Streams in the Desert for Kids: 365 Devotions of God's Awesome Love

I have never read Streams In the Desert--the devotional for adults, so I didn't know what to expect with this book. One of the things I've noticed often with devotionals for kids and adults, is that the verses selected don't always go with the devotions. I opened up this book and was a bit discouraged by the paper it's printed on (thin newspaper type paper), but this is a case where you should definitely judge a book by its cover, or in this case--its paper. I think these devotions would really be appropriate for 7-10 year olds (maybe 6 and 11 year olds as well). The stories and language will definitely be easily understood by kids and help them understand what it means to walk with the Lord. But, most importantly, all of the selections I read from this book were biblical.

The book "Streams in the Desert for Kids: 366 Devotions to Bring Comfort" is a great book for kids to read. I thought is was well done and each day there is a scripture followed by each topic related to the scripture. An example for March 10th: The title is "Facts vs. Feelings" and the scripture is Hebrew 10:38 "But my righteous one will live by faith." The discussion is and I am paraphrasing: You were allowed to stay in a palace all by yourself for a week. You would enjoy it at first but after a few days you would start to get lonely. You would begin to feel the loneliness, yet nothing changed. You were still in that palace you loved to stay in at the beginning. Same with God. God is still there when we feel Him, or when we feel He is not there. He is still there on those days you feel he is gone. You have to go by faith that He is still there. There is always a prayer at the end of each discussion and for March 10th it is: Dear Lord, help me to walk by faith and not by feelings. Amen. This book is great for adults too. I am going to read it each day even though I am an adult because it really lifts me up. The devotional is wordy so it wouldn't be for little tots, but anyone over 5 or 6 should be able to enjoy this book. This book would make a great gift for grandkids or your kids.

Streams in the Desert is my all-time favourite daily devotional, the one I return to every couple of years. Now school age children can access this never-failing fountain of comfort, hope and inspiration. The text has been rewritten in kid-friendly 21st century language, but it still retains the basic intent and insights of the original. This book contains 366 devotions. Each day's entry consists of a scripture, a short devotional and a relevant prayer. It's a good choice for family devotions; while it is geared for 6-12 year olds, the simple readings can also give adults something to ponder.

This is a fantastic resource for parents to help build quality time with their children. I originally envisioned using this for the time we had been reading the Bible with the kids before bed, but the selections are pretty short without much scripture. So we read the selection for the day after dinner, at the table. It's short but written so well for the children to be able to understand incredible truths about God and the relationship that he wants to have with them. My 6 year old, 8 year old and 10 year old are able to understand the selections. They enjoy the stories, the verses and the little prayer at the end. It is full of good reminders for my wife and I as well and I find that I really look forward to reading this book with the kids each day. The pages have a date at the bottom and there is one short devotional for each day of the year. One doesn't have to read it that way, but some of the devotionals do correspond to holidays and the time of year that they fit into the book. We still read more with them at night, but this makes a very nice addition to what we are teaching our kids about God and the Bible. I think the succinct way it approaches each days topic is good for the kids. There is no need to pile on a lot, especially for the younger ones. They learn about one thing, in a way that they can grasp. For example tonight's reading was about comfort. There were two verses about how God desires to comfort his people, questions to get the kids thinking about where they look for comfort and a reminder that they can always look to Jesus to be comforted. I don't doubt that when the year ends, we may read through it again next year. These timeless truths wont get old.

If you're looking for something that will REALLY help a child going through some difficult times, be sure to give this devotional a try. Each day is centered on what to do if something is going wrong in your life. They use various heroes of the Bible in the devotion, how they handled it, and what to think about instead. Prayers are also included at the bottom of each devotional, as is the daily Bible verse at the top. We've been reading through this since we received it and it really does address a variety of situations. I think worrying is a great topic and when there's something on a child's mind, trying to erase it can be next to impossible. One of my very favorite verses in the Bible is when Jesus was teaching and talking about worry. Loosely translated, He said that if you can't add an inch to your height, something as EASY as that, why do you worry about anything else? Now, I don't know abut you, but that certainly puts things into perspective for me! I always bring that one up when someone is worrying. Anyway, be sure to check this out if you're looking for something to help. I'm not sure that I would suggest it if you're just looking to get a child started on a devotional. This one is definitely geared towards children who are having some difficult times in their lives and need to know what the Bible says about their particular situation and how to handle it. However, Zondervan, the publisher of this devotional, does a wonderful, outstanding job on their Bible and devotional books and this one is no exception. If you're needing just a regular devotional, I would suggest exploring their vast catalog for another selection. I think what I'm going to do with ours is keep it on hand as a back up devotional and also get another that is aimed for deepening their walk with the Lord. Highly recommend!