The Ten Commandments

I am a little late typing this one. Some of you may have already heard this story because it was so funny to me.

Alice was reading the Bible, and was reading about how Aaron made a golden calf for the people to worship while Moses was on the mountain with God. Alice said, "I can't believe Moses's brother was the one that made the golden calf." I asked, "Why is it so wrong that Aaron made this golden calf?"
Alice replied, "Because the commandments say to only worship God."
I said, "That is right! Good job!"
Alice said, "Mama, I think that I should read the 10 Commandments again."
She turns to the back of her Bible were they are in the appendix. She reads them and got to "Thou Shalt not commit adultery," and asked, "What does that mean? Kids can't act like adults?"
I laughed and said, "No, it means that people who are married like Mama and Daddy can't have a boyfriend or girlfriend."
She said, "But you can have friends that are boys? You just can't have one that you really love?"
I said, "You got it!"

It amazes me at how much she can comprehend at such a young age!

Mean People

I was teaching a lesson on Zacchaeus. I mentioned that he was a bad person, and a little girl said, "Mean people put Jesus on the Cross!"

Wow! This girl understands how good and special Jesus is and not only that He is special, but that He didn't deserve the cross, but those mean people put Him there.

Another story from this week, I was asking the kids about the special people who save us (meaning firemen, police men, EMT, etc.). A boy said, "Jesus saves us!"

I can see that this year is going to be an amazing year of seeing Jesus through the children He has placed before me!!

You are a Sinner

Our Children know how to keep us humble.

Matthew was talking to Alice and Bethany about how we are all sinners, and that is why we need Jesus as our Savior. They have heard this many times. So when Matthew asked, "Who is a sinner?"

Bethany piped up, "You are, Daddy!"

The truth can sometimes be hard!!

What is the Devil Like?

This happened last week. We were driving, and all of a sudden, Alice pipes up, "What is the Devil like?"

I have been so careful not to talk too much about Hell and Satan to the girls, not because I don't want them to know who he is, but because I don't want them to be so scared of him that they go to God. I want them to go to God out of a love for their Creator, not out of fear of going to Hell. Does this make sense?

So, I am now faced with this question. What do I say? I said a short prayer and then told her that no one knows for sure what the Devil looks like, but we know that the Bible describes where he lives to be hot and a place where people can't get enough to drink. I go on to tell her about how he tries to make people hate God and to do evil against God.

I tried not to focus too much on him, and then turned it to God. I explained that because of the Devil, we need God more. I reminded her of how sin separates us from God, and reminded her of how Jesus came and died, but rose for us so that we could have a relationship with God. I trust on the promises of God that His Word does not return void!

So, how would you have responded? I am always interested because others may have already faced questions like this, and may have a better answer.

How to Get Up and Moving

I don't know about all the other parents out there, but my girls are extremely hard to wake up in the morning. Today's story actually started yesterday. So, I promised Bethany that I would paint her nails last night. Then our plans changed. We decided to take our girls to another church's Backyard Bible Club. By the time we got home, it was too late to paint her nails, and she was not happy. I let her know that I would put it on my to-do list for today. So, this morning, I woke up a little earlier, and after I got finished getting ready, my normal wake-up routine started. I say loudly, "Girls, its time to start waking up!" No success. It takes at least 10 minutes from this moment until they finally roll out of bed with lots of me going in and trying to wake them.

This morning, I decided since I had a little time (thanks to my wonderful husband who made our lunches) I would after the first call to them, I would go to Bethany and say in a soft voice, "If you get up now, I will paint your nails." The child shot up and got dressed in record time. She was in the best mood all day, too.

How great it would be if I was like this with God. Instead of hitting the snooze several times, I got up when I heard His gentle voice. I could have my quiet time then instead of in the middle of the day, and then my day would start great and end great.

Lord, help me not to ignore your call in the morning. Amen

Intro

I have felt for years that God has given me the ability to write, but I haven't been using it. So, to bring him Glory, I am writing, and not only writing, but writing about what He is teaching me through the children He has given me. Some of my stories may be things that children say or do that cause me to see God at work, or they may be stories that have caused me to seek God or lean on Him when working with children.

I have 2 Girly Girls, Alice who is 6, and Bethany who is 4. When I have learned through them, I will probably name them, but for the confidentiality of the other children, I will not name names or tell if the story happened at church or the preschool. Some of my stories may be present, some from the past. Some of my stories may even come from observing in public, so please don't try to guess. If you are the parent of the child, then you can feel free to leave a comment saying it was your child if you want others to know.

I have a cute story to tell to start me off. I had a mom come to me and tell me that her child told her that I was teaching that God will kill you if you do anything bad. I had to explain that I was teaching on God's Holiness, and how we can't approach Him as sinners. We have to have Jesus as our Savior to become close to God. Funny what children pick up. Next time I will stress the fact that through Jesus, we will not die if we approach God.

As a side note, I am starting to use a new method for keeping up with the house cleaning chores. I'll post every now and then to let you know how this is working for me.