Making Glad Dads

On Father’s Day and every day we need to teach our children to be grateful for their fathers, listen to their instruction, and make ‘Glad Dads’.

…children take pride in their fathers
Proverbs 17:6

My son, hear the instruction of your father…
Proverbs 1:8

A person who loves wisdom makes his father happy…
Proverbs 29:3

Bible Lessons:

Proverbs 29:3 Are you doing those things that please your Dad?  The Bible says the best way to make your dad happy is to be wise – to do and say those things that please God – to choose to do the right thing.  We can ask God to help us make our  ‘dad glad’.

John 8:26-28 Jesus said, “I do always those things that please the Father:  His Father is God.  Jesus always pleased God.  Jesus said that He only talked about the things He had heard His Father talk about.  He said He did nothing but what His Father had taught Him to do.  God is our Father too and we should always please Him.  But God, who is our Heavenly Father, has given us an earthly Father.  We please God when we listen to our dads just as Jesus listened to his Dad.

Luke 15:11-22 There was a young man who didn’t listen to his dad.  He decided he wanted to leave his dad so he asked for all the money that belonged to him and he left.  When the son got far away, he began to do bad things in bad places with bad people.  Soon he had spent all his money and had nothing to eat and no where to go but back home to his father. He went home and told his dad that he was sorry for all the bad things he had done.  His dad was glad he came home; he forgave him for everything.

Ephesians 6:1-2 God tells children to obey their parents and to honor their father and mother.  This will please God and it will please your dad.  Obeying your parents means doing what they say to do.  Honoring your parents means to have respect for them – like when your dad is talking, be quiet until he has finished – or when your dad says something, don’t argue with him.  Obeying and honoring your parents will please your dad and it will please God.

Philippians 2:13 For God is working in you, giving you the desire to obey him and the power to do what pleases him. Jesus did always those things that pleased His Father.  How can we always do those things that please God and our dad?  The Bible says that God will work in us to do those things that please Him.  Sometimes when you find it hard to do the things that please God or your dad, remember that God promises to help you do the right things if you ask Him.

Prayer: God, thank you for my dad.  Help me to listen to him and obey.
Thank you that my dad takes care of me.  God, please take care of my dad and help him with all the things he has to do.

Suggested Activities:

  1. Make a poster for the fridge with one of the Bible verse and a picture of dad and pictures of some things he does.
  2. Play ‘Follow the Leader’ with dad being the leader.
  3. Play ‘Dad Says’ like ‘Simon Says’.
  4. Show things that belong to dad. Cover the items, sneak one item away, and let child guess what is missing.
  5. Make hand prints on a plaque for dad.
  6. Greet Dad with hugs and kisses at the door when he comes home from work.
  7. Make a thank you card for dad.  List, draw, or find pictures of things dad does and thank him for doing them.
  8. Color one of these pages from Ministry-to-Children.com
  9. Bake cookies for Dad in shapes of things he uses such as a car, tie, hat, ball, tools, etc.
  10. Talk about ways to make a ‘Glad Dad’
    1. come when he calls
    2. listen when he talks
    3. hear and obey his instructions

Songs:

God Made My Daddy (listen)

(lyrics) God made my daddy; he helps me do so many things.
I love my daddy; he takes care of me
or
God is my Father; He helps me do so many things.
I love my Father; He takes care of me.”

Glad for Dad (listen)
(lyrics)I’m glad today; I’m glad today.
For my Dad, I’m glad today.
God, please help me make my Dad glad

Books
We’re Very Good Friends, My Father and I
The Prodigal Son (Arch Books)
Just Me and My Dad (Little Critter)

If your child does not have an earthly father, emphasize his relationship with his Heavenly Father and share Psalm 68:5 “A father of the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy habitation”

(This post is one of the 52 lessons in my book, Here a Little, There a Little)

 

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History of St Patrick’s Day (A Lesson in Forgiveness)

 

 

Did you or your children ever wonder why we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day?    I’m not sure what lies behind some of the traditions associated with the day, but the man that the holiday is named for has a story children need to hear.

Did you know Patrick isn’t Irish? About 385 years after Jesus lived, Patrick was born into a wealthy English family.  When he was 16 years old, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and taken to Ireland as a slave where he worked as a shepherd.  During this time he was lonely and afraid; this caused him to turn to God with his whole heart and he began to experience the love of Jesus..  After about 6 years as a slave, Patrick escaped and returned to his home country where he began studying to be a priest.

However, he did not forget Ireland; he had a desire to go back one day and tell them about Jesus.  He did eventually return there as a missionary.  Isn’t that amazing that he would want to go back to the place where he had been enslaved and tell them of God’s love?  What an act of forgiveness! Eventually Patrick was called a saint by the Catholic Church because of his love and kindness to the people of Ireland.

So because Jesus loved Patrick, Patrick was able to love and forgive the people of Ireland and then he spent his life telling them about Jesus. Patrick died on March 17, 461 and now we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day each March 17.

Please make your children aware in the midst of the stories of leprechans and the various ways of observing the holiday, that the reason for the activities this week is because Jesus loved and cared for Patrick and then Patrick loved and care for the people who had wronged him.  It would be a good time to share these verses:

Ephes. 4:32     And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
John 15:12     This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

It is believed that Patrick brought the shamrock plant to Ireland and used the three-leafed plant to illustrate the message of the Trinity. This would be a good time to teach about the Trinity.  Click here for help in sharing the concept with your children.  A good children’s book to illustrate the Trinity is 3 in 1: A Picture of God.

Go outside and look for clover and talk about the Trinity; be like St. Patrick teaching the Irish.  Color this picture and scripture as you talk.

Order a shamrock craft at Apples for the Teacher.

Order this illustrated book about Patrick:

Watch this 8 minute Veggie Tale story of St. Patrick: http://youtu.be/UociNQHztiY

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Teach Your Preschooler About Wisdom

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The definition of wisdom is ‘seeing and responding to life situations from God’s frame of reference’.  We must begin early to teach our children this, so they will be able to make wise choices and avoid many pitfalls in life.

Scripture is clear as to how we learn wisdom.  It all starts with a reverence for the Lord.  So start at the very beginning to teach this foundational quality to your children.

Here is a lesson plan on wisdom from my book Here a Little, There a Little.  It is designed to spend a week on the Bible verse, reading Bible stories that illustrate the verse and doing activities to make the verse practical in the child’s life.  Read the stories from a children’s Bible or tell it in your own words.


Bible Verse: 
 Proverbs 9:10 Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom


Bible Stories:

Exodus 3:1-4:12 Moses kept the sheep for his father-in-law. One day as he was watching the sheep, Moses saw a bush on fire but not burning up. When he went closer, he heard God speaking to him from it. God told him to take off his shoes because he was walking on holy ground. Moses obeyed and even hid his face from God because he knew how important God is. God was pleased with the reverence Moses had for Him. He told Moses He had a special job for him to do, but not to be afraid to go and do it. God promised to be with Moses and to give him wisdom to know what to do and say. Moses reverence God and God gave him wisdom. Reverence for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Psalm 119:15 A man in the Bible had respect for God. He learned to respect/reverence God by reading God’s Word. The Bible teaches us to have reverence for God and it gives us wisdom. This man in the Bible told God, “I will study Your Word and have respect for Your ways. Let’s tell God that too then we will be showing reverence for God which is the beginning of wisdom.

Matthew 21:12-13 We can show reverence for God by the way we treat God’s house. Jesus got angry with some men when they did not show reverence for God in His house. They were making money in God’s house instead of praying. They were not showing reverence for God. Jesus told them to get out of God’s house because it was a house of prayer and should be respected. We can show reverence for God in His house by not running inside or throwing paper on the floor? What are some other ways we can show reverence?

Luke 4:16-21 Jesus went to church one day and they gave Him the Bible to read to everyone. Jesus stood up to read. That was one way for Him to show reverence for God and His Word. As He read the Bible, all the people showed their reverence for God by listening. If we want to be wise and know the right things to do, we must have a reverence for God and listen whenever anyone is reading the Bible.

2 Samuel 6:1-7 David and a man named Uzzah were moving a holy piece of furniture from God’s house. God had said that they were not to touch it so they had it on a cart being pulled by animals. Uzzah did not respect what God had said and he touched the piece of furniture. God had to punish him for not showing reverence. If we show reverence for God by obeying Him, He gives us wisdom, not punishment.


Prayer:
 Teach us to respect You so that we may make wise choices


Activities:

  • Find a picture of someone kneeling as they pray and talk about how they are showing reverence for God. Possibly make a puzzle out of the picture.
  • Find picture of someone reading the Bible and others listening. Talk about how the listeners are showing reference for God
  • Make a card game:

Make up cards of things that are wise and are showing reverence to God and things that are not:

Ex. – Wise: listen to Bible story, talk to God in prayer , walk in church, sit quietly in church, be gentle with their Bible

Ex. – Unwise: talk when others are reading the Bible, running inside church, leave paper on floor or bench in church, not praying

Cut out 2 paper people and label wise and unwise

Take turns drawing cards and putting them on the appropriate person.

Song:  (tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb)  Reverence for the Lord, for the Lord, for the Lord, Reverence                                                                                    for the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

 

 

 

 

 

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A Week of Ideas to Teach about Love

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Here are some ideas to help you teach your children about showing love during this week of celebrating Valentine’s Day.

Creatively work together to display each day’s verse on the fridge. (cut, color, or paint a heart and put the verse on it)

Repeat the verse often during the day as you reinforce it as you go – here a little, there a little. (Deuteronomy 6:7), (Isaiah 28:10)

Read the Bible stories yourself and then tell them in your own words. Be animated and use visuals when possible.

Have fun establishing God’s Word in your children this week!!!!

Day One

Bible Verse: Proverbs 17:17 – A friend loves at all times.

Story: David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18 1-4)

Activity for Baby to 3: Have a friend over to play with child. Tell story of David and Jonathan. Share toys. For infant, spend time talking about and thanking God for all the baby’s friends, after reading story.

Older Activity: Have child help make cookies and then invite a friend over to share them with. Talk about ways to show love to our friends.

Day Two

Bible Verse: 1 John 4:7 – Love one another.

Story: Elisha’s Friends (2 Kings 4:8-11)

Activity for Baby to 3: Tell the story of Elisha and talk about how you prepared a room for baby to show your love for him. Point out things in baby’s room.

Older Activity: Read story. Draw a picture of the story.

Day Three

Bible Verse: Galatians 5:13 – Help one another
Story: Four Friends (Mark 2:1-12)

Activity for Baby to 3: Make Valentines for friends and pray for for their friends as you do.

Older Activity: Same as for Baby to 3

Day Four

Bible Verse: 2 Corinthians 1:24 – We are helpers.

Story: We Work Together – (Nehemiah 1:1-11, 2:1-20, 3:1-32, 6:15-16)

Activity for Baby to 3: Help fold laundry or pick up toys.

Older Activity: Play blocks together and pretend to build the wall as you tell the story. Dads, let child hammer some nails in some scrap wood while you supervise.

Day Five

Bible Verse: Ephesians 4:32 – Be kind to one another.

Story: Philip’s New Friend – (Acts 8:1-39)

Activity for Baby to 3: Do something special for baby or child like making him cookies or getting him a new inexpensive toy. Give him a hug and lead child to give someone a hug. Talk about ways he can show kindness.

Older Activity: Read story. Say Philip showed kindness by reading the Bible to his friend and telling him about God. Let’s be kind to our friends and tell them about God. Lead child to send a Bible verse or Bible story to one of his friends.

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Leading Your Little One to Have a Giving Heart

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Happy is the generous man.
 Proverbs 22:1 

(Emphasize the character quality of generosity to get your children thinking about giving, not just receiving.  This lesson is designed to spend a week memorizing the verse and reinforcing it through enthusiastically telling in your own words 5 Bible stories and doing the activities to reinforce the lesson)

Bible Stories:

Acts 5:1-10  Ananias and Sapphira had plenty of money.  They were not generous with it though.  They did not want to give it to help the church.  They even lied about how much money they had.  They should have been generous and willing to give; then they would have been happy.  But God had to punish them for telling a lie and not being generous.

Luke 12:16-21 There was a man who had a lot of money and things.  He had a garden that produced a lot of fruit and vegetables.  But instead of being generous and sharing some with others, he kept them all for himself.  This displeased God so God took the man away so he couldn’t enjoy all his things.  If the man had been generous he would have been happy.  Happy is the generous man, the one who feeds the poor.

Ruth 2:1-13  Ruth and Naomi were poor.  They had no money or food.  But there was a generous man named Boaz who was kind and wanted to share his food with them.  He let Ruth pick from his garden and he gave her water to drink when she was thirsty.  Ruth was very grateful that Boaz was so generous.  Ruth and Boaz later married and had a son.  Boaz was a generous, happy man.

John 6:1-13 Jesus went on a mountain and many people followed him.  The people got hungry and Jesus felt sorry for them.  There was not enough food for everyone and nowhere to get anymore.  There was a little boy there though who had 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish.  He brought them to Jesus to share with everyone.  Jesus took the bread and fish and gave thanks to God for it.  There was enough to feed all the people and then there were 12 basketfuls of leftovers.  The little boy was happy he had been generous and shared his food.  There was food leftover for him to take home because he shared all he had.

Mark 12:41-44  Jesus was in church one day watching all the people give their money.  Many people came and put in lots of money.  There was one lady who only had 2 pieces of money.  Do you think she gave both pieces of money since  that was all the money she had? She did!  That was all the money she had but she wanted to give it away to help others.  Jesus said that she had given more than all the others who gave because the others had money left when they gave, but this lady didn’t have anything left.  She gave all she had.  She was happy because she was generous.

Prayer: Help us to have a generous spirit

Activities:

  • Make a happy face and put the Bible verse on it.
  • Make a puzzle out of a picture of someone sharing
  • Pray all week with him about who your family should give a special gift to.
  • Let him help make a jar to put on table to collect money for the person God leads yall to give to
  • Pretend the stuffed animals are all poor.  Let child use play money to give to each one
  • Give child a bag of candy and encourage him to enjoy giving to others
  • Make a list of who they will give to at Christmas and think of things they would like to give each one on the list. It’s not too early for yall to start shopping for those on your list!

Songs:  (Just put the Bible verse to the tune of  “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)

Happy is the generous man, the generous man, the generous man.
Happy is the generous man.
The one who loves to give.

Here are some other verses on giving to share during the week:

Acts 20:35  It is better to give than receive. (can be put to “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)

Luke 6:38   If you give, you will receive. (can be put to “Mary Had a Little Lamb”)

2 Cor. 9:7    God loves a cheerful giver. 

 

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