My wife and I just had our first baby, Jessie Rae, back in early August of 2017. We have spent the last five months watching her grow and needless to say, as I’m sure most parents can attest to, we are blown away at the transformations that are taking place in our daughter daily before our eyes. In researching books, articles, podcasts and blogs on how we can help Jessie learn coordination, eye contact and physical interaction with the world around her, we’ve found that the popular alliterated teaching strategy of rhyme, rhythm and repetition have the most productive outcomes.
We sing to her throughout the day, (little songs about cleaning dirty diapers and taking baths,) we verbally and physically interact with her throughout the day during feedings, playtimes and before nap times and we read to her in the evenings. All of this is done throughout each day and is rooted in a consistent schedule so Jessie can grow to know what to expect throughout the day as she gets older. Rhyme, rhythm and repetition.
Perhaps we could benefit from this teaching system.
With the start of the new year, many of us have likely thought about forming some sort of new years resolution to keep throughout 2018. (I’m always fascinated how hanging a new calendar on the wall can suddenly invoke a feeling of urgency in people to want to radically reform areas of their lives which they may have attempted to in previous years, however, this happens with most of us each and every year.)
Whatever area of your life your resolution may be for, have you considered your relationship with Jesus? Perhaps we could spend time in 2018 cultivating our relationships with Christ.
But rather than making resolutions to be a better Christian, to read your Bible or to pray more, I would suggest that you make 2018 a year full of revolutions.
Revolutions: a cycle, a series of recurring events, cyclical motions and rhythms set in our lives to create familiarity in our desires to read God’s word, to pray, to love the Lord and our neighbor as ourselves. Much like my wife and I have set rhythms in place to help our daughter thrive and grow, we can do the same for our walks with Christ.
Below is the 30 Day Bible Reading Challenge we handed out at the beginning of the year. If you haven’t already, please take the time to use this tool to aid you in creating a new rhythm for God’s Word in your life; to set in motion a series of revolutions that will cycle over and over again for years to come as you grow more in love with Jesus through reading God’s word.
“Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.”
Psalm 1:1-3
