Nothing is Impossible with God

Today our advent reading included Luke 1:37 Nothing is impossible with God.  It was a perfect springboard to praying with my kids for the orphans in Sudan.

Over recent months, I have loved following the ministry of Make Way Partners.  Most missionaries and ministries whom I support and follow send infrequent, cheerful updates--churches built, lots of people saved, tidy prayer requests.  Kimberly Smith of Make Way Partners sends frequent, heart-wrenching, raw updates.  I appreciate her vulnerability and her passion--it draws me into prayer.

Today she sent an update that much needed (and very costly) food for the orphans are stuck at the border--not being allowed into the country.

I felt compelled to pray with my kids about this, but it's tough--it's tough to explain orphans and starvation and corrupt government officials to a 3 and 5 year old.  But we did.

• After we read our Advent reading of Luke 1:26-38, we talked about how nothing is impossible with God.
• I explained that an orphan has no mom or dad.
• We grabbed the globe and I showed them were we live and where Sudan is.
• I explained that there was a truck full of food waiting for them--food we had sent money to help buy.  Here they made a personal connection:  "A truck like Grandpa drives?"  Grandpa drives a truck for a restaurant supply company, so, yes, it was a great connection.  
• I explained that some people were stopping the truck and wouldn't let it drive to the kids and we needed to pray, because it was a problem that only God could solve--because nothing is impossible with God.  

I was so blessed to hear my three year old pray for the orphans and pray for the truck ("like Grandpa's truck").   Check out Kimberly Smith's blog and pray with us with child like faith that the food may be safely delivered.

The Thanksgiving Book I'm So Glad I Found

Last year, I requested every children's book our library system owned that seemed even marginally related to Thanksgiving.  I weeded out those with anti-Pilgrim agendas, photos from 1973, and way too much text.  

When it was all said and done I had a list of seven books that were worth reading to my kids (now ages 1-5).  Yet, I still felt something was missing.  Our list included books with great art, books with lyrical rhyme, books with perky rhythms, but nothing that clearly and thoroughly built a framework of exactly who the Pilgrims were, where and why they had traveled, what their daily life was like and how all of that culminated in the first Thanksgiving celebration.

The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern has filled in that gap.  The text is very simple in style, with 5-8 short sentences per page.  The illustrations are simple and traditional.  To merely glance at it on the book shelf it would not, perhaps, stand out.

However, its simple text and simple pictures thoroughly and systematically relay the story of the Pilgrim's journey, hardships and struggles, achievements, and ultimately their celebration.

The author is clearly writing for a preschool audience when she describes the Mayflower as being "as big as two trucks."   One of my favorite aspects of the text is its focus on what the life of a Pilgrim child would have been like during each phase of the Pilgrim story:  no toys or space to run around on the Mayflower, having to sleep on the floor and wear the same clothes every day without enough water for washing; once on land, running on the beach feeling the sand in their toes, sleeping in beds that fit under the adults' beds during the day, shooing birds away from the cornfield, and turning a roast on a spit all day.

My children connected to the story because of the many kid-oriented details.  The thoroughness of this book has built their background knowledge, creating the scaffolding they needed to understand and appreciate the allusions in the more artistic and lyrical Thanksgiving picture books.

The only way this book could be better is if it made more clear the central role of God in the lives of the Pilgrims.  There is certainly mention of their religious beliefs, prayer, and observing the Sabbath, but not a clear sense of the way in which their faith in God shaped and influenced every aspect of their lives.

I am glad I bought this book--and glad I opted for the more expensive library binding--as I expect to be enjoying this book with my children for years to come.

Our Summer Memory-Verse-A-Thon

A few months ago, God convicted in me that I  needed to be nurturing in my children and in myself a heart of compassion for this hurting world.

The Project
While I don't feel called right now to pack up and become a full time missionary, I do want my children to understand that there are many people in the world who are hungry and in need and that God wants us to show them His love not only by telling them about Him, but by caring for their physical needs.

We eat a lot of eggs, so buying a starter brood of chicks to be given to a family in need through Samaritan's Purse seemed like a nice concrete place to start.

Of course, like most preschoolers, my kids don't have a lot of disposable income, so giving is often just bumming money from mom and dad.  I wanted them to feel more ownership of their giving, more personal investment and sacrifice.

The Memory-Verse-A-Thon Plan
To get the kids actively involved in raising and giving money, I cooked up the idea of a memory-verse-a-thon.  My plan was that the kids would ask adults to sponsor them, pledging to donate a small amount of money for each verse that the child memorized.

When I agreed to teach the 3-6 year old Sunday school class for the summer, I expanded my plan to make this a project for the whole class.  We are three weeks into the project and so far it is going very well.

Each week in Sunday school I introduce a new verse, telling a Bible story that illustrates the principle of the verse and including crafts and games that help reinforce the meaning of the verse and story.  The kids practice the verse throughout the week and then contact each of their sponsors to recite the verse.  We have a tracking sheet with two columns for each verse:  one to check off that the verse has been recited and one to check off that the donation has been received.

Four Reasons I'm Loving the Memory-Verse-A-Thon
So far, I love how it is working!

• The kids are motivated to learn their verses and learn them well.  
• They feel ownership of the gift they are giving to God each week as they place money in the Sunday school offering basket.  
• They are also building relationships with a lot of loving, godly adults.  
• It has been a blessing to the adult sponsors to hear these truths on the lips of such young ones.  

Details
Here are the two notes that went home to parents explaining the project and memory-verse-a-thon.  I also made a very nifty sponsor tracking grid, but I'm not tech-savvy enough to figure out how to post it because of all the formatting.

Letter Explaining the Project

Dear parents—

Welcome to summer time Sunday school! 

This summer we will be taking an offering each week.  All of the money donated will be used to purchase chicks from Samaritan’s Purse.   For $14, we can donate a dozen chicks to a family in need elsewhere in the world.  Here’s what Samaritan’s Purse says about chickens:

Chickens are at the top of the “pecking order” when it comes to helping needy families. A small flock can produce hundreds of eggs each year, enough to eat with plenty left over to sell. Samaritan’s Purse works with local believers in developing countries to furnish baby chickens or ducks, and to help families raise them properly. For $14, we can supply a starter brood of a dozen chicks.

This project will give our children a chance to be cheerful givers and to have compassion for people in need.   I’m hoping we will be able to donate one starter brood of chickens, but it would be exciting to be able to donate even more. 

It is important to teach our children to be good stewards and generous givers from a young age, so here are a few ideas for how to make giving to this project meaningful for your child: 

• ·         If your child receives an allowance, teach him/her about tithing and encourage him/her regularly to give a portion of the allowance. 
• ·         Encourage your child to find extra chores for which he/she may earn extra money to give.
• ·         Help your child participate in our Memory-Verse-A-Thon.

Earlier this year when I was trying to think of a way to help my kids raise money to give to others in need, I hatched this idea for a memory-verse-a-thon.  Now that I’m teaching summer Sunday school, I’d like to invite your children to participate.  I want to stress that this is totally optional.  If it does not feel like a good fit for your child or your family this summer, do not feel obligated to participate.   It is also fine to participate partially, helping your child memorize some, but not all of the verses.

If you are interested in participating, check out the attached form for more information.  Each week I will be introducing a short verse to the class as the basis of our lesson for the day.  You may then work with your child on memorizing that verse throughout the week.

If you have any question, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I know that attendance will be hit and miss over the summer, but I look forward to learning with your children when they are here this summer.

Letter with the Memory-Verse-A-Thon Guidelines and Scriptures to Memorize

Summer Memory-Verse-A-Thon

Step 1:   Find one or more people to sponsor your children, pledging to donate money for each verse that your child memorizes.   There are 10 verses, so a donation of $.25 per verse would total a donation of $2.25 for the whole summer. 

Step 2:  Start Memorizing!  Each week a new verse will be introduced in Sunday school.   Your child will practice the verse and hear a story relating to the verse.  Continue practicing the verse with your child throughout the week.   I find adding motions to the verse really helps my kids.

Step 3:  Master the verse.  There is a great deal of flexibility here.  Set a standard for your child that is achievable.  A few of the verses are a little longer—please feel free to shorten a verse by dropping a phrase or clause (especially for Deuteronomy 6:5 and 1 John 1:9) if your child is struggling.  Whether or not your child learns the reference is up to you. 

Step 4:  Recite the verse to each sponsor.  When your child has mastered the verse, help your child contact each sponsor and recite the verse.   Use the record sheet to keep track.

Step 5:  Collect the donations.   Donations may be collected as your child recites each verse or at the end of the summer.  More frequent donations may be motivational, but if the sponsor is out of town, a single donation at the end of the summer would be more practical.  Use the record sheet to keep track, so there is no confusion. 

Step 6:  Remind your child . . . that all of the money raised will help buy baby chicks for a needy family. 

June 19:  Proverbs 14:31  . . . whoever is kind to the needy honors God.

June 26:  Deuteronomy 6:5   Love the LORD your God with all your heart.

July 3:  Matthew 22:39   Love your neighbor as yourself.

July 10:  Psalm 100:2  Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

July 17:  Philippians 4:6   . . .with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

July 24:  1 John 1:9  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.

July 31:  Luke 22:46  “. . .pray so that you will not fall into temptation.”

August 7:  Philippians 2:14 Do everything without complaining or arguing.

August 14:  Isaiah 43:5  Do not be afraid, for I am with you.

August 21:  Ephesians 4:29a  Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths,  . . .

August 28:  Ephesians 4:29b  . . . but only what is helpful for building others up.

The Story of America's Birthday

Unable to find any books on hand at the library that would help my kids understand the history and significance of July 4th, I ordered The Story of America's Birthday from Amazon.  It did not have a lot of reviews, so it was a bit of a blind leap, but overall I'm glad that I purchased it.

Neither the text nor illustrations are artistic masterpieces, but it gets the job done.  It does a nice job of bringing the history and significance of Independence day to a level that a three or four year old can easily understand.  As the title suggests, it frames the story as the story of America's birthday--an immediate attention-grabber for my birthday-obsessed children.  

The vocabulary and very basic historical details chosen are all appropriate for young preschoolers and easy to grasp.  The focus is on the idea that the colonist were not free, but now we are.  

Big Brother, at age five, could definitely have handled something with a bit more detail, but this book was perfect for Sis at age three.  

Popsicle-Stick Flag: Cute, Easy, and Surprisingly Sturdy

The kids got in the patriotic spirit of July 4th with these folk art flags.

We started by painting wooden craft sticks red with water color paints.

Big Brother went rogue and started painting sticks blue as well.

Then we made a pattern with the sticks (Big Brother loves patterns) alternating red, plain, red, plain, and glued them to two supporting craft sticks with Elmer's glue.  The kids chose star stickers to place on a blue rectangle that I had prepped.

They glued these in the upper corner of the flag and then added more craft sticks glued together to make a flag pole.

I was impressed with how much they enjoyed the project, how well both Sis at age three and Big Brother at age five were able to complete it, and at how sturdy the finished product was.  I was a bit skeptical about using simple Elmer's glue, but the kids played with them throughout the day without tragedy.

Waving his flags and enjoying dessert.

Getting My Ducks in a Row for the Fourth of July

Holidays at the beginning of a month always sneak up on me.  They feel a month away even as the preceding month winds down.  Suddenly it's the first of the month and the holiday is on my door step.

I want to be intentional in making our holidays God-centered as well as fun and memorable for the kids, so here's what I'm scrambling to plan:

Prayer Breakfast:  We'll start the day with a special breakfast (menu to be determined) and a time of family prayer for our country.  That is pretty abstract for kids, so we are going to read 1 Timothy 2:1-4 together:

First, I want all of you to pray for everyone. Ask God to bless them. Give thanks for them.  Pray for kings. Pray for all who are in authority. Pray that we will live peaceful and quiet lives. And pray that we will be godly and holy.  That is good. It pleases God our Savior. He wants everyone to be saved. He wants them to come to know the truth.


Then we'll use this "Prayer for Our Leaders" coloring sheet to make it a bit more concrete (from ministry-to-children.com).

A Little History Lesson  I went to the library earlier this week and was disappointed not to find any picture books about Independence Day.  I've ordered The Story of America's Birthday by Patricia Pingry and I'm hoping it will arrive in time and provide the background I'm hoping to share with the kids.

Birthday Fun  Since my kids get and love the concept of birthdays, I'm thinking we'll do birthday decorations and a special birthday dessert.  I'm hoping to make coconut milk ice cream and top it with strawberries and blue berries.  I'm also planning to make American flags out of popsicle sticks.

Easter Egg Hunting and the Resurrection Story

I realize that any attempt to combine egg-hunting (with its roots in pagan fertility rituals) and the resurrection of Jesus is going to be inherently superficial.  But I'm doing it anyway.

Resurrection Eggs are available commercially from Family Life today and there are do-it-yourself versions all over the web.  I used the instructions at cullensabcs as a jumping off point to make my own set of eggs filled with  small symbols that would serve as visual aids for telling the resurrection story.  (I've never seen the commercially available eggs in person, so I don't know how similar they may be.)

Making the Resurrection Story Eggs

To make my resurrection eggs, I started with an empty egg carton, twelve plastic eggs, and collection of small objects and pictures.  I agonized over what to include in each one and I ended up with . . .

1. A palm leaf--to represent the triumphal entry (Matthew 2:1-11)
2. A cotton ball soaked in perfume--to represent Mary pouring perfume on Jesus' feet (John 12:2-8)
3. A piece of Chex cereal--to represent the bread at the last supper (Matthew 26:17-19
4. Three dimes--to represent the money given to Judas to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:17-19)
5. A picture of praying hands--to represent Jesus praying in the garden (Matthew 26:36-46)
6. A sword--to represent Peter drawing his sword at Jesus' arrest (Matthew 26:50-54)
7. A thorn--to represent the crown of thorns placed on Jesus' head (John 19:1-3)
8. A toothpick cross and a nail--to represent Jesus carrying his cross and being nailed to it (John 19:17-18)
9. Sponge--to represent the sponge on which Jesus was given sour wine (Matthew 27:48)
10. Spices and linen--to represent Joseph preparing Jesus' body for burial (Matthew 17:59-60)
11. A small stone--to represent the stone at the entrance of the tomb (Matthew 27:60)
12. An empty egg--to represent the empty tomb (Matthew 28:5-8)

After filling each egg, I used puff paint to number them.

After this dries, if I have time, I'm planning to add some more embellishment with purple puff paint.

Egg Hunting with the Resurrection Eggs
I'm planning to hide these eggs along with some hardboiled eggs and some unembellished plastic eggs (each of the plain eggs with one jelly bean inside).

I'll instruct the kids that if they find a special egg with sparkly paint on it, that they need to bring it back to a very special basket.  I intentionally put the puff paint numbers over the joint in the egg hoping to make it less likely that they are accidentally opened.

After all the eggs have been collected, we will sit together and open the numbered eggs one at a time, recounting the amazing story of God's sacrificial love for us through Christ's death and resurrection.

Thank you, Lord, that you are rich in mercy because of the great love with which you love us, love me--despite my selfishness and constant turning away from you.   Thank you, Lord, for your sacrifice and triumph over sin and death!