Daniel 2:21
And He changes the times and the seasons;

Celebrate each season, emphasizing God’s hand in it all.  Autumn is such a fun tme to enjoy God’s beautiful world with your children. Go outside and play in the leaves – build a leaf fort, bury each other in leaves, walk on the dry leaves and hear them crunch, see who can find the most perfect, colorful leaf.  Be sure to thank God for the leaves as you play. And don’t forget to sing!!!

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Another holiday is another opportunity to teach your children why we celebrate.  Try to always have a centerpiece that represents the holiday so you can be reminded to talk about it at meal times.

This weekend we need to help our children understand that God has allowed us to live in a free country and that many brave soldiers have fought physical and spiritual battles to ensure we have FREEDOM.

Conversation:

Explain that we have physical freedom in our country to go where we want to go and do what we want to do.   Soldiers gave up their lives so we could live in a free country.  Tell your children about America’s history.  Watch these informative Early American Series videos and then retell the stories in your own words to your younger children; be animated and use visuals if possible.  Older children might enjoy watching the videos.

Be sure and emphasis that we have the highest form of freedom, spiritual freedom, because Christ died on the cross to set us free from the punishment for sin and free from the power of sin which is freedom to make wise choices.  Since Christ’s death and resurrection, many soldiers for Christ have fought spiritual battles against the enemy, Satan, so we can know the message of salvation.

Prayer:

Thank you, God, for the freedom we have in our country to go where we want to go and do what we want to do.  Thank you, Jesus, for dying on the Cross so we can be free from the punishment and power of sin.  Thank you for the soldiers who fight for freedom.

Crafts:

Printable color by number American Flag

Printable ‘Pray for Your Leaders’ coloring page

Mini Flags to Make

Activities:

Start a tradition of each 4th of July reading the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere and/or The Declaration of Independence
and playing patriotic music all day.

Watch patriotic movies -
Our favorite is the old Disney classic Johnny Tremain [DVD] (1957)
Another suggestion is Liberty’s Kids cartoon  – The First 4th of July

Sing -
I’m in the Lord’s Army – lyrics and motions
I’m in the Lord’s Army – video

March to patriotic music holding flags you made or purchased.

Patriotic Music:

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/musicpatriot.htm

http://www.patrioticon.org/patriotic-soundfiles.htm

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Day Two
(click for a printable pdf)

Day Two – God Made Sky and Water

And God said, “Let there be space between the waters, to separate water from water.”And so it was. God made this space to separate the waters above from the waters below. And God called the space “sky.” This happened on the second day.
Genesis 1:6-13

Bible:

Say:  “On the second day of Creation, God made the sky and water.  The sky was made to separate the water in the sky from the water on the earth.  This is what the Bible says: And God said, “Let there be space between the waters, to separate water from water.”And so it was. God made this space to separate the waters above from the waters below. And God called the space ‘sky.’ This happened on the second day.”
Read about Day Two of Creation in a Bible story book.

Activities:

Make a picture like the one above or use the printable pdf.

Sky:  Make a paper airplane and/or a kite. If you need help, go here:

• Airplanes http://www.10paperairplanes.com/
• Kites http://www.stormthecastle.com/how-to-make-a/kite/make-a-traditional-kite.htm

As you fly these, repeat often Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God made the heavens and the earth and sing Blue, Blue Sky.

Water:  Talk about the waters that fall from the sky: rain, snow, hail, frost, dew

• Take a bag of cotton balls and pretend it is snowing by throwing the balls up in the air.  Throw ‘snowballs’ at each other
• Play with the sprinkler or a watering can and listen to the water fall down as you sing God Made the Rain.
• Act out ways you use water – bathing, swimming, cooking, etc.

Prayer: Thank you, God, for the blue sky and for the water that falls from the sky and covers the land.  Thank you, God, for everything you have made.

Songs: Sing the following words to God Made the Whole World by His Hands.  Click to listen.

God made the sky by His Hands
He made the waters that cover the lands
God made the sky and the waters by His hands
He made the whole world by His hands

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Day One
(click for a printable pdf of this)

Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
God called the light “day” and the darkness “night.”
Together these made up one day.
Genesis 1:3, 5

Bible:

Say:  “God created everything.  He started by making day and night on the very first day. The Bible says that God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. God called the light ‘day’ and the darkness ‘night’. Together these made up one day.”
Read about Day One in a children’s Bible story book.

Activities:

• You can make a day and night picture like the one above or you can use the printable pdf.  I will be giving you one each day this week so you can either make a Creation book or cut out the circles and cover in plastic so you can use them to let your child put them in order.
• Talk about and act out things you do at night – bathe, sleep, read, watch tv, etc.
• Talk about and act out things you do during the day – work, school, play outside, etc

Prayer:

Thank you, God, for making the day for work and play.  Thank you, God, for making night for rest.  Thank you, God, for making the whole world!!

Song:

Sing the following words to God Made the Whole World by His Hands.  Click to listen.

God made the light and called it day.
God made the dark and called it night.
God made both day and night by His hands.
He made the whole world by His hands.

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One easy way to share with my child about healthy eating is the traffic light concept. This is taken from the pediatrician Dr. William Sears. If a food is a “green light” food, it is healthy to eat or a “go for it” food. Examples of this are breads made with sprouted grains, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables, fish, and lean meats such as white meat chicken and turkey. The more we can make fresh fruits and veggies desirable the better. To do this, moms may need to use a low fat dip for little ones or sneak them into a shake with some fruit like your daughter-in-law Becca does (green smoothies).

“Yellow light” foods are “think about it” foods. They are okay in moderation, but should be reserved for treats and only eaten occasionally. Examples of this would be butter, cakes, candy, cookies, and white bread.

“Red light” foods are “stop, say no, bad for you” foods. Examples of these foods would be nitrate-containing meats, packaged foods with “hydrogenated oils, drinks made with food coloring, and doughnuts. One of the downfalls of “yellow and red light” foods is sugar.

Foods with complex carbohydrates found in vegetables, grains, and fruits are good for you. The simple sugars found in soda, candies, frostings, and packaged treats can do harm.Dr. Sears states these five reasons why they are harmful:
(It is helpful for me to remember these facts before I reach for a candy bar!)

– sugar depresses immunity
- it sours behavior, attention, and learning
- it promotes sugar highs
- it promotes sugar cravings
- it promotes heart disease

It is helpful for me to have weekly lists made for meals and snacks so that our family will be healthy. Fast food is something that is purchased if I don’t plan well. If I grocery shop and start meal prep early in the day, it is less likely for us to make bad food choices.

Blessings to you and your readers,
Lisa Giordano

Thanks to Lisa for this very helpful information.  Click to order the book she mentioned, The Family Nutrition Book: Everything You Need to Know About Feeding Your Children – From Birth through Adolescence

We are building temples for God to live in.  We must train our children spiritually to create a desire in them to be a temple; we must train them nutritionally and physically to keep that temple healthy.

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God is Good

Psalm 145:9  The Lord is good to all.

Bible Stories: (I suggest you read the stories from the Bible and then tell them in your own words with expression.  Also find them in your children’s Bible and read them to your children.)

1. Genesis 2 God made the first man and named him Adam.  He was good to Adam.  He gave him all kinds of animals to keep him company.  But Adam was still lonely so God made Adam a wife to be his best friend, to talk to, and to share the garden with.  God made Eve to be Adam’s wife.  God was good to Adam (Proverbs 18:22)
2. Exodus 14 God’s people were being chased by some bad people who didn’t love God and wanted to hurt His people.  When they came to a great big sea, they had no way to cross the water, so God parted the water in the center and the people of God walked on dry land right over to the other side of the sea without even getting wet! Then the bad men started to cross over after them, but God caused the waters to go back together and all the bad men were drowned.  God protected his people; He was good to them.
3. I Samuel 1 Hannah was so sad because she wanted a baby very badly.  She asked God for a baby and God answered her prayer.  He gave her a baby boy named Samuel.  God was good to Hannah and wanted her to be happy.  God was good to us so He gave us a special gift from Him – He gave us you!  The Bible (Psalm 127:3) tells us that children are a gift from God.
4. Matthew 8:20, Matthew 6:25-34 God is good to the birds; He gives them nests to live in. God is good to the foxes; He gives them holes to live in .  God feeds the birds and clothes the flowers and the grass.  Jesus said that if God takes care of these, how much more will He take care of you and feed and clothe you too. He is good to all!
5. God is good to you; The Bible tells us that He thinks about you (Psalm 139:17).  He is with you always (Joshua 1:9).  He even knows when you are crying and catches your tears (Psalm 56:8).   He gives you good things to eat (Psalm 103:5). God is good to you!!

Prayer: Thank You, God,  for being so good to us. (Lead your child to thank God for  specific things as they come to mind)

Activities for baby:

1. Sing the songs in the videos below and change the words to fit what you might be doing that reminds you that God is good.
2. While rocking, name the ways God is good to us.
3. Let baby look in a mirror and talk about how good God is to have given him to you
4. Feed the birds and talk about how God takes care of them and us.
5. Share the verse while he eats.

Activities for older preschoolers:

1. Creatively write or illustrate the verse.  Hang it on the fridge or in a prominent place all week.
2. Lead him to name ways God is good to us and sing the songs below, fitting the things he named into the songs.
3. Look at pictures of when he was born and talk about how good God is to have given him to you.
4. Feed the birds and talk about how God takes care of them and us.
5. Make cookies and say “God satisfies our mouths with good things to eat (Psalm 103:5).

Songs:

Books:

Check out these:

Children’s Bibles

My Awesome God Bible Story Book

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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:

• 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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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!!

Emphasis 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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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 or here for excellent instructions on making your own! There’s even a video here of making the eggs.

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 us to make our lives beautiful and free from the punishment for sin.

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Jesus talked a lot about giving on Day Four of Passion Week.  Of course He had every right to do that since He was about to give the ultimate gift of His life on the cross for the sins of the world.

Encourage your children to give today as you talk about how much Jesus gave.  Bake Easter cookies (see recipe below) in the shape of a cross to share with neighbors.   As you make them,  talk about Jesus’ gift to us.  Say:

Everybody has done wrong things such as disobeying, lying, being unkind, etc.   God calls this sin and there must be punishment for it. But Jesus loved us so much that He took the punishment for all the wrong things that were done or would ever be done.  He died on the cross so we would not have to.  We can now have a happy life forever with God.

In your giving today, don’t forget to give thanks to Jesus for His gift of life to us.  Here’s a simple song to sing to Him  -  Jesus, Jesus, Thank You Jesus.  Make up your own songs together.

My mother’s old-fashioned tea cookies recipe:

3/4 cup crisco or butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 & 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 & 1/2 cup Self-rising flour
Mix all together, roll out, and cut into shapes
(If you don’t have a cross cookie cutter, roll out 2 small ropes & lay one across the other to make a cross.)
Bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

Ice with butter cream frosting:
1 box confectioner sugar
dash of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/3 cup butter

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