Sunday School

I have been teaching 1-3 grade Sunday school this month, and I hit the blogs to find some good ideas for my class. I thought with all these crafty Christian bloggers out there, I would find something besides commercial sites with coloring pages (yawn). Guess what I found? Nada.

So I think I will start sharing my ideas for Sunday school classes, and if you happen to have any great ideas or know someone who does, please let me know.

This past Sunday, I taught a lesson on Jesus appearing to the apostles and Thomas, and how they doubted he was raised from the dead until they actually saw him (John 20:19-30). Our church gives me teaching materials, and sometimes I use the paraphrased story or script from the lesson, but this week I didn't.

I chose to read the story right out of the bible. I don't have the kids read the passage because they are so quiet that every other kid tunes out, and I can stop to explain things or point out ideas.

Then, I found this awesome lesson for teaching faith, called Things I Don't Understand. I put a CD, telephone, medicine bottle, calculator, flashlight, and remote control in a paper sack. They were immediately riveted, and loved taking turns picking items out of the bag to show the group. This lesson really helps kid wraps their minds around faith, which can be a vague concept for them.

My favorite Bible Passage

This is a Bible passage about Christ, and it's my favorite. Happy Easter everyone!

Isaiah 53

"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."

. . . . Lucky Me!

Apples of Gold

I've been cleaning up my blog today, and I didn't realize that you can re-label your old posts without updating the whole entire post. I was about halfway through the project when I figured it out. So it probably looks like all my posts are new if you have bloglines or something like that. But it's just me being a slow learner. Sorry.

Anyway, I get these e-mails from a blog called "Apples of Gold." A guy named Doug Apple, who works for a Christian radio station, writes about living as a Christian and lessons from the Bible. I love these e-mails, and they always make me think about how I am supposed to live as a Christian. You can either go directly to the blog, or send an e-mail to dougapple@wave94.com asking to subscribe to Apples of Gold.

Food for Thought for Christian Voters

I have seen a lot of hatefulness in politics lately, and it makes me sad. Disagreement is ok; hate is not. What good are our religious convictions if we break the greatest commandment? Why even bother voting based on moral beliefs, if we are being mean while we are doing it? How can we judge whether someone else is truly a Christian? We should be passionate, but not forget to be compassionate. After all, isn't the bottom line of Christianity, the true message of Jesus, the real meaning of the Law ... What is in my heart?

So instead of pleading my political views, I will give some food for thought straight from the Bible.

Have a blessed Sunday everyone!

Galations 5:14 "The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Romans 13:9 "The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder," "Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other commandment there may be, are summed up in this one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Mark 12:33 "To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

Matthew 5:21 “You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ 22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell."

Matthew 5:9 "God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God."

Matthew 5:43 “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. 44 But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! 45 In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. 46 If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. 47 If you are kind only to your friends,[t] how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. 48 But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect."

Psalms 82:3 "Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed."

Proverbs 29:7 "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern."

"My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not slipped."

~Psalms 17:5

Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew,

like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants.

-Deuteronomy 32:2

I Did a Double-Take

"To the world you may be one person, but to one person you may be the world."

~Author Unknown

One of the nicest things about having a teenager is that I can leave the kids at home! So I went out the other day to do an errand. I came back in less than an hour, walked into the house, through the dining room and into the kitchen.

Then I stopped in my tracks and backed up. Something caught my eye.

It was this:

I knew right away ... my youngest child had pulled the chair out and was watching out the window, waiting for me to get home. That may not be a big deal to some people, but it was HUGE to me. Sometimes I underestimate my importance in their lives.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the things I want to do (decorating, reading, talking to my friends, blogging, and the list goes on), that I forget my most important job in the world. Sometimes I get tired at the end of the day, tired of managing people, tired of hearing them bicker, that I lose sight of the big picture. Sometimes I sign up for too many things because I feel obligated to help the teachers, the PTO, the church, that I forget about the biggest job I volunteered for. Is my fear of letting everyone else down causing me to let these guys down?

"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." ~Proverbs 22:6

God loaned these beautiful creatures to me and gave me the job of raising them to be Christians, to be good people, to be his light in the world.

My window to do this is closing fast. They are growing so fast my head spins. They were just babies yesterday, and now one of them will be driving in a few years. And when they are ready to go out on their own, will I be able to look back and say that I made the most of the time I had?

I think I need to print this picture of the chair and hang it in my kitchen so I can remember that most important goal every day.

"I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths."

~Proverbs 4:11

"Set up road signs;

put up guideposts.

Take note of the highway,

the road that you take ..."

~Jeremiah 31:21

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,he leads me beside quiet waters,

he restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;

your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

~Psalms 23

Deuteronomy 15:7, 11
If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.

Proverbs 19:17
He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done.

A recent post at Kathy's Cottage has again inspired one of my posts (thanks Kathy!). As my spiritual maturity grows, I am realizing how much serving and loving others is one of the most important things a Christian can do. We are so blessed here where we live, and having lived close to the border at one time, I have seen some terrible conditions under which many people live.

I recently saw the Oprah Winfrey Show with Bill Clinton and his book Giving: How Each of Us Can Change the World (which I can't wait to read). On the show, they featured a website, www.Kiva.org, where you give micro-loans to people in other parts of the world. You can loan as little as $25 to the person you choose. There are features of people asking for loans, explaining their business and what they intend to use the money for (the lady I loaned money to has 3 kids and wanted to buy a cow). They will pay you back at some time in the future (some do default). All the recent press has funded every single one of their loan requests, so they are currently working on more loan requests, and will have them on their website in the near future.

I will end this post with one of my favorite bible verses (have a great Sunday!):

Proverbs 11:25 ~ A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

"The Lord is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him. So it is good to wait quietly for salvation from the Lord. And it is good for people to submit at an early age to the yoke of his discipline." Lamentations 3:25-27

"Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act." Psalms 37:7

All They Need Is a Hose, Folks

Wisdom is a fountain of life to him who has it. - Proverbs 16:22

He will fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. - Job 8:21
I came that you may have and enjoy life and have

it in abundance, until it overflows. - John 10:10
Cast your cares upon the Lord, for he cares about you. - I Peter 5:7
Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. - Psalms 119:105
The kingdom of God is within you. - Luke 17:21

A merry heart doeth good like medicine. - Proverbs 17:22

The fruit of the spirit is love, joy and peace. Galatians 5:22
Who refreshes others will be refreshed. -Proverbs 11:25

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