Welcome!
What you will find here are some sample children's stories that help kids put "hands & feet" on what living to God's glory is like. Print them off, and if you enjoy them, I have three books in print with collections of these types of stories. A chapter book for younger kids will be in print soon!
You're probably here because you are interested in good resources for your kids. Scroll down for some practical ideas in the journal entries below, and for weekly encouragement follow @an.everyday.faith on instagram or HERE. Need a quick colouring page to print off? Here are some seasonal options, and we hope to get the children's songs back up soon.
May God bless you in your quest to provide wholesome material for the children in your life!
Doreen
From the Journal...
August 2020
“Just as the body feeds daily on food, the mind needs daily ideas to feed on.” When I consider how listless I feel because I haven’t read anything or had a stimulating conversation for a day or two, this observation by Miss Mason seems entirely self-evident! And when I consider how restless the kids can become during summer holidays or breaks, it becomes even more clear. Ideas are the cure for restlessness or boredom—not simply more activity.
A single idea, attractively couched in a story or anecdote, awakes the dormant mind and gives direction to the day. (I guess this is my long-winded way of saying get your kids to read a little every day—better yet, read aloud to them!)
July 2020
“We ought to do so much for our children, and are able to do so much for them, that we begin to think everything rests with us and that we should never intermit for a moment our conscious action on the young minds and hearts about us. Our endeavours become fussy and restless. We are too much with our children, ‘late and soon.’ We try to dominate them too much, even when we fail to govern, and we are unable to perceive that wise and purposeful letting alone is the best part of education” (C Mason Vol. 3, p. 27).
June 2020
We are planting, these days—seeds and God's word. Praying for His blessing on both! When I was a teenager, we began reading the Bible in turns around the dinner table. Followed by the singing of a psalm, this was a blessing—a time to let go of the squabbles and differences that inhabit homes with teenagers—a time to focus on truth, and lift our voices in praise!
May 2020
Lord, let me feel the weight of blessing—
Every golden drop
Of sunshine, nature, song confessing
Praise to our Creator great.
Let my soul rise joyous, strengthened
Under such a weight
Of word or quiet, gladsome noise,
A footfall at the gate.
For all of this and so much more,
Lord, let my spirit feel
Thanks for this sweet weight of blessing
Under which I kneel.
—Doreen Tamminga
April 2020
Just thinking today that every bit of goodness that we share with our children is worth something—whether it be taught through story, song, art, handwork, recitation, nature or another means! It seems like the best lessons are often at risk of being sabotaged, but we keep on, convinced that “line upon line; here a little and there a little” is forming character and, by God’s grace, creating an appetite for the good. Hard winds of temptation will blow and so we squirrel away all the good we can!
I heard this in a sermon recently: “Learn the promises of God in advance. When the time of crisis or darkness comes, it is too late to start learning them. Store up the Word of God, like a squirrel storing up nuts for the winter; for the wintertime of life will surely come when you will need God’s promises to act as an anchor for your soul.” Sinclair Ferguson
March 2020
“Normal childhood play, riddled with joys and conflict as it has always been, “educates” at a profound level. The secret is not to deprive a child of his sword, but to make the sword with him and teach him a code of honour. In other words, chivalry. Responsibility. Character. Justice.” —Michael O’Brien in A Landscape with Dragons: the Battle for Your Child’s Mind. I am really enjoying a second read through this book—as the lengthy quotes I am copying out attest!
February 2020
'The way to do a thing is to do it' J.C. Ryle.
"Effective Bible study is largely a matter of good work habits. Begin with firm determination; begin at once. Never wait until you are in the mood, or you may wait for weeks. Get in the mood by starting; the Bible creates its own mood. As J. C. Ryle says about it, 'The way to do a thing is to do it.' The way to read the Bible is actually to read it--not wishing and meaning and resolving and intending and thinking about reading the Bible, but actually reading it. You will not advance one step until you have done that." This resonated with me! I came across it in the article ‘Reading the Scriptures’ in the Reformation Heritage Study Bible, p. 1920.
January 2020
“There are many precious things we shall never see unless we read the Word of God in large chunks. We would never read fifteen lines of any other piece of literature and then set it aside, believing that we had thus satisfied the author's original intentions. To see the whole massive movement of biblical thought, the Scriptures need to be read frequently and from Genesis to Revelation. The Christian must be content with nothing less. He will not understand individual verses unless he has the framework of knowledge which a larger aquaintance with Scripture provides.”
December 2019
Snow just makes the cold more bearable and the short days more cheery. Along with candles and music and baking, of course! Perhaps you can also tuck a notebook and pen among your Christmas décor…I can’t help thinking that candles and beautiful music are two of those “good and perfect gift[s]” that come “from above from the Father of lights,” yet, as general, good gifts, they only open our eyes to something of the Father’s character—they do not impart grace. For true worship and for the receiving of grace we must come ready to hear, for God has ordained “the foolishness of preaching” as the primary means of grace. Perhaps, then, when we make preparations for the Christmas season, we could include a blank notebook and pen for those church services where we wait to “hear what the Spirit says to the churches”!
The early church did not celebrate Christmas, but each year, it seemed, Paul was eager to commemorate Pentecost. What a day that had been when the veil was abruptly lifted from thousands of Hebrew eyes—and for the first time they saw their Messiah, crucified, risen, and ascended! The Light of the World had burst into their darkened thoughts and given understanding. And Paul wanted to be there each year, not to reenact the old traditions, but to preach the Lamb of God! Galatians 4:10; Colossians 2:16-17; 1 Corinthians 5:7.
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!”
November 2019
“A truthful story that lacks beauty is nearly as dangerous as a beautiful story that lacks truth.” There’s something to that! Curators of “living books” walk a narrow line—on the one hand there are those truthful books that are dull and perhaps even stultifying, and on the other hand are beautifully written books that disguise a lie!
With a prayer for wisdom as parents and discernment for our children, we choose carefully—and if I had to fall into one of the two ditches…I would choose the unadorned truth, because truth is living, after all, embodied in the Son of God who is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and if the Spirit breathes through the dullest book, its truths will become living indeed. And a beautiful story of truth, winsomely told? It is a treasure, indeed! A welcome breath of fresh air…
("Living books" refers to first-hand accounts or books written by authors who are passionate and knowledgeable about the subject.)
October 2019
“It is not enough to teach our children Truth. They must also grow to love it!” And while we cannot manufacture a love of truth in their hearts, (2 Corinthians 2:14), we can strive to present truth in a winsome way! Present truth as beauty, present it with love, present it through story, and hold up the beautiful Saviour as Truth incarnate. Our attitude towards what we are teaching may carry even more weight than all that we say...
But why even bother with this “persistent truth-speaking”? Why take time to “delight in beauty” with your children? Paul writes that those who reject the gospel in favor of a lie, do so because they are easily deceived—because they did not Love the truth... (2 Thessalonians 2:10)
September 2019
Just as the body feeds daily on food, the mind needs daily ideas to feed on. When I consider how listless I feel because I haven’t read anything or had a stimulating conversation for a day or two, this observation by Miss Mason seems entirely self-evident! And when I consider how restless the kids can become during summer holidays or breaks, it becomes even more clear.
Ideas are the cure for restlessness or boredom, not simply more activity. A single idea, attractively couched in a story or anecdote, awakes the dormant mind and gives direction to the day. (I guess this is my long-winded way of saying get your kids to read a little every day, or read to them!)
August 2019
Grant love for my children, O Lord, and a quiet tongue;
eyes to see their soul;
patience to accept their abundance of attention;
and joy in their swarming affection.
July 2019
“What do you have to say that’s worth sharing?! Look at your own home! Look at your own life!” Ever have those thoughts planted in your mind? Well, I don’t need to argue with “that old serpent.” He’s right! I don’t have it all “together,” and that FAILURE he stamps on my forehead is accurate. But what he wants you and I to forget, is that if Jesus is our Saviour, there’s a new stamp on our forehead: REDEEMED. And so we have something to say, after all. Not “look at me!” but “look at what this gracious Saviour is willing and able to do! He has been faithful through my daily failures. He is more than worthy to follow!”
“I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations” Psalm 89:1. “O give thanks unto the Lord; call upon his name: make known his deeds among the people. Sing unto him, sing psalms unto him: talk ye of all his wondrous works” Psalm 105:1-2.
June 2019
“Do not let the endless succession of small things crowd great ideals out of sight and out of mind.” Charlotte Mason
May 2019
We provide, by God’s grace, the ideas, resources, plan, and atmosphere. The kids sabotage the plans. God blesses the children with curiosity, wonder, and the desire to soak up free minutes with all kinds of interests. And time, faithful time, marches steadily on, stealing the minutes but—we pray—yielding the years’ fruit.
Good Friday 2019
Behold the Lamb of God! Good Friday, when we remember our Lord's suffering and atonement for sin on the cross, is nearly here. The Old and New Testament of Scripture have much to say about this momentous event and we and our children can benefit from reading some passages aloud. Click HERE for a printable Bible reading compiled from Isaiah, John and Lamentations.
April 2019
Just posted! A true story about my grandmother, Johanna Keuning, entitled "An Answered Prayer." You can read it under Stories for Kids or right HERE.
"We will not hide from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done...that the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children: that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments." Psalm 78:4-7
March 2019
When I ordered some Bibles on clearance and found they have very fine print (not good for my young readers), we started using them to highlight all the verses we have memorized. This has been great for review, as well as encouraging for new readers when they pick up their Bibles, since there are many verses that they can read!
February 2019
I do love reading daily from a well-written Bible storybook with the 3-5 year olds, but these littles can take in a lot from the other daily Bible readings too! Here’s a simple way to make unabridged Bible readings much easier for them to comprehend: substitute pronouns with proper nouns, that is, replace “he” “they” “you” “thee” etc, with the person’s actual name. It makes a huge difference!
January 2019
If you are looking for something different this year as a Bible reading plan, the printable over at www.bible-reading.com has a read the Bible in one year plan that arranges the books by topic. This means you read something from the epistles on Sundays, history on Tuesdays, gospels on Saturdays etc. And it’s not too late to start! The first reading is scheduled for the first Sunday of January 🙂
December 2018
This year is fast coming to a close and may be bringing an end—or a fresh start—to your Bible reading plans. Why not add in a notebook this year, if you don’t? Carolyn Mahaney suggested in one of her books to write down two sentences after each Scripture reading. The first begins with “God...” and the second begins with “I...” So simple, yet it can bring great truths to light.
November 2018
I found this helpful list of passages relating to the birth of Christ, in the back of my daughter’s Bible. They have been good to read through the Christmas season together...
Immanuel, God with Us, Isaiah 7:14
The Prince of Peace, Isaiah 9:1-7
The Stem of Jesse, Isaiah 11:1-10
The Branch of Righteousness, Jeremiah 33:15-18
To be born in Bethlehem, Micah 5:2,3
Gabriel appears to Mary, Luke 1:26-56
An angel appears to Joseph, Matthew 1:18-25
Christ born in Bethlehem, Luke 2:1-20
Visit of the Magi, Matthew 2:1-12
Flight to Egypt, Matthew 2:13-23
The Word became flesh, John 1:1-18
God sent his Son, Hebrews 1:1-12
October 2018
Listening to the leaves fall on the front lawn...yes, listening! With such a heavy frost, they were falling steadily the other day, each with an unmistakable swish 
One day we'll all let go that limb of life--a swish--and this life's done. Until then, there are smoother seasons and harder ones. Here, a poem from a few Octobers ago...
Stretched
"Oh!" said the bow to the hand that bore it,
"I'm stretched far more than I can bear!
My cord will snap, or else my frame;
I wasn't meant for such hard wear."
.
The bearer asked reluctant bow,
"Did you not say you wished to see
A fleet of arrows fill the air;
A useful bow of mine you'd be?
.
"Then bend and bear the taxing strain
I lay on you with strong, sure hands
And know that, so, your arrows fly
Each fitted to fulfill my plans."
—Doreen Tamminga
September 2018
In the middle of a sibling squabble, it’s easy to look around and see someone else’s children getting along so sweetly. In the early days of parenting I would think, “What am I doing wrong here? What is she doing that I’m not?” But time has shown the answer. “She has been to the mercy seat on behalf of her children....again and again.” For it’s mercy and grace that they need in order to overcome that enormous “I” so they can get along with each other. And the most perfect parenting in the world can’t reach that inner place that grace can. So it’s grace when I see four feet poking out from under a big book. And I grab my camera with thanks!
August 2018
“The man who can read but doesn’t, has no advantage over the man who can’t read.”
Attributed to Mark Twain
July 2018
"Sunday" books. Did you have those growing up? Those books, or that shelf of books, from which you could choose your Sunday reading material? In a book study conversation last year we were discussing how peculiar this idea sounds: "No, my dear, you can read that book during the week but not on Sunday. It's not a book for Sunday." ?? Isn't this a little two-faced? If you shouldn't be reading it on Sunday, should you even be reading it during the week?
Like many things, however, on reflection the practice makes good sense... Yes, one's faith is to be carried out during the week as well as on "the Lord's day" (as John puts it), but our Lord knows how weak and forgetful we are in our walk, and bids us set aside one day a week to recall who we are and who He is! And it is the books that help us and our children do this, that become "Sunday" books
. .
Isaiah speaks to this beautifully in chapter 58: "If thou turn thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it."
Pictured above, is a book from a series by Patricia St. John that I'm excited to see back in print! Great "Sunday" material for kids. For myself, I read a variety of books, but a collection that has stood the test of time and speaks so warmly and biblically on a wide range of topics are Maurice Robert’s "The Thought of God," "The Christian’s High Calling," and "Great God of Wonders." They are just as good the second time around 
June 2018
It is a strange feeling, this, having no idea what God has in store for your children’s futures, but called to prepare them—character, intellect, heart and soul…
May 2018
"Since it is so likely that children will meet cruel enemies let them at least have heard of brave knights and heroic courage." C.S. Lewis
April 2018
Reading in Ryle these days. He has a gift for being clear and practical, even a century later! I found this insightful...
"Praying and sinning will never live together in the same heart. Prayer will consume sin, or sin will choke prayer." J.C.Ryle in Practical Religion
March 2018
Ready for the parallel? Life doesn’t come out as smoothly as some knitting projects do. Progress slows as we return for missed stitches and untangle knots. So there are times of running and other times it is all we can do to crawl on—but John Bunyan puts it best himself in The Pilgrim’s Progress as he wrote centuries ago:
“I looked then after Christian, to see him go up the hill, where I perceived he fell from running to going, and from going to clambering upon his hands and his knees, because of the steepness of the place...”
February 2018
"When night comes and retrospect shows that everything was patchwork and much which one had planned left undone, when so many things rouse shame and regret, then take it all as it is, lay it in God’s hands and offer it up to Him. In this way we will be able to rest in Him. Actually to rest. And to begin a new day like a new life." Edith Stein
January 2018
January seems to be a time for planning, but often things don't go as planned--even when they are good plans! We fall back, then, on our Lord's words that "my thoughts are not your thoughts; neither are my ways your ways...."
Lilias Trotter came up against so many obstacles in her inner city outreach in North Africa, and she expresses this faith so beautifully! "I am full of hope that when God delays in fulfilling our little thoughts, it is to have Himself room to work out his great ones."
December 2017
What a pity when you pick up last year’s Bible memory work and realize no one remembers it anymore! So often God speaks through his memorized word, hidden in the heart. “Thy Word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee...” Psalm 119:11. But how to keep it there?
I was excited to find this index card box with tabs and a simple system for reviewing previous memory verses while learning new ones. It’s an ideal system as you simply follow the tabs to recite a daily verse, a verse for the day of the week, a verse for the date of the month, and an odd or even numbered verse. In this way verses are reviewed daily, weekly, and monthly.
For a complete explanation, a free download of hundreds of Bible verse index cards in KJV or ESV, see SimplyCharlotteMason.com and look under Bookstore and then Bible Study. You can print off your own cards and cut them out, or order them ready to go. For a lovely wooden index box, visit the dollar store then get out your sandpaper, stain, and varnish 🙂
November 2017
No, our life is certainly not made up of tidy, picturesque moments, nor our hours saturated in sweetness. We are working at living and shaping characters, and having our rough edges sanded is never a comfortable experience. However, I find it so easy to focus on the mess and strife and burden and difficulties involved in running a big household, that these pictures of grace poured out in moments here and there is a reminder to me of God’s goodness and overflowing blessing and support.
October 2017
"The first great and primary business to which I ought to attend every day is to have my soul happy in the Lord." --George Muller
September 2017
And just because....another Lilias quote . An amazing woman, by God's grace...
"The things that are impossible with men are possible with God. May it not be that the human impossibility is just the very thing that sets His hand free?—and that it is the things which are possible for us to do that He is in a measure to let alone?" Lilias Trotter
August 2017
I’ve been reading about Lilias Trotter in “A Passion for the Impossible,” and want to share a favourite quote...but it will be hard to keep it to one!
"It has come with a sense of utter rest, these last days, that God expects nothing from us in all this or in anything else for that matter—and it is when we have got to the point of seeing that God expects nothing from us, that we can expect everything from Him." Lilias Trotter
