Rebecca S. Ramsey's Blog, page 14

Knowing Jesus in a New Way 6: Known in Waiting

Welcome to Knowing Jesus in a New Way 6: Known in Waiting, our lesson for May 24, 2020. We’re currently not meeting on account of the coronavirus, but I’m sharing this here in case it’s helpful to someone.

This week we get to share with the children the story of Jesus’ ascension as told in Luke 24:50-53 and chapter 1 of Acts.

What a wonderful opportunity to again talk about the disciples’ experience with having  Jesus right beside them and then having to learn to live with him in a completely different way. The children  have not witnessed this event of course, but most know what it feels like to be left or abandoned-even temporarily-by someone they love- or to feel afraid of what that might be like. For modern Christians whom have never had the joy of having Jesus physically with us, it takes some thinking to imagine what that must have been like, and then to have it taken away.

In addition to discussing the story itself, this Sunday is a good time to talk about the idea that feelings are not always the truth of what is really happening. When bad things happen we may feel abandoned by God, but that is not the truth. God never abandons. So what do we do when we have these feelings and fears? What did the disciples do? They did what Jesus told them to do.They waited and prayed and obeyed Jesus’ commands until they would be with Jesus again in heaven. As in the sermon last Sunday, they did the ordinary things of living as they waited on God. They chose a replacement for Judas. They went on with life, holding onto each other and to prayer.

I hope that if you’re in a room where the children have access to Godly Play materials, that after the story is shared, you’ll try letting the children select something to bring to the circle that helps tell the story.  Those connections can be so meaningful.

Here are the wondering questions for Sunday.

1. I wonder what is your favorite part of today’s story.

2. I wonder if you’ve ever been left behind. I wonder how that feels.

3. Before Jesus disappeared he told the disciples that they would be baptized in the Holy Spirit. I wonder what they thought would happen. I wonder what they thought the Holy Spirit was. I wonder what you think the Holy Spirit is.

4. When Jesus vanished, I wonder if he was really gone. I wonder how he was still with the disciples.

5. I wonder where you are in this story. I wonder what part of this story is about you?

Ideas for Our Gift to God Time

1.Today would be a great time for children to put all the Eastertide stories together in one project. They could do this as a class with a mural, with pairs of children working on a single story of this series, or they could put it together in a little booklet like the one below.

For the example I made here I took 12″ x18″ pieces of construction paper from the paper closet, cut each of them into 3 long strips of 4″x 18″ and folded each accordion-style into 6 sections.

I went ahead and labeled each section with the story title: Known at the empty tomb, Known on a walk and at the inn, Known by his scars, Known at Breakfast, Known at the Great Commission, and Known on the hillside. You could also add where each scripture is found in the Bible. Then children can illustrate each block.

2. Another idea is to celebrate the ascension story on its own by making your own Ascending Jesus, as shown in this kit from Oriental Trading.

You don’t need a kit to make this- just a solo cup and string and paper. It would be much more meaningful for the children to make it their own way, drawing their own Jesus and constructing it as they want, like the children here have done. (Scroll down and see below.)

 

3. Why not show the children images that artists have created showing the ascension and ask them to do their own watercolors or drawings of how they think it might have happened? It’s a mystery, so it would be interesting to see how they picture it. Find artwork to share with the children on my Pinterest page of ascension artwork here.

See some more art response ideas on my Pinterest page, here.

Enjoy the story!

Love, Becky

 

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Knowing Jesus in a New Way 5: Known in Making Him Known

Welcome to Knowing Jesus in a New Way 5: Known in Making Him Known, our lesson for May 17, 2020. We’re currently not meeting on account of the coronavirus, but I’m sharing this here in case it’s helpful to someone.

 What an important lesson this is, the scripture from Matthew 28:16-20 in which Jesus tells his disciples to go everywhere and tell His story, teach people to be disciples, and baptize them. As the story script says, the disciples had been followers and now they had to be leaders. They had been sheep and now it was time to be shepherds. But they didn’t need to be afraid, because Jesus says he will be with them always, to the end of the age.

There are several different aspects of the story that you may choose to emphasize:

1. The meeting itself of Jesus with the disciples on the mountain.

2. Jesus’ command to go to people everywhere and make them disciples, baptize them, and teach them to obey his commands.

3. Jesus’ assurance that He will always be with us.

You may want to try letting the children gather items from the materials that help to tell the story this week.

Here are some wondering questions to also use:

1. I wonder what was your favorite part of today’s story is.

2. I wonder how the disciples felt about Jesus telling them to go everywhere and tell Jesus’ story.

3. I wonder how you would feel if Jesus asked you to go to a new place and tell Jesus’ story.

4. I wonder where we are in Jesus’ story. I wonder how we become part of it.

5. Jesus said he would be with disciples forever. I wonder how he was with them. I wonder how we find him with us.

6. I wonder how you and I can share Jesus’ story with others.

Ideas for Our Gift to God Time

The more they make their own ideas into their projects, the more ownership they have, and the more excited they will be about their work. [image error]

Milestones of Faith

This Children’s sermon was given May 17, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic. I’m sharing it here in case it’s useful to someone. 

Good morning girls and boys. How are you doing today? I have something to show you. I wonder if you’ve ever seen one of these on the highway. It’s called a mile marker- shows you have far you’ve come on the highway from a state border. Started back in Roman times. They used to be made of stone or marble- in some places they are still, called a milestone. Milestones help you know how far you’ve come on your journey.

We use that word in different ways now. Do you know what a milestone is?                                                                                   A milestone is a big event in your life that shows where on your life journey you are. It marks a big change in your life. Your first milestones after you were born include when you learned to smile, sat up, crawling, walking.

What are some other milestones in life? Maybe ones we celebrate at church?

Share items, with an explanation as to meaning.

*New Testament- you’re given one when you’re dedicated to God as a baby during worship

*Cross necklace- We give our first graders a cross necklace when they start worshipping with us in worship.

*An acolyte necklace- When kids start serving God as acolytes they receive an acolyte necklace. I wonder if serving as an acolyte the only way children serve God? No, but it’s one way.

*A Camp Prism tee shirt- some would say going to camp is a milestone- first sleep away camp with church

*A baptismal napkin and communion cup

*A fifth grade celebration program- when kids are getting ready to move up to youth we celebrate them

* A Mortar board for graduation- Graduating from high school and college- that’s a big one today that we’re celebrating. These kids that we’re going to bless in a few minutes were your age not long ago, and now they’re at a huge milestone. They’re making the decisions on what their lives are going to be about. Do they have to do that by themselves? In a way yes. In a way no. They’re not alone. God goes with them and we get to cheer them on- just like we’ll cheer for you and bless you, when you reach this journey. There will be more milestones in their lives after this, but this a big one. We can take time to treasure them, reflect on what God has already done in their lives, and look forward to see what God does next.

Let’s pray: Dear God, thank you for being with us through every milestone, at every point at our journey of life, from the beginning to the end. We love you so much, God. Amen.

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Healthy Bodies, Healthy Church

This children’s sermon was given May 10, 2020, during our coronavirus pandemic. I’m sharing it here in case it might be useful to someone. 

Good morning, girls and boys! How are you doing today? I brought some things to share with you to help us talk about staying healthy. I bet you might know what I brought. What do you think is in my bag?

(Share what is in the bag and why, including a mask, hand sanitizer, measuring tape, soap, a miniature door.)

These are things that help us stay healthy as people during the coronavirus.

Staying healthy is important because when we’re healthy, we can feel good- the way God made us to feel. And we can do important things, like loving each other, serving each other, taking care of each other. Staying healthy is a way to serve each other.

I wonder about other kinds of ways to stay healthy- things we can do to keep our faith healthy, our relationship with God healthy, our church healthy.

Share the following items:

* A candle- churches can be healthy when we pray together & connect with God

* A heart decoration made of people — churches can be healthy when we make decisions together- not just one person-love centered

* A magnifying glass- churches can be healthy when it’s normal and safe to ask lots of questions – about scripture and about the way we do things at church

* The Norman Rockwell painting that depicts people of many races and religions praying together- churches can be healthy when we respect others who think differently than we do and remember that each person is a child of God)

* Peace sign- churches can be healthy when peace and mercy are respected values.

* A banana or other fruit- churches can be healthy when we demonstrate he fruits of the spirit

* A lion- churches can be healthy when we act bravely, knowing that we can do hard things with God’s help

It’s good to take care of our bodies, and it’s good to take care of our hearts and souls and beliefs- so that we can feel good & live the kind of lives God hopes for us.

Let’s pray:

Dear God, thank you for our bodies, and our hearts and souls. And thank you for our church. Help us examine the way we live and act, to make sure that we are living the healthy, loving lives you imagine for us. We love you, God. Amen.

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Knowing Jesus in a New Way 4: Known in the Morning

Welcome to Knowing Jesus in a New Way 4: Known in the Morning, our lesson for May 10, 2020. We’re in the middle of a global pandemic, so we will not be meeting together in person for this story. But I’m sharing it in hopes that it’s helpful to someone. Enjoy!

This week we enjoy yet another goose-bump raising story, that of Jesus’ appearance to seven disciples at the sea of Galilee, as told in John 21:1-24.

There are several different things you may choose to emphasize to the children:

1. The miracle in the boat. The men had caught nothing on their own. But when Jesus was in charge, “they could feel all the fish moving into the nets.” They were shocked to find that the man on the shore was Jesus, sitting by a campfire, cooking fish for their breakfast. With Jesus’ direction, there were fish. Without it, no fish. What does this say to us?

2. Jesus’ words of direction to Peter when Peter said he loved Jesus: “Feed my lambs.” If we do love Jesus, we have our work cut out for us. Our job is to take care of each other. How would Jesus have us do that?

3. All through this story, Peter hasn’t taken his eyes off of Jesus. But as he walks with Jesus, he turns around, sees John following them, and says, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answers with,”If I want him to live until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!” To me, this is Jesus saying,”Keep your eyes on your own paper!” or don’t worry about others and their relationships to me. Instead, think about your relationship to me.

4. Another thing that strikes me in this story is that Peter so often messes up, right after discovering some profound truth! He promises that he will never deny his Lord, and then denies him three times. He says, Yes I’ll do your will, I’ll feed your sheep…and then gets concerned about what John is doing. Yet Jesus loves and accepts him and even sees him as a leader, as fault-filled as he is. This gives me hope!

Wondering Questions:

1.I wonder what your favorite part of this story is.

2. Jesus tells the men what to do in the boat and they listen and suddenly they start catching fish. I wonder what we can learn from that.

3.   I wonder how it felt to sit down for breakfast with Jesus. I wonder what you would have said to Jesus if you were sitting there.

4. Jesus tells Peter if he loves him to feed his lambs. I wonder what this means.  I wonder who are the lambs. I wonder what we do to take care of them.

5. When Jesus and Peter are walking together, Peter notices that John is following them. When Peter asks Jesus about what will happen with John, Jesus tells him not to worry about John or others , but to concentrate on following Him. I wonder what we can learn from that.

Idea Starters for the Children’s Make a Gift for God Time 

Here’s some ideas to get the kids started thinking about the work they choose to do around this story. 

1. Retell the story through art.

*Could your class make a 3D scene of the story? Could someone build a boat out of clay or pieces of wood? Could someone else make a Jesus figure to sit or stand by a campfire on the shore? You’ll need figures of the other disciples too. Kids could make these out of clothespins or paper. Could you use felt or paper to make the sea and the shore?

Or tell it through a video! Watch three of our girls tell the story, here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExexTHL9PTI

2. Make a Breakfast with Jesus mural/drawing/painting. What it you had been with Peter that morning? Could your kids draw themselves and their friends or family at the breakfast?

Here’s how artist Karen Lucci imagines Jesus cooking breakfast.

How do your children imagine it? Paint or watercolor or draw the scene.

3. Who are Jesus’ Lambs? Children could draw or make a collage from magazine photos of pictures of Jesus’ lambs (people of all different ages and races)

4. How Do We Feed His Lambs? Kids could draw or make a collage about all the ways we can feed his lambs-ways we help each other.

5. Jesus Loves Me-Jesus shows Peter how much he loves him in this story, in spite of the 3 times he denied him, in spite of anything. The children could draw themselves with Jesus, writing or drawing what Jesus loves about them.

6. Kids could make “Fish stick” bible bookmarks-rectangular pieces of fun foam, with whatever scripture  you choose. Have decorations on hand-stickers, sequins, markers, etc. Or how about beaded fish?

For more ideas to get the children started, see my Pinterest page, here.

Enjoy the lesson!

Love, Becky

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The Great Thing About Church

This children’s sermon was given May 3, 2020, during the coronavirus pandemic, to our online congregation. The preaching pastor had asked for a children’s sermon about the church and its mission.

Good morning, girls and boys! How are you doing today?

I want to talk to you about church today, and I wish you were here with me to do it, because I’d like to ask you a question and hear your thoughts. I’ll ask you anyway because I hope you’ll talk about it today with your families:  What is your favorite thing about our church? .

Because you’re not here, I asked myself that question. At first, I came up with a long list of places in our church that I love. Our baptistery, because people wade into it to show their own love story with God- that they want to follow Jesus their whole life long, want to be soaked in God’s love. I love that I now get to serve kids their first communion after their baptism. Liam, I brought yours to show you- it has your name on it, and it’s waiting with me when we get back together.

Knowing Jesus in a New Way 3: Known in Doubt

Welcome to Knowing Jesus in a New Way 3: Known in Doubt, our lesson for May 3, though we won’t be meeting, of course. I’m putting this out during our global pandemic just in case it can help someone who might be using these stories at home or on the internet. And I’m sending you a virtual hug!

Are you as captured as I am by Thomas’s expression on the story tile for this week? He looks so worn and burdened by his doubt, wanting to believe, yet in such need of seeing the wounds for himself.

I love the way the Godly Play script tells the story from Luke 24:36-43 and John 20:19-29. It describes the mood of the group of disciples gathered-with the doors shut, afraid for their lives. And then suddenly from within the group someone says, “Peace be with you,” and they realize it is Jesus.

They think he’s a ghost but then he eats a piece of fish. He wishes them peace again and he’s gone. Thomas comes to the group and hears the story of what happened but can’t believe. I like that the script does not find fault with this. “And why wouldn’t he doubt? Their minds were stretching, stretching to be big enough to know Jesus in this new way.”

Then, eight days later, the disciples are again in a locked room and Jesus appears, this time with Thomas present. Thomas doesn’t have to ask. Jesus approaches him and shows him the scars, inviting him, “Touch me.” Of course he falls on his knees. When Jesus says, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe,” goosebumps rise on my arm. Yours too?

I bet children will identify with Thomas, particularly the older ones. They’ve been told so many things and have been disappointed to find out that they were duped. Proof makes belief so much easier. Older children might like to talk about belief and doubt. We shouldn’t be afraid to share our own experiences and hear theirs.

For younger children, this is a great story to have in their back pocket, so that when times of doubt and questions do arise when they’re older, they remember one who loved Jesus and whom Jesus loved who experienced the same feelings.

So, how do we help the children process the story?

If you are in a classroom where all the materials are near available to the children, I hope you’ll consider going along with the Godly Play script and letting the children gather items that help tell the story. It will be interesting to see the connections they make.



Here are our wondering questions for the lesson:

1. I wonder what is your favorite part of the story.

2. I wonder what the disciples thought when Jesus appeared to them in the locked room.

3. I wonder why Thomas needed to touch Jesus’ wounds.

4. I wonder what Thomas thought when Jesus appeared and came up to Thomas and said, “Touch me.”

5. I wonder if  you’ve ever had doubts about anything. I wonder how that feels.

6. I wonder what we can do when we have doubts about believing.



Some Thoughts on Our Gift to God Time:

How can we help the children to re-live this story? Here are a few ideas:

1. Retelling the story through art or drama

a) Kids could act out the story in your classroom. Make it dramatic. Shut the doors. Do the acting out in candlelight. Each child could play a part. The camera in the drawer in the hallway can videotape, if you want to do that.

b) Kids could draw the scenes of the story. The first appearance of Jesus. His eating of a piece of fish. Thomas’s skepticism of the story. Then Jesus’ appearance to Thomas and his touching Jesus. This could be done with markers or paint or three dimensionally with clay. It could be a class project on a mural or done individually.

c) There is also a craft ideas for responding to this story with art here .

2. Digging into the theme of the story of believing without seeing.

a) Children could make a banner for the classroom or a bulletin board that says, “Blessed are those that do not see, but still believe. John 20:29”-or whatever verse or message they pick that they feel tells the story. What illustrations would they want to decorate it with? I’m sure they’d have ideas.

b) Kids could make an illustrated list of ways to handle their doubt. What do they do when they doubt? Read the Bible? Talk to their parents? Talk with their teachers? Pray? Think hard about it? Or they could illustrate the statement: I can ask God for help with my doubt.

c)Children could discuss what faith really is and illustrate “What faith in Jesus means to me.” or make an “I Believe” door hanger or sign and decorate it however they like-with stickers or sequins or markers. We have some foam stickers in the game room on the craft table if you want to use them.

Check out my Pinterest page on this story here. One kind of thing that I pinned several times was the idea of using watercolors on a page from the Bible to illustrate a verse from the story. (Like Blessed are those who haven’t seen and yet believe. John 20:29.) We have some old Bibles that I’ll put out that you can take apart and use for this purpose. It might be nice to glue them on mat board when the watercolors are done and dry. I’ll put the mat board on the cart as well.

Enjoy the story!

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Knowing Jesus in a New Way 2: Known in the Breaking of the Bread

Welcome to Knowing Jesus in a New Way 2: Known in the Breaking of the Bread, our lesson for April 26, though we won’t be meeting, of course. I’m putting this out during our global pandemic just in case it can help someone who might be using these stories at home or on the internet. And I’m sending you a virtual hug!

What a remarkable story from Luke 24:13-35! Two followers of Jesus (Cleopas and another unnamed) are walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus, talking about what had just happened to Jesus. They meet a stranger on the road who asks them what they are discussing. The stranger is Jesus, but the men don’t recognize him. The two are speechless until Cleopas says, “Are you the only person who doesn’t know?” Jesus then asks him to explain, and Cleopas says that they are talking about Jesus of Nazareth, “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him;  but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.” Then he adds that some women went to the tomb and couldn’t find his body and came back with stories of seeing angels who told them that he was alive.

The stranger calls them foolish and slow and says, “Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things before entering his glory?” He explains what was said by Moses and the prophets about Jesus in all the scriptures. Then, as they near the village, the men ask the stranger (Jesus) to stay with them. As they settle down to eat together, Jesus takes the bread, says the blessing, breaks the bread and hands it to them, and suddenly they recognize who he is. At that moment, Jesus disappears from their sight. They say to each other, “Wasn’t it like a fire burning in us when he talked to us on the road and explained the scriptures to us?” Of course they rush back to Jerusalem to tell the 11 disciples. 

How moving! The children are sure to be amazed with this scripture. 

Be sure to check out the wording with which the Godly Play script shares these verses. It’s beautiful.


So, how do we help the children process this story?

If you are in a classroom where all the materials are near available to the children, I hope you’ll consider going along with the Godly Play script and letting the children gather items that help tell the story. It will be interesting to see the connections they make.Here are some wondering questions for this lesson:
1. I wonder what your favorite part of today’s story is.

2. I wonder what the most important part of today’s story is.

3. I wonder what God is trying to teach us with this story.

4. The stranger talked to them about how the Jewish people had been trapped in so many ways and that prophets said a little child would lead the people out of being trapped. I wonder how Jesus helped the people from being trapped. 

Some Thoughts on Our Gift to God Time:

How can we help the children to re-live this story? Here are a few ideas:

1. This one is my favorite… Why not literally walk through the story with the children? If the weather is  good, I think it would be great to take a walk around the church, and as you walk, ask the children what the men must have said to each other, being so confused and scared and disappointed with what had happened. Help them imagine encountering a stranger. (You could even have one of the teachers play that role!)  You don’t have to talk about the story the entire walk, but physically walking and talking about it to some degree helps the children imagine it and remember it.When you return to the classroom, why not have bread and juice waiting and sit down and share what it must have been like to recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread–and then have him vanish! I bet if the children walk through this experience, they won’t forget it!

2. Act out the story in the classroom. Take photos!

3. Illustrate the segments of the different parts of the story:

a)the two men walking, scared and confused,
b)the encounter with the stranger
c)what the stranger said, that a little child would come to lead the people and that someone would suffer and die so that we could really be alive

d) the meal at the inn

e) Jesus vanishing

f) the two followers rushing back to tell the disciples

4. Need other ideas? There’s a whole bunch here, if you’re a member of this organization. And my Pinterest site is here. [image error]

The Gift of Remembering

This children’s sermon was given to our livestream congregation during the coronavirus pandemic, April 26, 2020.

Good morning girls and boys! How are you doing? I’ve been missing you! I hope I’ll see you this week when we have our Zoom Funday School.

Today I wanted to talk with you about family traditions. Do you have any in your family- things that you always do together at certain times? Maybe you have them and you don’t even know it! These last few weeks we’ve had some family birthdays, and as I always do for 30 years, I got this HAPPY BIRTHDAY sign to put on the front door and another in our dining room where we have cake, and one of my kids said, HEY! IT’S THE BIRTHDAY TRADITION! When I put it up, I remember so many of those birthdays from the last 30 years.  The tradition helps me feel close to those little children who are now grown-ups!

We have church family traditions too, don’t we? For eight years now we’ve had a party after worship in May for our fifth graders, when we can celebrate each one and share three words that describe them. We take a picture together. I hang them in my office. Each year I remember our other years, and then I look out into the youth department and I see how they’re growing. This is the picture we took the first year we had the party and now these fifth graders are about to graduate from high school!

Traditions are so important because they remind us what is important- who is important- and they help us feel close to those people, even as life changes, even if they’re not around us anymore.

Jesus knew how important that would be for people who loved him- and for people who love him now. Do you remember what tradition he started the week before he died and rose again? We’re going to do it today. It was what we call the Lord’s supper, communion. The disciples went with him into an upper room, they shared the Passover meal, and at some point, Jesus served the first communion with bread and wine.

In today’s scripture story, Jesus appears to some of the disciples on a walk, but they don’t recognize him. It’s only when they ask him to stay, they have a meal, and then he blesses the bread and breaks it- just like he had the week before!- opened their eyes to recognize him and then he disappeared. Jesus knew that this tradition would help us remember him, even hundreds, thousands of years later. What a treasure this tradition is when we can quiet our minds & remember him.

Let’s pray: Dear God, thank you for traditions and memories. Thank you for Jesus who taught us how to love and live with each other and serve each other, and still teaches us. We love you God. Amen.

 

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Trust What You Know Is True

This children’s sermon was given to our livestream congregation during the coronavirus pandemic April 19, 2020. 

Good morning, girls and boys! How are you doing? I sure miss you.

I brought the tile we were going to share in Sunday school this week. I bet you know what’s happening in this picture. Did you listen to the scripture Will read? Yes, it’s Mary Magdalene, standing outside the tomb, looking in and she’s crying. She tells the two angels that she sees that she’s crying because she doesn’t know where Jesus’ body is.

Then she turns around and sees someone that she doesn’t recognize, maybe he’s the man who takes care of the grounds there. He asks her why she’s crying, and she says Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.

She doesn’t recognize him, standing right in front of her, but does he recognize her? Of course.

And then he says Mary. He calls her name and immediately she knows that he’s Jesus.

That moment when she doesn’t recognize him, and he’s standing right there, always reminds me of this book I bet you know. I’ve shared it before. It’s Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion. Remember the story? Harry hates baths so he buries the scrub brush and runs away from home. He plays so hard and gets so dirty that he changes from a white dog with black spots to a black dog with white spots. He gets hungry and tired and goes home and no one recognizes him. He digs up the brush and gets his family to give him a bath and then they see it’s him.

God always has the power that we don’t often have: God can see past our dirt and the bad things we may do to see the person deep inside. God knows who we are inside, no matter what messes we get ourselves in.

But we’re not so good at that. God may show up right in front of us, through the helping hands of other people, through the warm breeze as we walk, through the love in our family. We may not recognize God’s tenderness as God holds us. But God always recognizes us.

So when something bad happens, Mary reminds us, trust what you know to be true. It’s impossible that Jesus is there. But she knows his voice.

When bad things -terrible things- happen, trust what you know to be the truest things of all: God knows you and loves you, no matter what. God will always be with you. You matter to God.

Let’s pray: God, thank you for loving us no matter the messes we get in. Help us to remember that when bad things happen, to trust in what we know to be the  truest thing of all: your complete love for us, no matter what. We love you, God. Amen.

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