#120 - Great Ideas

Someone in my Bible study forwarded a really great idea to me and I just love it...I am so thankful this idea made it's way to my inbox.

It has to do with leaving your children (or grandchildren) an amazing keepsake. The idea is to read through a Bible that you purchase for them...and as you read, write prayers and notes to that person in the margin. Since each of my girls were born, I have kept a journal (one for each) that I write in periodically. I've written prayers, stories, milestones and letters with the idea that I will present it to them when they graduate from high school. But I love the idea of presenting them with a Bible that I have also written in. What a legacy to leave them.

Here are some tips to go along with this idea.
Choose wisely. Wide margins are the most important factor in choosing a Bible for this purpose. You need room to write comments or personal prayers. For readability, you might like one with large print.

Personalize your Bible. Most Christian bookstores will imprint your loved one's name on the cover, either free or for a nominal charge.

Seek God's guidance. Ask God to bless your reading and to show you how to pray for your loved one.

Think through a reading plan. You may want to begin in the most logical place, the beginning—Genesis, but you might quickly realize that you need a different strategy. It might work better to skip around a bit. At one sitting, you might read a chapter each from the Old and New Testaments, and then I might read a Proverb and a Psalm. Another time, you might read a book in the New Testament in its entirety. You can keep track of what you've read by marking the table of contents.

Write from the heart. While the Bible is God's love letter to us, you can write your own love notes in the margins or at the end of the chapter—whispers from a mother to her child. "Today I prayed that you would have the courage of Queen Esther—that you would allow God to work in your life in a mighty way." Or, "Please, Lord, give Lindsey a passion for your Word and a heart for your people."

You can also write as one woman did: "I wrote what I felt I had learned from a particular passage." She adds, "I was honest at the end of some of the books, telling them that I was reading with the Holy Spirit's leading, but even with his leading there remained much in that specific book of the Bible that I didn't understand." Whatever you choose to write in your margins, write with integrity and write from your heart.

***You are never too old to do this for your children. (hint, hint Mom)