12+ Favorite Activities for Easter (it’s all about Christ!)

So, yeah, the story of Easter is tough.

It is painful, soul-ripping, and gloriously beautiful.

In the end we find it’s a story of deep sacrifice, extraordinary love, and ultimate victory. But getting to that point can be quite excruciating.

At Christmas we fall in love with Jesus – God with us – right there as a babe in a feeding trough. And as we weave together pieces of His life written throughout the gospels, we can’t help but become more and more enamored with Him.

And then He’s crucified in the cruelest of ways.

It’s just tough. Maybe one of the reasons some of us find it easier to talk with our kids about bunnies and chicks and chocolate eggs and jelly beans?

But it’s a true story. And it’s a story we desperately need.

His life, His sacrifice, His forgiveness, His power, His victory, His love! Oh how I long for more and more of Him! And how I desire for my children to understand this beautiful, passionate story lived out and written for each one of us.

And so I’d like to share with you some of our (silly, wacky, fun, growing) family’s favorite (simple) ways to be drenched in Christ at Easter time!

1. A family devotional for Easter – 10 days to focus on HIM, the immensity of His love, and the transformative power of Christ’s death and resurrection!

This is what you will find each day of this Easter family devotional:
Read: A Scripture passage to read together and focus on for the day.
-and/or-
Listen: Opportunities to listen to the story from The Kidz Audio Bible… our kids LOVE this!
If you’d like to download the entirety of the Kidz Audio Bible, you can go here.
-and/or-
Bible Storybook Connection: We’ll read from a variety of our favorite storybook Bibles. Here is where I’ll share our top choice(s) for that days reading with you, but feel free to use any you already have in your home. (Honestly, we have some other favorites now, so I’ll add those in if I get a chance.)

Activity: A quick, simple activity to help remember the truths we are reading.

Basket Link: Each day we will add a little something to our “Family Easter Basket” as a symbol of what we are learning.

Prayer: A short prayer to pray that day.

Extra: Anything extra I’ve found to share with you!

Starting on Palm Sunday – or whenever you are ready – simply click on the links or pictures below to take you to that day’s fun! 🙂

The Triumphant Entry – {Day 1 – Palm Sunday}…

Anointed With the Heart – {Day 2}…

Christ’s Example to Serve – {Day 3}…

The Last Supper – {Day 4}…

Prayer in the Garden – {Day 5}…

His Sacrifice – {Day 6 – Good Friday}…

Buried in the Tomb – {Day 7}…

He is Risen! {Resurrection Sunday}…

Remember {After Holy Week}…

Always {The Final Day… For Now}…

Download your own supply list for these ten days of focusing little (& big) hearts on Jesus!
Most items can be found in your art supply cabinet or pantry, and almost everything is interchangeable. (If you don’t have a gold Easter egg, use a yellow one. If you don’t have grape juice, use purple-colored water…) And If you don’t have time for all the activities, that’s just fine! Use it as a guide to help you make Easter about Him. The goal is to lead our kids to Christ by helping them get to know the Good News! 🙂

Don’t have time for 10 days of Easter activities!? That’s okay!! Do one or two, or choose another one of our favorites below:

2. Stained-Glass Crosses (Made with melted crayons & wax paper.)

3. Easter Egg Prayers (Two ways to pray using plastic Easter eggs. – Oh my heart, look how tiny my Annabella girl was!!)

4. Tell the Story While Dying Easter Eggs (Each color is a reminder of the story.)

5. Resurrection Rolls– This is something my kids will not let me forget each year. They love these SO much!
*Dip large marshmallow in melted butter (the marshmallow represents “Jesus”).
*Roll in cinnamon-sugar and/or brown sugar (representing the spices they would use to anoint Jesus’s body)
*Wrap the marshmallow with crescent roll dough- sealing the edges tightly (representing the tomb)
*Cook in the oven according to package directions.
*When finished baking, take out of the oven & enjoy!
How fun to see that the “tomb is empty,” but even more fun to talk about how surprised His friends must have been that Jesus had come back to life! Praise the Lord, He is alive today!
 

6. Easter Scavenger Hunt (A simple Easter Scavenger Hunt for Easter morning. While searching for “treasures,” tell the true Easter story. Usually my children’s “Something NEW” item is their Easter basket. Feel free to download/print your own copy.)

7. Fill Easter Baskets With Christ (put the items from your scavenger hunt in the basket, use resurrection eggs, or fill with a new Bible, devotional, prayer journal, etc.)

8. Read, Listen To, and Talk About the True Easter Story (Adorn the Good News of Christ in everything! ~Here’s a wonderful collection of stories on the kidz-audio-Bible)

9. Watercolor crosses

10. Cross silhouettes

11. Beautiful salt-dough crosses

12. Wordless Book

Praying that God will use these (simple but sweet) activities to work miracles in little and big hearts this Easter season.

Making Your Own Prayer Scrapbook

We’ve spent weeks coming to know our most incredible God.

And the more I come to know Him, the more awe-struck I am that He desires for us to call out to Him with words and tears and joy-filled thanks.

And yet, it’s so easy (maybe even more so as a family) to get stuck in our prayers. We mindlessly pray the same prayers over and over again, as if it’s some chore to simply check off the list when it’s done.

But, oh, how I desire for our prayers to be deeper than that.

Colossians Family {Bible} Time – Week 9
(Corresponds with this week’s Colossians Bible Study!)

So with Colossians 4:2 ringing in our ears, we’ve been filling up a humble scrapbook with pictures and words and colorful drawings – each as a sweet reminder of prayer.

And when your whole family is watching for opportunities to pray? The pages fill up fast.

All you need is a notebook, scrapbook, or album to tape in pictures of people/things to pray for (mom and dad on their anniversary, a birthday girl, a band-aid for that owie, a soldier carrying the flag, your family, friends, neighbors, leaders, church, work, city, country, hurts, fears, joys, blessings…). And scribble and draw your own prayers right on the pages.

Continue to add to it throughout the year(s), and soon you will have a treasured keepsake with pages raw from heartfelt prayers.

Colossians Family {Bible} Times:
#1 Colossians Introduction “When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness”
#2 Colossians 1:1-2 “10 Dramatic Ways to Get Our Kids to Love the Bible”
#3 Colossians 1:3-14 “10 Fun Ways to Encourage Kids to Pray”
#4 Colossians 1:15-23 “One Simple Way to Share the Gospel With Kids”
#5 Colossians 1:24-2:5 “A Favorite Hiding Place for Kids”
#6 Colossians 2:6-23 “An Experiment for Those Sin Filled Days”
#7 Colossians 3:1-17 “Sharing the Gospel With Kids – With Lots of Dirt”
#8 Colossians 3:18-4:1 “Getting Kids to Obey”

Getting Kids to Obey!

Often times I feel like this whole parenting thing is this extravagant experiment.

Maybe in some ways we’re all looking for that magic formula to get our kids to obey.

And, if I’m honest, I don’t feel any more equipped now to raise these half a dozen awesome kids of ours than I did ten and a half years ago when this beautiful journey of patience and grace, discipline and love, laughter and tears all began.

I’m figuring out this parenting thing every day just like many of you. We try stuff. We keep what works and try something new for what doesn’t. Just when we think something’s really starting to go well, variables change and we start all over again. Some days I handle the hard stuff better than other days.

Especially in the last few years, God has been working in the deep places of my heart on the whole issue of getting our kids to obey. It’s been raw and real and yet so good. Hopefully I’ll get brave enough to share more about that in the coming months. (At the end of this post, you can read a little piece of my heart on all this.)

But for now, I want to share one fun way to talk with our kids about obedience.

It’s not a formula.

Your children will not wake up the next morning suddenly cured of their disobedient ways. (At least, none of mine did.)

But, it’s a fun activity to show the importance of obedience, and it’s all done when they’re (hopefully) not disobeying.

Colossians Family {Bible} Time – Week 8
(Corresponds with this week’s Colossians Bible Study)

All you need is a recipe and the ingredients to bake delicious cookies (with some extras for a batch that doesn’t turn out so well).

Include your children in whipping up a batch of their favorite cookies. Make sure to follow the directions. As you’re measuring and mixing, talk about the importance of carefully listening to and following the instructions.

As the first batch is baking, make a second, smaller batch of cookies that don’t turn out so well. As you’re throwing in various amounts of ingredients tell them that you don’t feel like following the instructions this time. (You can choose whether to have them turn out terribly bad, even burning them if you’d like – or – simply double the oil of your original batch, making the cookies meld together when baked. The first option may make a larger impression. The second option has a bit of a redeeming quality to it, as then you can use it on top of ice-cream. And, yes, God certainly does use even our disobedience for good.)

As you are sampling the cookies, read through Colossians 3:18-4:1. Use this to lead into a discussion on not only the importance of obeying, but also on the beauty in working at everything as working for the Lord.

Let the taste of those cookies be a sweet, gentle reminder of living in a way that pleases Him.

Oh, how God was working in my heart right during this family time.

I realized that sometimes I think we lump other challenging issues in with disobedience. A struggle with a sibling turns into disobedience when I tell them to “just get along.” How many times do I miss the deeper heart issue going on because I’ve labeled it as disobedience?

And, maybe I’m not very clear on my instructions. Maybe they can’t read them. Maybe they can’t understand them. I certainly wouldn’t expect my four-year-old to know what I meant when I asked her to simply add a half cup of flour. But are there other areas where I do expect obedience when they’re not really capable?

Or, maybe there are times when they’ve simply forgotten the instructions. Am I patient and kind enough to explain the directions again? Because the Lord knows what a horrible memory I have.

And, often times we just make mistakes. In highschool, my cousin and I made a batch of cookies – accidentally putting in powdered sugar instead of flour. It started a fire with a whole lot of smoke. But we had had these great intentions to surprise my aunt and uncle. Do I recognize when disobedience is unintentional? Am I gracious and forgiving whether it is or not? And am I truly modeling obedience so my children know what it looks like?

One more thought – it’s not bad to tweak recipes. It might turn out differently. It might end up a whole lot different than I had planned. But just because I like things done my way doesn’t necessarily mean it is the right way or the better way. Yes, there are certain ingredients that must be there, but I think there needs to be some flexibility in what that looks like. Some like chewy cookies; some like crispy ones; I prefer the dough before it’s even been baked. 🙂 Each of our kids is unique and each is good at different things. Am I willing to allow for their individuality and beautiful variety?

All that from a batch (or two) of cookies.

Colossians Family {Bible} Times:
#1 Colossians Introduction “When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness”
#2 Colossians 1:1-2 “10 Dramatic Ways to Get Our Kids to Love the Bible”
#3 Colossians 1:3-14 “10 Fun Ways to Encourage Kids to Pray”
#4 Colossians 1:15-23 “One Simple Way to Share the Gospel With Kids”
#5 Colossians 1:24-2:5 “A Favorite Hiding Place for Kids”
#6 Colossians 2:6-23 “An Experiment for Those Sin Filled Days”
#7 Colossians 3:1-17 “Sharing the Gospel With Kids – With Lots of Dirt”

Sharing the Gospel With Kids (With Lots of Dirt!)

There’s this favorite Family {Bible} Time of ours. We love it so much that I think we do a version of it at least once a year. (And on this hot summer day we opted for the swimming suit edition.)

It’s a precious way to share the truths of the gospel with our kids. And the conversations that bubble up and out from little hearts for weeks afterwards – are truly priceless.

But please don’t mistake that for my way of saying it was the “perfect” family time!  At first one refused to participate at all, and others were fighting over something I can’t even remember right now. And as I was reading the Bible, one of my precious children would not stop whistling. No, Family Time isn’t “perfect” at our house. – And please don’t mistake me for that “Super Mommy” who does all those fun things with her kids. No, my dirty heart was just as ugly as I tried to wrangle them all together, because this-is-going-to-be-fun (whether you like it or not). My attitude made for good (really bad) examples of having a dirty heart. 😦 So thankful for His pure grace!

Colossians Family {Bible} Time –  Week 7
(Corresponds with this week’s Colossians Bible Study!)

It all began with reading these words right from Colossians 3:1-17.

And with every sin the mud got splattered on. It didn’t take long for the jumping, throwing, and smearing to take over. Although no one did lie right down and roll in the dirt. (And we never did convince a certain four-year-old to join in the spattering.)

Yeah, often times sinning can be fun, but in the end – it looks and feels awful.

But because of Christ, we can be rid of all this dirt.

Jesus is the one that takes our sin away, but we have a part to play – we still need to choose to “turn on the hose and stand in its spray” if you will.

And as we are rid of all the yuck, we have another choice – a choice to clothe ourselves with virtues of Christ.

Compassion. Kindness. Humility. Gentleness. Patience. Forgiveness. LOVE. Peace. Thankfulness.

For just as it is important for us to wear real clothes – some of us taking painstaking amounts of time on what to wear outwardly – it’s even more important that we put on these virtues of Christ. As Christ is working in our hearts, what a joy it is to put effort and time into beautifully clothing ourselves with what honors Him.

And, yeah, they might slip off now and then.

But we just keep putting them on and putting them on.

And there – as we talked about the disobeying and arguing and grumpiness and sin that took place moments earlier – was the beautiful opportunity to talk once again of how Jesus is the ONLY way that we can be clean on the inside!

Such a precious way of showing on the outside what Jesus has done on the inside! As well as how we have a part in choosing to put off the sin in our lives and to put on righteousness. Yes, we will fail – miserably many days. But the more I come to know God, the more I want to emulate Him and walk with my heart set on Him!

Learning to put off sin and to emulate Christ!

The sweet lessons as we learn to walk as holy and dearly loved children of God!

(Those virtue cards are now hanging on our bathroom mirror – a sweet little reminder to keep living this new life in Him.)

For some other – not quite so muddy – versions of this family time go here, here, or here. 🙂

Colossians Family {Bible} Times:
#1 Colossians Introduction “When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness”
#2 Colossians 1:1-2 “10 Dramatic Ways to Get Our Kids to Love the Bible”
#3 Colossians 1:3-14 “10 Fun Ways to Encourage Kids to Pray”
#4 Colossians 1:15-23 “One Simple Way to Share the Gospel With Kids”
#5 Colossians 1:24-2:5 “A Favorite Hiding Place for Kids”
#6 Colossians 2:6-23 “An Experiment for Those Sin Filled Days”

An Experiment for Those Sin Filled Days

This summer has been a whirlwind of crazy, fun, hard, beautiful days. And this week we’re finally all home (minus Daddy for part of the week). When we picked up the oldest girls from Bible camp last week their counselors boasted of how wonderfully the three sisters got along. On the way home, we hadn’t even pulled off of camp’s long, dirt driveway before we realized that maybe we’d all been saving up a week’s worth of arguing and bad attitudes.

And this experiment? We’ve been wanting to try it for a long time. And today ended up being the perfect day to talk about sin and Christ and you and me.

YOU & ME – SIN – JESUS
It’s the beautiful, most wonderful gospel message in it’s simplest form.

There is sin in you and me.
“…when you were dead in your sins…” – Colossians 2:13
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” – Romans 3:23
“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” – 1 John 1:8
This sin separates us from God and leads to death.

Jesus never sinned! But He loved us so much that through His death, He took on our sins, nailing them to the cross.
“…He has taken it [our sins] away, nailing it to the cross.” – Colossians 1:14b

God has forgiven all the sin of you and me!
“When you were dead in your sins and in the circumcision of your flesh, God made you alive in Christ. He forgave us all our sins.” – Colossians 2:13
He’s done the excruciating work. We just need to receive Him as Lord and continue to walk in Him – continually letting Him fill us.
“…just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him.” – Colossians 1:6
“And in Christ you have been brought to fullness…” – Colossians 2:10a

And He has completely wiped away the sins of the world – making us blameless and pure before Him.
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” – 1 John 2:2
“But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.” – Colossians 1:22

What a glorious, beautiful, most wonderful story – that we get to be a part of!

A story and a simple experiment that we replayed over and over and over again – definitely worth the extra trip to the store.

Colossians Family Bible Time – Week 6
(Correlates with this week’s Colossians Bible Study!) ~ Focusing on verses 6-10 of Colossians 2.

YOU + ME = 100% Water
SIN = 90% Water and 10% Iodine
JESUS = 90% Water and 10% Bleach

And the kids can hardly wait to show the experiment to Daddy when he gets home! 🙂

Colossians Family {Bible} Times:
#1 Colossians Introduction “When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness”
#2 Colossians 1:1-2 “10 Dramatic Ways to Get Our Kids to Love the Bible”
#3 Colossians 1:3-14 “10 Fun Ways to Encourage Kids to Pray”
#4 Colossians 1:15-23 “One Simple Way to Share the Gospel With Kids”
#5 Colossians 1:24-2:5 “A Favorite Hiding Place for Kids”

A Favorite Hiding Place for Kids (Colossians Family Time #5)

I’ve spent the week with these three awesome, beautiful, crazy, fun kids of mine.

The other half spent the week at Bible camp. (Somehow everything has seemed a whole lot simpler and harder with them gone.)

The flip-flopping stomach and teary eyes of this mama didn’t even start until a couple hours after we dropped those smiling girls off at their cabin and waved good-bye. It was in the pitch-blackness of Kohl’s when all I could see with the light of my phone was the storm brewing right over camp – that’s when the tears came.

Yeah, thanks to this year’s weather, “tornado” will forever be right up at the top of my list of things to try not to worry about while they’re at camp.

Thankfully, by the time we made our way home, we knew all were safe, and the rest of the week has been a sweet blessing.

And, these three!? They’ve just kept stealing my heart. I knew I wanted to do something special just for them.

Colossians Family {Bible} Time – Week 5
(Correlates with this week’s Colossians Bible Study!)

With the words of Colossians ringing through my soul, a humble tent made of a hula hoop and old sheets was hung from our tree.

But before they could enter their “bestest-tent-ever” they’d need to go on a treasure hunt to find the hidden code.

Feet ran around the yard and eyes peeked high and low to find slips of paper that had the words of Colossians 2:3 written on with white crayon – “All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him [Christ].”

Streaks of watercolor were painted on top to reveal the code.

And it didn’t take long before the words were put in order and strung inside the tent.

And hidden in their new favorite place, we read Colossians 1:24-2:5 and talked about how amazing it is to seek and to find and to share the incredible treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden in Christ.

There is no greater treasure that I want my children to long for, seek, search, and find – than CHRIST!

And what better place to talk about this most precious treasure – than hidden away in a fairytale like tent on this beautiful summer day!?

And, yes, they have been in there just about ALL-DAY-LONG! 🙂

*To make the tent – tie rope to the sides of a hula hoop to hang from up high – pin old sheets (curtains/shower curtains/fabric) to a hula hoop – decorate with ribbons if you’d like – hang – add blankets and pillows – enjoy! 🙂

Colossians Family {Bible} Times:
#1 Colossians Introduction “When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness”
#2 Colossians 1:1-2 “10 Dramatic Ways to Get Our Kids to Love the Bible”
#3 Colossians 1:3-14 “10 Fun Ways to Encourage Kids to Pray”
#4 Colossians 1:15-23 “One Simple Way to Share the Gospel With Kids”

One Simple Way to Share the Gospel with Kids {Colossians Family Time #4}

Oh, this beautiful story of Truth and Reconciliation,

Of great Forgiveness and Grace,

Of a Savior who reigns Supreme,

Yet gloriously gives of Himself in Love and Sacrifice –

For us.

This is the Story I want my kids to know and love and claim as their very own – not just at Easter time, but every week, every day, every moment of their lives.

And that’s what this week’s Family {Bible} Time is all about!

Colossians Family {Bible} Time – Week 4
(Correlates with this week’s Colossians Bible Study!)

Before you start, gather some supplies. You’ll need a mirror (any mirror larger than your child’s head will do. It was a nice day, so we took a mirror outside, otherwise we would have used our bathroom mirror.), masking tape or painters tape, and shaving cream (if you don’t have shaving cream, you could substitute with erase board markers, finger paints, sticky oatmeal, mud, etc. – obviously take note of the mess it will most likely make, and make sure you will be able to get it off in the end – we ended up using whipped cream because that’s what we had on hand, but shaving cream is my favorite option), your Bible, and (if you’d like) this free handout of these instructions.

Read Colossians 1:15-23 together – using your “props” to tell the story…

When reading about how Christ is the image of God (vs. 15), have them look into the mirror. Briefly explain what an “image” is.

When talking of how all things were created by Him and for Him (vs. 16&17) have your children try to grab a pile of air and “create” something out of it. Talk about how only God can create something out of nothing, and how only He can hold all things together.

When reading of how Christ is the firstborn from the dead (first to be raised from the dead to never die again), and of His blood shed on the cross (vs. 18-20) tape a cross to the mirror.

When reading of how we were alienated from God, enemies of Him in our minds because of our sins (vs.21) have them think of sins that they have done. (This wasn’t too hard for my kids to think of, as they’d been kicking and shoving each other off and on since we headed out the door with a Bible and a mirror. – Just keeping it real.) For every sin they think of, they should put a glob of shaving cream on the mirror.

Talk about how sometimes sin is fun, and can even look beautiful at the time. Other times sin just makes a big sticky mess. But, no matter how they may feel or look, all those evil deeds separate us from God.

When reading about how we have been reconciled to (made right with) God through Christ’s death on the cross and how we are made holy in his sight (vs. 22) – have them go quickly wash off their hands. As they are gone, remove the tape from the mirror. As they return, they will be amazed by the cross that shines through. Talk about how Christ’s death on the cross made a way for us to be made right with God… our sins are gone… we are blameless and holy… without sin!

Read the last verse (vs. 23) which talks about being firm in the faith, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel (which is the good news of Jesus that we just shared with them!). Have each child look into the mirror, and talk about how God sees them through the incredible work of Jesus on the cross. They too can be firm in their faith and servants of Him.

Do you believe this?
Do you know that God has reconciled you to Himself through the incredible work of Christ?
How are you sharing this good news with others?

{Oh, and when you’re ready… go wash off the mirror! :)}

You may recognize this Family {Bible} Time from a few years ago. We’re all about repeating lessons to make them stick in the hearts and minds of our children. – And, now I know shaving cream works better. 🙂 Press on, dear friends! Do whatever you can to pour the gospel into the souls of your children, and watch God do His mighty work in their lives.

Colossians Family {Bible} Times:
#1 Colossians Introduction “When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness”
#2 Colossians 1:1-2 “10 Dramatic Ways to Get Our Kids to Love the Bible”
#3 Colossians 1:3-14 “10 Fun Ways to Encourage Kids to Pray”

10 Fun Ways to Encourage Kids to Pray {Colossians Family Time #3}

Sure, we’re this sinful, striving, ordinary family – with kids that bicker and whine something fierce, and parents in desperate need of a Savior. And, yeah, there’s that darkness often surrounding.

But somehow in this crazy world, the God of all grace, love, light, and hope whispers truth and speaks straight to hearts. And this Redeemer and King desires for us to call out to Him with words and tears and joyful thanks.

Always.

Colossians Family {Bible} Time – Week 3
(Correlates with this week’s Colossians Bible Study!)

*Read: Colossians 1:1-14 together.
{Extra: See if your kids can count how many times prayer, asking or thanking God for something, is specifically mentioned in these fourteen verses. – We counted five.}

*Talk about how verse 9 says “…we haven’t stopped praying for you…” and how we, too, should continually have an attitude of prayer.
{If your kids are old enough, list the ways that Paul prayed for the believers in Colossae – thanking God, asking that they’d be filled with the knowledge of His will, etc.}

*Choose one or more of these fun ways to encourage kids to pray, and then PRAY together!

1. PRAYER BOOKS – Use a little photo album or book to put pictures of people in. Encourage your child to pray for each individual as he/she pages through the book.

2. PRAYER JOURNALS – Give each child a journal to write and/or draw prayers to God in.

3. FAMILY PRAYER SCRAPBOOK – Use a notebook, scrapbook, or album to tape in pictures of people/things to pray for and also to write in or draw your own prayers. Continue to add to it throughout the year(s) for a treasured keepsake.
{We’ve started our own Family Prayer Scrapbook for this week’s Colossians Family Bible Time. I love the mixture of prayers for family and safe travels – as we’ve been visiting family this week – mixed with heartfelt words of thanks to our great God who has rescued us from darkness. Be watching for more details on how to make your own in the weeks to come!}

4. PRAYER BOX – Fill a box with simple items reminding you of different ways to pray. (A party horn could be a reminder to praise God, a Band-Aid to pray for the hurting, and a washcloth to ask God to forgive and cleanse us…)

5. CHALKBOARD PRAYERS – Write out prayers and/or prayer requests on a chalkboard. This would be a great place to make a giant list of all you are thankful for.

6. PRAYER ROCKS – Find a special rock (or paint your own) to put on your pillow. When you lie down, the rock will remind you to pray. Toss it on the floor. When your foot finds it in the morning, pray once again. Then put it back on your pillow and repeat.

7. PRAYER JAR – Put names and/or prayer requests in a jar, basket, or any container. Pull out one or two or three at each meal and pray for those people.

8. POPCORN PRAYERS – Pray whatever “pops” into your head. (And, for extra fun, have some popcorn to eat.)

9. SPECIAL CARD PRAYERS (Christmas and Valentines’ cards, graduation and birth announcements, etc.) – Save these special cards and pray for the families that sent them to you.

10. {PAINTED} HANDS OF PRAYER – Make a collage of painted handprints. With each handprint made, say a prayer. Or, simply use your hand as a guide for prayer. Wiggle your thumb and praise God; wiggle your index finger and ask for forgiveness; wiggle your middle finger and tell God your needs; then with your ring finger pray for your family, when you get to your pinkie pray for a part of the world (that you feel so tiny in). Then clap your hands together in thanks to God.

11. {BONUS!} MUSICAL PRAYERS – Sing a prayer song, or make up your own.

* For little ones and those reluctant prayers – here are some of our favorite (short and sweet) ways of teaching about prayer to our children!

Oh, what could happen if we were to become families of prayer!?

Colossians Family {Bible} Times:
#1 Colossians Introduction “When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness”
#2 Colossians 1:1-2 “10 Dramatic Ways to Get Our Kids to Love the Bible”

10 Dramatic Ways to Get Kids to Love the Bible! {Colossians Family Time #2}

I don’t know about you, but I want my kids to love the Bible.

For God uses this Book penned straight from His heart to touch souls – young and old – and to change lives for our good and His glory.

The more I read it and the more I see the mighty and gracious hand of God written across each page, the more I long for each word to be deeply inscribed on my heart and on the hearts of my children.

But I know there’s tough stuff in these pages.

There’s war and famine and a whole lot of sin. There’s cruelty and betrayal and even brutal murder.

But dripping throughout these words is an incredible love story –

Of forgiveness and redemption, new life and glory.

And I do not, do not, do not want my kids to miss it. For they, too, are a part of this precious story.

Colossians Family {Bible} Time – Week 2
(Correlates with this week’s Colossians Bible Study!)

Although it’s nothing fancy and we won’t be winning any Oscars, one of our favorite ways to make the Bible come alive is to dramatize it.

And since we are piercing the darkness of our hearts and kindling sparks of Truth and gleaming God’s Light through the book of Colossians this summer – what better way to get to know the man God used to scratch out these words, but to act out slices of his life’s journey.

So we flip through the pages of the Bible right into the book of Acts to see what God has done in the life of Paul.

Humble costumes are put on, and props are dragged out – blankets as water, and boxes as boats, and that old rickety shelf makes such an interesting prison.

And here under the crabapple tree, right next to the garden, the Bible comes to life in the eyes of my children.

As we learn of the stories of a man who was transformed by Jesus – we find an ordinary man, one who at first was so wrapped up in what he thought was right that he was blinded to the truth, and later was so dazzled by the Light of Christ that his life changed completely. A man who became bold enough to preach the gospel, but knew it had to start with fixing our eyes on Jesus.

He was real and he was broken, yet God loved him deeply and used him in marvelous ways.

And as the scenes play out in front of us, we see our lives too, as if they were written right there on the pages.

Sinful, striving, ordinary people – made lovely by an extraordinary God – it’s breathtaking.

Our 10 {Favorite} Dramatic Ways to Get Kids to Love the Bible:

1. Act it out – with or without costumes, props, and lightsabers. 😉

2. Put on a puppet show (make your own puppets).

3. Build the scene with Legos or blocks and use little people to tell the story.

4. Illustrate it (color or paint a picture).

5. Compose a song about the story (use a tune you know, or make up your own).

6. Make it into your own book.

7. Construct the characters and scenery out of clay or play-dough.

8. Record an audio drama – your own “radio theatre.”

9. Brain-storm a modern version of the story.

10. Make a movie of it.

11. {bonus!} Call a friend or relative to tell about it.

Any way to make these stories come to life in the hearts of our children.

***Some stories of Paul in the Bible (all found in the Acts of the Apostles): His persecution of believers (Acts 7:58-8:3), Saul’s conversion (Acts 9), Paul commissioned and first missionary journey (Acts 13), persecuted by Jews (Acts 9:22-25), second missionary journey (Acts 16), Paul and Silas in prison (Acts 16:16-40), third missionary journey (Acts 19), Paul arrested (Acts 21:26-) shipwreck and travels (Acts 27-28)… and many more (Here’s a good list.)***

Colossians {Bible} Times: #1 Colossians Introduction “When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness”

When Our Kids Need Light in the Darkness {Colossians Family Time #1}

We’ve got these kids.

And we’ve got our fair share of darkness.

Grubby shoes and grimy hands and muck all over the hidden places of our hearts.

Yeah. That. Just ask my bickering, pulling-out-hair yesterday how I know.

But there isn’t one filthy, tainted heart that God can’t redeem.

There isn’t one aching, black heart that can’t be wiped right clean and transformed in His grace.

And there isn’t one of my kids’ whining, fighting, name-calling, broken hearts that God can’t shine through and light up for His glory.

Only God can change their hearts.

But what an honor to bring them to the arms of the One who is Light.

So, here we go – though dirt-stained and cowering – kindling young hearts and reflecting the Light, trusting that He will work deeply in their lives and ours, causing each one to be illuminated in Him.

Colossians Family {Bible} Time – Week 1
(Correlates with this week’s Colossians Bible Study!)

And this week was simple – maybe that’s all it needs to be.

Grabbing a picnic blanket and snacks and stained glass decorations* (because, or course), and then sitting right under the crab apple tree.

And we talked of the darkness in our lives.

And we talked about what would happen if we let God’s light shine in and through.

Then I shared of how God wants us to be transformed by Him.

And, no, that doesn’t mean we still won’t feel the aching or have very dark times in our lives – but we can know more of Jesus through the pages of His Book. We can come to Him and trust Him, and He will gleam His glorious beautiful light.

So we started with listening to Colossians – with only one stop in the middle. And, yes, little ones were rolling all around on the grass or knocking the ladder causing the CD to keep skipping. But, it was a start – those twelve minutes – just piercing the darkness of their hearts, and kindling those sparks of Truth.

And it could be just me, but it seemed like when we were done, the dirt-stains were much lighter.

And though simple and nothing overly fancy – a couple of my kids have already asked if we could do Family {Bible} Time like this again every week.

*Earlier in the day my kids helped make the stained glass art. We had all sorts of fun as we tried out different ways of making decorations for my niece’s graduation party next week. Except for a broken pan – everything turned out beautifully. We made melted bead sun-catchers, stained glass bunting, and dazzling beaded crosses. Some of our ideas came from The Artful Parent.

Some “Behind the Scenes” Information of our Colossians Family {Bible} Times…

– Each week I’ll share one little way our family is teaching our kids about God and His Word. If you’re like me, you may be wondering how this is even possible with the littlest of ones. And reading a whole Bible passage? You can’t even imagine how that could possibly happen. But, ponder this- in Bible times, men, women, and children (of all ages) would stand for hours listening to the Law. HOURS! GULP! It only took me twelve minutes to read through Colossians earlier today, and although I was reading it to myself and it was an easier-to-read translation (NLT), that was with a number of interruptions in the middle. But if those twelve minutes are just too much, don’t worry – you are not alone! I want to challenge you, but not completely overwhelm you! There will come a day when little ones will not be crawling all over you or trying to color on your Bible as you are reading. For now, find some creative ways to accommodate – read during meals (when mouths are full and littlest ones are strapped in), let them color on their own paper as you read, have them listen for key words (ex. “clap every time you hear the word grace!”)… for older children, ask them to think of questions and/or to share what they learned through the reading.

– My kids are ages 4 to 10 years old, so each Family {Bible} Time is written with their ages in mind. So, the activities are tailored to their ages, but should be easily adaptable. A number of other family time ideas will also be given on each week’s study guide – feel free to use those as a replacement to or in addition to the ideas I’ve chosen to do with our family.

– There is no right or wrong way to do Family {Bible} Time as long as you’re getting your kids into the Word of God and they’re seeing your passion for God’s Truth. So if you don’t get to the “fun” stuff, or that’s just not your cup of tea, that’s just fine!! Nowhere in the Bible does it say, “Thou shalt have Family {Bible} Time, making the Bible fun and engaging.” However, the Bible DOES say, “These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.” (Deuteronomy 6:6-8) These activities are just one way to help you out along the way. You can follow the directions exactly, or simply use them as a backdrop for your own creative ideas – each family is different, do what works for you!

– There also isn’t a set time you have to do Family {Bible} Time! Right now in our family, my husband reads straight from the Bible to our kids almost every night. These Colossians Family {Bible} Times will most likely all be done when he is working and we’re needing an activity to get us through a day that’s straggling on. So, find a time that works for you, and gather your kids and your Bible.

– Yes, sometimes my Family {Bible} Time ideas completely flop. My kids are grouchy, I’m grouchy, my husband and I aren’t on the same page, children are hanging off the couches, children don’t want to sit by each other… So, know that when your kids get wiggly, or maybe downright sinful – know that happens in my house too. 😉 Sometimes it’s okay to put it to the side and try again later; sometimes it’s better to just persevere through. Yet please know that the enemy WILL attack, as he will do anything in his power to keep you and your precious kids from learning about God and His Word together. (But, don’t forgot our God is stronger!)

– My hope in sharing these Family {Bible} Time ideas with you, is not only to get you and your families to engage with the Bible, and to make this a wonderful place of accountability for our families, but also to help get you thinking creatively so that you can come up with simple (does not have to be fancy at all) ideas that you can do on your own with your families.

– And, one last thing, please know you don’t have to be doing the Colossians Bible Study with us to take part in the corresponding Colossians Family {Bible} Times! They are written so that you can do them together or separately, and can jump in at any time! But, I’d LOVE to have you seek God and His heart with me while studying Colossians.

Now, grab those little ones, and let’s start lighting up the darkness together.

{We’d love to know if you’re joining us!}