Virginia Knowles

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Virginia Knowles

• Feb. 1, 2006 - Valentine Unit Study

This mini unit study could be done the week before Valentine’s Day.

CRAFTS, GAMES, AND COOKING

© Make Valentine cards for friends and family using construction paper, lace, paper doilies, stickers, glitter, sequins, and whatever else you have on hand! Try to think of someone who could really use a lift in their spirits. Pinprick valentines were popular in the earlier days of the United States. They were made by poking holes with a needle in a piece of paper to make a heart shape.

© Every February we hang our Big Red Valentine Heart, which I made several years ago out of a large piece of felt edged with white lace. It is about 26” by 23”, with ten 4 ½” by 4” felt pockets. (It’s a good thing I made so many pockets, because we now have ten children!) For labels, I used the computer to make name cards which stick up out of the pockets. The children have a lot of fun making valentines and putting in small gifts like bite sized candies. I usually put in candy or small presents, too. This is one way to add a little extra affection to our family life!

© Julie Druck recommends a few fun games in her e-mail newsletter, “A Heart for Home.” To play Blind Hearts, each person is provided with a sheet of paper and a red crayon. They are told to close their eyes and see who could make the neatest heart and write their name in the center. To playing Throwing Hearts, divide your players into teams of two. Put a bucket in the center of the room, and let the players stand (across from their partners) at even distances from the bucket. You can mark the distances on the floor with small heart stickers. Hand each of them several heart playing cards and have them try and see how many cards they can flick into the bucket. The team with the most wins! If you would like to receive “A Heart for Home”, you can send any message to: aheartforhome-subscribe@welovegod.org. To send a personal message to Julie, write to thedrucks@netzero.com.

LANGUAGE ARTS

· Bub, or the Very Best Thing by Natalie Babbitt (love is the best)

· I Want to Say I Love You by Caralyn Buehner

· Love Is—by Wendy Anderson Halperin (1 Corinthians 13)

· I Love You the Purplest by Barbara Joosse

· Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara Joosse (Eskimo setting)

· If Kisses Were Colors by Janet Lawler (motherly affection)

· Because I Love You by Max Lucado (God’s love, safety limits)

· Our Nest by Reeve Lindbergh (animal homes, love)

· Love You Forever by Robert Munsch (love of mother and son)

· Friends! By Elaine Scott

© Have your children find several poems that convey love and affection. Copy them into your notebook. (This is a great idea for those who are easing into a Charlotte Mason style of education.) The Book of Virtues is a great place to start.

© How about a little educational game? Let your kids write a list of words using the letters in the phrase “Valentines Day” -- like “daily”, “live”, and so forth. You can’t use a letter twice unless it appears in the phrase twice (“a”, “e”, “n”). You can’t make a new word just by adding “s” to another word. This is obviously a spelling and vocabulary game, but here are some ideas to extend it into a GREAT math activity. Try writing the words in columns marked for one letter words (1 point each), two letter words (2 points each), three letter words (3 points each), on up to 8 letter words. Yes, there are at least four 8 letter words! To score, count the words in each column and multiply by the points for that length of word. Then add the column values together to get your total. (I dare you to beat my score of over 950! Let me know if you do.) You can even plot the incidences of word counts on a bar graph, using word length on the x axis and number of words on the y axis. You should get a bell curve showing lower counts for the outer edges (1, 2, 7 & 8 letter words) and higher count moving toward the middle (3, 5, & 6 letter words) and a sharp peak at the bar for 4 letter words. Can your child explain why this happens? This is an introductory lesson in statistics!

HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY

© Research the history of Valentine’s Day and how people celebrate the holiday around the world. Find out what Lupercalia was, and how Valentine’s Day replaced it. You can read more in these two books (which are VERY similar): The Story of Valentine’s Day by Clyde Robert Bulla and Valentine’s Day by Alice Flanagan. You may be able to find these in your public library if you act fast. Here’s an example: “It was also during the Middle Ages that Valentine’s Day became a children’s holiday. English children went from door to door in groups singing songs. The mistress of the house would often throw flowers or pennies to the children or give them sweet buns made with plum filling.” And, “In Italy, young men and women gathered together in flower gardens on Valentine’s Day to listen to music and poetry.” Why not try it at your house?

© In other cultures, the heart is not considered to be “the seat of emotions”. It could be the kidneys or some other body part! Find out more about this! (But don’t ask ME where, because I don’t know! I just remember hearing about it because Bible translators have to take this into consideration when working in different places!)

SCIENCE AND HEALTH (THE HUMAN HEART)

© Learn about the anatomy of the human heart and how you can keep it healthy. Those of us who have had children with heart defects have learned a lot from the web about this! These educational sites will get you started:

· http://www.fi.edu/biosci/heart.html

· http://www.americanheart.org

© Study what kind of nutrition is best for the heart -- one low in saturated fats, cholesterol, etc. Plan a week’s menu with heart healthy foods and talk about how cooking wholesome foods for your family is a great sign of love in action! (OK, so you can still have some chocolate on Valentine’s Day!)

© Sign yourself or your older children up for CPR classes. These are offered by the American Heart Association, local hospitals, the fire department and other organizations. If you already have a CPR manual, REVIEW IT RIGHT NOW!

MATH

© Count out candy hearts, combine groups of them to show addition, put them in rows and columns to teach multiplication, divvy them into piles to do division, and then eat them to demonstrate subtraction!

BIBLE AND CHRISTIAN CHARACTER

© Look up some of these Scriptures: Matthew 5:43-46; Matthew 26:36-40; John 3:16; John 13:34-35; John 14:23-24; John 15:9-17; Romans 5:6-8; Romans 8:35-39; Romans 12:9-13; Romans 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 8:1; Galatians 5:13-15; Ephesians 3:16-19; Ephesians 4:15-16; Philippians 2:1-4; Colossians 3:12-14; 2 Timothy 2:22; Hebrews 6:10; Hebrews 10:24; 1 Peter 4:8; 1 John 3:1; 1 John 3:10-20; 1 John 4:7-21 (I know this looks like a lot, but it’s only a small sample of New Testament passages with the word “love” in them. You can find more if you have Bible software on your computer. You can look them up first before deciding which ones to share with your children. You could pass out little slips of paper and have your children look them up and read them aloud for the family. They could each choose some short verses to copy, too.)

© If you know any Christian songs about love, sing them together! There are some great ones on Steve Green’s Hide ‘Em in Your Heart Scripture memory song albums. Others are “Oh How He Loves You and Me” and “Oh How I Love Jesus.”

© Find the lyrics of love songs -- good and bad! -- and discuss them with your children. Which lyrics you choose to discuss will depend on the maturity of your children and what they have already been exposed to. Hopefully, this will help them to learn discernment as you help them see what is wholesome and what is not!

© In Austria, Hungary and Germany on Valentine’s Day, boys used to draw the names of saints, and whomever they picked, they would try to live like them for the next year. Ask your children if there is a Bible character or some other worthy person that they wish to emulate. Brainstorm practical ways to make it happen.

“Loving others is the way, to make God happy every day.

Jesus loves to see us care, for other people everywhere.

Let’s be like Jesus! Let’s be like Jesus!

Let’s be like Jesus! The Bible shows me how!”

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• Dec. 16, 2005 - Family Advent Ideas

Posted in Holidays

Dear Hope Chest friends,

I sat down for my quiet time yesterday morning, realizing that despite all my good intentions, we hadn't done much together as a family to appreciate the spiritual aspects of the Christmas season. Yes, some of us went to the Walk Through Bethlehem at a local church last week, and we've read some picture books, but that's about it. (We've all had colds lately, so I haven't even made it to many church services.) Then I realized that we still had several evenings left, and with a little planning, we could still do something special. With Bible in hand, I ended up mapping out four Family Advent Nights. We had our first one last night, and I'm glad to say it was a success, even with such a wide age range (baby to 18) of kids in our family. We'll do the remaining ones on Monday, Thursday and Friday, since some of us have events already planned on other evenings. Mary is working on Monday night, but she and Thad and I are going to tape the Scripture reading for that night ahead of time. Of course, she is going to read the part of the virgin Mary! Thad will be leading our discussion times each evening. Last night he brought home apple pie and ice cream for a yummy "first Family Advent Night" dessert! (What a guy!)

I figured that some of you might be in the same spot of wanting to do something meaningful, but running out of time, so I decided to share my ideas with you. Some of the activities require advance planning, but any family could do the Scripture readings, discussions and songs I have listed. Give it a try! Please give me some feedback on these, or some additional ideas that we could use in our own family for the remaining three nights. Feel free to forward it to others, too!

Oh, before I get to that, I wanted to mention that I discovered a really sweet Christmas carol this year. I had bought a "Children's Christmas Sing-Along" CD at Target from their Dollar Spot section. I instantly fell in love with The Wexford Carol, a 12th century Irish Christmas hymn. Rachel is even going to try to learn to play it on her Irish pennywhistle for me. I found it several places on the web, but you can check it out at http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/e/x/wexfordc.htm. This web version is much longer than the one on the CD, and has slightly different words. I have included the CD version lyrics at the bottom of this e-mail message.

We are looking forward to seeing the Narnia movie on Monday as part of our Family Advent plan. I know some of you are wondering if I actually read all of the books I listed in the Narnia resources message I sent out recently. No! In fact, I haven't read any of them -- just browsed! I don't have time right now! I even sent some of them to relatives for Christmas presents. I'll pick one or two later when I read the original book aloud to the kids.

Blessings,

Virginia Knowles

www.TheHopeChest.net

Subscribe to the Hope Chest for free by sending any message to HopeChest-Subscribe@associate.com

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Family Advent Nights

Here are suggestions for four family Advent nights.

To make it easier for young children to understand, you may wish to choose a simplified Bible version such as the NIrV. Your children can take turns reading the Scripture verses for each evening. If your child struggles with reading, assign just a verse or two, and have them practice it ahead of time.

It may also help to provide song sheets for when you sing the Christmas carols. You can download lyrics from the web (I have provided the links) and print them out. You can even talk about the historical backgrounds of some of the carols.

These ideas are just suggestions. You can choose whatever Scriptures, songs and activities fit your family. I found it helpful to weave in things we already wanted to do, such as drive around to see Christmas lights.

I took a bright yellow piece of paper and divided it into several blocks, one for each day until Christmas. Then, in bold letters, I wrote out a brief description of what we had planned for each evening, including the four family nights and other planned events, such as a child’s basketball game or the Christmas Eve service at church.

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Family Advent Night #1

“God is With Us – Prepare Your Heart!”

Tell your children ahead of time that you will be having a special time in the evening. Talk about a few of the things that you will do together. If you can think of a way for your child to participate, ask him to prepare for this, such as practicing Bible verses to read out loud, or a song on the piano, etc. Another child might make copies of a song sheet. You will talk about this advance notice and preparation a little later.

Scripture

Isaiah 7:10-14 – Immanuel promised

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 -- darkness and light, a child shall be born, Wonderful Counselor

Isaiah 53:10-12 -- the suffering Savior

Isaiah 61:1-3 – the ministry of the Messiah

Matthew 1:18-25 – Immanuel comes

Discussion: Immanuel means “God with us” and Jesus means “The Lord saves.” Why do we need a Savior? Because we are sinners! Remind your children that you told them ahead of time some of what you would be doing, so they could know what to expect and how to prepare. Relate this to how God took the time to tell his people, through the prophet Isaiah, several hundred years early, that a special messiah would be born. He told them many details so they could know what to expect.

Songs

“O Come, O Come Immanuel” – The lyrics of this song (originally written in Latin) are a prayer for the Messiah to come and set the people free from their misery in sin. The tune was written in a minor key, which makes it sound melancholy to fit the lyrics. You may wish to point this out to your older children. What makes it a minor key? If you play a C major chord, it will be the notes C, E and G. If you play a C minor chord, you will use C, E flat and G. If you sing this TO your children, have them join in on the chorus after each verse. http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/c/ocomocom.htm

“Joy to the World” – The lyrics of this song are an answer to the lyrics in the last one. The Messiah has come, so we can rejoice. What can we do to prepare room in our hearts for God? http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/o/joyworld.htm

“O Come, All Ye Faithful” – God has come to us, but each of us must come to him in faith. http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/c/ocomeayf.htm

Handel’s Messiah – play a selection such as “For Unto Us a Child is Born” (which is from Isaiah 9) and tell your children how George Frederic Handel wrote a whole concert using verses from Isaiah that prophesied about the Messiah.

Activity

Drive around through different neighborhoods to look at Christmas lights. Remind your children that Jesus came to light up the dark world. We should be lights in the world, too, if we have Jesus in us.

Family Advent Night #2

“Jesus is Our Glorious King!”

Scripture

Luke 1:26-56 -- The angel told Mary that she would give birth to a king. When she visits her relative Elizabeth, she speaks forth what is now called the “Magnificat” – a psalm of praise to God. When you read the Scriptures this evening, choose people to read the parts of the narrator, Mary, the angel and Elizabeth. Practice ahead of time, if possible.

Discussion: Ask what good things we can say about God and what he has done for us.

Songs

“Joy to the World” (try to sing this one every night for continuity) http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/o/joyworld.htm

“O Little Town of Bethlehem” – talk about how “the hopes and fears of all the years” were met in Jesus http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/l/olittle.htm

Choose other favorite Christmas carols.

Activity

Go see the movie The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. If you have already seen it, talk about it and how Aslan represents Jesus as the King who came to redeem his people.

You can also have each family member write a psalm of praise to God.

Allow one of your children to perform a song he or she has learned to sing or play on an instrument, or read a poem. This will be good practice for tomorrow night, if you choose to visit other people.

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Family Advent Night #3

“Angels Sing!”

Scripture

Luke 2:1-21 – the birth of Jesus

Colossians 1:15-20 – the deity of Jesus (optional)

Discussion: Who was Caesar August? What is the census? Talk about how many people would have to travel to Bethlehem for the census, and that’s why there wasn’t any room in the inn. Shepherds were some of the lowliest and least respected members of society, but God chose them to be the first visitors to the newborn King. Perhaps that is because Jesus is our Good Shepherd, who lays his life down for his sheep!

Songs

“Silent Night” http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/s/i/silntnit.htm

“Away in a Manger” http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/w/awaymang.htm

“Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/h/h/hheralda.htm

“Angels We Have Heard on High” http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/a/n/angelswe.htm

“Joy to the World” http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/o/joyworld.htm

Activity

Go Christmas caroling! You can walk around your own neighborhood, drop in on special friends or relatives, or visit a nursing home. If you do visit a nursing home, check ahead with the administrators to make sure this is OK, since there may be other groups visiting or the residents might go to sleep really early in a particular facility.

If you plan to stay home, choose another activity, such as:

Read your favorite books about the first Christmas.

Act out the Christmas story.

Draw pictures of the Nativity scene.

Make a simple nativity scene with felt or clay.

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Family Advent Night #4

“Wise Men Still Seek Him”

Scripture

Luke 2:22-40 – Simeon and Anna were very old, but they had been waiting many years for the Messiah to come. They were wise enough to recognize baby Jesus as the one God had promised through the Scriptures – and to praise God for it! The Holy Spirit even told Simeon to go to the temple courtyard that day!

Matthew 2:1-12 – The Wise Men had come from a long distance to see the newborn King. God can even use a special star to guide someone to Jesus! Compare their response to Jesus to the jealous reaction of King Herod. You can also talk about the meaning of the gifts the wise men brought. If you sing all of the verses of “We Three Kings” (as listed on the Cyberhymnal site linked below) they tell us that gold is for a king, frankincense was used for prayer and worship, and myrrh was a burial spice reminding us that the Messiah would die for our sins.

Discussion: Are we led by the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit? Do we love to spend time at the Lord’s house like Simeon and Anna did? Are we willing to go anywhere for Jesus, even if it is a long way from home? What gifts can we give to God?

Songs

“We Three Kings” -- we don’t know how many wise men there were, and the Bible doesn’t say they were kings, but the song is good anyway! In this song, orient means the eastern region of Asia. That’s why we say people from China, Japan, Korea and other countries in that area are oriental. Maybe you could eat oriental food for dinner tonight!

http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/w/e/t/we3kings.htm

“O Come, All Ye Faithful” – we, like the wise men, are to come and worship the Savior. http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/o/c/ocomeayf.htm

“Joy to the World” http://www.cyberhymnal.org/htm/j/o/joyworld.htm

Activity

Decorate Christmas cookies which you have baked ahead of time. Deliver some of them as a gift to someone who might need a lift in their spirits – because what you do for other people in his name, you do unto Jesus. Or, if you want to be really ambitious, choose a needy family and buy presents for them. Enclose an encouraging note with Scripture, and deliver the bundle secretly to their doorstep.

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The Wexford Carol

12th Century Irish

Good people all, this Christmas-time,
Consider well and bear in mind
What our good God for us has done
In sending his beloved Son.

With humble hearts we all should pray
To God with love this Christmas day;
In Bethlehem upon that morn
There was a blessed Messiah born.

With thankful heart and joyful mind,
The shepherds went the babe to find,
And as God's angels had foretold,
They did our saviour Christ behold.

With humble hearts we all should pray
To God with love this Christmas day;
In Bethlehem upon that morn
There was a blessed Messiah born.

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• Dec. 10, 2005 - From My Heart to Yours: O Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Posted in Holidays

Dear Hope Chest friends,

Yesterday was one of THOSE days. Between the noises, messes, childish attitudes, bickering, backtalking and minor mishaps, I had certainly had some meltdown moments. I wasn't doing my very best staying on top of things with the kids or the house. Add in a few mishaps totally out of MY control, and the stress added up, which in turn triggered a case of "the blues." By the time evening rolled around, I had our television -- which had been turned on one too many times by young kids -- perched precariously in our double stroller heading down the front walkway toward the van, banished from the house until after Christmas. I sure was tempted to let it roll down the lawn into the street and a sure demise (just kidding!), but at that moment, my husband, who had just arrived home, appeared on the sidewalk down near the curb, looking at me curiously. He had heard me ranting and raving while I was still the house! Have I knocked myself down off of the Super Mommy pedestal yet? Yup!

One thing that helped yesterday was the encouragement of three sweet ladies, Candace (an old friend I bumped into at Big Lots), Laura (an friend from Maryland whom I haven't seen in 13 years, but who had gotten my web address from a mutual friend) and Ann Mary (who stopped by later in the evening and describes herself as "all mirth and no matter"). Thank you, ladies! You saved my day! Do we ever know how much the gift of encouragement is worth? No, because it's priceless!

Another thing that helped was pulling out an old photo album (to find Laura's picture) and seeing all of those cute pictures of our big kids when they were little. What a blast from the past! Ah, nostalgia... They sure do grow up fast!

Anyway, all of this made me think of an old Christmas article I wrote for the Hope Chest several years ago, which I'm including below. (Yes, there's the nostalgia again!) Enjoy!

P.S. Does it seem that I've been writing a lot about stress and depression and coping lately? I know that some of you need THESE real life words of encouragement more than much of the cheerier stuff that is filling your inboxes.

Set down the tinsel and holly for just a minute! In this merry Christmas season, are you just plain tired? Are things getting a little much for you? Are your naughty-or-nice children wearing you down by bickering and scheming? Are you worried about how to pay for all of the holiday treats and gifts? Do you wonder how you’ll get those awful carpets clean before your party? Are your academics getting lost in the hustle and bustle? Is your schedule so packed that there’s not a quiet moment to savor the Savior? Are you dismayed? God rest ye! Comfort and joy to you!

Christ our Savior, has come to rescue us from Satan's power. He is Jesus ("God saves") and Immanual ("God with us"). He has come to give us abundant life, but Satan, who appears as an angel of light, is a tricky thief who wants to rob us of peace and joy. His power is not just found in the occult or in the "red light district" across town. It doesn't just sneak into our living rooms via TV or CD or WWW. As Jesus says in Mark 7, it's not what goes into you that makes you unclean -- it's what comes out of your heart and mouth! In our house, this is most apparent in moments of selfishness, ingratitude, impatience and unkindness. In the fact of these joy-robbers, I often get dismayed, then frustrated, then bitter! I am powerless to save myself or my children from these snares. God rest me! Christ has come ot set us free from this as we look to him for strength -- moment by moment -- every season of the year. I could nag and fret until I was blue in the face, and not accomplish a single change, but I can pray, I can praise God, and I can watch him work miracles!
O, tidings of comfort and joy!

FROM MY HEART TO YOURS: O Tidings of Comfort and Joy

God rest ye merry home school moms <-- (and everyone else)

Let nothing you dismay,

Remember Christ our Savior

Was born on Christmas day!

To save us all from Satan’s power

When we had gone astray.

O, tidings of comfort and joy, comfort and joy!

O, tidings of comfort and joy!

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• Dec. 10, 2005 - Poet's Pen: Christmas Once is Christmas Still by Phillips Brooks

Posted in Holidays

The silent skies are full of speech,

For who hath ears to hear;

The winds are whispering each to each,

The moon is calling to the beach,

And stars their sacred mission teach

Of Faith, and Love, and Fear.

But once the sky its silence broke,

And song o'erflowed the earth,

The midnight air with glory shook,

And angels mortal language spoke,

When God our human nature took

In Christ the Saviour's birth.

And Christmas once is Christmas still;

The gates through which He came,

And forests wild and murmuring rill,

And fruitful field and breezy hill,

And all that else the wide world fill

Are vocal with His name.

Shall we not listen while they sing

This latest Christmas morn,

And music hear in everything,

And faithful lives in tribute bring

To the great song which greets the King

Who comes when Christ is born.

~~Phillips Brooks

Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) was an influential Episcopal minister who is famous for his hymn, O Little Town of Bethlehem.

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• Dec. 2, 2005 - A Simplified Christmas

Posted in Holidays

In the interest of making the most of the Christmas season, let's focus on the essentials and not get frazzled running around too much. Speaking as a busy mama of 10, I know how easy it is to lose joy and peace in the very season that it is supposed to be abundant! But here's a simple fact: You don't have to fill your calendar or empty your wallet to have a truly merry Christmas!

Let's try a simple assignment. Label three pieces of paper with the following headings:

How we can worship God in gratitude for the gift of Jesus....
How we can spend special, relationship-building, memory-making time with our loved ones...
How we can minister to the poor, the lonely and the lost out of the abundance God has given us...

Sit down with your family and brainstorm to fill these pages. (Listen to the dinky dudes and the hubbies, too!) Write down all of your great ideas -- whether they are old traditions or something totally new. Then carefully prioritize and choose what you really want to do in each area. Plan your month accordingly. Of course, you'll schedule in selected activities others have invited you to do -- but it will be because you want to do it and it fits in with your family's goals. Keep it simple! (And don't forget that you still have to do the laundry, dishes and other menial stuff, just like January through November!)

Do try to be very purposeful in what give as presents. A huge pile of fancy gifts does not make for a contented child or a tidy house. Go for quality and creativity. Since Jesus is the Reason for the Season, I always like to find at least one gift to encourage them in their faith -- whether it is a book, a CD, a video or a piece of art.

Oh, and please don't forget to just sit quietly once in a while, focus your heart, and say, "Thank you, Jesus! I love you, too!"

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• Dec. 2, 2005 - Shepherd's Tale from Luke 2:8-20

Posted in Holidays

A prayer I make to stay awake,

To watch the sheep safe in my keep,

When I should see, in front of me,

An angel bright in darkest night.

“Be not afraid!” the angel bade.

“Good news of joy! A baby boy

Is born today, on bed of hay.

The Savior mild, the Lord’s a child!”

Now in the sky the angels fly,

And gladly sing of newborn King.

“Give God high praise, hosannas raise,

And peace on earth through Jesus’ birth!”

All shepherds know that they should go,

To follow them to Bethlehem.

Where baby rests is not the best,

A scratchy stall holds Lord of All.

But God above sends Gift of Love.

Forgiving sin, he lives within.

Now spread the word, till all have heard

Amazing story, to God be glory!

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• Dec. 2, 2005 - The Paradox

Posted in Holidays

Come, see where He lays,

Good Shepherd and Little Lamb

King of Kings and Servant of All

Prophet and Prophecy Fulfilled

Physician and Wounded One

High Priest and Atoning Sacrifice

Counselor and Rejected One

Builder and Foundation Stone

Righteous Judge and Condemned Prisoner

Ancient of Days and Newly-born Babe

God and Man

Jesus is a paradox, a seeming contradiction in terms. Who is he? What is his nature? And why did he come? If you have ever wondered how to understand or explain the mystery of Jesus, I invite you to look up the following passages, which correspond line by line to the facets expressed in the poem, The Paradox.

John 10: 11 / John 1:29

Revelation 19:16 / Mark 10:43-45, Philippians 2:7

Luke 7:16 / Matthew 1:22, Luke 4:16-21 (Isaiah 61:1-3)

Matthew 15:29-31 / Isaiah 53:4-6

Hebrews 7:23-28 / Hebrews 9:11-14, 10:19-22

Isaiah 9:6 / Isaiah 53:3, John 10:22-33

Hebrews 3:3, Matthew 16:18 / 1 Peter 2:4-9

John 8:1-11, Acts 10:42-43, Acts 17:30-31 / Mark 14:60-65

Daniel 7:13-14 / Luke 2:8-20

John 1:1-5, Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:19-20 / 1 Timothy 2:5, Romans 1:1-4

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• Jul. 1, 2005 - The Jesus Game

Posted in Holidays

The Jesus Game

My neighber Marie often brings over day old baked goods that she picks up for free at a local grocery store. One year, just before Easter, she brought over a huge sheet cake. We knew we couldn't eat it all ourselves, so we decided to have an Easter party for about 10 neighbor children, ages 4 to 11. I decided not to plan anything fancy -- just cake, soda pop and the following game.

I gathered up several objects from around the house and hid them in a pillowcase. I blindfolded each child in turn, and had them try to figure out what I put in their hands. Each item represented some facet of the story of Christ. When they said what the "thing" was, I asked everyone, "Why did I choose this item?" I was pleasantly surprised that even the children who don't usually attend a church knew many of the answers. They also thought up some extra ones that I hadn't.

apple -- the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden which has been passed down to all of us
3 lb hand weight -- the burden of sin feels heavy on us -- we need someone to lift it away
toy lamb -- Passover lamb, sacrifice for sin
baby doll -- Jesus came as a baby
Band-Aid in wrapper -- Jesus healed people
flash light -- Jesus is the light of the world
hand towel -- King Jesus washed his disciples feet and set the example as a servant -- this can also represent his burial shroud
cross -- Jesus died for us
nail -- the nails went through his hands and feet
dice -- the soldiers gambled for his clothing
rock -- the angel rolled the stone away from the tomb
soap -- Jesus washes our sins away
heart -- Jesus loves us
small house -- he is preparing a home for us in Heaven
G, O, and D letter shapes (from a wooden puzzle) -- we can't see God, but he is there!

The game went over very well with our neighbor kids, some of whom had no church background at all. One 2nd grader commented that it helped him think about Jesus and God, so I know it was worth the small effort on my part! Last year, I used the same game in the four year old Sunday School class, and they enjoyed it as well. The class was big, so we split them into three groups, and had the other two groups do other activities. My daughter Mary (age 17) plans to use the same game when SHE teaches her four year old Sunday School class this Easter Sunday.

This reminds me of the Resurrection Egg sets that you can buy, which have tiny little symbols inside of plastic eggs. We used to do these each year at our former church's Good Friday picnic, and there are instructions for this in one of the following articles. The benefit of using large objects, though, is that the children can see and handle them more easily, and it lets them guess what each thing is.

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About Me

This blog contains some of the articles from my other blog, www.VirginiaKnowles.blogspot.com and my web site, www.VirginiaKnowles.com. I am a home schooling mother of ten, including three young adults.

My Categories

• Academics
• Family Life
• Holidays
• Home Management
• Outreach
• Spiritual Life

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