The Doodlebug Story

I have two Doodlebugs, a daughter and son, though now that they’ve grown I don’t call them that anymore. :)

But when my son was little, he struggled terribly with nightmares.  I spent many nights next to his bed praying and reading to him so that he could sleep.  I taught him bible verses about protection and faith, but he seemed to have a hard time remembering them when he got scared at night.  I got the idea to write down the words of Psalm 91 on something that he could keep close.

So, one day I sat down and started painting the image of an eagle on a pillowcase with the words of Psalm 91 in a circle around the eagle.  With the finished product in hand, we sat down before bedtime and read the words together.  He couldn’t read yet at the time but liked to pretend that he could and after a week or two could recite the words from memory.

Something happened in his mind and heart because of this little bedtime ritual. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God, and by reciting the words himself, his nightmares disappeared.  That’s how the idea of these scripture blankets was born and my wish is that it will bring similar comfort to a little one in your life.

Over the years, I experimented with storytelling and poetry and creating child characters and the wholesome adventures they would take with their animal friends. When my own children got older, I began sharing these stories with the other little kids…or Doodlebugs, in my life.

When my niece was going to have a daughter of her own, I wanted to create something similar for her baby to what I’d given my son when he was afraid of sleeping all those years ago.  So I created a Scripture blanket for her, but this time I incorporated some of the characters from my stories and poems.

I’m always delighted to see how much little Jane loves her blanket.  She finds comfort in it when she’s put to bed at night but she also likes carrying it around with her when she’s playing during the day.  Her mom says it even helps sooth away the pain of a skinned knee or an accidental bump on the head.  She doesn’t like sharing it too much, so when she got a new sister I had to make sure she got her own.

Making sure that our children and grandchildren get to know the Word from an early age will go a long way to sustaining them through life.  Let’s help them sharpen those swords and build their faith.