A Jesse Tree Devotional for Young Families

I was really excited about sharing a Jesse Tree with our family this year,

 but I couldn't' find a devotional that seemed right.

So, with younger kiddos in mind, I undertook writing my own! 

So excited to share!

 Click on the image below to access the devotional and ornaments from google docs.

Thank you to Jacque Larsen @the-lilypad.com for the beautiful Jesse Tree art!

 Please respect her work, and do not copy or distribute it in anyway. Her art can purchased for your own personal projects at www.the-lilypad.com

Inspiration for creating your Jesse Tree!

Love the clothes pins and twine idea. I was actually thinking about combining an advent calendar like the one below with our ornaments.

So the kiddos would do the devotional with us,
hang their ornament,
and retrieve the goody bag for that day!

 Simply Kierste

You can also create a Jesse Tree like this thankful tree, but instead of hanging notes of gratitude, 

you'd hang your ornaments!

 The Chellsen Clan

And if you're going to use sticks in a vase,
I love the idea of jazzing them up with yarn!

 My Trash and Treasure

If you want to get really creative, some families actually make/purchase all their ornaments.

 The Craft Nest

And you can always go the good ol' fashion way and hang them on a small tree!

The Ramblings of a Crazy Woman

Hoping this will help you share the story with your kiddos!
Cheers!

To sharing our faith with our kids and enjoying it!

An Advent Wreath Made by Kids for Kids

I was looking for an Advent Wreath that was super simple for our kiddo's to make.

 One they could create themselves that would be all their own.  

One they could set on their dresser or their desk.

Something to remind them of all of our hopeful waiting! 

So I started digging in my craft closet.

I just knew there had to be something I could do with the pipe cleaners and buttons! 

So simple!

All you're gonna need:

Scissors

3 green pipe cleaners

2 purple pipe cleaners

1 pink pipe cleaner

4 yellow buttons

Step 1:

Connect (by twisting) three green pipe cleaners end to end to make one long stick.

Step 2: 

Wrap the stick around a pencil or pen tightly and remove it gently. 

Bring the ends together to make a circle and twist closed.

Step 3:

To make the candles, cut the purple and pink pipe cleaners in half. 

Thread the button on.

Holding the button at the center, fold the piper cleaner in half, and twist it.

Step 4:

Connect the candles, by curling their bottoms around one of the coils in the wreath,

 and then twisting it around itself to hold it in place. Get it real snug so they don't fall over. 

Ps. Check out Catholic Icing's

 The edible Advent Wreath  

We will so be spending a Saturday morning with this one!

Why I love Jacob Well's new story sets!

I was given this wonderful book to read, Offering the Gospel to Children by Gretchen Wolff Pritchard. I was so drawn to her idea of creating bible play sets for our kids, but they are hard to find and can be expensive. I began to wonder if I could create our own play sets!

I shared my ideas and was met with so much enthusiasm by the Jacob Well's kid's community. There was a big need for things the kids could hold and touch and play with!

We started by creating story sets for Daniel in the Lion's Den.

 After sharing the story in different ways each week, we sent the kiddo's off to workshops, one of which was story telling. We handed out our little play sets, in baskets, to groups of kids and then guide them in retelling the story in their own words. 

The things we heard were so beautiful! And so funny! The kids all had different ways of telling their stories, and they made so many discoveries and connections for themselves. 

One little girl laid Daniel and the King on the prayer blanket together at the end of her story. I asked what they were doing. I thought maybe they were sleeping.  She informed that they were praying together! 

Love it!

Other kids put their faces in the dens they had just made and got a sense of what Daniel must have felt like. "It's dark in here!" "These stones are so cooooold!" 

My personal favorite was some of the conversations I overheard between the lions and Daniel! "Don't cry Daniel. I'll hug you." 

Ps. You can flip the lions. They have a hungry side and tame side. :D

This month we will be presenting Jonah and the Whale. And these sets promise to be just as great for the kids as Daniel! 

I'm hoping to create a tutorial for each set, so that other faith communities and families can create them, too! And I'm actually really excited about starting on Jesus sets, which I will also be glad to share! 

Praying we can encourage each other with creativty for the kids!

Simple Seder/ Good Friday Tenebrea WITH KIDS!

So last minute! But I came up with a great way to share Good Friday and a simple Seder with your kids!

If you don't know much about Seders, I think they were meant to pass down the story of the exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt to the kids in the family. The kids would ask questions and the adults would tell the story. And Tenebrae services are often held by churches to mark the death of Christ and to emphasis darkness and light, despair and hope.

The questions are for the kid's to ask like in the traditional Seder.  And the rest is the adults responses. I simplified everything by using the Message version of the Bible and some verses are really cut down for our little guys! You'll need a candle to represent Christ and juice and bread for the passover meal, too. So here you go! Hope someone else can use this, too!

Opening Question: How is this night different from every other?

Tonight we remember how Christ died on a cross to forgive us once and for all for our sins.

Why did Jesus come to earth?

God's Spirit is on me; 

      he's chosen me to preach the Message of good news to 
       the poor, 
   Sent me to announce pardon to prisoners and 
      recovery of sight to the blind, 
   To set the burdened and battered free, 
      to announce, "This is God's year to act!" – Luke 4

(Light Christ’s Candle. If you haven’t already have dinner as a family!)

How did Jesus spend his last meal on earth?

(Can take commune with the kids as you read.)

In the course of their meal, having taken and blessed the bread, he broke it and gave it to them. Then he said,
Take, this is my body.

Taking the chalice, he gave it to them, thanking God, and they all drank from it. He said, 

 This is my blood,
   God's new covenant,
   Poured out for many people. –Mark 14

Why did Jesus have to die?

It was our sins that did it to him, 
   that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole. 
   Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost. 
   We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong, 
   on him, on him.  – Isaiah 53

It was a perfect sacrifice by a perfect person to perfect some very imperfect people. By that single offering, he did everything that needed to be done for everyone who takes part in the purifying process.

Once sins are taken care of for good, there's no longer any need to offer sacrifices for them.  –Hebrews 10

How did he die?

The soldiers brought Jesus to Golgotha, meaning "Skull Hill." They offered him a mild painkiller (wine mixed with myrrh), but he wouldn't take it. And they nailed him to the cross.

At noon the sky became extremely dark. The darkness lasted three hours. At three o'clock, Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?"

Then Jesus, with a loud cry, took his last breathe and died.  –Mark 15

(Blow out the Christ candle)

What happened to his body?

A wealthy man from Arimathea, a disciple of Jesus, arrived. His name was Joseph. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus' body. Pilate gave it to him. Joseph took the body and wrapped it in clean linens, put it in his own tomb, and rolled a large stone across the entrance. Then he went off.

--Matthew 27

(I think traditionally you end your Tenebrae service with silence and darkness.)

Love you friends! 

Praying Christ comes into your lives and the lives of your kids in a real way!

Making Lent Meaningful for Kids: Part 1

For me the season of Lent is like spring, full of potential.

Rich in nutrients and budding hope.

It’s a good time to grow through preparation and practice.

I love the way Joshua explains this idea, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."  ~ Joshua 3:5

And I love the way Isaiah gives meaning to consecrating ourselves not with sackcloth and ashes alone, but through practicing the way of love.

"Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,

    only a day for people to humble themselves?

Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed

    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?

Is that what you call a fast,

    a day acceptable to the Lord?

 “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:

to loose the chains of injustice

    and untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

    and break every yoke?

Is it not to share your food with the hungry

    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter—

when you see the naked, to clothe them,

    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will quickly appear." 

~Isaiah 58:5-8

I’m excited to share such a rich season of growth and love with our kids. 
Hoping our ideas will help your family too!

How to make our kiddos the recipients and co-conspirators
 of our Lenten practices:

Recipients

Carve out time to make your kids your only priority. 

Our adult worlds often marginalize kids, and Lent can be the perfect time to practice love for our kids.

Start by making a list of things you’d like to do together and set time aside on the calendar for each activity. 

Hike a new natural trail and explore together.

Go to the zoo and let them lead the way.

Play their favorite game. Repeatedly if necessary. 

Have a pj party with ice cream AND popcorn IN a tent. 

Start a new art project together.

Tips for success: Really try to listen to them, ask them questions, be close, share their excitement and your own stories of when you were little like them.

All of this will say, “I’m here and you are the only important thing right now.”

Co-conspirators

Make a list of people you all think might need an extra blessing. Then decide how you could bless each person. It’s a good idea to set aside time on the calendar for each act of kindness so you don’t end up with just good intentions. And it can help you decide if you’re over committing, too.

Consider helping others through local shelters and ministries. I know our local shelter is always in need of hygiene items, underwear, and socks. Kids can help by collecting their own alms all Lent and by helping you purchase and deliver the donations. 

If you’re here in KC with us, let me share two of my favorite locals:

Operation Break Through: Providing early childhood education, dental and health services, meals, clothing, housing, and emergency aid. They do so much to enrich and stabilize the lives of families in need. Check them out at https://www.operationbreakthrough.org

Hillcrest Transitional Housing: Their ministry moves families from homelessness to self-sufficiency within 90 days by addressing the total life situation of the homeless families they serve. Visit them at http://www.hillcresttransitionalhousing.org

Sharing Lent

Dear friends,

I have so much to share over the next week and month! I’m writing to encourage you to open up your hearts this Lent and make space for Christ with me in fresh and new ways. Lent can be so much more than self-denial.