Easter Ornaments - The Easter Story in Context

Recently I was invited to speak to our MOPS group on the topic of Easter traditions. As I prayed about how to best prepare for this talk, the Lord plopped a terrific idea into my head, about how to tell the Easter story in the context of the entire Bible. As christian parents we do need to be faithful to teach our children about the spiritual significance of this holiday, but I think the death and resurrection of Jesus makes more sense when our children understand why Jesus had to die. So with the Lord's help, I worked out a way to tell a condensed version of the entire Bible in about seven minutes, using household objects.



Starting with a lego tree to represent creation,


I told about how satan (a fallen angel who wanted to be god instead of God being God) came to the first man and the first woman in the form of a serpent, and lied to them about the fruit that God had told them not to eat. A plastic snake represented the serpent, and a plastic cherry from the Hi-Ho Cheeri-O game represented the fruit.


There were a couple other objects in between, but then we came to when the promised Savior, Jesus, was born, and that is what we celebrate at Christmastime.


I used a couple other objects to tell about Jesus' time on earth, and then got to the part where he was betrayed by a friend and turned over to the religious authorities, to whom he was a tremendous threat. I used a cross and nail when telling about Jesus' crucifixion (the red on the cross is wax ~ this was from an activity we did at a Good Friday service a few years ago).


I used a strip of cloth to tell about how when ladies went to the tomb three days later to put spices on Jesus' body, it wasn't there! The cloth his body had been wrapped in was neatly folded in the tomb, but Jesus' body was gone!


A playmobil crown represented heaven, which Jesus is preparing for those who put their trust in Him for salvation from sin.


When I did this at our MOPS group, it took me right about seven minutes to tell the whole story. When we do it around our Easter dinner table tomorrow I suspect it may take a few minutes longer because we plan to go around the table, taking turns reading the parts and hanging objects on the tree.

My children were very enthusiastic about helping me find objects to represent different parts of the story, and were eager to hear the whole story in context, from creation to the resurrection.

Thank you, God, for this great idea!

For a complete script of the story, and a list of all objects used, go here.

Operation Christmas Child Shoe Boxes

Once again we packed some shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child this year. Ladies from my MOPS group pooled their items with ours, and we were able to pack nine boxes to the gills. I wish it were many more, but I choose to focus on the fact that these boxes may make a world of difference to the nine children who receive them!


Our daughter G took ownership of the project this year. She organized all our goodies into piles. We had a "personal hygiene" pile, and a "toys" pile, and a "school supplies" pile, and a "clothing" pile, etc. Then she further divided things into big girl/young girl stuff and big boy/young boy stuff. She pushed the big kid boxes to the back of the couch, and pulled the young kid boxes to the front so we could keep everything straight. She is so good at this, I think she should do it on a large scale for our whole church! (hint, hint daughter G, if you're reading this!)


Our nearest drop off center was no longer accepting boxes when we got there, so we had to drive much farther to a drop off center that was still open. This turned out to be a blessing, because the semi was being loaded when we arrived, and we got to see all the shoeboxes going into big cardboard boxes, and the cardboard boxes being loaded onto the semi truck for their trip to North Carolina! Hundreds and hundreds of shoeboxes..... so cool. As we watched, we prayed over the boxes and the children who would receive them.

If you have never done this, you should seriously consider packing a box (or two, or many!) next year. The boxes are usually due the week before Thanksgiving, and the deadline does tend to creep up, but if you put a big huge note on your calendar the first week of November that will help to remind you. :0)

We are able to track where our nine boxes end up, and I'm excited to find that out in a couple weeks!

Whew!

Busy, busy week.

Thankful for each task that made up this week, and thankful each task is done. :0)

This past Wednesday was the first night of "REAL moms", which is the women's group I am involved in that used to be MOPS. We have 36 women signed up, and got off to a great start (I think, hard for me to judge from the front of the room). It is always very hectic for me before the first night of REAL moms, but once we get the year started things tend to gel into a manageable rhythm. I love the women who come. They bless me!

Special Announcement: This is the last week we are schooling in the kitchen. I am hereby stating my commitment to BE USING THE NEW SCHOOLROOM A WEEK FROM MONDAY! I had hoped to do all the painting at once, so I'd only have one cleanup. But I have abandoned that plan in favor of getting the bookcase half of the room completely organized so we can begin using it, while my hubby finishes the part under the stairs where the couch is going to go (that part still needs to be drywalled). He is working as I type, and is doing an excellent job. It's just that each part is taking way longer than we'd hoped. We are buying a huge bookcase this coming Friday, just like the one that we already have down there, and I have marked out all of next weekend to clean and organize so our schoolroom is ready to be used on Monday. Very excited that this is the last week we need to have notebooks spilling off the kitchen counters and table!

Soccer season is in full swing. Love watching my boys play soccer!

It has been quite an adjustment these last few weeks to our daughter's high school routine. Her online Spanish class requires daily correcting (done by the parents - fortunately my husband has taken this on! LOVE him). Two or three times a week we have to upload quizzes, tests, or audio files (where our daughter speaks Spanish for her teacher to hear if she's using correct pronunciation). Spanish homework takes her at least an hour a day, which is a new subject added to all the "regular" work she is used to from last year...math, grammar, writing, science, etc.

She is also in an online Literature class that requires daily reading and answering literary analysis questions. We ended up making a folder for her on each of our computers, that contains all the links to her online classrooms, as well as links to the part of each website that contains her homework assignments for each week. The first couple weeks of school my husband or I looked those things up for her, and printed out whatever she needed. But now she has taken charge of all that herself. She has begun setting her alarm to awaken before I get her brothers up, so she can get a head start on her work in the morning when her brain is fresh. I am really proud of her!

I started formal writing with son C this year, and he has taken to IEW like a fish to water. He absolutely loves to do his writing homework! Yay!! Still haven't re-introduced reading lessons to Little Man. Just couldn't manage the storing of all his reading materials in the kitchen. Next week, in the new schoolroom!!

There have been many challenges to the start of our school year, but I'm thankful for each subject/curriculum that is working well, and just so thankful we can continue learning together at home for another year. God is good!

Randomness

Just a hodge podge of daily stuff lately....

Our daughter's pet mouse died this morning. I think this is mouse number 7 or 8 in the last four years since she started keeping mice. Our memorial flower bed is getting pretty full of shoe boxes, so I cut a shoe box down to make a small mouse sized casket. When G was laying her mouse on soft bedding inside the casket, she asked that we not seal it shut with tape yet because, "I want to have a viewing first, before the funeral." She seemed okay, but Little Man cried and cried. It's hard to learn about death, and yet it's so much a part of life.

I have an appointment to talk with two Jehovah's Witnesses next week about whether or not Jesus is God. They have come to the door three times already and we have had brief conversations. If it were up to me I wouldn't do this, but both my husband and the Holy Spirit have urged me to do it. I can argue with my husband, but it's pretty hard to argue with the Holy Spirit!

The main lady asked if I would give her a few minutes to show me scriptures that prove Jesus was not God, and I told her I'd be willing to listen to her proof attempt as long as I got equal time. She loves to talk and is a bit of a railroader, so I will have to be assertive with getting my equal time in. Really not looking forward to it. The practical side of me thinks that since I will not be persuaded, and she will likely not be persuaded, we are just wasting our time. But the Holy Spirit chided me ~ how do I know she will not be persuaded? And it's not a waste of time for the five young children who will be watching and listening and learning how to defend their faith without fear. Please pray for me! My husband is much better at this type of thing than I am, yet the Holy Spirit has given it to me to do.

One of my husband's two contract jobs ends this week. We have not yet heard back from the company that my husband interviewed with twice. "I trust you, Lord. Help me to trust You more."

I paid my daughter to scrub the kitchen floor last Saturday. On her hands and knees. Every corner and crevice. The water was black when she was done, and I am so happy that the floor is so clean! Just looking at it makes me smile. She also washed the doorwall. Need her to do the windows next. :-)

Thanksgiving is next week, and I love Thanksgiving!!!!

Three days after Thanksgiving I get to visit with a dear online friend who has become a real life friend. She and her four children will be passing through and are going to stay with us for a couple nights. Can't wait to see you Guinever! I even figured out where you are all going to sleep!

REAL moms is tomorrow night and it's our fall craft night. We will be making beautiful Christmas ornaments and I'm really looking forward to it! Craft night is a good opportunity to visit with the ladies as we work on our craft, and I love building friendships with so many interesting women.

The children and I went to a Veteran's Day ceremony at a local Memorial Park last Thursday. It's the same one we went to last year. My plan is to make it an annual event for our family, as I really want to be intentional about building in to the children an attitude of gratitude for our veterans and all they have been willing to sacrifice in order to obtain and secure our freedom. The more we feel the weight of all that has gone before, the more we appreciate what we have and are willing to do our part in preserving it. I almost didn't go, but I'm really glad we did.


Afterward I struck up a conversation with an elderly WWII veteran, and after I thanked him for his service to our country he began sharing memories with me. He talked and talked and talked. The children climbed on all the statutes until they got tired of climbing and wanted to go. Still he talked. I began to inch toward the parking lot, he followed me. He is a widow and misses his dear wife terribly. His children don't live nearby. His house is very quiet. I felt sad for him. He obviously needed a listening ear that day, and I was happy to provide it. Listening to the stories of the old is a way to honor them. And man, do they have some stories!

I love my church. Love our new teaching pastor. Love the people. Oh, the people! So many of them special to me in different ways. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Lord, for my church.

I have a new tutor student (now I have two) who met with me for the first time this afternoon. We had a GREAT start to our working relationship! I'm so thankful.

The kitchen is clean and I am going to bed.

See how random this is?

Good night!

Update on Broken Foot

The preliminary report from the radiologist said there was NO break, which is very good news! C is, however, still experiencing considerable swelling and pain. We'll see how he feels in the morning and if he is no better, we will have to go back for more x-rays.

This is how he spent his afternoon. Very unusual for him to sleep during the day! But it was a dark, rainy day here ~ perfect for napping. I actually took a nap too! Last night was our first night of REAL moms (formerly MOPS). It was very fun to see all the returning moms and meet several new ones, and most everyone seemed to have fun. I'm very excited about this new REAL moms year. But I was exhausted today. Once the year gets started my preparation time drops sharply, but getting ready for the first night is always a bit like a marathon.

School? Did somebody say school?

Every August I go through this, and somehow every year I manage to forget.

The last two weeks of August are crunch time for me because not only am I preparing for a new school year to start, I am also preparing for another REAL moms ministry year to start. If you've read my blog for awhile, you may remember that REAL moms is the new name we've given to the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) program, and I am the coordinator for the evening group that meets at our church two Wednesday nights a month.

We almost always have a leadership/training retreat in August (hours and hours of preparation for that), and are looking to fill any holes on our leadership team (hours of work on that too). We are working to develop our theme for the new year, divide the groups into their tables of 8 for the year, buying beginning of the year gifts, and a host of other details necessary before our first REAL moms meeting. Of course I'm not doing all this by myself, but the responsibility to oversee everything is mine.

In the midst of this, God always reminds me that this is HIS ministry. Not mine. He has plans to work through it that I can only guess at, people (leaders) He has in mind to work through and ladies He wants to reach. August provides good opportunities to surrender my role in this ministry to Him. In that mindset, the hours of work on REAL moms truly do not seem like work.

On the other hand, working on REAL moms means I'm NOT working on other things. The house is not ready for school (literally ~ our school room expansion is not nearly finished and it is a huge jumble of stuff right now), my mind is not fully focused on school, and I discovered yesterday that there were 3 books we needed in order to start school TODAY that I had forgotten to order (I paid for 2 day shipping ~ they'll be here Wed!).

BUT.....we're starting school anyway! The beginning of our school year is always a gradual thing, and we are just going to go with the flow. I may never experience an August where I feel totally "ready", books are perfectly lined up, supplies are all purchased, and pencils are all sharpened (which reminds me, I should check and see if we have sharpened pencils!). Our virtual co-op start date dictates that we need to start now. So I will do as I do with REAL moms ~ remind myself that this is GOD'S homeschool, not mine, that we are accomplishing HIS plans, not mine, and that He will provide all we need to accomplish HIS goals for our homeschool, whether I feel ready or not. I *have* spent hours and hours this summer preparing for school too, so I will offer those hours to Him and just START.

New school year, here we come!

REAL moms

Two nights ago we had our first REAL moms (formerly MOPS) meeting of the year. It is a really huge part of my life but I realized that I have rarely blogged about it. I have been in MOPS off and on for 12 years, the last 5 of which have been in leadership. It has become my primary means of ministry outside my own home. I am really passionate about this ministry, enabling tired and weary mothers of young ones to connect with each other, to realize they are not alone, to realize that they still MATTER as a woman and not just a mom, and that they need the peace and love and joy that only Jesus can give. I have seen some amazing things happen during my years in MOPS. Hard things. Happy things. God things.

This summer, both our morning and evening MOPS programs made the decision to end our relationship with MOPS Int'l and run the same program, with a different name, under the sponsorship of our own church. The primary reason is that it saves our moms money, and everyone is feeling the financial pinch these days. MOPS Int'l is a fantastic organization and I have been forever impacted by their ministry in my life. But there is a time for everything under the sun, and this was the time for change.

Our new name is REAL moms. Isn't that a great name? I am very excited about our year. The women (about half returning and half new) chattered away like old friends within minutes, and there was a buzz of talking, laughter, and energy just filling our room on Wed. What a great first night! It was tons of work for all of us to get ready, and alot of work for me personally on the very first night, but after this my job gets easier as we have speakers virtually every meeting and they handle the bulk of our time together.

I think God is just amazing. His plans are intricate and incredible and impossible to dream up on my own. I wouldn't have put this group of women together in a hundred years, but He did. And it is good. Many of the moms work outside the home full time. A few more work part time. A couple are single moms. Several are adoptive moms. Some are quite young (young enough, literally, to be my daughters!) and some are.....not so young. :-) Some have children still all in diapers. Some have not had to change a diaper in many years. Some know and love Jesus. Some don't know what it means to have a personal relationship with the God of the universe. But they choose to come, and they choose to relate, and they choose to stay. God is good!

Lord, I offer my work in REAL moms as an offering of worship to you, for you are worthy, and awesome and amazing. Thank you that you love each woman who comes so very much, and want to show her your love. Thank you for bringing such a varied and interesting group of women together. Please knit our hearts together, and help us to build safety and trust. Give us the opportunity to build on that trust by sharing your love and truth with the women who do not yet know you. And sustain each woman in your grace, as they have need. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of such an awesome thing you are doing. I love you, Lord.

This 'n That

1. I didn't walk once last week. I took a couple naps, watched lots of movies with my husband after the kids were in bed, read for hours each day, and was a happy slug. But I can't afford to be a slug for long ~ I'm really shooting for 5 days of exercise this week. Really!

2. I'm in the middle of a big huge MOPS project. The two MOPS groups our church sponsors (morning and evening) decided to break away from MOPS and run our own, similar, program. This is primarily a cost saving measure, as being an official MOPS group cost us hundreds of dollars each year. It will be a good thing, but it means writing a new policies and procedures manual. Something I would really like to be done with before our trip to WA. And we're still working on fully staffing our evening program, so lots still to be done. And that's just my part. :-)

3. My husband is still looking for work. The good news is that there seem to be more jobs to apply for in recent weeks than there were in the winter. The bad news is that none of the applications has led to a job interview so far.

4. We are still waiting to hear from our lender about our mortgage forbearance application. They are busy processing other applications and haven't gotten to ours yet. It's been 6 weeks already. The bank's silence makes me nervous (my imagination makes up answers to our many questions that are not what I want to hear in real life), but that means more opportunities to lay it at Jesus' feet.

5. I have been meeting with my friend Angela once a week to watch dvd's of a writing seminar (from Excellence in Writing - IEW). We have been pausing the dvd to do the practicums (where we actually have to write ourselves!) and are both learning a lot. We are so excited to teach writing to our children this coming year! I have been using IEW for nearly two years, but not as consistently or completely as I'd like. So this is our year to focus on writing!

6. In other school news, I have just about completed 3 science notebooks for our 3 older boys to use this coming year. We will be reading through the Apologia Elementary Science series: Zoology 2, Swimming Creatures of the Fifth Day. I downloaded some free notebooking pages from the author's website, as well as some free lapbooking minibooks from homeschool share. I decided not to comb bind these notebooks as we may want to add other things as we study throughout the year, but instead to put them in 3 ring binders. They look pretty cool and my boys are very excited to learn about ocean creatures this year! Next on my school prep agenda is printing out the pages for our daughter's science notebook. She will be reading through Apologia General Science, and has an accompanying notebook journal to record what she learns.

7. Our fun thing today was jumping on votemom's trampoline! The children had a great time jumping while I enjoyed some adult conversation. :-) Thanks votemom!

First MOPS night

Tonight was our first night back at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers). It was so fun to see all the returning moms again and to meet several new ones! We have 6 new moms registered so far for our evening MOPS, which is nearly one fourth of our total number. I love, love, love MOPS. I love the great food, the instant connection with mothers who can understand potty training woes, and (for lack of a better word) the energy in the room from all these women who are mostly much younger than myself! We have four, yes FOUR pregnant moms in our group (so far!), so we are definitely growing! I love reaching out to others with God's love and being encouraged by others in my parenting.

I was a little nervous as this was my first night as the coordinator. But I think my part went well. It was such a team effort, and everyone did their job SO well. I am really looking forward to a great year.