Memory Verse

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.” Proverbs 3:5-7

Day 1- Two Different Paths

• Pray.
• Introduce the memory verse.
  • If you have very young kids, you will probably just want to have them memorize verse 5.
  • Have kids or yourself write it down and place it in a prominent place where they can see it often.
• Introduce proverbs.
  • Why are they important? Refer to Proverbs 1:1-7.
• Explain that many times in life we have to make choices about which “path” to take. Proverbs 1 helps us understand how to recognize the right and best way to go.
• Read or tell in your own words Proverbs 1:8-19.
• Read or tell in your own words Proverbs 1:20-33.
• Talk about it.
  • Which way sounds better?
  • What are the differences between the two paths?
  • The path of wisdom is obviously the better choice. Where do we get this wisdom that we need? WIsdom comes from God, and if we ask for wisdom, He will give it (James 1:5).

Day 2-Seeking Treasure

• Pray.
• Say the memory passage together, one verse at a time. After you say each verse, take a minute to help your kids understand what each verse means.
• Today we are going on a treasure hunt! Let’s read to see what we are searching for.
• Read Proverbs 2:1-4.
  • What is the treasure we need to be looking for?
  • How are we to look for it?
  • Let’s see what will happen when we find the treasure.
• Read Proverbs 2:5-8.
  • What do we discover? What is the treasure?
  • Why do we need this wisdom and knowledge and fear of the Lord?
  • Can you remember four things this chapter said about the Lord?
• Read Proverbs 2:9-13, 20.
  • How are we changed after discovering this treasure?
  • What are the benefits of finding the treasures of wisdom and knowledge and the fear of the Lord?
• Activity Idea
  • Have a treasure hunt.
    • Crumple up a piece of paper and draw a map on it (example: your backyard, your living room). Don’t forget the big red X that marks the spot where the treasure will be!
    • Mark the path on the map that they need to take.
    • Use an old/used cardboard box for the treasure box.
    • Somewhere inside the box, have the treasures written on fancy paper or in fancy writing. The treasure are:
      • Wisdom
      • Understanding
      • Discernment
      • Fear of the Lord
      • Knowledge of God
    • Of course, you might also want to put some extra treasures in there just for fun (plastic jewels, candy, cheap toys, you can even put their own toys they already own in there).

Day 3-Trust in the Lord

• Pray.
• Trust Fall activity-My kids love doing this.
  • Have your child stand out in front of you a little bit with their back to you. Have them tell you when they are ready to fall. When you give them the “OK”, they should make their body stiff and fall backward and you catch them. Repeat this process, but move back a bit each time.
  • Talk about it.
    • How was that? Was it a little scary? When was it easier to trust me, when I was closer or farther from you?
• Proverbs 3 talks about trust. Let’s see what it says.
• Read Proverbs 3:5.
  • In Whom should we be putting our trust?
  • The Lord is strong. He is always steady and strong and will always catch us. Think about the Trust Game we played. The closer you were to me, the easier it was to trust that I would catch you. The closer we are to the Lord, the more confident we are in Him and find ourselves trusting Him more.
  • How do we draw closer to the Lord? We spend time with Him in prayer and reading His Word.
• Read Proverbs 3:6.
  • What do you think acknowledge means? If your kids are readers, see if they can find the word “know” in the word.
  • When we acknowledge God, we know Him. We know Who He is, and we recognize what He has done and what He can do.
    • What do we know about the Lord? [How] does knowing these things make you more confident to trust in the Lord?
• Read Proverbs 3:7.
  • What do you think it means to “not be wise in your own eyes”?
  • We can only see a little bit of what’s going on, but God can see the whole, big picture. Who has the better view, us or God?
• Say Proverbs 3:5-7 together. Add motions to help your kids memorize the verses.

Day 4-Instructions

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verses.
• Ask, “Where are places we see instructions on things? Who are some people who give you instrcutions? Why do they give you instructions? What is usually the result of following the instructions? What usually happens if you don’t follow the instructions?”
• Proverbs 4 is kind of like an instruction manual that Solomon wrote for his son to read and follow.
• Read Proverbs 4. If you are short on time, pick out a few verses.
• Talk about it.
  • What were some of the instructions that Solomon gave to his son?
  • What were some of the benefits of following these instructions? (verses 6, 8-9, 12, 22)
  • What stood out to you the most? What is God wanting you to remember today?
• Activity Idea
  • Make something with your child(ren) that involves following instructions. As you work, you can remind them about what we read from Proverbs. Here are just a few ideas:
    • Birdhouse
    • Legos
    • K’Nex
    • Lincoln Logs
  • Have them think of instructions for builiding a castle (or something like that) for you, the parent, to follow.

Day 5-The Lord Watches All Our Paths

• Practice the memory verse.
• Read Proverbs 5:1-2, 21-23.
  • Does knowing that the Lord watches all our paths affect the choices you make? How?
• Pray, asking God to guard each of your kids’ paths. Ask Him to give them wisdom, understanding, discretion, and knowledge. Thank Him for knowing all our ways and for watching over all of our paths.

Day 6- Watch the Ant

• Pray
• Practice Proverbs 3:5-6.
• Ask, “What do an ant and a lazy person have in common?” Nothing!
• Read Proverbs 6:6-11.
  • What are some differences between an ant and a lazy person?
  • Which is better to be like? Why?
• Read Proverbs 6:16-19.
  • Have you ever done any of the things on that list?
  • Why does God hate them?
• Read Proverbs 6:20-23.
  • What instructions are we given?
  • What are the benefits of listening to and obeying the instructions from your parents?
  • We just read that “the commandment is a lamp.” What is the commandment? Look at Psalm 119:105.
  • What do lamps and lights do? So how is God’s Word a lamp and a light.
• Activity Idea
  • Make Ants on a Log together for a snack.

Day 7-“Keep My Commandments and Live”

• Pray.
• Practice Proverbs 3:5-7.
• Have you ever heard someone say of their son or daughter, “He/She is the apple of my eye”? What do you think that means? Listen for a similar phrase as we read today.
• Read Proverbs 7:1-3.
• Talk about it.
  • What should we make the apple of our eye?
    • The phrase means that something is so precious to you and treasured above all else.
  • What does it mean to “bind them on your fingers and write them on tablet of your heart”?
    • God’s Word needs to be part of us/always with us/in our minds, and we need to let it guide how we live.
• Tell Proverbs 7:4-27 in your own words. Parents, these verses speak of an adulteress, so use your discetion on if/how you talk to your young children about this. You may simply want to say that wisdom guards you from trusting/going with people who are wanting to do you harm. In my family, we call these people “tricksters”-people who seem nice and seem to have good intentions, but are really after something bad and harmful.
• Pray. Thank God for giving us wisdom. Ask Him to help your family to treasure His Word above all else and that it would guard your ways.
• Activity Idea
  • Have some apples for a snack.
    • If you want to get creative, give your kids some extras like chocolate chips, M & M’s, peanut butter, etc. and have them make faces on their apple slices.

Day 8-Wisdom’s Call

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verses.
• Read or tell in your own words Proverbs 8.
  • Wisdom is personified in this chapter. It is her call, so let’s listen to what she has to say.
• Things to think about:
  • How is wisdom’s call different from the wicked adulteress (AKA tricksters) we read about yesterday in Proverbs 7? (verses 1-3)
  • What good things come from attaining wisdom? (verses 6-9)
  • When we have wisdom and the fear of the Lord, what are we to hate? (verse 13)
  • How long has wisdom been around? Who has all wisdom? How do we see the Lord’s wisdom in creation? (verses 22-31)
  • Verse 34 says that blessed, or happy, is he who listens to wisdom because he who finds wisdom finds life and favor from the Lord (verse 35). What is the opposite of that if you don’t seek wisdom and heed her call? (verse 36)

Day 9-WIsdom or Folly

• Pray.
• Practice reciting Proverbs 3:5-7.
• What is wisdom? What is folly? Are they synonyms or antonyms?
• Everyday, many times throughout the day, we have the opportunity to decide which of these we are going to choose to listen to. Can you think of a time when you had a choice to make and you had to decide if you were going to go in the way of wisdom or choose the path of folly? Which did you choose?
• Read or tell in your own words:
  • Proverbs 9:1-6 = Wisdom
  • Proverbs 9:13-18 = Folly
• Which sounds like the better way? Why?
• How do we know which is the wise way when sometimes the way of folly can sound so appealing?
• Read Proverbs 9:10.
  • When we fear the Lord, we know that He is the One in charge and that His ways are higher and better than our ways (Isaiah 55:9) . When we know that God is God, we have an understanding of what is wise because wisdom comes from Him (James 1:5). We get to know God and learn to fear Him by reading His Word because there we see what He has done and what He is like.
• How are you going to choose wisdom today?

Day 10-What Comes Out of Your Mouth?

• Pray.
• Practice saying Proverbs 3:5-7.
• Ask, “Do you know what a contrast is?” A contrast is how one thing is different from something else; opposites. Solomon used lots of contrasts to help us understand the difference between a righteous and wise person versus a wicked person.
• As we read, listen for the contrasts, or opposites.
• Read Proverbs 10:8, 11, 14, 19, 20, 32.
  • What are some contrasts you noticed?
  • How can we be more righteous and wise with our words?
  • Why do we need to guard what we say?
  • How will you choose wisdom today?

Day 11-“With the Humble is Wisdom”

• Pray.
• Practice saying Proverbs 3:5-7.
• Remember yesterday when we talked about contrasts/opposites? Are the words pride and humility contrasts?
• Read Proverbs 11:2.
  • What comes as a result of pride?
  • What comes as a result of humility?
• When we are humble, we understand that we are not the center of the world. We know that we aren’t the best or more important than someone else; humble people know that they can learn from others and need others.
• Remember, we just read that with humility comes the treasure that is wisdom. Proverbs talks about three types of people who have this humility that brings about wisdom.
  • Man of Understanding
    • Read Proverbs 11:12-13.
      • What do people of understanding do? What do they not do?
  • Merciful Man
    • Read Proverbs 11:17.
      • What is an antonym of mercy?
      • How can you be a person of mercy?
  • Generous Man
    • Read or tell in your words Proverbs 11:24-25.
      • Can you think of the opposite of generous?
      • How can you show generosity today?

Day 12-Foolish vs. Wise

• Pray.
• Say the memory verses together.
• Read Proverbs 12:15-18.
• Teaching Idea:
  • Make a T chart together. on one side write Foolish and on the other side write Wise.
  • List all the things these proverbs tells us about each type of person.
  • Where do you stand on the list? Is there an area that that you need to ask God to help you improve in?

Day 13-Walk with the Wise

• Pray.
• Practice Proverbs 3:5-7.
  • Play Popcorn with the verses. Have one person say the first word, “Trust,” then the next person will say “in”, followed by another person saying “the”, etc.
• Read or say Proverbs 13:20.
  • What do you think it means to “walk with the wise?” The people we walk with are the people we hang out with, who we choose to be friends with. When we walk with someone, we go their way and do what they do.
  • Are you walking with wise friends? What makes them wise?
  • Proverbs says that if we are friends/companions with fools we will suffer harm. What are some good qualities that we should be looking for in our friends. What are some things we need to look out for and avoid when choosing friends?
  • Does this verse mean we shouldn’t be nice to people who aren’t wise? No, but this verse is telling us to be careful about who we are choosing to be like.
• Moms and dads, tell your kids of a time when you saw this verse play out in your life.

Day 14-Don’t Be Like Pinocchio

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verses.
• Have you ever read Pinocchio or seen the movie? It is about a little wooden puppet who comes to life and gets into all sorts of trouble because he is naive and believes everything he hears without thinking carefully about what the peron is telling him. He does what he wants, ignores good advice, and winds up with some pretty bad dudes. Read what the Bible has to say about this type of careless behavior.
• Read Proverbs 14:15-16.
  • How would you say those verses in your own words?
  • Why is it so important to be cautious intsead of reckless and careless?
  • How does this verse apply to your life?

Day 15-A Gentle Answer

• Pray.
• Practice reciting Proverbs 3:5-7.
  • Say it in a loud voice.
  • Say it in a soft, sweet voice.
• Today’s verse from Proverbs is going to help every person when we have conflict and disagreements with other people. Think about a time you have had an argunent with someone. How did you speak? Were your words calm and gentle or did you yell and get intense?
• Read Proverbs 15:1.
  • What helps settle things down?
  • What stirs things up?
    • Parents, up until a few years ago I thought this was just a proverb to help know us know how to speak in order to help calm the other person down. But, recently I have realized that it is for the person speaking these gentle words as well. When your kids (or you) are arguing, if they will speak gently, their spirit is more full of grace and isn’t as easily angered or effected by the intensity of the argument. Plus, it helps the other person to lower his/her level of harshness as well.
• Practice it.
  • Say a few random sentences in a harsh voice and then in a gentle voice. How do you feel after each one? Do you notice yourself being more tense and stirred up after you say something harshly? Do you feel more calm after saying the same sentence in a gentle way?
    • Sentence Ideas
      • I really like pizza.
      • You are so funny.
      • The kids are playing at the park.
      • You are driving too fast.

Day 16-Slow to Anger

• Pray.
• Practice saying Proverbs 3:5-7.
• Read Proverbs 16:32
  • Picture a warrior going into battle. What would you say about him? Is he strong? Is he powerful?
  • The Bible says that the one who has self-control over his anger is stronger, more powerful than the warrior who takes a city.
  • How is having self-control better than letting your anger be in charge of what you do/say?
  • It’s okay to be angry about certain things. But what the Bible is saying here is that we need to be in control over our anger. We need to rule it so that it doesn’t rule us.
  • What fruits of the Spirit do we need to help us do this? (Galations 5:22-23) These fruits come from God, so we need Him to help us. God gives us the self-control, patience, kindness, and love that we need to rule our spirit.
  • What are some areas in your life that you need to ask God to help you to be slow to anger?
  • What are some things you can do to take charge over anger when you feel it starting to rule?

Day 17-Keep Your Cool

• Pray.
• Practice saying Proverbs 3:5-7 by memory.
• Read Proverbs 17:27-28.
  • Have you ever heard someone say, “Keep your cool”?
  • Explain what it means and refer back to verse 27. How do we have a cool spirit amidst disagreements or arguements?
  • Read James 1:19. What instructions do we have for keeping our cool?
  • How are you going to apply this today? Where do you need to do more listening and less speaking/getting angry?

Day 18-The Name of the Lord is a Strong Tower

• Say Proverbs 3:5-7 together.
• Read Proverbs 18:10.
  • Picture in your head a big tower. Your city is being invaded by another army and you need to flee. You see a tower and run into it and are safe from the enemy.
  • What is our tower, our safety, according to this verse? The name of the Lord
  • What are some names of the Lord that we read in the Bible?
    • our Creator, our Savior, the King of Kings, our Provider, our Redeemer, our Counselor, our Rock, our Shepherd (and many more)
  • When we run to the Lord we find what we need. He is who we run to. His name alone is our safety. He gives us hope, wisdom, peace, protection, salvation.
• Pray. Lord, please help our children to run to you. May they know Your name. Thank you for being a strong tower.
• Activity Idea
  • Build a tower together.

Day 19-Wise Not Lies

• Pray.
• Practice Proverbs 3:5-7.
• As you read, have your kids see if they can find the repeated theme of these verses.
• Read Proverbs 19:5, 9, 22.
  • What do you hear repeated in these verses?
  • What happens when you tell one lie? You usually have to tell another one, right?
  • What is the result of lying? What do these Proverbs tell us?
    • Lying always has negative consequences. You cannot escape the lie.
      • Parents, the Hebrew meaning of “will perish” in verse 9 is to wander away, lose oneself, to perish. So, even if we lie and seem to get away with it, we still wander away from the truth and lose ourself in the process because we have to keep living the lie.
  • Why do people lie? Can you think of a time that you have lied? Why did you?
  • A lot of times people lie to get out of trouble or to avoid being caught. Proverbs tells us a better way.
• Read Proverbs 19:20.
  • Even if we are disciplined (AKA get in trouble) for the thing we did, it is better to accept that discipline than to lie and get into even more trouble.
  • This takes some courage, doesn’t it? But it is worth it because when we are willing to listen to counsel and accept discipline, then we become wise. And remember, wisdom is a treasure that is better than silver or gold (Proverbs 8:10-11)!
• Parents, can you think of a time that you lied? Tell your kids about it and what you learned from it.

Day 20-Known by our Actions

• Pray.
• Practice Proverbs 3:5-7.
• How can you tell what kind of person someone is? How can you tell if someone is nice or mean or shy or bold?
  • We can tell what kind of person someone is by his/her actions; by what they do.
• Read or say Proverbs 20:11.
  • What kind of person are you? What kind of person do you want to be?
  • How do your actions (conduct) show what kind of person you are?
  • What should our actions be like according to this verse? Pure and right.
• Listen to this song
  • Even A Child – Proverbs 20:11

Day 21-“Victory Belongs to the Lord”

• Practice Proverbs 3:5-7.
• What are some things you have to prepare for? Sports? Recitals? Tests? Presentations?
• How do you get ready for these things?
• What would probably happen if you didn’t prepare for them?
• Read Proverbs 21:31.
  • We have a job to do, which is to be prepared for our tasks as much as we can be.
  • Just like a warrior would get his horse ready and make sure it was hooked up correctly to the chariot and make sure he had on his gear and had his weapons and was ready to fight; he was prepared.
  • But, the outcome of what happens is in whose hands? God’s. No matter how prepared we are, we still need Him. We have to trust in Him for the outcome.
• Read Psalm 20:7.
  • He is the only One who sees the whole, big picture. He knows what we need.
  • Will the “battle” always go our way, even if we are prepared and trusting in the Lord?
    • No. But sometimes God uses defeats to teach us things.
    • Sometimes, He will give greater victories than we even expected. But no matter the outcome, we can trust in Him.
• What is something you (child) have been preparing for but need to give the results over to God?
• Pray out loud and model to them how you (parent) commit a task to the Lord.

Day 22-Pure Heart and Gracious Speech

• Pray.
• Practice saying Proverbs 3:5-6.
• Read Proverbs 22:24-25.
  • How would you say it in your own words?
  • What warning do we see here?
• Contrast this verse with Proverbs 22:11.
  • What are the differences in the types of people described?
  • What blessings come from the wisdom described in verse 11?
  • How will you choose a pure heart and gracious speech today?

Day 23-How to Make Your Parents Happy

• Pray.
• Practice Proverbs 3:5-7.
• What are some things you do that make your parents smile? Laugh? Happy? Sad? Frustrated?
• Read Proverbs 23:15-17.
  • Talk about it.
  • Let them know you pray for them and are proud of them. Encourage them to continue living in the fear of the Lord.

Day 24-Looking at Laziness

• Pray.
• Practice Proverbs 3:5-7.
• Read or tell in your own words Proverbs 24:30-34.
  • What warning are we given?
  • What happens when we are lazy?
  • How do you tend to be lazy? Why?
  • What can you do differently?

Day 25-A CIty WIthout Walls

• Practice saying Proverbs 3:5-7.
• Read Proverbs 25:28.
• Talk about it.
  • This verse compares a person who lacks self-control with a city whose walls are down and has been broken into.
  • How are these two things alike?
  • What would happen to a city who has already been broke ninto and is now left without walls? It would be open for even more destruction.
  • Think of the areas in which we need self-control. Here are some examples:
    • our emotions/anger
    • our appetite
    • our schoolwork
    • practicing for sports or music
    • screen time
  • What happens with each of these examples when we lack self-control? What happens when we practice self-control in each of these areas?
• Pray. Ask God to help your kids have self-control. Pray that He will show them areas in which they need self-control and discipline. Thank Him that He wants to protect us and guard our lives from things that lead to our destruction.

Day 26-I Was Only Joking

• Pray.
• Practice the memory verse, Proverbs 3:5-7.
• Have you ever said something hateful or ugly to someone else or lied about something, and then after they tell on you or your parents find out about it, you said, “But I was just joking”?
• Read Proverbs 26:18-19.
  • What does the Bible say about saying mean or deceitful words and then covering it up by saying, “I was only joking”?
  • To what does it compare this type of behavior?
  • So, what are these verses saying? Why do we not coverup what we said by saying, “I was only joking”?
  • Has the damage already been done?
  • Can you think of a time when you have done this?

Day 27-Humility

• Pray.
• Practice Proverbs3:5-7.
• Read or say Proverbs 27:2.
• Talk about what it means and looks like to be humble.

Day 28-Love One Another

• Say the memory verse.
• Read or say Proverbs 28:27.
• Read 1 John 3:16-18.
  • What is the main idea of these verses?
  • Why should we help others who have need? (verse 16)
  • How can you give/use what you have to help someone else?
• Pray. Thank Jesus that He gave His life to give us what we needed-salvation. Ask God to show your family how He wants to use what you have to help others have what they need.

Day 29-Hold Back Your Anger

• Pray.
• Practice Proverbs 3:5-7.
• Read or say Proverbs 29:11. (I like the NASB translation of this verse for kids.)
  • Role play some situations that might happen.
    • Have your kids respond by losing their temper the first time. Then say, “Let’s try this again.” And they role play the same scenario a second time, but this time responding in a wise way.

Day 30-What are you stirring up?

• Pray.
• Practice saying Proverbs 3:5-7.
• These are the verses that stood out to me while reading this chapter:
  • Proverbs 30:5
    • Talk about how God’s Word is true.
    • Talk about what is the purpose of a shield. God is our shield. We can go to Him and His Word for refuge.
  • Proverbs 30:32-33
    • Talk about cause and effect. Give some examples:
      • When you ___________, then you ______________.
    • What are the cause and effect statements in these verses?
    • What is is the effect of stirring up anger?
    • How have you done this? Why do we stir things up?
• Activity Idea
  • Make homemade butter. Look on Pinterest for an easy recipe.

Day 31-A Worthy Woman

• Record your kids saying Proverbs 3:5-7 and let them watch or listen.
• Talk about the worthy woman that Proverbs 31 describes.
  • Ask your girls, “Why do you need to know what the BIble describes as a worthy woman?”
  • Ask your boys, “Why do you need to know what the Bible describs as a worthy woman?”
• Say Proverbs 31:10-31 in your own words.
• Pray for your daughter and/or future daughter-in-law. Pray for your son, that he will seek out and wait for a worthy woman.