Resolved: READ...

If you can stop talking and singing for a bit...you can do this next one. READ. Perhaps not as exciting as sharing with God the natural consequences of some of our singing voices, but easy easy as far as resolutions go.  Tell me reading is not more attractive than walking outside in this miserable wet winter weather.

It is utterly proven that reading to our children help them become literate. You can kill two birds with one stone if you spend some of that reading time every day reading Bible stories. There are a million books out there with bible stories for children. (I'll link to a few later today.) You develop your own faith as well...especially if you take the time to hit the real biblical text when you find a story you don't know. Don't angst too much about full understanding. Just let the story sink in. (Talk to someone later with questions or struggles--that will also nurture faith.) Having a library of faith stories in your head seems to grow our faith...another eternal mystery, if you ask me.

Hate to read and don't have kids? Pick a Psalm. Read the first verse. Stop. Having that in your head for the day, along with your grocery list and honey-dos will also nurture faith. Read the same verse every day for a week. Or a month. When it's memorized, choose another. Or try D365. This online devotional is quick, quality, and short. Another trick? Attend a Bible study, listen to others read a passage. Then choose one of those verses for your weekly "read."  But know that if you ignore reading the foundational text that enables conversation between us and God, your faith nurture suffers.

Talk, sing, read. Still a couple more coming...but isn't it nice to know that faith nurture is this simple? I listened to this story on NPR, and realized much of the "magic" is the relationship built because of these practices. Kids learn to love reading because parents love it, and love them. That's the essence of faith as well, being deeply connected to God and neighbor.

And it offers God a brief break from the din....