Soaking Up the Son

In January, I posted about our Summer Bible Lessons. Every morning, we start out by reading a Bible story and doing a craft or project that pertains to the story. Each summer I rotate Old Testament and New Testament. This summer we will study the New Testament. The more years I do this, the harder it gets to find different crafts/activities that are age-appropriate. I am so thankful for Pinterest!!! I have given the list of stories and scriptures below. I am going to try to post actual pictures of the projects my kids do throughout the summer, but in this post I am going to give links to many of the activities that I have chosen.

I do not have links to the following stories/activities. The instructions are listed here.

Jesus' baptism http://docthelmaskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/04/sunday-school-baptism-craft.html
Tempted in the Wilderness http://teachingthem.com/tag/object-lesson/
12 Apostles http://ministry-to-children.com/object-lesson-kids-sharing-gospel/
Jesus' First Miracle http://bibleclasscreations.blogspot.com/2012/06/jesus-changes-water-to-wine.html
Beatitudes http://latterdaychatter.blogspot.com/2012/09/primary-4-lesson-34.html
Salt and Light http://www.teachsundayschool.com/bottlecap.html
Story of the Seeds http://yourlifeuncommon.blogspot.com/2012/05/fhe-doing-our-dailies-teaching-effects.html
Love your Enemies http://freesundayschoolcurriculum.weebly.com/uploads/1/2/5/0/12503916/lesson_33_love_for_enemies.pdf
The Mustard Seed http://www.ms-objectlessons.blogspot.com/
The Frightening Storm http://www.education.com/activity/article/Ocean_In_a_Bottle/?coliid=145
Feeding the Crowd http://bibleclasscreations.blogspot.com/2013/04/jesus-feeds-5000.html
Jesus Walks on Water http://www.ms-objectlessons.blogspot.com/
The Lost Lamb http://jedicraftgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/14
The Blind Man http://raisinglittledisciples.blogspot.com/2012/02/jesus-heals-blind-man.html
Zaccheus http://www.pocketfulofposiesblog.com/sunday-school-crafts-zacchaeus/
Mary's Gift http://befickle.blogspot.com/2010/03/secret-service-activity-days-activity.html
Parable of the Talents http://jedicraftgirl.blogspot.com/search/label/14
Big Catch http://www.doodlecraftblog.com/2013/01/pocket-sized-magnetic-fishing-set-in.html
Jesus Cleanses the Temple http://mamato5blessings.com/2012/03/science-for-kids-with-a-twist-hands-on-illustration-of-obedience/
Ananias and Sapphira http://pintriedit.com/valentines-day-scratch-off-tickets/
Armor of God http://ourjourneywestward.com/armor-of-god-object-lesson/
Faith and Works http://ministry-to-children.com/faith-comes-first-bible-lesson/
Say no to Sin http://martydonnellan.com/?cat=139
Kind Words http://martydonnellan.com/?cat=139
Anger http://freebiblelessons.net/object-lessons/dont-explode-with-anger
Fruit of the Spirit http://www.just-between-friends.com/2014/01/mini-chalkboards-valentines-day-craft.html

Sweet Summertime!

I LOVE summer!! I really like parts of all of the seasons, but summer is my favorite!! There's really not one thing that I don't love about summer. I love hot weather, a break from school, and the laid-back, easygoing attitude that summer brings!! Going outside barefoot and being warm in a tank top and shorts is the greatest feeling to me! Summer gives me a feeling of freedom, allowing me to have carefree days and almost feel like a kid again! As school comes to an end, my kids and I are looking forward to many fun summer memories!!

I made some goodie bags and teacher gifts for my kids to take to their class for the end of school.

Hannah and Ty had the BEST teachers this year!! They had a great 3rd and 1st grade year! For their gift, I bought two plastic bowls from the summer collection at Walmart. I bought a beach towel, mason jar mug, pool floatie, and the best part, a Sonic gift card!!  I also made a card in photoshop that says "School's out, Summer's here, Thanks for all you've done ALL year!"

For their classmates, I made these cute little alligator tags that say "See You Later, Alligator. Hope you have a cool summer!". I REALLY love alligators! They are my favorite animal!!  I used clear treat bags and filled them with a packet of lemonade, suckers, and bubbles!!

Salt of the Earth

My kids memory verse this week is Matthew 5:13-16. The first part of the verse says, "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men." When I read this part of the verse to them, I began to consider my own saltiness.

Salt has several different characteristics and purposes. It makes you thirsty. It seasons food and makes it taste better. It can be used to preserve food and make it last longer. It is found in your sweat and your tears.  As a Christian, God has asked me to be the salt of the earth. My actions should make people thirsty for the word of God. They way that I live my life should make others want what I have--a relationship with God. I should be seasoning to this world, making it a better place. I should be involved in activities that help preserve morals and stop the moral decay in our society. This is how I can be the salt of the earth, and God never said that was going to be easy. On the contrary, it is going to take sweat and possibly a few tears to get the job done.

Lately, I have been running around like a crazy woman devoting all of my time and my energy to my kids. That's my job right now. To be a mom. But, I don't think God intended for me to sacrifice my relationship with Him to make sure my kids are involved in activities. I feel like I have put God on the back burner and left Him there.

With a relationship like that, there's no way I'm being salt in this wicked world. I have to find balance. I have to focus on my job as a Christian, which will make me a better mom in the end.  Prayer is the first step in regaining my passion for Christ, because without passion my salt has no flavor. God loves for His children to return to Him through prayer. I have to tell Him I'm sorry for losing my passion and for being lukewarm. I have to ask Him to help me regain control of my faith and not let the devil trample me down with worldly things. Once God has set my heart on fire again, then He can use me to bring others closer to Him.

So, how can I be salt? Since I'm a mom, I have a little audience that watches my every move. I can be the salt to them by helping them learn memory verses, taking the to church, and doing service projects that teach them to put others before themselves. I can change simple things like what they watch in the car. This week they started watching a movie called "Theo" that we found at Lifeway. The topics of this particular movie are the armor of God and new birth. This has opened up so many different conversations about baptism and sin. Ty even came out of his room yesterday dressed in the armor of God (or a pillow and football pads and helmet!)

We can be the salt of the earth even when we are busy. We just have to make sure that God is always our number one priority and He will take care of giving us opportunities to be the salt of the earth.  In everything that you do, always look for ways that you can show others how different the life of a Christian is so that they will thirst for that life. Look for ways to influence the world for good and make it "taste better." Try to find things that you can do to bring our country back to the moral standards that were once so important. And, always remember to smile and keep a positive attitude.  Ask yourself, "How many times does the world get a taste of me and it's not Christ?"