Tutorial needed

So, supposing I wanted to take a photo like this one...

 

...and then add some text onto the actual photo, how actually would I go about doing that?  Could some kind, savvy soul please either write a set of instructions (free of fancy computer-speak) in the comments section or even write a tutorial on their own blog and then let me know?  That would be great.  Thank you. Mx

A New Year's prayer from Valley of Vision

O Lord,

Length of days does not profit me
   except the days that are passed in thy presence,
   in thy service, to thy glory.
Give me a grace that precedes, follows, guides,
   sustains, sanctifies, aids every hour,
that I may not be one moment apart from thee,
but may rely on thy Spirit
   to supply every thought,
   speak in every word,
   direct every step,
   prosper every work,
   build up every mote of faith,
   and give me a desire
      to show forth thy praise;
      testify thy love;
      advance thy kingdom.
I launch my bark upon the unknown waters of this year,
   with thee, O Father, as my harbour,
   thee, O Son, as my helm,
   thee, O Holy Spirit, filling my sails.
Guide me to heaven with my loins girt,
   my lamp burning,
   my ear open to thy calls,
   my heart full of love,
   my soul free.
Give me thy grace to sanctify me,
   thy comforts to cheer,
   thy wisdom to teach,
   thy right hand to guide,
   thy counsel to instruct,
   thy law to judge.
   thy presence to stabilise.
May thy fear be my awe,
   thy triumphs my joy.

Amen

 

 

From Valley of Vision (edited by Arthur Bennett) page 206.

And peeling off the wrapping on 2013

I still think my theory holds true.  Well, it does for me, anyway.  The first six months of the year are all about energy, getting new things off the ground, having a go.  The second half of the year is the business end of the year - getting stuff done but not trying anything new because it is the end of winter moving into the time of the year when the calendar is overladen.  And so here I am at the start of the year, full of energy - amazing what a few days of laying on the sofa reading a very good book at every possible opportunity (and even stealing a few of the impossible moments) straight after Christmas will do for you - and ready to try some new things.  This is what I'm looking forward to for the year ahead.

Letter writing
This little storm has been brewing for a while.  I do like letter writing very much.  I like writing to friends and I like writing to people who do their job well to say thank you.  I had two little bursts of letter writing last year (and I received some very lovely mail in return) and have decided that this year I want to write one letter a month.  It may end up being more.  But I don't want it to be less.  It is such a relaxing and lovely thing to do.  And it will mean keeping up good Bible reading and good general reading...nothing good in, nothing good out.   And I shall return regularly to Ally's amazing pictorial post about letter writing and the other lovely Ali's post about letter writing for inspiration - just gorgeous.

Bible reading
Going to try out a near relative of my old favourite reading plan.  This year I am going for daily Old Testament, New Testament, Psalms and Proverbs.  This plan will get me through the lot once in the year.  I decided to throw in daily time in the Proverbs after studying this book for six months in a Bible study group during 2012. 

Practising the principles of How to Really Love Your Child

Lots of eye contact - and not just when we are staring them down because we are cross, but lots and lots of warm, happy eye contact.

Lots of physical touch - and Ross Campbell gives a lot of time to the subject of appropriateness in this department and how appropriateness changes as a child gets older.
Lots of focussed attention - not the "I'm half listening to you and half writing my blog post" sort of attention...ahem...

S'pose I better try a bit harder with the cooking...
I got a cooking magazine and have earmarked three new recipes to try this week...jumping in boots and all before I get to the middle of the year and the "getting stuff done and not trying anything new" thing kicks in.  One thing I really want to achieve this year is one of these...



Taken from here.

Not necessarily this one exactly...I am imagining strawberries rather than raspberries.  I'll keep you posted.

And there is one more thing. 
It may or may not have something to do with this.


Taken from here

But I'll talk about that another day, lest it is sounding too much like a New Year's resolution.

Crossing to Safety by Wallace Stegner

When I read the last words of Crossing to Safety my second reaction was to think, "Thank goodness that's over!"  That came after my first response which was to allow a few little tears to trickle down my cheek.  (That moment was interrupted by finding a seven year old's face about 10 centimetres from my face requesting crackers for afternoon tea.)  Why the second response, when I was moved to tears in the first instance?  Relief that after four (albeit glorious) days I could get myself to bed before midnight and the family stood a chance of a) getting some eye contact from me after four fairly remote days and b) something better than crackers for afternoon tea.

Crossing to Safety was written in 1987 by American author Wallace Stegner.  It is the story of the lives of two couples - Sid and Charity Lang and Larry and Sally Morgan - who met for the first time during the Depression.  Sid and Larry both have their first jobs in the English Department of the University of Wisconsin.  Their wives are both pregnant.  A lifelong friendship is born.  The book, told from the point of view of an aging Larry Morgan, charts the progress of friendship, life, love and loyalty. 

Written about a different era, and yet it was very evocative of Gilead by Marilynne Robinson.  Of Gilead I said,

"And it is a wonderfully written novel. It moved along so slowly, and yet it was a page turner. It was oh so gentle, but not light weight by any stretch of the imagination. Full of peace, compassion, deep love, honour, loyalty and lived out, deeply understood theology.  Beautiful holiday reading!"

Apart from the "lived out, deeply understood theology" bit, that description fits this book perfectly.  Crossing to Safety is not written from a Christian world view so when it takes in the subject of dying I found it achingly sad to read very good writing about dying and death, but death without hope.  So there is that to it.  But as far as great reads go, this is a wonderful, wonderful book and if you are a Gilead fan, then I feel fairly sure you will love this too for its pace, poise and richness.

Thank you so very much to Karen whose review first introduced me to this book.  Unlike Karen, who seems to have excellent self-control and makes very good use of her local library, I actually bought this one and put it away for Boxing Day.  It was all I could do to not take a sneak peak during December.  (I did end up reading the introduction and the first chapter before Christmas...)  And in the spirit of lack of self-control, I was going to a summer reading round up at the end of the holidays, but I couldn't wait until then with this book.  If you are in need of a good summer read (or a good winter read for that matter) then this might be one for you.  As for me, my summer reading plan has just changed directions.  I am off to find Gilead for a re-read now.  (I bought that one too!)  But I might fix afternoon tea first.

Wrapping up 2012

I love this time of year in blogosphere when people look back on the year gone and look forward to the year ahead.  So, 2012 in this neck of the woods.

Stuff I said I'd do...

Reading glasses...Done.  Life changing.  Really. 

Cooking...Adding to the repetoire of weekly meals. 
Epic fail.  Man, mid week meals around here are Oh. So. Boring. 
However...
I could possibly write a recipe book called One Hundred Two Ways with IKEA Meatballs. 
The brief but somewhat intense foray into Tupperware this year means that my hamburgers are so much better and I should mention that for one who is not big on gadgets, I cannot live without the Smooth Chopper.
The boys have learned to eat and appreciate soup this year.
I got a new carbon steel wok for Christmas.  My other wok gave up the ghost (due to my inattention) after fifteen years of good and faithful service.  Looking forward to seasoning this new one and getting it into use.
And the mince pies this Christmas were delicious.

Approach Bible reading differently...This was good.  Really good.  It was excellent to zone in on the prophets (and I only scratched the surface but enough to help me get by for the moment) and then it was quite something to try and race through the whole Bible in chronological order in six months.  I didn't make it through but not to worry.  The thing about the 2012 approach though was that I didn't get near the New Testament in my own personal reading (althrough I did read bits of it in Bible study groups and at church) until half way through November.  I love the Old Testament dearly but I did miss some of my good New Testament friends...so I will doing things a bit differently in the new year.

Add basil and mint to the pot of time on the kitchen windowsill...I got the mint and the basil.  It sat alongside my thyme and a little plant with pink flowers.  The thyme didn't like the pot it was in, never really grew and eventually passed away.  The basil couldn't grow fast enough for my consumption and I ended up a) stripping the plant until it wouldn't grow anymore and b) still needed to buy bunches of the stuff anyway to supplement my measly crop.  The mint however did what it needed to do...and provides me with the odd leaf here and there for drinks, salads and mint sauce.  So the thyme and the basil have gone - and will be purchased by the bunch as needed - and the mint grows alongside the pink flowering plant and another interesting, multicoloured thing.  And that is enough on the kitchen windowsill.

Pray for my friends...Done.  Well, still going really.  What a joy to have a specific prayer project, praying for friends all year. In God's grace they did famously on Kiribati and within their sphere, made a real difference there.  And they managed to get back home just in time for Christmas, despite Hurricane Evan's attempts to keep in them in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for a bit longer.

Reading...

Reading has been a highlight of year. Especially after getting my new reading glasses. Reading has given me rest, joy, things to think about and good things to share.

Favourite book?  That is hard call. I look at my reading list for 2012 and they were all good.  But if I had to narrow it down, Knowing God was an important book to read and wonderful. I will be reading it again - along with 18 Words. And Moby Duck was sensational and life changing.   Where other campaigns have failed, this book has single handedly made me take a serious look at my use of plastics, take my own shopping bags to the grocery store every sing time, tell those kind folks at Subway that I don't need my wrapped roll in a plastic bag that will be dispensed with 10 seconds later, reduced my usage of clingwrap and so on. 

The blog...

Most read post this year - was Infusing Christmas with Christ for Kids - the Jesus Storybook Bible, a post about how the Jesus Storybook Bible could be used as a series of Advent readings that I wrote in November 2009, thanks to some generous linkage by a couple of bloggers whose reach is vast. 

Most read post that I wrote this year - Making the Transition from Children's Ministry to Church.  It's an issue that will never go away, and ultimately it is in God's hands, thankfully.  But good to think about these things. 

My favourite post for the year - One to One Bible Reading - I love this little book that describes the very thing that makes my heart beat...getting people reading their Bibles and furthermore, getting them to love reading their Bibles.

Remember this quote?

Imagine if all Christians, as a normal part of their discipleship, were caught up in a web of regular Bible reading - not only digging into the Word privately, but reading it with their children before bed, with their spouse over breakfast, with a non-Christian colleague at work once a week over lunch, with a new Christian for follow-up once a fortnight for mutual encouragement, and with a mature Christian friend once a month for mutual encouragement.

It would be a chaotic web of personal relationships, prayer and Bible reading - more of a movement than a program - but at another level it would be profoundly simple and within reach of all.

It's an exciting thought!

(It's from from The Trellis and the Vine (page 57) by Tony Payne and Colin Marshall (Matthias Media) and quoted in One to One Bible Reading (page 12) by David Helm.)

New visitors at the blog - I don't really know how many people read this blog but there has been an interesting development in the stats that Blogger provides. It turns out that most of the Key to the Door readers are from Australia, which makes perfect sense. Second in line is the U.S. and I can account for that. Fourth is Chile and surprisingly, I can account for the Chileans too. (Hi guys!!) And fifth is the U.K. But in third place - and only since this year and it happened all of a sudden - is Russia. I'm not sure how you found me, but to those of you in Russia, a warm HELLO and WELCOME.

And life itself...

And of course there many other good and noteworthy things, some of which made it to the blog and others that didn't... seeing Stuart Townend perform and also singing lots of his songs in church, taking in three symphony performances, a holiday housesitting for friends who live much closer to the beach than we do while they went elsewhere on holiday, friends moving near us and then delivering meals to us at times when they knew we were stretched, agapanthus and rose success in the garden (although I understand now why you prune your roses in July and not in September if you want to enjoy your blooms for longer than two weeks before the hot weather sets in) and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel...  All of which makes me wonder about reprising the status reports to catch glimpses of the small but special stuff along the way.  What do you think?  (And if I do, any fellow bloggers out there want to come along for the ride and make it a feature of our blogs month by month?)

And there were the struggles that come with any year too.  The nights of little sleep and much prayer.  The days of being stretched.   The sorrows, irritations and struggles.  Interestingly, instead of tacking "Happy New Year" onto the end of the "Merry Christmas" bit as I wrote my Christmas cards this year, I found myself saying, "And may you know all the through the year ahead how much God has already blessed us through His Son Jesus Christ."  We always hope the year ahead will be happy - but we know that that every year will have its ups and its downs.   But we have been blessed right out of our socks already before we even start because of Jesus.  No matter what happened, 2012 was a year of great blessing.   And happily, 2013 will be the same.

One last Christmas idea (to store up for next year) and a request

One of the fun things I did on Christmas day was to run some activities for the kids who came to church in the morning.  I've done this for a few years - but lest you think me very virtuous, let me tell you I have had an extremely checkered past in this department.  There was the year I planned fabulous activities and only two kids turned up to church.  The following year I didn't plan anything (thinking I would just play with the two kids) and loads of children came.  There was the year of making Christmas cards (boring...already done that at school and by Christmas day it is too late) and the year I was so tired that all I could muster up were a few colouring in sheets (the less said about that one the better).  Last year we did a simple craft activity which went down very well.

Running the kids' activities on Christmas day is always a bit hit and miss.  You never know how many kids will be there.  And you never know what shape the kids will be in.  Some years they arrive full of beans.  Some years they arrive spent from nights of excitement-induced lack of sleep, an early start and possibly crazed from too much sugar already and it is only 9am!  There are the kids who have already opened their presents (and very possibly would rather be at home playing with them) and the kids who are impatient for church to finish because they are yet to get near their Christmas tree.  So many variables.

A few weeks ago I made the conscious decision to give some enerygy to this part of Christmas day this year.  We played party games.

Game # 1 - the treasure hunt

I pulled out the stable from the old Vegie Tales nativity set from a gift bag and asked the children what it was.  Then I sent them off to find all the characters, having hidden them all around the hall before church.  Once all the pieces were found the children set up the scene, telling me the story along the way.

Game # 2 - the guessing game

I'd taken six decorations from our tree and put them in a bag.  The children took turns to put their hand in the bag and guess what one of the decorations was by touch.  As they guessed them we pulled them out one by one and had a Christmas related discussion.  The decorations included a star, two angels (because one visited Mary but a host of them visited the shepherds), a bell, a tree and a stocking (the last three giving rise to good chats about traditions, church and giving.)

Game # 3 - pass the parcel

This was especially good for the children who hadn't yet opened anything that morning.  We sat in a circle and rolled a dice, passing the parcel around the number of people as shown on the dice.  Underneath each layer there was a question to answer or an instruction to carry out (by the child who had done the unwrapping and sometimes others chipped in as well, which was nice.)  The layers went as follows...

Layer 1 - What is your favourite thing about Christmas?
Layer 2 - What is your favourite Christmas song?
Layer 3 - What is your favourite Christmas food?
Layer 4 - This layer had a small prize with the instruction, "Because it is nice to give presents at Christmas time, give this prize to someone else in the group" (leading to a discussion about giving as well as receiving.)
Layer 5 - Tell us a short version of the Christmas story.  Make sure you include Gabriel and Mary, the journey to Bethlehem, Jesus born in the stable, shepherds and angels and wise men and the star.  Or give this task to someone else to do. 
Layer 6 - Give the parcel to the person who told the Christmas story and tell them they are allowed to open the next layer.
Final Layer - there were two small bags of chocolate coins at this point and a note that said, "Well done for telling us the Christmas story.  Here is prize for you to take home and one to share with everyone now."  And then we shared out the chocolates amongst the group.

This done, there were just a few minutes left - long enough to play three quick running around games - and then the parents were out to fetch their kids and take them onto the rest of their Christmas day events.  It was a great morning.  The kids were engaged and I think they all had a good time.

So here is the question.  If you organised something for kids at church on Christmas day (or if you have kids and they had something organised for them) could you please please please share what you/they did with me in the comments?  Because I am sure I will doing this gig another time and I'm always on the lookout for new ideas.

Merry Christmas

 

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees!

Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

 

The gift of gifts

Despite all good intentions, sometimes it is hard to hold onto what it is that we celebrate at Christmas time.  I was going to post this beautiful prayer for Christmas Day but as I read it over again and prayed it for myself last night and again today, it occurred to me that it's probably of more use to share it now, in these last days before Christmas.  If you are finding it difficult, for whatever reason - and there are many - to pause before the manger just now, then I hope this prayer will help you to get your heart back in the Right Place, as it has done for me.

O Source of all good,
What shall I render to thee for the gift of gifts,
  thine own dear Son, begotten not created,
  my Redeemer, proxy, surety, substitute,
  his self-emptying incomprehensible,
  his infinity of love beyond the heart's grasp.
Herein is wonder of wonders:
  he came below to raise me above,
  was born like me that I might become like him.
Herein is love:
  when I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace,
  to raise me to himself.
Herein is power;
  when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart
  he united them in indissoluble unity,
  the uncreated and the created.
Herein is wisdom;
  when I was undone,
  with no will to return to him,
  and no intellect to devise recovery,
  he came, God-incarnate, to save me to the uttermost,
  as man to die to my death,
  to shed satisfying blood on my behalf,
  to work out a perfect righteousness for me.
O God, take me in spirit to the watchful shepherds,
  and enlarge my mind;
let me hear good tidings of great joy,
  and hearing, believe, rejoice, praise, adore,
  my conscience bathed in an ocean of repose,
  my eyes uplifted to a reconciled Father;
place me with ox, ass, camel, goat,
  to look with them upon my Redeemer's face,
  and in him account myself delivered from sin;
let me with Simeon clasp the newborn child to my heart,
  embrace him with undying faith,
  exulting that he is mine and I am his.
In him thou hast given me so much
  that heaven can give no more.

Amen

(From  The Valley of Vision page 28- a collection of Puritan prayers and devotions edited by Arthur Bennett.)
 

Three ways into the Christmas story

If you are in the business of having to do a kids' Christmas talk this year maybe one of these might help...three of the ways I have told the Christmas story in Scripture this year. 

 

# 1...Jesus is the best gift of all.

 

For this rendition I put a nativity set into a gift box or gift bag.  Then it is a matter of telling the story and pulling the bits and pieces out of the bag as they come up in the story, starting with Mary being visited by the angel, and building up the scene as you go. 

When I do this I usually use this nativity scene - a very plastic (non-breakable) Veggie Tales set.  The kids at school, who aren't familiar with Veggie Tales, are very amused that all the characters are vegies and it is enough to hold even the big kids through the telling of a familiar story.

(I remember being aghast when my husband brought this set home, having purchased it for next to nothing from the markdown shelf at a certain Christian bookstore.  Ironically it is the nativity set that our boys played with the most when they were young and I use it all the time now as a teaching resource at this time time of the year.  So to my husband...apologies for that look of absolute horror when you walked in the door with this little purchase.)
 

At the end of the story you ask why the nativity scene was in a gift box and explain that God gave us the best gift of all in sending Jesus to earth a baby to die on a cross a man so that we might be forgiven for all our sins.  Jesus is the best gift of all.

 

 

# 2...The "So you think you know the Christmas story" super quiz

 

This is great for bigger kids who really think they know it all.  You ask the following six questions and get the children to write down their answers.

 

 

1.  When Mary first heard that she was going to be the mother of God's Son, she heard the news from an angel.  What was the angel's name? (Gabriel)

2.  When it came time for Jesus to be born Joseph and Mary had to travel to Bethlehem.  Why did they have to go there? (To take part in the census.)

3.  Was Jesus born in a manger or put in a manger after he was born? (Put in the manger...born in the stable.)

4.  After he was born Jesus had two lots of visitors - some shepherds and some wise men.  Who came first or did they come at the same time? (Shepherds first, wise men second.)

5.  How did the shepherds and the wise men know that Jesus had been born?  How did God announce the news? (Angels for the shepherds and the star for the wise men.)

6.  When the wise men visited they brought presents.  What were the presents?  And by the way, how many wise men were there? (Gold, frankincense and myrrh.  And we don't know how many wise men.  The Bible just says "the wise men".  There were three gifts but there may not have been three wise men.)

You then provide the answers by telling the story, revealing the answers as you go, dispelling a few myths generated by carols and Christmas cards along the way.   (There is also the issue of the age of Jesus when he was visited by the wise men.  Head down that path if you want to take in the Herod story during your session because there is a bit of mythbusting to be done there too.)

 

 

#3...Christmas (and in fact the whole story of the Bible depending how far you want to take it) through the lense of the wise men's gifts.
 

 

 

Start by asking what sorts of presents babies and small children receive.  Then put the wise men in their context (ah, that would mean a quick retell of the story!!) and head on into your main discussion - about the highly unusual gifts Jesus received from the wise men. 

 

Gold is a precious metal - the metal of kings - pointing to the fact that Jesus is the King of kings.

Frankincense is the incense used by the high priest, pointing to Jesus as the great High Priest. 

Myrrh is embalming oil, used only for royalty, pointing to his important death. 

Through the themes of King, Priest and Jesus' death you can take the story as far, wide and deep as time and the age of your audience will allow. 

 

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 

Luke 2:10,11

Advent, with a little help from my friends

This weekend - whether you start on Saturday being the first day in December or Sunday being the first Sunday in Advent - marks the beginning of the great countdown to Christmas.  Each year we mark the days and prepare our hearts for Christmas using an Advent calendar.  Our boys are blessed with beautiful godparents - and their godmother gave them an Advent calendar when our eldest was born and each year she supplies us with material to put in the pockets of the calendar.

But first things first.  Do you have an Advent calendar?  If not, it isn't too late.  You could buy one.  Or you could make one.  The lovely Ally at harrysdesk has set up a page of ADVENT INSPIRATION here.  So many beautiful ideas.  And it doesn't have to be all that complicated.  You can go a long way quickly with 24 envelopes or 24 takeaway noodle boxes or 24 plastic cups. 

And then, what to put inside it?  Lollies, chocolates, coins (real or chocolate) and so on.  And then the good stuff.

For young children you can use the first 24 stories in The Jesus Story Book Bible to great effect.
Very generously, Wendy at Musings has kindly made two sets of Advent readings available here - one covering the birth Jesus and another covering Genesis to Jesus, great for young and old alike.

And below, a series of verses that provide an overview of the whole Bible.  These come with warm thanks to our boys' godmother.  This is the material she has prepared for our calendar this year.  And she has generously allowed me to share it here on my blog.  This series of short readings would be good for older children who have made their way through their children's Bibles plenty of times and have a good knowledge of the big picture of the Bible.  And it is great for adults too.  They are short readings that should inspire some deep discussion about God and why Christmas and Easter (because you can't have one without the other) had to happen.  She hasn't included any part of the actual Christmas story in her choice of verses which will seem strange to some, but kids have a pretty good grasp of the Christmas story - and there is a fair chance they will be hearing it in its entirety during December.  I think it's going to be amazingly powerful to reach Christmas Eve with Jesus' resurrection from the dead and the great commission.  We will head into Christmas Day fired up and with so many Good Reasons to celebrate.

So click on the links above, cut and paste to your heart's content below and get inspired for Advent. 

 

 



Our readings for 2012

1.  In the Beginning
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
(Gen 1: 1)

2.  Sin....
When the woman (Eve) saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband (Adam), who was with her, and he ate it.
(Gen 3: 6)

3.  Noah’s Ark
The Lord then said to Noah, ‘Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. .. and the rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.
(Gen 7: 1 & 12)

4.  The Lord Promises Abram to make him into a Great Nation
The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you”... “Look up at the heavens and count the stars – if indeed you can count them... so shall your offspring be.”
(Gen12: 1 & 15: 5)

5.  Sarah Becomes Pregnant
Now the Lord was gracious to Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did for Sarah what he had promised. Sarah became pregnant and bore a son to Abraham in her old age, at the very time God
had promised. Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore him
(Gen 21: 1 – 2)

6.  Jacob and Esau
Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was barren.  The Lord answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant.  The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, "Why is this happening to me?"  So the she went and enquired of the Lord. 
The Lord said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples from within you will be separated, one people will be stronger than the other, and the older will serve the younger."
(Genesis 25:21-23)

7.  Jacob Wrestles with God
Then the man said, ‘Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome.’
(Gen 32: 28)

The coming Messiah- Jesus - would be a descendant of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (mentioned in the New Testament in Matthew 1 & Luke 3)

8.  Joseph reveals himself to his Brothers
Then Joseph said to his brothers, ‘Come close to me.’ When they had done so, he said, ‘I am your brother Joseph, the one you sold into Egypt! And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with
yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sentme ahead of you. For two
years now there has been famine in the land, and for the next five years there will not be ploughing and reaping. But God sent me ahead of you to preserve for you a remnant on earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance.’
(Gen 45: 4 – 7)

9.  Moses and the Burning Bush
Then the angel of the Lord appeared to Moses in flames of fire from within a bush... Then God said, ‘I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob... I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave
drivers... so I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey..’
(Exodus 3: 2 & 6 – 8)

10.  The Exodus
When Pharoah let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country... so God led the people around by the desert road towards the Red Sea... By day the Lord went ahead of the Israelites in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light
(Exodus 13: 17 – 18 & 21)

11.  Moses at Mount Sinai
Then Moses went up to God, and the Lord called to him from the mountain and said, ‘This is what you are to say to the people of Israel: You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now if you obey me fully and keep my
covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.’
(Exodus 19: 3 -5)

12.  Joshua Leads the Israelites to the Promised Land
After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua son Nun, Moses' assistant, "Moses my servant is dead.  Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them -  to the Israelite.  I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses...I will never leave you nor forsake you."
(Joshua 1:1-5)

13.  The Appointment of Judges
The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord; they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. The anger of the Lord burned against Israel... But when they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer...judges.’
(Judges 3: 7 – 11)


14.  Samuel Anoints David as King
The Lord said to Samuel, ‘How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over
Israel?.. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king... and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came upon David in power.’
(1 Samuel 16: 1 & 13).

It was prophesied that Jesus would be from the line of David in Isaiah 9:7 and 2 Samuel 7: 12 -13.

15.  Solomon Builds the Temple
When Solomon had finished building the temple of the Lord and the royal palace, and he had achieved all he had desired to do, the Lord appeared to him a second time..."I have heard the prayer and plea you have made before me; I have consecrated the temple, which you have built, by putting my Name there forever.  My eyes and my heart will always be there.
(1 Kings 9:1-3)

16.  Prophecy that Jesus would be born of a Virgin Woman
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign; the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel (which means God with us).’
(Isaiah 7: 14)

17.  Prophecy of the Coming King Jesus
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
(Isaiah 9: 6 – 7)

18.  The Baptism of Jesus
When all the people were being baptised, Jesus was baptised too. And as he was praying, heaven was
opened and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.’
(Luke 3: 21 – 22)

19.  Jesus has Authority over Evil Spirits
Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are – the Holy One of
God!’
‘Be quiet!’ said Jesus sternly. ‘Come out of him!’
The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
(Mark 1: 23 – 26)

20.  Jesus has Power over Nature
Then Jesus got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him... he replied, ‘You of little faith, why are you so afraid?’ Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, ‘What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!’
(Matthew 8: 23 – 27)

21.  Jesus has Power over Death
While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. ‘Your
daughter is dead,’... Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don’t be afraid, just believe, and she will be healed.’
When Jesus arrived he said, ‘Stop wailing, she is not dead but asleep.’
They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. But he took her by the hand and said, ‘My child,
get up!’ Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up.
(Luke 8:49 – 55)

22.  Prophesied that Jesus would be Despised and Crucified
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering... Surely he took
up our infirmities (our failings) and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions (our wrong doing), he was crushed for our iniquities (failings); the punishment that brought us peace was upon him; and by his wounds we are healed... For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.’
(Isaiah 53: 3 – 12)

23.  God’s Saving Grace
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not
perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to
save the world through him.
(John 3: 16 – 17).

24.  Jesus' Resurrection from the Dead
The angel said to the woman, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who has been crucified.  He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.
...Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.  And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
(Matthew 28:5-7 & 18-20)

Christians are Word people

A small quote from Jon Bloom from the Desiring God blog about the goodness of good books - especially the Best Book.

Lord… You have the words of eternal life. (John 6:68)

Christians are word people. We’re really into words because the Founder of Christianity is the Word (John 1:1). He came to earth to deliver a message in words. Those of us who have believed his words recognize them as the “words of eternal life” (John 6:68). And we seek to speak these words to others so they too can have eternal life. We call these words the gospel.

Christians are also book people. We’re really into books because our Founder left us a book, a collection of the words he determined are most important for us to know and remember.

This means we’re not into books merely because they’re good for us — as in a good book is health food for the brain, though that’s true. We’re into books because words mean the difference between life and death. If books contain the right words, people may live — forever!

Twenty minutes

 

Letter writing it seems is a dying artform.  Lots of people say, "Oh no!  I don't write letters anymore.  I just send emails."  True at one level.  I can type much faster than I can write with pen and paper these days.  But it isn't true at another level, because how many of us actually correspond with others via email?  I send lots of emails - but they are mostly short, usually on one subject, written with the aim of getting something done.  I think I am keeping up with those who are beyond my immediate vicinity.  But actually, I'm not.  Because I rarely write a letter these days.  I think I have had two bursts of letter writing this year.  And I don't seem to get around to writing emails that would count as correspondence all that often.

This year, with my friends in Kiribati, I have been trying to keep in touch regularly.  Telephone calls haven't really been an option, although there have a been one or two lovely phone conversations.  I have written them two or three letters - and they do get there but it takes about three weeks.  Which is good, really.  But mostly I have been emailing.

Sometimes I hit a busy patch (or so I perceive it to be) and I don't email for a while.  But in recent months I have decided that I'm sure my friends would rather get a short email that not hear from us at all. It's the keeping in touch that counts. 

And so one day, in the midst of a busy patch, I had twenty minutes exactly.  I can't remember what it was that was happening on the otherside of the twenty minutes...time to collect the children from school, time to start preparations for tea...no matter.  I had twenty minutes.  Not the sort of twenty minutes that might be useful for a quick job inside utilising one or other packet of cleaning wipes or twenty minutes that could be gainfully employed with a quick stint of weeding the garden.  It was the sort of twenty minutes that would be spent quickly roaming around facebook and google reader.  But instead of taking a wander through the hallowed halls of the internet I opened up an email and started to write. 

As it turns out, you can write quite a lot in twenty minutes.  And so I have continued to do this.  Because as it also turns out, there are quite a lot of twenty minute slots to be found in the week if you look hard enough and want to find them.  If I am tired I write less because I make typing errors along the way.  If I have slept well I write more.  So I grab those twenty minute time slots and instead of frittering them away, I have been using them to write to my friends in Kiribati.  (Or occasionally to someone else...sorry if it wasn't to you.  I do owe a few people a twenty minute email.)  

And a week or two ago I even went above and beyond and used a couple of twenty minute slots to write short letters.  Yes.  Pen and paper. 

Do you have someone whose day would be made by receiving an email or a short letter?  Twenty minutes is surprisingly easy to grab at some stage in the week.  Then it is a bit like an exam.  When the clock says, "Your time starts now," you just have to get busy and start writing.  Have a go.  It will make someone smile and be such an encouragement to them.

Teaching kids about God - fun with minties and marshmallows

Teaching kids about God.  Photo by Cathy

Sometimes, if the term challenge is getting a bit tired or the class is getting a bit tired - and take it from me, children in their final year of primary school start getting a bit on the tired side about half way through term three - it is a good idea to throw in a bit of one-off fun just to wake everyone up and get them all back on board again. 

So one lesson last term I took in a big bowl of minties to my Scripture classes. 

Activity one - everyone got a mintie with strict instructions not to open it or eat it.  The kids had to balance their mintie on their head while I started the lesson.  If it fell off their head they were out of the game and it was a competition to see who could balance it for the longest.  When it had gone on for too long I got the final contenders standing, turning circles and doing star jumps until we had a winner. Everyone still had to keep their mintie wrapped and on the top of their desk.  All the winner got was the glory, which is a lesson in itself for some kids.

Activity two - reading the Bible passage for the day.  Three children came out the front to read.  Each child had to read two verses of the six verse passage while balancing a mintie on their head.  Then three more children had to read the same passage (two verses each) while balancing two minties on their head.  As the passage was about being kind to one another, they got to keep one mintie and give the other away to a friend.  Then three more children had to read the passage (two verses each) with an unwrapped mintie poised between their teeth.  Without dribbling.  Easy way to get the children to hear the passage three times without getting bored, although the third reading was less clear than the first two renderings... 

Activity three - two children up the front (a boy and a girl or one from each side of the classroom for a bit of competition) seeing how many times they could throw their mintie up in the air, clap and catch it in the space of 39 seconds (because there are 39 books in the Old Testament.)  This was helpful for giving the kids a break midway through the discussion about the passage.

Activity four - at the end of the lesson, as the grand reward, eat the mintie and do the old tearing the mintie wrapper competition to see who can get the longest strip.  In only a minute because time is short in a 30 minute lesson.

No book work done that lesson.  But lots of Bible reading and discussion.  And the children remembered the content of the lesson the following week.

Warning:  Minties are very chewy lollies.  I wouldn't use them in classes with young children who have mouths full of wobbly teeth.  And always get permission from the classroom teacher before doling out vast quantities of lollies. 

At about the same time my Sunday School class was also getting a bit tired so I brought along a big bag of marshmallows.  Marshmallows, because I have a couple of young children with lots of wobbly teeth in their mouths.  We spent some time practising memory verses with marshmallows balanced on our tongues.  You could do the "fluffy bunny" game by seeing how many marshmallows you can fit inside your cheeks and still speak/recite your memory verse but this seems such a scurrilous waste of marshmallows to me.

Then a little later on we switched out all the lights in the hall (evening a.k.a. 5pm church) and roasted marshmallows on satay sticks over tea light candles.  While we were sitting around our "campfire" we chatted about what we'd been learning during the term, about what it is like to be a Christian, about prayer and lots of other good things.  We reconnected as a group and it has been so much better ever since.

Moral of the story - sometimes you just have to pull out something out of the ordinary to shift things back to where they work best.  And it can take a surprisingly simple gesture to do so.