Sing With Your Children!

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Isaiah 61 says that Jesus came to give us a song of praise in place of sorrow.

He has put a new song in my mouth– Psalm 40:3

Psalm 118:15 says glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous.

God puts a song in our heart and we need to sing it!! He desires our songs of praise to Him, but He also designed music for our good – to promote our wellness, to help us manage stress, to encourage us to express our feelings, to help enhance our memory, and to help us improve communication.

It is easy to sing when things are going great but Scripture gives us examples of ways God used music in difficult times. In 2 Chronicles 20, God instructed the singers to lead the way as the army marched toward the enemy which lead to their ultimate victory. In 1 Samuel 16:23 David’s harp playing soothed the troubled spirit of the king.

With all this in mind, we should sing often with our children. Don’t worry if you are like me and can’t carry a tune . . . God nor your children will care. It will bless God, your children, and you. God has designed children to give Him the best praise and you as their parent get to have a part in that as you guide them to sing. (Psalm 8:2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you; toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk, and silence atheist babble.)

Here’s a link to a site that gives links to 25 foundational hymns to sing with your children.

All of the Kid’s Sing Praise Albums were a favorite when my children were young.  They are all on YouTube.

There are so many new songs available now.  Just look for them or make up your own!

Here are a few examples of songs that you can sing to familiar tunes.

Blow, Blow, Blow the Wind (Psalm 147:18)

(tune of Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

Blow, blow, blow the wind

Gently through the trees

God causes His wind to blow

How I like the breeze

A Helper I Will Be(1 Corinthians 3:9)

(tune of The Farmer in the Dell)

A helper I will be

A helper I will be

I will help my mommy

A helper I will be

Be Ready to Share (1 Timothy 6:18)

(tune of 3 Blind Mice)

Be ready to share

Be ready to share

It’s more fun when we share our toys

So let’s share with the girls and the boys

Be ready to share

Be ready to share

It is Better to Give Than Receive (Ephesians 4:28, 2Cor. 9:7)

(tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)

It is better to give than receive

Give than receive

Give than receive

It is better to give than receive

Giving makes us glad

Brush Your Teeth

(tune of Row, Row Your Boat)

Brush, Brush, Brush your teeth

Brush your teeth each day

Then you’ll have a pretty smile

And healthy teeth to stay

Keep music flowing in your tent. 🙂

 

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The Far-Reaching Affects of Godly Moms

I remember your genuine faith, for you share the faith that first filled your grandmother Lois and your mother, Eunice. And I know that same faith continues strong in you. 2 Timothy 1:5

and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2 Timothy 3:15

On this Mother’s Day I want to honor the two moms that have had a profound impact on our family – my own mom and the mom of my husband.

Billy’s mom had an intense love for the Word. Billy remembers her always pouring over the Scriptures. She was even my Sunday School teacher as a child.

One of my best memories of my mom is that she always prayed with me at night when she tucked me in. We prayed together for years for my dad to be saved until God miraculously answered and we saw Dad eventually become the men’s Bible teacher in our church!

Our being blessed with such Godly moms has had a profound impact on our family. Those of you who know my husband know what an intense love for the Word he has and how God has gifted him as a Bible teacher. His mom’s love for God has definitely been passed down to him.

My mom’s faithfully praying with me produced my desire for prayer and influenced me to have pray each night with our children and now our grandchildren.

And now we get to observe our moms’ legacies continue on in our adult children as they share the Word and pray with their children each night.

Our family has been extremely blessed by our mothers.  If you did not have a mother like ours, let go of your hope of a better past and purpose to be the mom who has a far-reaching affect on your family for many years into the future.

Here are some previous Train Up the Child Mother’s Day blog posts.  Take some time to read these and be encouraged in your awesome privilege and responsibility as Mom:

Scriptures to Encourage Moms

Be a Joyful Mom – Even If the Job is Hard (And it Is)

Learn from Mothers in the Bible and in History

God Wants You to Have a Happy Mother’s Day

What Makes a Happy Mother

A Prayer for Mothers

We Have This Moment as Mom to Make a Memory

 

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Jesus’ Resurrection Day!!

IT’S SUNDAY MORNING!

“Low in the grave He lay, Jesus my Savior,
waiting the coming day, Jesus my Lord!
Vainly they watch his bed, Jesus my Savior,
vainly they seal the dead, Jesus my Lord!
Death cannot keep its prey, Jesus my Savior;
He tore the bars away, Jesus my Lord!”
Up from the grave He arose;
with a mighty triumph o’er his foes;
He arose a victor from the dark domain,
and He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
He arose! He arose! Hallelujah! Christ arose!”


I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.

1 Cor. 15:3-4

Rejoice for this validates everything that Jesus did and said! It also grants us a confirmed hope! We who are alive in Christ will one day be reunited with those who are asleep in Christ!

The sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over us, but all who receive God’s wonderful, gracious gift of righteousness will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:17

Make Easter a family time of worshiping together and thinking about the risen Lord:

  • Start the morning with Resurrection Rolls This link tells you how to use rolls to teach the real reason we celebrate Easter!
  • Watch the sunrise and think on that first Easter sunrise when The Son rose!!
  • Read the Easter story together from Matthew 27-28, Mark 15 – 16, or Luke 23-24.
  • Sing praises together.  Hooray is one song that children really love about the empty tomb.  It is from Every Song a Bible Story from Maranatha Music.

Happy Easter from my family to yours!

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What Was Jesus Doing on Day Seven of Passion Week?

He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
Matthew 28:6


Read about what was happening on Day Seven of Passion Week. It was a dark day for Jesus’ disciples – they thought He was in the tomb, but they could not imagine what He was actually up to during their darkest moments!!

Emphasize all day that when things look dark in our lives, God is busy at work, taking care of the things that concern us, even though we can’t see it.


Make an empty tomb with just a paper plate cut in half.  Color back side of one half of the plate brown. Color the top side of the other black which will be the inside of the tomb.  Cut a stone out of the brown side.  Staple the two sides together.  You can crumple a piece of brown paper for the stone.

Get complete instructions here to make an Easter Garden.

Tell the Easter Story with this Easter Cookie recipe. This is complete instructions with scriptures to share as you make the cookies.   When done, the cookies are empty just like the tomb.

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What was Jesus Doing on Day Six of Passion Week?

picture from Read and Share Bible

I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me—that Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.  He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, as the Scriptures said.
1 Cor. 15:3-4

Day Six of Passion Week is the day that Jesus was put on the cross.  It is  the most crucial focal point in history. Think with your children about the agony He went through  – betrayal, arrest, false accusations, abandonment, beatings, harassment, and finally being nailed to a cross. –  all this for someone else’s sins.   It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming is a video that depicts some of what was happening.

Resurrection Eggs is a wonderful teaching aid for helping your children visualize what Jesus was going through.  Each egg contains a different symbol such as 3 coins, leather strip, crown of thorns, 3 nails, etc.   It comes with a booklet telling the story related to each symbol and can be purchased at most Christian book stores.  Click here for excellent instructions on making your own!

Save your colored egg shells to make a cross like the one in this picture.  Cut a cross out of cardboard; cover it in glue; then sprinkle the crushed egg shells on it.  Share with your children as you are making this that just as these egg shells are broken to make a beautiful picture, Jesus’ body was broken for us to make our lives beautiful and free from the punishment for sin.

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