A Different Twist on Thanksgiving

I'm rummaging through my closet in the dark, using my fingers (not my eyes) to find something to wear and thought of you!

We take our God-given senses for granted until we lose them. Before I had cataract surgery I was using my fingertips to find clothes in a closet or drawer. How do you tell if something is clean if you can't see? Don't get grossed out. I'm just saying, that we take our senses for granted. Many Sunday Schools do a blind man's walking test to help make us better leaders and better followers. We can feel sorry for someone but that's not the point. They have strengths and abilities that we don't. We don't need them. We don't use them. The fact that human beings are even capable of growing such strengths and abilities is amazing. People who may be lacking sight or hearing or mobility draw on resources we don't draw on. They can do things that we can't. Man in particular, but every species, is fearfully and wonderfully made.

Sight: Divide your kids into groups of two or three. I like setting up a class so there is more participation and less waiting for turns. You will need one blind fold per group. Each group with have three pieces of clothes that feel different and three pieces of clothes that feel almost the same. Pick the T-shirt, pick the boy's dress shirt, pick the polo shirt. Set up one exercise that's particularly hard - three sweaters that feel the same but have different necklines or cardigan, V neck and pullover. Three knit shirts with different sleeve lengths. Three styles of shorts.

To appreciate hearing: watch a wildlife clip without sound. List all the things you don't hear. Then show it with the sound and see if you missed any sounds. Watch a real life movie (not animated) without the sound. Pick one that no one has seen before. Talk about it after. Watch it with the sound.

For taste and smell: pick some foods. Blind-folded, taste three cheeses that feel the same holding your nose. Taste them without holding your nose. Use three fruits that feel the same. See if you can tell what they are with just smell.  Use three leafy vegetables that feel the same. See if you can tell what they are with just taste.

To appreciate touch: when your kids come to class there is a new rule. You may not use your hands for anything.

For mobility: when your kids come to class there is a new rule. You can not walk or use your feet.

Go outside: Take the kids out when the seasons change. What's different? Individually or in groups, list all the things you see, all the things you hear, all the things you touch, all the things you smell, all the things you taste.

We need to make time to give thanks for all the things we take for granted. We have lots to be thankful for.

Emerging Kids started because I found myself part of a group of young believers who were launching something new. I was almost 50. I'd spent most of my life working with kids, mostly in church. It was a unique opportunity because we could take a moment to ask "Why?" Why are we doing this? What do the scriptures say?

Jesus said eternal life is to know Him. How will this activity help children and their families know God better - Father, Son, Holy Spirit - and believe?  How will it help us teach children to better love the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, strength and to love their neighbor as themself?

That's where Emerging Kids came from.

Keep asking questions. Another project: Search the scriptures for the people who asked God questions... When your kids first learn to plague you with the question, "Why?" see where the word "Why" shows up in the scriptures: Old Testament, Wisdom Books, New Testament, Jesus, Paul. Who was asking? Who was answering?

Someone posted a comment here but my computer keeps shutting down just as I finish writing my comment and right before I push the save button...so... Because of my uncooperative computer and the fact that the original post was posted in August so you might not notice the comment, let's reopen the discussion.

I agree with most of the comment and that wisdom is learned through life and living and making choices - not from the best teaching and learning curriculum, but as educators I think we need to take note that all of Proverbs is about learning wisdom. God commended Solomon for asking for wisdom. Somehow, somewhere in Solomon's life wisdom became a valuable commodity to him, more valuable than riches.

Every human being has opportunity to learn wisdom throughout their lifetime. Some people do, some don't and to greater or lesser degrees. Why? I would like to propose that it has something to do with how we learn to process life which I expect is affected by the learning environment we grow up in. For all the hours we spend in educational institutions over the course of our lifetime, where do we learn to focus on learning wisdom if someone in our family or faith community doesn't steer us in that direction?

Many cultures know who their "wise ones" are and those people are held in highest esteem for their wisdom. Did you ever send a child to a wise person for an answer? And I'm not talking about the internet. Wisdom is valued in scripture - more than gold but we don't think about it. We don't talk about it. We hardly notice it. When was the last time you heard an adult say to a child (or another adult for that matter) "That was a wise thing to say," or "That was a wise thing to do?" Do we encourage it? Can we encourage it? Without drawing undue attention to that which is by nature unassuming? If so, how? When is the last time any of us told that very wise person in our life, "Thank you! You are so wise!" When is the last time you heard a child say, "I want to be wise like so & so when I grow up. Pray for me to be wise."

That's all I mean...

I had a friend who used to read a different version of the scriptures when he read through the Bible each year. I've been using Holman's translation lately. You have to love children to minister to children but if you are going to teach the life-giving scriptures need to filter, feed and fill every fiber of your being, myself included.

If you looked up stories about hate (see previous post), did you look up stories about love? mercy? compassion? If you do a word study, read the story around the passage. Or see how many stories you can think of where God demonstrated His love, mercy, compassion and that's what the scriptures say is happening. Where are the stories in scripture about hate? Check out those stories.

Ecclesiastes 3 is full of contrast - a time for this, a time for that ... not just love and hate. The scriptures confirm that, but have you ever taken each of these and searched the scriptures for the "when"?

birth/death
plant/uproot
kill/heal
tear down/built up
weep/laugh
mourn/dance
throw stones/gather stones (Jesus had a story about that)
embrace/avoid embracing
search/count as lost
keep/throw away
tear/sew
be silent/speak
love/hate
war/peace

How many of these can you find in the scriptures? How many did Jesus talk about? What did He say?

Should probably go back through and tag all the posts about creation...better still, I put CREATION in the FIND box... Lots!!