Scripture

Meal Time – Nourishment and Nurturing

 

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. . . And look at all those children! There they sit around your table as vigorous and healthy as young olive trees.
Psalm 128:3

I love it when research actually validates what God has said! This verse indicates that children are healthy when they sit around your table and now a recent research reveals that children and adolescents who share family meals 3 or more times per week are more likely to be in a normal weight range and have healthier dietary and eating patterns than those who share fewer than 3 family meals together.  And this article points out the multiple advantages to family meals together.

Simplify your life – cut out an extracurricular activity if you have to – but make meals together a family tradition that your children will remember long after they have left home.  Meal time is important, not just for the physical nourishment your children need, but also for the mental, emotional, and spiritual nurturing they need.  

Here are some suggestions to help you meet those needs around your table:

Conversation starters during the meal:

  • What did you enjoy doing today?
  • What did you enjoy learning?
  • Who did you enjoy being with today?
  • Did you do something kind today?
  • What was your high today?
  • What was your low?

After the meal:

Do a short devotional, read a Bible story,  or spend time memorizing a verse together.
Our family’s favorite thing was Playdough Devotionals.  Each person would make something out of their playdough and the rest of the family would guess what part of the story they were illustrating.

Have prayer time, but before you do, ask:

  • What happened today you are thankful for?
  • Who did you talk to, or see, or hear about that we should pray for?
  • What happened or is going to happen that we need to pray about for you?

Try to relax and enjoy time together eating a nourishing meal, talking with your children, and growing closer to God as a family.  Then you can truly say, ‘Look at my healthy children around the table.’

(Oh –  and don’t forget to talk about 1 Cor. 3:9 ‘We work together as partners who belong to God’ as everyone helps to clean up the kitchen when it’s all over so Mom can enjoy the time without thinking about what needs to be done afterwards.) 🙂

 

 

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Teaching Aid to Help Children Learn to Pray

Never stop praying. – 1 Thes. 5:17 
When they call on me, I will answer;  – Psalm 91:15
. . . men always ought to pray and not lose heart,  – Luke 18:1
Continue praying, keeping alert, and always thanking God. Colossians 4:2

“The reason we should teach little children to pray about the little insignificant things but are significant to them, very early in life, is so they learn that if they talk to God, He will answer their prayers.” Dr. Charles Stanley

Begin early to establish a pattern in your children to pray.  Teach them that prayer is simply talking to God about anything and everything just as they would with a friend.  Prayer can be saying thanks for something or asking for help with a problem.   Jo Bevington in her book, I Can Pray, described prayer as ‘feeling, thinking, listening, and talking to a very special Friend’.

With your older children, help them to start a prayer notebook with a list of things to be thankful for, things to pray about, and people to pray for.  Encourage them to make note of when God answers.

A tangible way to establish prayer in a younger child’s life is by beginning a prayer box. Definitely have pictures of people and things to thank God for.

 

Also include pictures that will be a reminder of things to pray about.  Look together through magazines to find pictures or draw your own.  For example:


Help me share with my friend


Help me go to the potty


Heal my neighbor’s dog

Mark these pictures with a ‘PTL’  or a sticker and the date when you see an answer.  Help your children know that they can trust God to hear and answer.  In Luke 18 Jesus told his disciples a story to illustrate their need for constant prayer and to show them that they must never give up until the answer comes.  The answer may be yes, no, or not yet –  but God will answer!!!

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Talking to Children About the Election

He determines the course of world events;
he removes kings and sets others on the throne.
He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.
Daniel 2:21

1 Tim. 6:15 tells us that God is the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords. However, God gives us opportunity to seek out people to lead us.  This week we have the privilege to vote for wise leaders.

In 1 Samuel 16. God gave Samuel the job to seek out a king for his people. This is what He told Samuel,

“Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.
The Lord does not look at the things man looks at.
Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7

Samuel annointed David to be the new king.  God was very pleased – look what He said about David!!!!

After removing Saul, he made David their king.
He testified concerning him: ‘I have found David son of Jesse a man after my own heart;
he will do everything I want him to do.’
Acts 13:22

Talk with your children about this and lead them to pray with you that our nation will vote for people with good hearts.

Take your children with you to vote if possible.  Never miss a teaching moment; take advantage of every opportunity to establish God’s Word in them as you apply it to every situation.

For fun on Election Day:

– March and wave flags as our nation exercises the freedom to help choose our leaders

– Make a red, white, and blue dessert.

– Go here for a fun way to learn about when David was chosen to be king

 

 

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Halloween – Enjoy the Fun; Talk about the Fear

I was busy making ghost costumes for my 3 young boys when Betty Rich called and asked what I was doing. I was embarrassed to tell her. She was such a Godly lady, I thought she would surely be disappointed in me for allowing my children to participate in the holiday. However, I still marvel at her wisdom in the comment she made that day, “Sheilah, don’t make your children so different from the world that the world doesn’t want what you have.” I have heeded that advice through the years and applied it in numerous situations. With that in mind, we enjoy the innocent fun at Halloween.

But some things that go on at this time go beyond fun and can cause fear in children. Thus, this is a great opportunity to use the fear to teach scriptures about the power of Jesus. You could start by saying that there are bad spirits in the world, but we don’t have to be afraid of them if we believe in Jesus because of 1 John 4:4 “But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.“

Emphasize this is why it is important to stay close to God because He is greater than the bad spirits. In fact, they are afraid of Him and the Bible says that at the name of Jesus they have to run away (Philip. 2:10 “so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,”) He said we can use His name to tell the bad spirits to go away (Mark 3:15 “and he gave them authority to cast out demons.”) Talk to them about the power of using the name ‘Lord Jesus Christ’.

God has given us good spirits called angels to watch over us (Psalm 91:11-12 “For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go. They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.”) All of Psalm 91 is about God’s protection – good psalm for us parents to memorize.

Choose at least one scripture to memorize with your children that they can quote when they feel fearful. Two that I always use with children are:
Joshua 1:9 “I command you—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 56:3 “What time I am afraid, I will trust in God.”

Tell them the story of when Jesus used scripture to battle the devil (Luke 4) Emphasize that there is power in the Word (Isaiah 55:11 “so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”)

Tell them that God doesn’t want us to be afraid (2 Tim. 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”)

A good book to teach children to use this holiday to celebrate God’s victory over evil spirits is Halloween: Is It for Real? by Harold Myra

Please check out Ministry to Children for great insights and ideas to help use Halloween to emphasize trusting Jesus.

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Let’s Learn About the Life of Moses

Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
Josua 1:9

Just as the verse promises, God was with Moses wherever he went throughout his life and He will be with us wherever we go.  Have fun teaching the life of Moses and this wonderful promise to your children.  I recently spent a week doing this with my grandsons and we had a blast!!

Read the Scripture passages and retell the stories in your own words.  Also read the stories to your children from a children’s Bible.  Share  Joshua 1:9 often as you do the following activities.

Moses is born
Exodus 1:8 – 2:10

(Make a basket out of paper and put a baby in it.  Hide in real grass or make paper grass)

God Calls Moses
Exodus 3

(Put bits of yellow, orange, and red construction paper in a bush to represent the burning bush)

Crossing the Red Sea
Exodus 14

(Take blue construction paper and fold the ends to the center.  Glue sand or brown construction paper in the center)
(Use toy figures and don’t forget the army men)

Eating and Drinking in the Wilderness
Exodus 16:1 – 17:7

(Let manna fall from heaven (soda crackers or popcorn cake or any kind of white wafer)

(Run a hose pipe under a rock and have someone turn on the water as the child strikes the rock)
(Notice the backpacks packed for their trip in the Wilderness)

Here’s a song with motions to help memorize the verse:

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