In continuing with my Bible story series (find out more here) I read M (almost 4 years old) and J (15 months old) the story of Noah from the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones. My goal with these Bible story posts is for you to see just one example of what reading the Bible with littles would really look like. Don't let not knowing how to do or answer something or distractions stop you from making God priority in your life and in the life of your kids. Every moment, every story, and every conversation has the power to put you at the feet of Jesus. I recorded our storytime with a voice recording app on my phone. Here’s the transcript of our storytime, without anything taken out or added. Feel free to laugh at the things my sweet almost-4-year-old says and please don’t judge my on-the-fly answers. Check out the end for more of my thoughts about the topic that I didn't share with my young kids.
Note: I didn't transcribe every sentence of the Bible story. The bolded lines are quotes from the Jesus Storybook Bible.
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Mamo: This story is about Noah. Do you remember who Noah is?
M: I want to do it on your phone (he wanted to listen or watch the story on my phone)
Mamo: No, we’re going to read it this time.
M: No, I want to watch it on your phone!
Mamo: Do you remember anything about the story?
M: I want to watch it on your phone!
Mamo: I said no, honey.
M: (starts crying)
Mamo: I want to read it to you. (crying continues) Ok, I’ll take you back upstairs (to his room).
M: NOOO
Mamo: You’re having a bad attitude, honey. We have good attitudes down here or we go rest until we have a good attitude. What do you remember about Noah?
M: I don’t remember anything.
Mamo: What happens in the sky? What does he build to go in the water?
M: I don’t know.
Mamo: What does he build? What goes in it? (I ask again because I know he knows)
M: (mumble)
Mamo: What?
M: Animals!
Mamo: Where do the animals go?
M: In a boat.
Mamo: In a big boat.
“Everyone everywhere had forgotten about God and were only doing bad things all the time.” Oh no, it’s really easy to forget about God, isn’t it? But is that a good thing? No, we shouldn’t forget about God. How do we not forget about God?
M: By (points to heart)
Mamo: You’re pointing to your heart, what are you talking about with your heart?
M: I have lots of bits on this leg and lots of bits on this leg (points to the mosquito bites on his legs)
Mamo: Lots of bites? You also have lots of animals (his pants had lots of animals on them). Our story is about animals. The bites will heal soon. God is very good to give us a body that heals well. So, we can not forget about God by - you pointed to your heart - by putting His Word in our hearts - by reading the Bible and memorizing it. By loving others well, that’s loving God so that’s not forgetting about God. Can you think of other ways that will help us remember God?
(M moves the Bible so he could see the pictures) Remembering God helps us make good choices.
M: Is this the sun?
Mamo: It is the sun. So, how can we remember God?
M: Why are all the trees cutted down?
Mamo: He’s using the wood to make the boat. Trees are made of wood.
(J makes a sound.)
How can we remember God?
M: By this thing?
Mamo: That’s a saw, that’s what he cut the wood with. He used lots of tools to make the boat. God gives us tools to help remember Him, like the Bible.
M: Mommy, that’s the small boat.
Mamo: And He gives us other people that can help remind us about God.
M: Yeah. We can trace this boat. (he was looking at the blueprint plans picture)
Mamo: Those were his plans. God had a plan on how to help us remember Him. The plan was to make the Bible so we can remember Him and read it.
M: Yeah.
Mamo: Can you think of any other ways to remember God?
M: No.
Mamo: Ok, let’s keep reading.
“God’s heart was filled with pain when he saw what had happened to the world he loved.” Did you know God gets sad?
M: No.
Mamo: He gets sad when we don’t remember Him.
“Everywhere was disease and death and destruction - all the things God hates most.” So, like when Manny (our hedgehog who died recently from cancer) got sick and died. God doesn’t like the sickness. So that’s why He sent Jesus. So we can all be with him and have a time of -
M: Happiness.
Mamo: Happiness in eternity when we choose Him.
“Noah listened to God. He talked to God. He just loved being with God, like you do with your best friend.” Do we listen to God? We listen to God by obeying what he says to do in the Bible like loving others. Praying is how we talk to God.
(J makes loud noises)
“Things have gone wrong. People have filled my world with hate instead of love. They are destroying themselves...and each other...and my world.” Oh, no. Hating is like pushing and shoving instead of loving which is like sharing and being kind.
(J cries)
“I must stop them.”
Oh, stop them, just like we stop J before he does something that’s not good.
Do you know how to build an ark?
M: No.
Mamo: Neither did Noah. But God knew and He would show him. God knows everything. Did you know God knows everything? He does. That’s why we can ask Him questions.
M: If we have a question for you guys we can ask.
Mamo: Yeah, if you have a question for me or daddy you can ask us. You can ask us anything.
M: Why is there a big ladder?
Mamo: To show that it’s a big boat. There were lots of animals to fit on there.
(J cries to show he wanted food)
Animals need food just like people.
“The storm was going to wash away all the hate and sadness and everything that had gone wrong, and make the world clean again. God had thought up a way to keep Noah safe, but Noah would have to trust God and do exactly what God told him.”
M; Woo!
Mamo: Who came later to make the world clean again. To make people’s hearts clean? Jesus.
It’s important to trust God. Why do we do that?
M: I don’t know.
Mamo: Because He’s bigger than us and knows more than us.
M: Yeah.
Mamo: “Noah’s neighbors came out to watch...and point...and laugh, because they didn’t believe Noah about the boat...or the storm…or needing to be rescued.” Was it kind for the people to point and laugh? No. Did they trust in God? No because they didn’t know why Noah was building a boat but God told him to build the boat.
“Noah didn’t mind so much what other people thought, he minded what God thought. So he just did what God told him to do.” He did something that was really unusual and strange but God said to do it so he did. So if God says to love someone who you don’t think you want to love or it’s hard to love, if God says to do it you should do it, yeah?
M: Yeah.
Mamo: Yeah.
M: What happens if we have to build an ark?
Mamo, Well, if God tells us to do it we would do it. He probably won’t. He’d probably tell us other things like to give our money to a certain group or people or He might tell us to spend our time a certain way. Um. So, the world might tell you to go watch TV all day but God might tell you to spend that time loving people like giving people blessing bags (gifts of useful items we give to homeless people we see at stop lights). So who should we listen to? The world or God?
M: The world
Mamo: Well, the world tells us to be lazy and watch TV all day but God tells us to be kind and loving. In our example following God by giving blessing bags would make our hearts more full and it would make us more happy.
M: Let’s count the animals. (In the picture) 1..2..3..4..5..6..7..8..9..10...11...12...13...14...17...18
Mamo: 15 16 17 18 (adding in numbers he'd missed). There’s so many and that tells me that God loves animals because he wanted to keep animals on the boat.
M: (loud gargling sound with milk in his mouth)
Mamo: Don’t gargle that honey.
So he minded what God thought and not what others thought.
(J growls)
So, if God tells us to do something we do it. So, he did what God told him to do.
“When the ark was ready, God said, “All aboard!” and Noah’s family and all the animals climbed inside.”
Do you know what happens next?
M: No
Mamo: It started raining for a long time. “But in the middle of the huge storm, in the crashing waves, in all the thunder and lightning - through it all - God was with them.”
I think even in storms today, like when things seem like they’re really hard, God is with us.
M: Yeah, J, storms I’m super scared.
Mamo: What can you do when you’re scared?
M: I just yell to you guys since you guys help me not be scared.
Mamo: Yeah, and we can yell to God because he keeps us not scared too. That's what mommy does. When I’m scared I pray to God and say God, I'm scared. Help me be brave and not scared. Help me feel You here with me.
M: I just want you guys in lightning and thunder.
Mamo: You know God gave you us.
M: Yeah, when I’m sleeping and when lighting and thunder I...burp...scream.
Mamo: Oh geez, (I laugh. It was a large burp)
Yeah, lightning and thunder and the storm can be scary, but God gave us people to give us hugs and not be scared too. What a good gift from God, huh?
M: When it happens. When I hear the thunder and when I see the stars up I’m not scared anymore and I don’t have to yell. (I think by stars he means his light that shines stars on the ceiling)
Mamo: Oh, yeah, when you see the stars. I'm thankful for arms because I think God gave us arms to give big hugs to help you not be scared.
M: And strong.
Mamo: Yup, strong arms.
(J gets impatient).
“Finally the rain stopped. The sun came out and Noah threw open all the windows. ‘Hooray!’” Storms don't last forever. Hard things don't last forever.
“‘Out you come!’ And so they did...The first thing Noah did was to thank God for rescuing them, just as he had promised.” It’s important to thank God. Thank you God, for giving us arms to hug and food to eat and shelter from storms.
M: Are you praying?
Mamo: I'm thanking God for things so I'm talking to God. I'm praying. Praying is talking to God.
“The first thing God did was make another promise. ‘I won’t ever destroy the world again.’”
God makes wonderful promises!
“There, in the clouds - just where the storm meets the sun - was a beautiful bow made of light.” What’s this called? A bow made of light.
M: Rainbow
Mamo: “It wasn’t long before everything went wrong again but God wasn’t surprised, he knew this would happen.” God knows everything right?
“God had a plan to not destroy the world, but to rescue it - a plan to one day send his own Son, the Rescuer.” Who is the rescuer? Who is God’s Son?
M: I don’t know.
Mamo: It’s Jesus. He comes to make our hearts clean.
We’ll learn more about it later but Jesus did an amazing thing so we can be close to God again. I think it’s really amazing.
M: Let’s read another story.
Mamo: First what does a rainbow mean? A rainbow means that God keeps His promises and that He’ll never flood the earth again.
M: Oh.
Mamo: Do you know what other promises God made? To be with us and He promises to (distraction). We’ll talk more about God’s promises later. (we read another bible story)
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Endings are sometimes abrupt when I read Bible stories to my kids, but we can always try to talk more about the lessons from the story at dinner or playtime, even if it’s not on the same day. M has asked several times after this story why God had to start over. I always want to use age appropriate explanations for him that point him to the character of God, which is good and loving. When I study, learn, and look closely enough I always see those things in Bible stories and in life. So, my answer to M has been people made mistakes but God said he'd never flood the earth again. God can use what seems like bad things for good and to help people grow closer to Him. I admit, it’s definitely a hard concept to grasp and believe.
The Noah story makes me think of promises. I often forget about God by forgetting about who He is and what promises He's made. Life is harder when I forget about God. Imagine what life would be like for our young kids if they forgot about us and what we've taught them. Life would be harder and not as safe or fun. They wouldn’t have us there with a larger perspective to point them to good they might see now or in the future when bad things happen. God has given us a gift of parenting, which, when seen as a reflection of God's fatherly attributes can be a real blessing.
As an earthly parent I should try to be very careful when giving out promises so that my kids know that they can trust that it will happen when I promise it. Promises in this world can often seem solid. It seems like a sure thing when I promise my kid that we’ll get an ice cream treat after dinner. What if an emergency happens mid-dinner? The promise is broken because of things outside my control. My little and big promises come nowhere close to the rock-solidness of God’s promises. God’s promises are covenants. Here’s a great video explaining covenants. Just as my kids grow and get to know more fully that my promises mean something, I know that as I grow in my knowledge of who God really is that I will begin to more fully know how solid His promises are. Then I can take a deep breath and rest and feel peace in those promises because I trust that God’s promises have a solid weight to them that does not exist in human form.
Manna to share
Don't forget God and what he says to do (love and serve)
Be friends with God by listening and obeying Him, even when what he's asking seems confusing.
Don't stop doing what God tells you to do when others don't understand
God is always with you, even when it seems like what you're going through is lasting 40 days and nights (or seemingly forever).
God keeps His promises.
Questions for you to use and answer with your kids:
What can you do to remember God?
What can you do when you are scared?
Who is the best keeper of promises?
Why is keeping promises important?
What can you thank God for today?
Resources
For parents, a deeper look into God’s promises - https://www.gotquestions.org/promises-of-God.html https://www.kidssundayschool.com/preschool/lessons/old-testament/noah-and-the-ark/noah-obeys-god
Acitivties to dive deeper into the story for young kids - https://kidminmama.com/index.php/2016/10/25/noah-obeyed-god/
Lord,
May we see You and Your promises as they really are - rock-solid commitments that are True, Good, and Beautiful. Give us courage to partner with you and put all our hope into what You say. When others don’t understand why we follow You and we are in a storm, give us eyes to see You there with us.
Amen.