Witness with Wordless Playdo - Courage #2



http://www.hsprintables.com/wordlessbook.html

http://www.hsprintables.com/wordlessbook.html

I asked myself what do I need courage for most in my daily life?

Answer:
Telling others about Jesus' love. 

So I tried to think of a fun and simple way to help my kids have courage to tell others that Jesus loves them whether that be a neighbor, classmate, or any other friend.

The wordless book came to mind. Yet I wanted to be able to give our friends not just a few colored pieces of paper, but something they would really want.

I believe God gave me the idea of Playdo. What kid doesn't like playdo and how easy to give them playdo in the same colors as the wordless book.

My idea is to invite a friend over for a playdate.  After everyone starts feeling comfortable with each other, present them with your present of colored playdo and the color by number sheet about Jesus' love, and maybe a heart cookie cutter.  Then let the kids play with playdo (have your own set so they don't have to open their nice new playdo) and have your child explain to the other child about the different colors and why we wanted to give them a present - to share with them that Jesus loves them.

Here is a short version of what the colors stand for:

Gold - reminds us of Heaven  - John 3:16
Black - reminds us of sin (anything that displeases God keeps us from going to heaven) - Romans 3:23
Red - reminds us of Jesus' blood took the punishment for our sin- I Corinthians 15:1-4
White - reminds us how to get a clean heart - John 1:12
(A- Admit that you are a sinner
  B - Believe that Christ died for your sins
  C -Call on Jesus to forgive you so you can be saved.)
Green - reminds us to grow to know Jesus more and more through
   the Bible, prayer, church, and telling others

I hope to try this out this week.  I would love to hear how your experience went if you try this!
Do you have any fun and simple ways to help your kids have courage to share Christ with others?

The Basics for Right and Wrong? - Courage #1

It is getting harder and harder to stand up for what is right in a society that is trying to convince us that there are no moral absolutes. The irony is that the only thing that our universities teach as absolute truth is that there is absolutely no absolute truth.

We must courageously continue to teach our children God's truth and teach them to courageously stand alone for what the Bible says is right in a society that is training young people that it is right for them to do whatever feels right to them.

So how do we teach our kids what is right and what is wrong? Start with the basics - The Ten Commandments - which are summarized beautifully in Mark12:28-34

"'Which commandment is the most important of all?'"Jesus answered,'...you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself...'"

See my Pinterest Pages for some simple Courage activities and Ten Commandments Crafts.

I would love to hear about any ideas you had for teaching your kids about absolute truth.

The Four Loves - Mom Mondays

       C.S. Lewis'  The Four Loves is a book that is just perfect for reading and teaching to our children at this time of year.  This week, I am going to dedicate a day to focus on each of the four loves. Here is a brief overview:

Storge - Affection - natural love that you have for family
                                and familiar people or things.

Phileo - Friendship - companions that have something in common

Eros - Romantic - feelings that you have when you are "in love"

Agape - Charity - the unconditional love that God has for us,
                             and that we can show toward others
                             as a result for and from our love for God
       Love is the basis for all the other character qualities and for our theology. I would love to hear any of your ideas about how to grow and teach love in your family.  Which one of these four loves are you the best or the worst at?  Ask God to help you know how to grow and to teach in these four areas this week.

"...You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.... You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment greater than these." - Mark 12: 30,31

I LOVE to KISS - Thoughtful Thursday

       This Valentine's week we have talked about candlelight dinners, flowers, and sweets. Today we are going to talk about kissing.  KISS - Keep It Simple Silly (We have to say silly instead of studid at our house:)). The most important and basic thing we can do for our family every day, not just at Valentine's, is to be loving. Read the passage to the left. Are you showing love to your kids?  Are you a loving spouse? Are you a loving person in general? Seek God's strength and guidance today for special ways you can show love to all those around you. Maybe let the lady who rings up your groceries pick out a drink or snack, secretly slip an encouraging note and a Sonic gift card into your friends diaper bag, sit down and read a good book with your kids, and then plant a big fat KISS on your honey when he gets home from work.

Slow Down for Sweets - Wise Wednesday

   Valentine's Day would not be complete without all the sweet treats. Through her book, One Thousand Gifts, Ann Voskamp has been teaching me about how to cultivate a grateful heart. She suggests slowing down to focus on God's goodness in all things. I hope these quotes below from her book will inspire you to action (well a slowing down of all the action).

"Haste makes waste."
"Hurry makes us hurt."
"Life is dessert -- too brief to hurry....When did I stop thinking life was dessert?...
"It takes a full twenty minutes after your stomach is full for your brain to register satiation.  How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full? The slower the living, the greater the sense of fullness and satisfaction.  The body and soul can synchronize."
"Wherever you are, be all there." - Elizabeth Elliot
" Being in a hurry. Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me. I cannot think of a single advantage I've ever gained from being in a hurry. But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of rushing...Through all that haste I thought I was making up time. It turns out I was throwing it away." - Mark Buchanan

         Take time to show your sweet kid how much you love them by slowing down and really enjoying a sweet treat with them today. Share with them how very grateful to God you are for all the little things in life - like sweet treats, but also for the big, giant things in your life like your sweet kid. 
        What are some ways we can slow down or stop hurrying? How do you make your kids feel loved and important?