December 14th - Loving Father

A beard to represent St. Joseph, Jesus' dad on earth. 

We don't know much about him, but God must have made him very special to trust him to look after His son. 

December 12th - Worship Leader

David danced before the Lord. He sang and played; he wrote the psalms. In our house there is always a lot of singing going - mainly Frozen! - so this aspect of David was easy for B to grasp. And just to help, we made a tambourine. It's great!

December 9th - A Baby Saved

Baby Moses in his basket.

December 8th - Never Alone

God had a plan for Joseph. He sank to the pits, but God had a plan to bring him up to the heights.

"And now, do not be distressed and do not be angry with yourselves for selling me here, because it was to save lives that God sent me ahead of you." (Genesis 45:5 NIV)

We made a dreamcatcher because Joseph was a dreamer, but also because the belief about dreamcatchers is that they protect, just as God protected him. We watched the film of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat - starring Donny Osmond! - and I was touched by the line in one of the songs: "Children of Israel are never alone." That was the message I wanted us to take away from the story of Joseph.

December 7th - God Watches Over Us

Genesis 28:10-22

Today we read about Jacob's dream at Bethel. God's promise to Jacob, to be with him wherever he goes, is for us too. What a comfort.

I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go... (Genesis 28:15)

  

We love this angel! It's going on the top of our tree. 

Do you feel that God is watching over you always?

December 6th - God Provides

Genesis 22:1-19

This was a great craft. Aside from cutting out the legs and head, B did all of this herself. We set her off with it, and after a couple of minutes she seemed bored and wandered off. But a bit later on, she came into the lounge with a completed lamb. So proud!

Abraham answered, “God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.” 

Are you in need? Can we pray for you?

December 5th - As Many As The Stars

Genesis 15

Proud to be a descendant of Abraham!

He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” (Genesis 15:5)

December 4th - Worth Saving

Genesis 6:9 - 9:17

We made rainbows out of paper plates today:

Genesis 9:13

I explained to B that God was sad about all the meanies and had to wash them away. But that He gave us rainbows so that we know He would never do it again. We generally focus on the animals and the rainbow in the story of Noah, especially when it comes to telling children, because the full story is so hugely difficult to comprehend. How could our all-loving God do something so horrific?

December 3rd - Consequences

Genesis 3

Today we found out what happened when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge. Our parenting and discipline avoids threats and punishment, relying more on the teaching that comes from the natural consequences of our actions. Anyone present at our wedding will know what I mean when I say, "Consequences!" but for those readers who didn't have that experience, suffice it to say my dad gave a very long speech, punctuated by his reminder that we have to live with consequences of our actions. This was big in our childhood and now all my friends know too! I was embarrassed at the time, but actually, his speech does make sense to me now, as a parent.

Reading the account of the Fall from the perspective of consequences rather than punishment has been helpful for me. When God said Adam and Eve would die if they ate from the tree of Knowledge, it wasn't meant to be a threat of punishment for disobedience, but a warning. God could not allow them to eat from the tree of Life and so live forever if they had allowed badness to enter their hearts. It wouldn't - couldn't - be a case of just eating the fruit and then never breaking another rule. One sin leads to another and another. Immediately, Adam and Eve hid from God and then began to lie. The rollercoaster was on the move. Paradise couldn't be allowed to filled with sin, and so Adam and Eve had to leave. Their actions broke Creation, allowing pain and toil and enmity in. The consequence of eating of the tree of Knowledge was removal from the Tree of Life, and therefore death would be inevitable.

December 2nd - I Am Special

Genesis 1:26 - Genesis 2:25

Today we found out about Adam and Eve, and how God made people. I tried to explain to B that she is special because God made her and loves her. She was more interested in the fact that they were naked though!

Last year we put all of our handprints on a canvas and we thought it would be nice to make a tradition out of it, so we did it again. I thought getting M's handprint was tough last year - this year was harder! She just wanted to squeeze the paint. B really enjoyed this activity - she found it difficult to wait for the hubby's and my handprints to dry so that she could do hers. I think it's such a lovely reminder of how precious our family is.

December 1st - Looking After the Earth

Genesis 1:1 - 2:3

Today's Jesse Tree theme was Creation. We read the Genesis account at breakfast time, but B really wasn't in the mood to listen, so instead of starting the day with crafts, we got out into nature and took a walk.

The fresh air and exercise did us a lot of good. B calmed down; M slept most of the walk; I enjoyed being outside. As we walked, I talked about Creation with B and I was surprised to find that she had taken in quite a bit of the story at breakfast. She remembered that God made light first and then talked about Him putting a roof over the earth. She enjoyed pointing things out on our walk and telling me that God made them. We spoke about looking after the beautiful things God had made for us, and we fed the ducks as an example for her of being kind to animals.