Despair? No way! Focus on God's love!

There's a great song in Brazil: The peace in my heart is not because everything is going well for me. I have peace in my heart because I love God and he is faithful. I do not focus on the circumstances, no, no, no. I focus on God's love. I do not live my life according to what I can see. And that is why I'm happy!
We all face problems and difficulties. It is important to deal with them in the right way. We need to teach and model for our children the right way to react to difficulties. God's Word tells us how:
"Sometimes you will have problems. Sometimes bad things will happen. Do not get upset. Do not worry. No way! You should have a happy heart. A problem gives you a chance to trust in God. A problem is like a test. Do you really love God? You need to keep on knowing God better and better. You need to keep on trusting God more and more. Problems help you grow. Problems help you get stronger. You will have problems. Do not get upset. Do not worry. Keep on trusting in God. Then you will do what is right. Then you will be patient. Then you will be ready for good things. Then you will be ready for bad things. Then you will be ready for anything" (James 1:2-4, The B-I-B-L-E).

Be proactive in praying

"Pray a lot! Praying is a really important thing to do! Praying is talking to God. Pay attention to things to pray for. Maybe you will see someone hurting. Then you can say, 'I will pray for him.' Or maybe you will see someone who needs help. Then you can say, 'I will pray for her.' God will answer your prayers. Always remember to tell God 'thank you'" (Colossians 4:2,
The B-I-B-L-E).


Let's be proactive in our praying. Let's set a good example for children. Let's make a difference in our world by asking God to intervene and bless.

Remember to peel the banana!

An Indian man once said, "Reading the Bible in a language I don't understand well is like eating a banana with the peeling on. Reading the Bible in my language is like taking the peeling off. Now I like to read the Bible. These are good words!"

I am getting comments from children who say they love The B-I-B-L-E. They say that it is easy to understand. For them, it is like eating a banana with the peeling off. Why should they have to eat the banana with the peeling on? God's words should speak to our heart.

"God gives us rules to obey. Those words are just right. They help us stop being sad. God tells us what he wants us to do. Those words are just right. They help us be happy. Those words are easy to understand. They help us know how to live. God is awesome. We need to respect him. God’s rules are true. They are fair. God’s words are better than anything. They are better than gold. They are better than even the best gold. Honey is very sweet. But God’s words are sweeter than that. They are better than even the best honey" (Psalm 19:7-10, The B-I-B-L-E).

Trust in God, and fight for what is right!

Nehemiah is one of my favorite books. Nehemiah faced opposition and criticism from every side. The book tells the story of how he dealt with each problem with perseverance and integrity. By nurturing a team effort, Nehemiah helped the people accomplish what seemed to be an impossible task. Nehemiah 4:14 is one of my favorite verses:

"Then I stopped to think about what was going on. I told the leaders to come to me. I told the people to come to me. I wanted to talk to them. I said, “Do not be scared! Do not be scared of the people who want to hurt us! Remember that God is with us! God is super strong! God is awesome! Fight to keep your family safe! Fight to keep your home safe! Fight to keep your friends safe!” (Nehemiah 4:14, The B-I-B-L-E).

When you think about the negative influences that continually bombard us and our children, it is easy to understand this verse. We should not be scared in the face of problems. We should have complete trust in God. We must remember that God is all-powerful. We must do everything possible to help children follow God faithfully!

God has a good plan for our life.

One of my granddaughters drew this picture of me. I want to share it with you.

Isn't it great that God made each one of us special! Let's teach that important truth to children. Let's teach children that God has a good plan for their life.

"You made me just right. You made lots of special parts inside of me. You made me grow inside my mom. Thank you for making me. You made many parts in my body. They all work together. My body is amazing. You did a great job! I started growing inside my mom. You saw me then. You saw me inside my mom. You know all about me. You have a good plan for my life. You know everything. God, you know me. You love me. You think I am very special. You think about me all the time. I go to sleep at night. Then I wake up in the morning. You are always thinking about me" (Psalm 139:13-18, The B-I-B-L-E).

You can read the rest of Psalm 139 in The B-I-B-L-E Volume 1.

"I love The B-I-B-L-E..."

I got this sweet note from a friend of mine:

New E-mail address

I am excitedly working on Proverbs and Romans for Volume 3 of The B-I-B-L-E. Proverbs is filled with wonderful advice for living life according to God's design. It makes very clear the consequences of the choices we make. Romans tells about our need for salvation. It makes very clear how we can be right with God. Many parents do a great job of reading Bible stories to their children. But children are not usually exposed to books such as Proverbs and Romans in their entirety. Do you share my motivation of helping guide kids to know God? Do you share my passion to help children understand God's Word when they are still little? Do you also long to nurture in children the habit of daily reading of God's Word? If so, please let me know. Send me a comment. Let other kids and parents know about The B-I-B-L-E.

Tell someone the website: http://www.thebible4kids.com/

Send me an E-mail: jan_harthan@thebible4kids.com

"It's all about me!"

It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking "It's all about me!" We may not say those words, but our selfish attitudes and actions scream that sentiment. For us to find success in life and be a blessing to those around us, we must make the focus of our life be "It's all about God!" Read these great words from the Apostle Paul:

"Do not be selfish. You need to really care about others. Do what is right. Do not try to make others think you are really great. No way! Think about others. Think about the good things others do. Make them feel special. Do not just think about yourself. Do not just think about what you are doing. Think about others. Think about what others are doing. Think about how they are special. Care about them. You need to be like Jesus. You need to think like Jesus. You need to have the same idea Jesus had. Jesus is God. He was in heaven. God told Jesus to go to the earth. Jesus did not say, 'No way! I do not want to do that. I am God. I want to stay in heaven.' Jesus did not say that. He just said, 'OK.' He became a man. He was not important. He was like a slave" (Philippians 2:3-7, The B-I-B-L-E).

Just think what the world would be like if we all had the attitude Jesus had. I want to challenge you to make a difference in your little corner of the world. Let's teach children to be unselfish--to love God above all and to truly care about others.

The habit of reading God's Word

Dave and I were missionaries in Mozambique for ten years. Thousands of people in that country have never had the privilege to go to school. Many people long to learn to read. And, by contrast, here we are, privileged beyond measure. We have every opportunity to study. We have the Bible in our language. But how many of us are reading God's Word regularly? My passion is to develop in children the habit of daily Bible reading. Just imagine if children could start reading the Bible as they learn to read. I have reports of first-graders who read The B-I-B-L-E easily. Let's challenge children to read God's Word regularly. That needs to be high up on the priority list of habits to nurture in our children.

Keep on growing!

"Some people just listen to God’s Word, but they do not obey. Are you like that? That is like looking in a mirror. You can see yourself. You can see you need to wash your face. You can see you need to brush your teeth. You can see you need to fix your hair. But then you go away from the mirror. And you do not make yourself look better. You do not wash your face. You do not brush your teeth. You do not fix your hair. You can see yourself in the mirror. You can see what you need to do. But then you walk away. You forget what you look like. You forget what you need to do. Do not be like that. No way! Think about God’s Word. Think about it a lot. Keep on thinking about God’s Word. It will help you do what is right. Obey God’s Word. Remember what God wants you to do. Do what is right. Think about God’s Word, and do what it says. Then God will bless you" (James 1:23-25, The B-I-B-L-E).

God wants to shape and mold our life. He wants us to pattern our life after Jesus. That is one of the reasons for us to read God's Word regularly. Let's let him do his work in our heart today! Let's encourage our kids to read God's Word and become more and more like Jesus.

Great instruction for our kids

We must persevere in teaching our children what is right. We must strengthen them so they can stand against the continual negative influences around them. These words from the Apostle Paul are great for our kids:
"God has a good plan for your life. We are asking God to help you know his plan. We want you to be close to God. Then you will know what he wants you to do. We are asking God to help you think right. Then you will always do what is right. Then you will make God happy. Then you will do good things. Then you will be kind to others. Then you will keep on knowing God better and better. God is super strong. We are asking him to make you strong too. You will have problems. Bad things will happen. But you need to keep on trusting in God. He can make you strong. Then you can keep on going. Then you will not give up. Then you will be patient. I want you to be happy. I want you to have a happy heart. Always tell God 'thank you'" (Colossians 1:7-12a, The B-I-B-L-E).

What's on your mind?

"Think about things that are true. Think about things that are nice. Think about things that are right. Think about things that are good. Think about things that are beautiful. Think about good things that make you say, 'Wow! That is great!'" (Philippians 4:8, The B-I-B-L-E).

What's on your mind?

Problems? God's Word tells us what to do!

We all face challenges and problems and frustrations every day. God's Word tells us what to do. Here is what Paul says in Philippians:

"Do you have problems? Do not get upset. Do not be scared. Do not worry. No way! Stop and pray. Pray about everything. What do you need? Tell God about it. He will help you. Remember to tell God 'thank you.' He gives you many blessings.
That is the way to have peace. God will give you peace. God’s peace is wonderful. God’s peace is amazing. It does not even fit in my head. I cannot really understand it. God’s peace will be like a guard for your heart. God’s peace will be like a guard for your mind. Then you will stay close to Jesus. Then you will keep on doing what is right. Then you will be more and more like Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7, The B-I-B-L-E).

I need to remember that today. I pray you will too. And let's teach our children God's Word so they will learn to deal correctly with the challenges of life.

Reading God's Word and applying it

Recently I was reading Psalm 1 from The B-I-B-L-E to our granddaughter who just turned 4. When I finished, she told me about the boy in her preschool class who is bad. He does not obey the teacher. He always messes around. She had understood Psalm 1 and told me she does not copy the bad things he does. That is how it should be. We should read God's Word and apply it to our life. That is what James 1:22 tells us to do:

"God's Word is very important. Obey God's Word. Do what it says. Do not just listen to God's Word. If you just listen, but you do not obey, you are not close to God. You are not thinking right. You think you are OK. But you are not. You are tricking yourself" (James 1:22 The B-I-B-L-E).

I am thrilled to be giving children God's Word in a language and style they can understand. Please join me in reading God's Word to little ones and challenging them to read it on their own.

What do I have to give?

The Bible story that has most impacted my life in recent years is the story of Jesus feeding of the 5000. During our ten years in Mozambique, that story repeatedly encouraged me as we faced overwhelming challenges at times. Jesus never expected the disciples to solve the problem facing them that day. He just wanted them to give what they had. He wanted them to make themselves available to Him. He wanted them to trust in Him. What was the little boy's lunch in the face of such great need? It was next to nothing. But in the hands of Jesus, it was more than sufficient. Jesus blessed the little lunch, and there was more than enough food to feed that huge multitude. That story tells me that what God wants of me is that I give my best, that I give my all, that I give what I have. God will take those efforts and bless them to accomplish His purposes. That is what encourages me to work on translating the Bible for children and early readers. I pray that God will take The B-I-B-L-E and bless it to help children grow to know Him better and better. I pray that children will become more and more like Jesus. I pray that God will help children make good choices and resist wrong. I pray that God will bless families and help them be strong together.

Thank You

I'm thankful for this new avenue of communication with you. I want to tell you that one of my nephews and his wonderful wife helped me get going on this blog. This is a big thank-you to them. I am excited to have two volumes of The B-I-B-L-E published and to be hearing stories about how God is using this new resource in kids' lives.

B-I-B-L-E Volume 2

I am excited to let all of you know that Volume 2 has been published. If you follow the screen down on the right you can see the book cover. If you click on the book cover it will direct you to Amazon where you can order the book. This a very exciting time in our life and I am thankful that you all are willing to share in this excitement. This book includes Nehemiah, James, Philippians and Colossians. God bless all of you and please, spread the word.