Here is a prayer that you and your family can pray each day in the third week of Lent as your move your marble in a cross-shaped journey. You can find a take-home sheet with the same prayer here: Journey Around the Cross Prayer Week 3 2016
Forgiving God, help us to remember to always turn to you. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
Want to learn more about using these in your home or congregation? Look here:
Gathering Prayer: (Do this prayer repeat-after-me style)
Dear Jesus, we thank you for time to feed our faith as a family, and time to learn about how you are like a mother hen. Help our time to be holy time. In your name we pray, Amen.
Bible Story: Luke 13:31-35
This week’s story is about Jesus wanting to gather his people like a hen gathers her chicks. You can read about it in your family’s Bible (fair warning: I could not find this story in any of my children’s Bibles), or you can follow the link to an easy to read version here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+13%3A31-35&version=ERV
Discuss as a family: What do you know about hens and chicks? How is God like a mother hen? How are we like baby chicks to God? Here’s a little video to show you how a hen gathers her chicks:
In my family, we decided to find out what it was like to be gathered like chicks. My husband put his favorite blanket over his shoulders, and my kids gathered under his “wings.” He “clucked” and they “peeped.” It is a simple activity that they will not soon forget!
Activity: Heart Shaped Hens
I got the idea from this craft on Pinterest. You can find the original here:
http://www.housingaforest.com/6-heart-shaped-animals/
We adapted it to fit the Bible theme of God gathering us as chicks underneath his wings.
Here’s what you will need for this craft:
Scrapbooking paper and brads (also a hole punch or awl and scissors)
Punches (or you can cut out hearts and circles in the right size)
This template for the body and wings: Hen Gathers Chicks Craft
Directions:
Song: Gather Us In
This is a song by a friend of mine who is a Christian Folk Artist in the Twins Cities, MN, Nate Houge. It is easy to catch on to. Try it!
https://www.reverbnation.com/natehouge/song/15766601-gather-us-in
Thanks for your commitment to faithfully feed your family’s faith! I hope that this time was holy time for you.
Closing Prayer: (Can be a repeat after me prayer if you have non-readers in your family)
Thank you, God, for this holy time together to feed our faith as a family. Bless us as we remember that we belong to you, no matter what. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Here is a prayer that you and your family can pray each day in the second week of Lent as your move your marble in a cross-shaped journey. You can find a take-home sheet with the same prayer here: Journey Around the Cross Week 2 2016
Faithful God, gather us as a hen gathers her chicks. Help us to know we always have a home in you.In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Want to learn more about using these in your home or congregation? Look here:
Here is a graphic to remind you where you are in your Lenten Journey by the second Sunday in Lent. Don’t forget to “rest” on Sunday and light your candle instead of moving your marble.
Gathering Prayer: (Do this prayer repeat-after-me style)
Dear Jesus, we thank you for time to feed our faith as a family, and time to learn about how you were tempted. Help our time to be holy time. In your name we pray, Amen.
Bible Story: Luke 4:1-13
This week’s story is about Jesus being tempted by the devil during his 40 days in the wilderness. You can read about it in your family’s Bible, or you can follow the link to an easy to read version here:
https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+4%3A1-13&version=ERV
Discuss as a family: Have you ever been tempted to do something that you knew was wrong? What tempts you? How can you help each other resist temptation? How can your faith help you to resist temptation? What can you learn from this story about Jesus?
Activity: Do Not Put the Lord Your God to the Test!
This week’s activity is super simple. In fact, my daughters were disappointed in me when they first found out what I wanted to do. However, once we got started, they didn’t want to stop! Try it with your own family; I hope they have as much fun as mine did!
Find a high place in your home that you would be afraid if your children jumped off of by themselves. At our house, this is the top platform of our jungle gym, but it could just as easily be your steps or even a chair. They stand at the top and yell, like Jesus, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test!” Then, they jump off with you holding on to them. Deposit them safely on the ground, and then do it again. The length of this activity is limited, I suppose, only by your arm strength and willingness to participate.
Here is a pic of their “mean” faces, telling the devil off:
After several rounds of this, my youngest started saying the other things that Jesus said to the devil, like “Worship only God!” and “Not bread alone!” It turned into a good, fun way to internalize the story for ourselves. I hope you have fun, too!
Song: Shut De Do
When I asked my husband for a good song about the devil, this was the one he reminded me of. We had a great time singing the chorus together with our kids the whole week. You can find the video here:
The lyrics are in the comments. Enjoy!
Thanks for your commitment to faithfully feed your family’s faith! I hope that this time was holy time for you.
Closing Prayer: (Can be a repeat after me prayer if you have non-readers in your family)
Thank you, God, for this holy time together to feed our faith as a family. Bless us as we remember that we belong to you, no matter what. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
Gathering Prayer: (Do this prayer repeat-after-me style)
Dear Jesus, we thank you for time to feed our faith as a family, and time to remember how much you love us. Help our time to be holy time. In your name we pray, Amen.
Bible Story: 1 John 3:1a
This week’s story is one of my favorite verses about God’s love for us:
See what love the Father has given us,
that we should be called children of God;
and that is what we are. (1 John 3:1a)
Here is a short video with actions to help you learn this verse by heart:
This week, your family has probably been wrapped up in Valentine’s Day. This holiday was originally a saint’s day, or a holy day for the church.
Discuss as a family: Who loves you? How do you know? Who do you love? How do they know that you love them? Does God love you? How do you know? How much?
Activity: Lacing Cards and Sewn Valentine Cards
My older daughter has been making special cards for her grandparents and aunts for Valentine’s Day. I got the idea here:
I used a awl to punch small holes in a heart shape on the front of the card. Then, my daughter used embroidery floss tied to a plastic yarn needle to outline the heart (she went around two times to get a stitch between each hole). On some of the cards, she even added a cross to remind her family that she loves them, and Jesus loves them too! Here is a pic of one of the finished products:
My younger daughters cannot yet be trusted with needles (even plastic ones!), so I made heart-shaped lacing cards for them. I cut a large heart shape out of card stock and used a hole punch to make holes along the edge. Then, we used shoelaces that I found in a 6 pack at the dollar store to sew them up. My older daughter got into the fun, too, and we ended up lacing yellow stars and green shamrocks as well. Here is a pic of the stitched lacing cards:
Option: You could also do this Family God Time as you are making your own Valentines. I am always looking for an opportunity to add a little more faith to our family time, and there is nothing like sitting at the dining room table and talking about Jesus while doing something together. If you have already made and sent your valentines, try to think of someone in your family, neighborhood, or church who might not receive much mail or encouragement and bring one to their house!
Song: Jesus Loves Me
You probably already know this song, but do you know all the actions and verses? Check out this video to learn them all!
Thanks for your commitment to faithfully feed your family’s faith, even during the holidays! I hope that this time was holy time for you.
Closing Prayer: (Can be a repeat after me prayer if you have non-readers in your family)
Thank you, God, for this holy time together to feed our faith as a family. Bless us as we remember that Jesus loves us every day. Amen.
Here is a prayer that you and your family can pray each day in the first week of Lent as your move your marble in a cross-shaped journey. You can find a take-home sheet with the same prayer here: Journey Around the Cross Prayer Week 1 2016
Faithful God, as we enter into the season of Lent, we ask you to help us to focus more on you and on helping others. Keep us faithful, to you and to one another, just as you are always faithful to us. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.
In the parish that I serve, the Advent Spiral was a great success. Families of all ages reported to me that they really enjoyed the time they spent each day preparing for Jesus to come among us at Christmas. It made a lot of sense, then, to develop a similar resource for the Lenten season, and Journey Around the Cross was the result. What follows in this post is how to make your very own Journey Around the Cross; if you are a member of Tri-Saints, several of these crosses will be available at worship for you to take home. Each week during Lent, I will post a prayer of the week as you continue your journey. I pray that feeding your faith during Lent will be a priority for you; please let me know how I can give you even more food for the journey!
Materials List:
Wooden Cross
Pickling Stain
Staining Rags
Black Craft Paint
Bristle Brush
Hole Punch
Pencil
1/2″ Sponge Spouncer
Purple Craft Paint
Black Paint Marker
Filled votive candle with holder
Purple Puffy Paint
Clear flat-sided Marble
Instruction Sheet
Directions:
1. Purchase or make a wooden cross. My husband made our crosses for us in his wood shop. They are 10.5″ by 8.5″, made out of 1/2″ one side sanded plywood. He routed the edges with 1/8″ rounding over bit. You can purchase inexpensive wooden crosses in bulk for this project here: http://www.unfinishedcrosses.com/store2browseproduct/37362/fleur-de-lis-cross-12×8?CID=1858
2. Stain the front and side of the cross. We used Minwax White Wash Pickling Stain, available at a home improvement store, because we had 3/4 of a can left over from another recent project, and because it would give a nice contrast to the purple spots. We used 2 coats plus touch-ups.
3. When the stain has completely cured, flip the cross over and paint the back black (we will use it this way on Good Friday). I used a gloss black craft paint and a bristle brush.
3. When the paint is dry, flip it back over to the stained side. Download and print out this marking template: Journey around the Cross Template
Cut it out and use a hole punch to punch out a circle at each dot. If you don’t use a hole punch, beware of hanging chads, as they can get in the way of marking!
4. Mark the places where you will be painting dots with a light pencil.
5. Using a 1/2″ sponge spouncer, paint the dots using purple craft paint. They don’t have to be perfect; experiment on a piece of copy paper until you find a technique that wroks best for you.
6. When the purple paint is dry, paint a cross on the purple circle on the top right hand side of the cross. This will remind you where to begin your journey each year, and the cross reminds us of the cross we receive on Ash Wednesday. I thought a lot about where to begin and end the journey; I decided that reminding us that Jesus descended from heaven into our humanity and was lifted up on the cross on Good Friday was an appropriate shape.
7. Using purple puffy paint, paint designs on the filled votive candle holder. I am allergic to most scents, and could only find white unscented votive candles, but you could certainly use purple candles, if desired. We will light this candle on each of the Sundays in Lent, as they are “little Easters” and do not count in the forty day journey.
7. Using a black paint marker, paint a cross on the backside of a flat-sided clear marble. I decided on the cross to remind us to carry the ash cross we receive on Ash Wednesday forward with us throughout Lent.
8. Assemble the cross, as shown. Print the accompanying instruction sheet for your reference: Journey Around the Cross Instructions 2016
God bless your cross-shaped Lenten journey!
This is the last week that Family God Time will be on sabbath before Lent. Check back next week for fresh new resources to feed your family’s faith during Lent!
In the meantime, you can check out this super-simple lesson on the Transfiguration of Jesus from Episcopal Digital Network:
Family God Time 