Questions about Heaven

How confusing and abstract heaven must be for a four year old little mind! My youngest has been having fears and concerns about heaven, which surprised me. My grownup mind thinks of heaven as being this awesome, wonderful place so it didn't even occur to me that this would be an issue for one of my children. Especially when my older child never questioned heaven in such a way. I realized that she was having concerns when she told me, "I don't want to go to heaven, Mommy."
I said that I didn't understand because heaven is a wonderful place. And because we follow Jesus, we will live there forever together. She then went on to explain that she didn't want to die. Concerns about leaving her home and her bunny behind filled her little mind. It makes more sense to me know thinking about how children need a place of familiarity to feel secure. For a week or so, she let the subject go, but on the way to church this morning, she brought it up again. This time she asked if we stayed dead in heaven with our eyes closed. A smile came across her face as I shared with her how God will give her a new body and that she will walk around in heaven. She told me that she is glad because she wants to dance around and she also wants to hug Jesus.

Please share any resources that you may have that relate to teaching young children about heaven. I'll be sure to post any if I come across any good resources as well.

Blessings,

The Finger Prayer

The Five Finger Prayer

1. Your thumb is nearest you. So begin your prayers
by praying for those closest to you. They are the
easiest to remember. To pray for our loved ones is,
as C. S. Lewis once said, a 'sweet duty.'

2. The next finger is the pointing finger. Pray for
those who teach, instruct and heal. This includes
teachers, doctors, and ministers. They need support
and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction.
Keep them in your prayers.

3. The next finger is the tallest finger. It reminds us
of our leaders. Pray for the president, leaders in
business and industry, and administrators. These
people shape our nation and guide public opinion.
They need God's guidance.

4. The fourth finger is our ring finger. Surprising to
many is the fact that this is our weakest finger, as
any piano teacher will testify. It should remind us
to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or in pain.
They need your prayers day and night. You cannot
pray too much for them.

5. And lastly comes our little finger - the smallest
finger of all which is where we should place ourselves
in relation to God and others. As the Bible says, 'The
least shall be the greatest among you.' Your pinkie
should remind you to pray for yourself. By the time
you have prayed for the other four groups, your own
needs will be put into proper perspective and you will
be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

Some of you may have already seen this prayer, but my little sis shared it with me and I thought I would post it for others!

Blessings,

Look what I won!! I'm so excited. This new book will be coming out in October!! I won this over at Simplifying Motherhood. If you haven't been to Trish Berg's blogs, you'll have to check this author and speaker out!! I can't wait to take a peak at the Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts blog as well.

Blessings,

Wordless Wednesday

Why do we buy toys????
(Sunshine Girl when she was a baby.)

Thanks 5 Minutes for Mom for Wordless Wednesday!

Clothed with Compassion and Kindness

Clothe yourselves with compassion (and) kindness.
Colossians 3:12

What a joy it is to dress little girls in ruffled dresses, fluffy bows, and black dressy shoes! Even more joyous is to dress our children in compassion and kindness. Oh how difficult a task this is when we live in a society that focuses on the outside instead of our beauty that is long-lasting on the inside.
Abigail was a beautiful woman in the bible who was kind and compassionate to David. Today, I read about Abigail to the girls and we discussed how to be clothed on the inside. Abigail husband on the other hand was the opposite of his wife. We also discussed how some people dress fancy, but are mean to others.
After I shared the story of Abigail with the girls, they drew a picture of themselves being kind. Big Sis drew a picture of herself consoling Little Sis. She drew her with tears. Little Sis also chose to draw herself with her sister and she is holding her big sister's hand in the picture. They enjoyed sharing the pictures and talking about how they were demonstrating kindness.

To learn more about Abigail, read 1 Samuel 25.


Resource for today mini-lesson:
Devotions for Girls
Ages 6-9 God and Me! by Diane Cory

Blessings,
Jen

I want to "BEE" like Jesus!

"I want to be, be, be like Jesus! I want to be, be, be like Jesus!" These are the verses to a song that the girls learned at Camp last year. Often, I hear them singing or humming this song around the house. It is such a cute song! Sometimes I will ask them- what do you think Jesus would have done in this situation or how can we be more like Jesus. This isn't to make them feel guilty, but to teach them that there is a better a way, a better choice. Today, I came across a cute website that has BEE activities and is titled Bee-ing What He Wants Me to Bee. It has the cutest printouts with bee's and bible verses for little ones to color and also activities with the bee theme! Have fun exploring the site with your little ones- Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!!

Bee-ing What He Wants me to Bee!

Blessings,
Jen