next two littles in line.
You can still find the audio Bible we love in an MP3 format at Christian Book:
- NIrV Little Kids Adventure Audio Bible Vol 1 – Unabridged Audiobook [Download]
- NIrV Little Kids Adventure Audio Bible Vol 2 – Unabridged Audiobook [Download]
- NIrV Little Kids Adventure Audio Bible Vol 3 – Unabridged Audiobook [Download]
