Rebecca S. Ramsey's Blog, page 23

Saying Yes to What Scares You- What’s the Worst That Could Happen?

I found out the answer to that question at 1:48 am on Sunday morning. It’s kind of hilarious now, but it absolutely wasn’t then. But more about that later…

Earlier this year something extra weird happened in my neighborhood that has become the theme of 2019 for me. It was a Sunday morning and my coffee maker was on the blink, so I was driving to Starbucks so I could be a pleasant person at church.  I had just turned out of my neighborhood onto Augusta Road when a crazy owl, wings spread wide, flew straight toward my car! Her owl eyes glared into my human ones and just as I was wondering if a flying owl on a kamikaze mission can break a windshield, she swooped up over my car and was gone!

Maybe it was a kooky Aunt Hilda owl on a visit to the more secretive, ordinary family of owls living in our woodsy neighborhood, but I’m a person who likes to find meaning in weird things, so I wondered if maybe life had a message for me. Maybe it was life saying, “Why hide in the trees if you want to soar? Why scrounge after field mice if you’d rather fly over to the Donut Experiment or get a Sausage McGriddle?! Or maybe I could take the owl’s sweep towards my car more directly as encouragement for me, asking me to “Dare to do what scares you- if it’s something you want to do, that is!”

So I’ve been doing it. And I’ve been seeing lots of lots of other people doing the same thing!

You might think I’d be used to speaking before groups of adults since I do it all the time with my congregation and for my books, but the real me is a hermit at heart. Kids are easy to talk to, but I still need to push myself to say yes to speak with adults, to bribe myself with chocolate, to give myself a pep talk complete with power poses and inner rah rah cheers that I have meaningful things to share. And it always (ALWAYS!) turns out that once I get started, it’s a pleasure. That I learn from the people I’m with and grow from the experience and I say to myself, “Well that was fun! Why the hesitation, scaredy cat?”

So when my friend Kate Cavanagh asked me if I’d take part in her free online parenting summit, if she could interview me all the way from Ireland about praying with kids and also about the story behind The Holy Eclair-  how as a young mom my faith turned upside down when we moved to France, Aunt Hilda the owl soared through my brain.  “Sure!” I said. And then the scaredy cat in my brain swished her tail and said, “WHAAAAT?”

I haven’t heard the interview, but I’m hoping I didn’t sound like a wacky Aunt Hilda! Kate is kind and fun to talk to, and I discuss those things with people all the time, so it should be fine, right?! And I get to join an awesome panel of experts on such varied topics as toddler tantrums, teaching children to cook, growing in our identity as parents, and finding that we are loved for who we are and not what we do! (AMEN!) If this sounds like something you’d like to listen to (or if you’d just like to see if I sound wacky or more normal than you thought) I’m officially inviting you to check out “Raising Happy Healthy Christian Kids” – and to pass it along to any parents or grandparents that might enjoy it. Here’s the link: https://happyhealthychristiankids.com/rebeccaramsey I’m grateful to be part of it and I’m glad I said yes!

The thing is, I know from experience that God always meets me in those times I say yes, when it’s something that scares me but I want to do it. God ALWAYS does. So look out Aunt Hilda owl for whatever comes next! I’m ready to soar! But I might have to freak out a little first. And that’s okay. Because really, what’s the worst thing that can happen?

Oh yeah. I still need to tell you about what happened Sunday at 1:48 am, when I found the answer to that question! I’ll be brief because I’m not sure you can handle the details.

On Saturday night my cat Jack was acting weird. He was racing around chasing something imaginary, which got Rosie the dog chasing him, so I was sitting on my bed watching the madness run circles around me. Be aware that Jack sometimes catches creatures outside and brings them in my house to torture and kill. (Sorry. The circle of life is harsh.) But sometimes Jack also chases lights that the television projects on our walls or lights from passing cars outside. So I watched him, and since I didn’t see a chipmunk (his preferred victim) I chuckled and thought how funny he was.

Then the idea occurred to me. Perhaps he is chasing something real. Since my husband is on a business trip, perhaps I should stay upstairs in the guest room- just so I won’t have to witness anything distressing. BUT NO! I did not! I said to myself, “Self, I want to stay in my own bed! I must face the things that scare me. Because really, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”

At 1:48 Sunday morning I found out, when A CHIPMUNK ON THE LOOSE SCURRIED UP MY BED AND RAN THROUGH MY HAIR!”

Yes. This is the worst thing that could happen in this situation. The thing of nightmares. The thing that horrified my lunch buddies at church on Monday and sent me to the guest room for 3 days until I left for France this morning!

(I was planning on a trip anyway. It’s not on account of the chipmunk. But it does work out nicely!)

But the good thing is that really it wasn’t that awful. I mean, it scared me and made me walk around my house like a zombie for 20 minutes, saying “DID THAT REALLY JUST HAPPEN TO ME?” and “AFTER JACK IS DEAD, WE ARE NEVER GETTING ANOTHER INSIDE/OUTSIDE CAT AGAIN!” and “WHERE DID THAT CHIPMUNK GO?” and “CAN WE SELL THE HOUSE NOW?” But I was still alive and I survived something that I have dreaded ever since I’ve had my first killer cat, so I’m going to do a power pose right now and say that I am woman, hear me roar.

Blessings to you as you face what scares you! And really, what’s the worst that can happen?

PS. My mama would want me to tell you that I have house sitters at home and there’s also a wild dog and a murderous cat and maybe a wild chipmunk on the loose inside, so if you’re a robber, I’d choose another house if I were you.

*Many thanks to Hans Splinter for his fabulous owl photo, shared through Creative Commons.

 

What Makes Church Different?

This children’s sermon was written to accompany a sermon on March 24, 2019, about the responsibility of the church to do hard things. (Scripture was the story in which Jesus predicts his own death.) The preaching minister asked for me to talk with the children about what makes the church different from other groups and places of which we’re part.

Good morning girls and boys, today I wanted to ask us to think about a question: What makes what we do at church Christian and not just fun? To help us think about this, I brought some things in my bag that will remind us what we do together.

*Swim goggles-we went swimming last Sunday- that was fun, brought Hospice Care items

*Spade and cleaning tools from Inasmuch Day- that was fun- but it was also hard work

*Objects from choir and missions…(Praising God and telling others about God, helping people close by and far away)

*Sunday school story- we learn about Jesus and how we want to live our lives like him (Jesus story Godly Play)

*Trying again and again to welcome others and not just stay with friends (Welcome sign)

*Resist temptation to do things you know are wrong (Ten Commandments)

*Giving things away (Offering)

* Being brave to stand up for others (STOP sign)

So what do you think you’d say to the question? How is what we do as a church different than what we do other places? What makes it Christian?

We have fun together. But we come here to worship God and be like God and love each other. Sometimes the things Jesus asks us to do are easy and fun. And sometimes they are hard and tough. But we can do them because Jesus showed us how. We know Jesus did hard things and God helped him. God will help us too.

Let’s pray.

Dear God, thank you for church. Thank you that we can come here and you can teach us how to live and love better, when it’s easy but especially when it’s hard. We love you God. Amen.

 

Faces of Easter II: Jesus Is Lost and Found

Welcome to Faces of Easter II: Jesus Is Lost and Found, our lesson for March 17.

This week we remember and celebrate the phase of Jesus’ life when he was a boy by telling the story from Luke 2: 39-52. In this story, Jesus is found in the temple after the Passover festival.

What a great opportunity for children to think about Jesus as a boy, a child near their own age. I’m sure that if they really start doing some heavy duty thinking about this, a zillion questions may spring up. It’s great for all of us to witness this and ask questions of our own!

At the end of the story, you can choose whether to ask children to find an item in the classroom that helps tell about this part of Jesus’ life or you can ask wondering questions.

Here are some wondering questions you might ask:

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

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

3. I wonder what God can teach us from this story.

4. I wonder where you are in the story- what part of the story is about you.

5. I wonder what questions Mary had about all of this after they were back home again.

Idea Starters for Our Make a Gift to God Time

There are several ways you and the children can choose to go during your response time. You can focus on the story itself, you can help children think about the role of church in their own lives, or you could focus on the idea of God helping us grow during childhood. I’m sure you can think of other ways to respond to this story. Here are a few ideas you might find helpful for the children to use as a springboard:

For a focus on the story itself:

1. Make a scroll of scripture, like the ones Jesus might have studied.

Each child could make their own, or the children could work together to make a big one for the class, with each child writing a verse on it.

To make a scroll, take a sheet of white paper the size of your own choosing and let the children write or copy a verse or several verses. (Luke 2:52 would be especially appropriate for this week.) Then crinkle up the paper, straighten it, and repeat several times to make it look old. If they want, kids can tear the paper around the top and bottom edge (not the sides, where they’ll attach the dowel sticks.) Then curl the sides around dowel sticks and glue to dowels. Paint the scroll with tea and let it dry.

2. Act out the story. Have props available (or make them!) Be sure to take photos!

3. Children could draw Jesus in the temple, or draw the temple background and cut a Jesus figure out of paper so that you can move him around the temple. Kids could also cut out Mary and Joseph figures so that they can “enter” the temple and play out the story. Or you could turn a shoebox into a temple scene with clay or clothespin Jesus, Mary, and Joseph figures, in addition to temple leader figures. Or you could have the children just make the figures and let them retell the story using the Godly Play temple we have in our rooms. (Our Mary to the right comes with a question mark, because she’s wondering where Jesus is.)

For a focus on the role of church in the children’s own lives:

1. Have the children draw or paint or cut out photos for a collage on what their favorite thing is to do at church. Maybe have one side of the drawing of all the things we do at church, and then on the other side their absolute favorite thing.

2. Have the children make a church/temple out of a shoe box or Popsicle sticks or Lego or clay. Kids could go look at the poster in the Children’s Activity Room and see what the temple looked like first.

3. Make a stained glass window from torn tissue paper and construction paper, as shown here.

For a focus on the idea of God helping us grow:

1. Have the children trace each other’s bodies on butcher paper and color them in with markers or paint. You could hang your classroom of students on the wall and have the children come up with a title about how God helps us grow.

2. As you talk about growing, each child could plant grass seeds or flower seeds in a small pot–or if you really want to get creative with the Easter theme, in an (Easter) egg shell, as shown here.

3. Jesus grew by learning and working hard. How do the children do this? They could draw the things they do as they grow to learn and work hard. Or they could make coupon cards for their parents, good for cleaning their room or dusting the furniture or sweeping, etc.

For more art response ideas, see my Pinterest page, here.

I hope these ideas help!

Love,

Becky

Blessings and Crosses, Ashes and Water

This children’s sermon was written for March 10, 2019, the first Sunday of Lent. It was also a day when we had both a baby dedication and a baptism in worship. The scripture was Mark 1: 9-15, the baptism and testing of Jesus.

Good morning, girls and boys. We have started the season of Lent, the time we spend getting ready for the mystery of Easter. Lent began with Ash Wednesday, where we lined up and a minister drew a cross on your forehead or hand, to remind you that God made us from dust and we don’t live forever. One day we will be dust again, but God holds and loves us the whole time, as we live our life, and when we return to God.

We think about God’s love again when we watch the dedication of Baby Lela to God. When Pastor Jim blessed her, did you see the sign he made on her forehead? Yes, he made the sign of the cross as he blessed her, not with ashes, but just his finger. It’s a way to remind all of us that she is marked with God’s love.

Baptism is a another beautiful way to show our church family and God that we know we are marked with God’s love. But instead of letting a minister mark us with water on our foreheads, I love that the way we do it here at our church is we go all the way in. We wet every part of our bodies, as if to say, mark the whole me, God. I’m swimming in your love and I want to drip with your holiness all my life long.

For today, I want to share some of the water with you. I hope that one day, maybe even soon, you’ll make the choice to be baptized, if you haven’t already. But today, I want to invite you, after our prayer, to remind yourself and someone in your family that you are marked with God’s love. I invite you to gently dip your two pointer fingers in the water. One finger is to make a cross on your own forehead, and the other is to do the same for someone in your family when you go back to your pew.

Dear God, help us remember that we spend our lives swimming in your love. We love you, God. Amen.

Why I Was Running Around My Yard After Midnight

If you walked past my house at 11:54 pm on Wednesday night, you might have seen me running around my back yard in my pajamas and bedroom slippers, chasing my goofy golden retriever. It might have looked like we were playing, as she was leaping with joy in the moonlight.

We were not playing.

I was an ANGRY DOG MOMMY.

Rosie had refused to come inside, choosing instead to frolic and bark into the cold. First she barked at a neighbor’s car passing by. Then she barked at the leaves rustling. Then she barked at our garbage can at the end of our driveway. Then she started the neighborhood dogs in a barking chorus.

Twice I gave up on bringing her in, thinking she’d eventually get bored. “Don’t give her the negative attention she’s looking for,” mama me lectured. But Rosie kept barking. I imagined babies across our neighborhood waking and wailing. I imagined moms and dads across our neighborhood shaking their fists at my house, vowing revenge on that blasted Ramsey dog. I couldn’t take it. I had to go get her.

I called her name. She would not come.

I held up treats. She would not come.

I bounced her most favorite tennis ball. She would not come.

I put on my serious voice and said, “COME” the way the teacher taught me when we picked her up from Bad Dog Camp, where we paid lots of money to get her to obey us. She stopped in her tracks and stared at me. Then she smiled, ran past me, and bit off some shrubbery to fling into my hair.

“THIS IS SO FUN FUN FUN!” she said in Dog.

So that’s how I ended up chasing her around my yard. She seemed to enjoy my entertainment– the way she could get inches within my reach and then race away, as I tripped into one of the holes she’d dug.

“SIT!” I commanded. She sat. I walked slowly to her, reaching out my hand. “Hi there, sweet Rosie. I’m just going to pet you,” I lied. She smiled at me- a big wide smile like I was about to give her a taste of a banana milkshake. Then a gleam came into her eye and she was off, clods of dirt flying behind her. Wasn’t this fun?

Around fifteen minutes later, we were both tired and I was LIVID and was telling God that once Rosie was dead and buried, I would never have a dog again. There was dog poop on my slippers, plus a person is not supposed to sweat in the cold after midnight the first week of March. “SIT!” I said and grabbed her collar and pulled her back into the house. “HA!” I might have said. “YOU ARE NAUGHTY AND IT WOULD SERVE YOU RIGHT IF I ATE A DOG TREAT IN FRONT OF YOU JUST TO MAKE YOU SAD!”

I did not eat the dog treat, by the way.

The next day I was telling someone how exasperating my evening had been. “Yeah,” she said. “People like control. It really sucks not to have any AT ALL.”

Yep. It does.

It made me think about what I wrote to my friend in an email a week ago.

When she asked me how I was getting along these days in this world that can be so cruel, I revealed to her one of my coping techniques. My kids hardly believe that I love doing this, considering I’m generally a softie and won’t watch The Three Stooges because I feel so sorry for Larry and Curly and want to lecture Moe at how mean he is. Anyway, the truth is that sometimes I deal with the harshness of life by watching videos of people falling on ice.

Don’t knock it until you try it! After you finish reading, go watch this!

There is something so HILARIOUS about watching a series of people SO INTENT on walking across the street that they choose to ignore the reality that the street is frictionless, and all footing is lost. They put one foot in front of the other… and then they ALWAYS end up doing a HI-LARIOUSLY awkward dance with their shovel or their shopping cart or their friend and fall to the ground, . And then they get up and try again.  AND IT HAPPENS AGAIN! They have no control and yet they keep trying to exert their control, sure that if they can just keep at it, they can make the ground behave as it always behaves. THIS IS HILARIOUS AND MAKES ME CRY WITH LAUGHTER BUT THAT’S OKAY. The falling people might get cold and wet and a little bruised, but most of the time they’re laughing too.

I guess if someone had filmed me in the backyard with Rosie, I could be someone’s stress relief too. (“She’s so intent on catching the dog that she chooses to ignore the reality that the dog is faster and between dog poop and holes, all footing is lost…”)

I suppose I should remind myself that whenever I have a chase session with Rosie, I should look at it as an exercise in letting go of control. There’s so little we really have control of, other than our own behavior. Especially if you have a dog like Rosie.

But maybe it’s time for a refresher over at Bad Dog Camp.

I do have control over that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Faces of Easter I: Remembering the Birth and Presentation of Christ in the Temple

Welcome to Faces of Easter I: Remembering the Birth and Presentation of Christ in the Temple, the first Sunday lesson for the Lenten season. 

If the Faces of Easter lessons are new to you, you’ll find that in Godly Play we use the season of Lent to remember Jesus’s life, step by step. In our first lesson of this series, we explore the story of Jesus’s birth. As you retell it in light of the Lenten season, why not also share the story of his presentation in the temple from Luke 2: 22-38? We don’t always share this part of the story and this would be a great time to do so.

If your Godly Play story baskets are all displayed in your classroom where the children can see them, I’d encourage you to include the part of the script in which you invite the children to gather one by one anything in the room that reminds them of this part of Jesus’s life, put it around the story tile, and share their thoughts about its connection with the story. As you know, the children can be so creative in this and make connections that we might not even think about.

If your materials are not where the children have easy access to them, here are some wondering questions you can ask, in lieu of having the children gather materials that support today’s lesson.

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

2.    I wonder what Joseph and Mary did for Jesus when he was a baby to help him grow?

3.   I wonder what hopes Mary and Joseph had for Jesus and who he would grow up to be?

4.   I wonder what hopes God had for who Jesus would grow up to be?

5.   I wonder who else might have helped Jesus grow to be the person God made him to be?

As for the Give a Gift to God Time, here are some thoughts…



If your class is decorating a Jesus tree, (the trees should be in your room) there are several ideas for ornaments:

*Jesus in the manger

(Like this one on the right from catholicsupply.com)

The kids could make Jesus from a clothespin and make a manger out of twigs and leaves from a walk outside.

Make ornaments of baby Jesus and the pigeons out of felt as seen here. So precious! Or how about these felt doves here?

Or they could make the animals in the stable, the shepherds, angels, holy family, or the Magi.

Wyline had a great idea of making ornaments by having the children cut out egg shapes out of construction paper and decorating one side like an Easter egg and illustrating the other side with elements from that Sunday’s lesson.

As much as you can, let the children come up with how they want to illustrate the story. They’re so much more invested in their work when the whole thing is their idea.

If your class is working on completing the cross map of Lenten lessons, as shown here, this would be the time to make an illustration for the square of Jesus’s birth. Children could illustrate this with whatever materials they 

want–watercolors, markers, collage, colored pencils, etc.

Another idea would be to create three dimensional scenes in your classroom for each week’s lesson. For this week you could bring a baby doll to represent Jesus and have the children figure out how to make a manger to lay him in, maybe make pigeons out of clay for the presentation in the temple. Find material in the resource room for the kids to make a blanket with which to swaddle him. I bet the children can think of other elements for the scene. You could arrange these scenes around the room, making your own version of the stations of the cross!

You can find more ideas at my Pinterest page on the dedication of Jesus, here. Here’s a Pinterest board for nativity sets that might be helpful.

Thank you for all you do!

Love, Becky

Jesus Teaches in the Temple (The Widow’s Mite)

Welcome to our story for March 3, Jesus Teaches in the Temple, also known as The Widow’s Mite. It’s based on the scripture found in Luke 20:45-21:4.

This is a beautiful passage in which Jesus gets practical. As followers of The Way, what are we supposed to do? What are we not supposed to do? Jesus draws our attention to a poor widow, whose behavior is a quiet lesson in this very thing – and quite a contrast to the noisy behavior of others. If we’re supposed to be givers like God, what does that behavior look like? Jesus points to the ultimate example.

I’ll include the story script I wrote below, for those of you from other churches who might like to use it. I hope it works well for you. If anyone asks where you got it, please direct them to this site.

Jesus Meets a Poor Man and a Rich Man

Welcome to Jesus Meets a Poor Man and a Rich Man, our story for February 24, about Jesus’ encounter with the blind beggar on the side of the road and then with Zacchaeus. These stories can be found in Luke 18:35-19:9.

I wrote this story script to give the children a Godly Play style lesson in which they could see that both poor and rich people were important to Jesus and greatly needed his healing in their lives.

I’ll include the script below, in case teachers from other churches would like to use it. (Just scroll down to the end of this post.) It’s been exciting for me to see our extra stories be used in churches all over the world! I hope this one works well for everyone.

Ideas for Response Time (Our Make a Gift for God Time!

Hopefully children will think about the different ways we need God’s healing touch (in our hearts and bodies) as they respond to the story through art. Here are some ideas for you:

Explore the blind beggar’s experience with blindfolds. Try to draw the story blind folded. Then take off your blindfold and examine your work. As you work, think about what it might be like to have lived the blind beggar’s life. How did he show his faith? Why do you think Jesus asked him what he wanted him to do for him? What do you think it would be like to be at the mercy of the giving of others?
Explore Zacchaeus’ experience with Jesus through art. Can you make a tree out of paper towel holders or sticks or clay and put Zacchaeus in it? Can you include Jesus in the art? Or maybe represent Jesus eating with Zacchaeus, as he plans to pay those he cheated 4 times more and give half his money to the poor.
Make a class mural- half working on the beggar side and half on the Zacchaeus side, both showing Jesus doing healing work.
In the last line of the story, Jesus says to Zacchaeus, “You are a true part of God’s family. It’s why I’m here, to find people like you who are lost and bring them back to God’s family where you belong.” What can you make that shows God with God’s family? Who is included in this family?

Find more ideas on my Pinterest board, here.

Here’s the script. I hope it works well for you!

While Jesus did his work, healing, preaching, and telling stories, people wanted to meet him. Even as Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem, where he knew that his life would be in danger,

Add the cross to the end of the underlay.

he made time for people.  He walked along the road and changed people’s lives.

Add the road, unrolling it on the underlay.

There were two people he met that were very different. One man was poor and one was rich.

First Jesus met the poor man.

Add the poor man.

The man was poor because he was blind. The only way he could have the food he needed to live was by sitting by the side of the road, begging people for money. The blind man heard a crowd going by and asked what was happening. The people around him said that it was Jesus from Nazareth going by. The blind man shouted out, Jesus, son of David, please help me!

The people told him to be quiet. But he didn’t. He shouted out louder, “Jesus, son of David, please help me!”

Jesus heard him and stopped walking. Maybe he noticed that even though the man was blind he could see what the crowd didn’t know, that he was the son of David, the Savior! “Bring the man to me.” When they brought him close to Jesus, Jesus said to the blind man, “What would you like for me to do for you?”

“I want to see again,” the man said.

“Go ahead,” Jesus said, “See! Your eyes are healed because of your faith.”

Add the picture of eyes.

It was true! Right that second, the blind man could see. What did he do? He joined the crowd praising God and following Jesus.

Then Jesus met the rich man.

Add the man with the full money bags.

His name was Zacchaeus and he was rich because he was the chief tax collector. As he collected taxes for the government, he took a lot of people’s money just for himself.  Zacchaeus who was really excited about the chance to see Jesus, but he had a problem. Zacchaeus was shorter than most people and couldn’t see over their heads. Nobody wanted to help him get a good look because they knew that he was the chief tax collector, the cheater of cheaters.  Jesus was coming close. Would he miss his chance? Zacchaeus had an idea.

Zacchaeus saw a sycamore tree ahead where Jesus was going.

Add the tree.

If he climbed that tree, he’d get a good view of Jesus. But only children climbed trees. Would he be willing to look silly? Jesus ran ahead and climbed the tree and waited for Jesus to walk near.

When Jesus got to the tree, he stopped! “Zacchaeus hurry and get down from there. Today is my day to be a guest in your home.” Zacchaeus scrambled down the tree, so thrilled he thought he might burst with happiness. The crowd wasn’t so happy. “Of all people to stay with!” they grumbled. “Why pick such a bad man?”

Zacchaeus could hardly believe it. Later at his house he said, “Master, I’ll give away half of my money to the poor—and if I’ve cheated anyone, I’ll pay them four times more.

Jesus said, “Today your faith has saved you.” Zacchaeus’s heart was healed because of his faith!

Add the heart.

“You are a true part of God’s family. It’s why I’m here, to find people like you who are lost and bring them back to God’s family where you belong.”

 

Jesus Welcomes the Children

Welcome to Jesus Welcomes the Children, our story for February 17, a script I’ve written to share the scripture from Luke 18:15-17. The story script also alludes to several other stories from the Bible in which children play important parts, hopefully helping our children understand more of what Jesus is saying is important about how children think, love, believe, and trust.

I’ll include the script below, in case teachers from other churches would like to use it. (Just scroll down to the end of this post.) It’s been exciting for me to see our extra stories be used in churches all over the world! I hope this one works well for everyone.

 

Ideas for Response Time (Our Make a Gift for God Time!)

1. Children could celebrate Jesus welcoming the children by doing a collage of children’s faces from magazines. (There’s a big box of them in the art resource room near the door.) They could write the verse from Luke 18:17 at the top.

Or make a mural for your class, where each child draws themselves!

2. Children could make a puppet of themselves from a paper bag. We have lots of yarn for hair and fabric and all sorts of other things they could add. Could you video your kids using their puppets to sing Jesus Loves Me?

3.How about make a version of this? It comes from Growing Kids in Grace.

Children could write their own caption, using scripture or their own words.

4. How about letting the kids make story stones for Jesus and children- and maybe a disciple or two or parents. This idea comes from Flame: Creative Children’s Ministry.

Or you could make characters out of play clay or clothespins. Or whatever else kids think of!

5. You could always act out the story. My camera is on the blink right now, but if you have an iphone, send me the video and I’ll upload it for parents to see.

6. Older children might want to research Bible stories about children, and then share them with the class.

Joseph-Genesis 37-47

Miriam- Exodus 1:1-2:10

Moses-Exodus 2:1-10

The boy who led a blind man

Samuel – 1Samuel 1-3

Isaac- Genesis 22:1-19

Ishmael-Genesis 16:1-13, 21:1-20

David – 1 Samuel 13

Mephibosheth-2 Samuel 4:4; 9:1-13

The widow’s son- 1Kings 17

Two boys saved from slavery-2 Kings 4:1-7

The Sunammite boy- 2 Kings 4: 8-37

The slave girl- 2 Kings 5: 1-16

King Josiah-2 Kings 22

King Joash-2 Kings 11, 12

Jesus as a boy-Luke 2:1-20; Matthew 2, Luke 2:41-52

Nobleman’s son- John 4:46-54

Daughter of Jairus- Mark 5:22-43

Boy with the Loaves and Fish- Matthew 14:14-21; John 6: 5-13

Little sick boy-Mark 9:14-29

Rhoda- Acts 12:1-19

Paul’s nephew- Acts 23:1-22

Timothy- 2 Timothy 3:14-17

(This list is covered in the book, Children of the Bible, by Cindy Baw & Paul C. Brownlow)

You can find more art response ideas at my Pinterest site here.

Here’s the story script…

Jesus Welcomes the Children

Whenever Jesus came to a town, people wanted to go see him.

Add Jesus figure to the underlay.

If their bodies had sicknesses or if their hearts or minds were sick or sad, they hoped Jesus could heal them. They wanted to watch Jesus heal others and to hear Jesus’s stories about what is important to God.

Add crowd

One day when Jesus came to town, the people were very excited. They put down their work to go and be near him.

Add symbols of work- broom, wheelbarrow or bucket

Moms and dads wanted their children to see Jesus too. If Jesus would only touch them, how special that would be for their children!   So they brought their children to the crowd around Jesus.

Add children figures

The disciples were there with Jesus as he spoke to the adults, and they saw the parents coming with their kids. Before the families could reach Jesus, the disciples stopped them in their tracks and said, “Jesus doesn’t have time for children. Don’t you see that he’s talking about important things? His time is too special to bother with kids.”

Add stop sign

But Jesus knew how important all children are.  Jesus knew children could think important things and do important things, like loving and trusting.

I wonder if he thought of all the stories he’d heard in the temple about children, like the one about the little girl who was taken from her family in Israel as a slave.

Add Naaman figure.

When her master, Naaman, was sick with leprosy, she believed that God’s prophet Elisha could heal him. She suggested Naaman should go to Israel and see Elisha, and even though she was just a child, Naaman did what she said and he was healed.

I wonder if he thought of Samuel who served God in the temple, even as a little boy.

Add scroll.

I wonder if he remembered the way Miriam, the big sister of Moses, followed her mother’s directions and put Moses in a basket in the river and stayed nearby, when the pharaoh said all Hebrew boys had to die.

Add Moses in basket.

When the princess found him, Miriam suggested the princess take him as her own and have Miriam’s mother be his nurse.

I wonder if Jesus thought of the little boy who offered to share his fish and bread with the hungry crowds who had come to hear him, and with Jesus’ help, there was enough food to feed thousands.

Add loaves and fish picture

Jesus knew how children think and love and believe and trust– how each of you think and love and believe and trust. He thought it was the best way to be of all.

Jesus saw the disciples shooing the children away and stopped talking to the adults so that he could call the children back.

Add Go sign.

He said to his friends, “Leave these children alone. Don’t get between them and me. These kids are the God’s pride and joy. I’ll tell you something true: Unless you have their trusting kind of faith, you’ll never get inside the gates of the kingdom of God.”

Add children around Jesus figure.

Wondering Questions:

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

2.   I wonder what God loves most about you.

3.   I wonder what God loves about the way you think and believe.

4.   I wonder what God would like adults to learn from children.

I hope it works well for you!

Love, Becky

Three Must-See Snapshots from the Queen of the World

If I were the Queen of the World today, I’d raise my scepter at you people and make a royal command. YOU MUST TRAVEL BACK IN TIME WITH ME TO LAST MONDAY NIGHT (if I’m going to transform myself into Queen of the World, I might as well have the power of time travel too) AND SEE THREE SNAPSHOTS THAT MIGHT CHANGE YOUR WORLD!

Or at least they will give you big thoughts and feelings, like they did for me.

Snapshot #1: (You’re going to have to imagine these, because the actual photographs I took with my phone don’t do these big feelings justice.) Imagine an elementary school cafetorium (part cafeteria, part auditorium with an elevated stage) filled with parents and grandparents and siblings and special friends, sitting in plastic chairs in front of the stage. The black backdrop of the stage is decorated with glittery paper Oscar statues and the golden words, “Blythe’s Got Talent”.

NO! YOU MAY NOT QUIT READING! THIS IS NOT AN ORDINARY TALENT SHOW! THE QUEEN DEMANDS THAT YOU CONTINUE!

As I was saying, the stage is set for the talent show. Our emcee, a smiling woman dressed in black, approaches the microphone and welcomes everyone. You can feel everyone smile and get comfortable in their seats, excited for the kids backstage. And then with the voice of your sweetest southern aunt, our emcee introduces each performer. “Next in our lineup, Carly Smith and Meghan Jones are going to sing, ‘Firework'” she says, which is normal and expected for her to say, but then she adds, “Carly and Meghan, come out and join us!” She says this with the kind sort of voice that sounds as if we’re all family. Like we just had a nice lunch together of chicken and dumplings and green beans and sweet tea and maybe even blackberry cobbler for dessert, and now we’re sitting together in the living room, all of us parents and grandparents and cousins and neighbors, and these kids, these precious children we’ve known and treasured forever, are going to put on a show for us. And we just know we’re going to love every single thing they do (we really are- we’re not just saying it) because WE LOVE THEM and we think they’re so brave and beautiful just to share themselves with us. We’re their home team crowd, so of course we’re going to shout “Bravo” and yell and clap til our hands hurt.

And so we do!

Snapshot #2: Imagine 31 children, individually or in groups of 2 or 3 or 4, invited to “Come out and join us!” and they actually do! They actually muster their courage and come out onto the stage, in clothes they picked out just for this evening, and they sit in the chairs that are placed for them or they stand in just the right pose they came up with until the music starts and they can start dancing or singing. They smile and breathe before they start, because they know they’re loved and they’ve practiced hard, and it’s just their family anyway that they’re performing for.

At least that’s how this snapshot looks to me. Maybe they have butterflies, but I couldn’t see them as Kylie sat down with her clarinet and played first “Mary Had a Little Lamb” and then “Jingle Bells” with beautiful slow, full notes that filled the room. I couldn’t see butterflies as Ella and Delia took the stage with their flute and snare drum and then put on blindfolds, because THEY’RE GOING TO PLAY BLINDFOLDED! I couldn’t see butterflies because I was too busy seeing BRAVERY and JOY and PERSEVERANCE and lots and lots of PRACTICE. But the bravery and joy were the best part of all.

So of course the audience went wild for each child, clapping and whistling and whooping. And each child seemed so glad they’d done it and happy it was all done and they’d let their family see a little of who they are and what they can do! And in the eyes of each of those children I was pretty sure I could see the idea that maybe they could even do other things they’d been considering.

At least that’s how it looked to me.

Snapshot #3: Imagine my first grade friend Brynn sitting in the audience on her daddy’s lap, watching child after child, group after group with rapt attention. But not just watching. Nope. When Lucas played his trombone, Brynn played her own invisible one, sliding it with ease, moving it up and down like a pro. When two friends sang, “Shake It Off”, Brynn shook it off alongside them, still on dad’s lap. When the girls did synchronized swimming (yes they really did) Brynn had the backstroke down pat.

It may have looked like a Talent Show, but it was so much more!

The children showed Brynn –and all the others in the seats out front, the moms and dads and grandparents and a random children’s minister– what it looks like to get up your gumption and share yourself with the world! The kids were acting out what a child recently said during a lesson from the sermon on the mount about shining God’s light. If you don’t share your light, the world is a darker place!

And Brynn showed me that the first step of sharing yourself is to see others do it and go ahead and try it on for yourself! Why waste time worrying about people watching? You’re in your Father/Mother’s lap. Give it a go!

The kids challenged all of us to ask what we were waiting for. Why wait until I’m ready for a Beethoven symphony before I share with other people? “Mary Had a Little Lamb” is beautiful played with smooth silky notes. “Frere Jacques” is lovely on flute and snare drum! And why not do it blindfolded, if that would be fun?

And our emcee showed all of us that a show doesn’t have to be a contest. It can be so much better than that, more than that. It can be a sacred space to try out sharing who we are, in a living room full of people that love us, cheering us on.

Thanks for reading,

Your grateful queen of the world