Books

“A Brother is Born to Help in Time of Need”

How fun to be able to spend time with Josh and Becca during these special days in their family.  What a privilege to be with Grant as he grows to love his new brother.   This week we are using Proverbs 17:17b with him and Hudson – “. . . a brother is born to help in time of need”.

Grant and I found a picture of an older brother helping his younger brother and glued it onto a styrofoam plate.  I wrote the verse on the plate and we tied a ribbon to it and hung it on a door knob for him to look at all week.

Becca let Grant pick out Hudson’s clothes for the day.  Grant helps with diaper changing by taking the dirty diaper to the trash with great enjoyment.  He checks his diapered Teddy for poo often.

We read about Joseph and his brothers in Joseph and His Brothers: Genesis 37-47 for Children (Arch Books).  We talked about how sad it was for the brothers to be so unkind to Joseph.  We prayed that God would help Hudson and him to be good friends and help one another. We read We’re Very Good Friends, My Brother and I.

We sang “You’re Something Special” from Especially For Children (classic moments from) The Bill Gaither Trio.  You can download the song here and see the lyrics here.

It seems like just yesterday I was using these same activities with Josh when Jer was born.  Moms, don’t miss a moment with your little ones because with the blink of your eye, they will be grown and having little ones of their own 🙂

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Celebrating the Real Meaning of Easter

Easter is the time to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus, but this usually gets pushed aside by traditional Easter activities such as the Easter Bunny, colored eggs, and new clothes.  Easter comes at springtime and some of our traditions at Easter are actually a part of the pagan springtime celebration.  But that’s ok . . .  we can use these tangible things to help children understand intangible ideas.

The bunny stays in a rabbit hole in the ground all winter.  When spring comes, the bunny comes out of  his hole.  We can relate this to Jesus being in the tomb for three days, but on Easter morning, He came out and is alive today.

Eggs remind us of new life.   Coloring them reminds us of how beautiful our world is as the earth comes back to life again with new flowers and new leaves and grass.  Relate this to Jesus coming back to life.

New chicks, bunnies, lambs, and ducks are  also reminders of new life.    Jesus gives us new life by what He did on the Cross for us.

Put Bible verses on the eggs you hide and then gather together to read them all.  Some suggested verses are:

Revelation 21:5 Jesus makes all things new.

Galatians 2:20  Jesus Christ lives.

Matthew 28:6  Jesus is risen.

Song of Solomon 2:12  The flowers appear on the earth.

2 Cor. 5:17 (Living)   When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!

Make a cross out of twigs or craft sticks and keep it in a prominent place during the Easter season.  Point out that it is empty because Jesus didn’t stay on the cross or in the tomb . . . He is alive!!

A great book to teach the real meaning of Easter is Easter Bunny, Are You For Real?

10-hooray This is a song that children really love about the empty tomb .  It is from Every Song a Bible Story from Maranatha Music.

Make Easter a family time of worshiping together and thinking about the risen Lord.  Read the Easter story together from Matthew 27-28, Mark 15 – 16, or Luke 23-24.

Happy Easter from my family to yours.

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How much time does it take to raise your children for Christ?

Susanna Wesley had 15 children and spent an hour a week with each child individually, helping he or she to be totally submitted to God.  When she was asked about her method of preparing her children for spiritual maturity she replied: “No one can, without renouncing the world, in the most literal sense, observe my method; and there are few, if any, that would entirely devote above twenty years of the prime of life in hopes to save the souls of their children, which they think may be saved without so much ado; for that was my principal intention, however unskillfully and unsuccessfully managed.”  (Read more about Susanna in the book, Susanna: Mother of the Wesleys)

May you have a fulfilling year training up children!!!!

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When a Pet Dies

We just lost a very important member of our family, our sweet golden lab, Goldie.

Mr. Rogers’ When a Pet Dies (A Mister Rogers’ First Experiences) is a helpful book if your family ever experiences this.

Proverbs 12:10 says “The godly are concerned for the welfare of their animals.” My dear husband  spent almost $4000 trying to stop her suffering, but early this morning around 1:30 am we knew we had to take her in and say goodbye to her.  This was the hardest thing we have ever done.  Everyone but Jenny got to give her one last hug .  Jenny has made a wonderful video tribute to Goldie.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1gx0eF1yG7A

We prayed earnestly for God to heal Goldie, but He had a reason to handle the situation another way.  I know that one day we will be able to comfort someone in our situation.  “God comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When others are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” (2 Cor. 1:4)

“Why love, if losing hurts so much? …The pain now is part of the happiness then. That’s the deal.” C.S. Lewis (Shadowlands)

“The living God gives us  all things to enjoy.”  (1 Tim. 6:17) Thank you, God, for giving us  12 years of  joy with Goldie.

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