from the lectionery:

Numbers 6:22-27: Not sure how old I was when I learned this benediction. There's God's shining face again...When did God bless them? Before He was totally annoyed with them or after?

Psalm 8: Verse 2 mentions infants & babies. The contrast between "what is man...?" and the fact that He's given man "dominion" is seems mind-boggling to me ...

Galatians 4:6
(still looking for kids) "And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God." I think one of the books I reviewed explored this in depth. Not sure which one.

Philippians 2:5-11
Someone made the comment that "every" would include children. When you visualize what vs 10-11 might look like, include children of all ages.

Luke 2:15-21 I've been pondering this passage a lot this season. The shepherds looked after animals all day. They were outside all day most days? everyday? And the angels came and sang to them. They were the first to hear this amazing life shattering announcement. They left their sheep to go and check it out. You don't just leave a field full of sheep untended. Maybe they left someone behind. Maybe they took the sheep. We don't really know...Apparently they verbal, they were credible. They exclaimed to people and people listened. More importantly, they exclaimed to God! You think God has a special place in his heart for sheep & shepherds? :-)

You may find some new ones on this list...ministry-to-children.com

Here's the readings from this week's lectionery

...Looking for kids...

Isaiah 7:10-16 We think about the miracle of the virgin birth, the promise of God fullfilled. I think about an unwed teen mother and the range of emotion she must have experienced. Mary called her son Immanuel "God with us."

At what age are kids old enough to refuse evil and choose good?An interesting point of reference... Is it cultural?

Psalm 80:1-7, 17-19
How long will you be angry O Lord? Let your face shine. I don't really think about God that way, the God with the shining face. What does that look like to kids? People with shining faces? What makes somebody's face shine? Do you have kids who know about eating the bread and drinking the drink of tears? How about laughing enemies? Here is a picture of God: the Good Shepherd enthroned on cherubim shining forth. People calling to their shepherd, "Stir up your might! Come and save us! Make your face shine on us." A call to the Shepherd, not the soldier...never noticed that before.

Romans 1:1-7 The season of advent is full of Old Testament prophecy. The Christmas story, the Easter Story- full of Old Testament prophecy. What is prophecy? Have you or your kids ever watched God bring His Word to pass? What was that like? What was it like for people around Jesus? The passage starts about Paul & prophecy. It ends up being about Jesus.

Matthew 1:18-25 Here is more of Mary's story and that of a very gracious man, apparently sensitive to the spirit of God as Mary was. It seems God sovereignly chose them. Imagine. Mary & Joseph believed God. How did they know it was Him? I don't know. We all assume they just knew. If I remember right the scriptures say that every word of the Lord - if it is the Word of the Lord -comes to pass...a season of odd happenings, prophecy fullfilled, answered prayer & God's face shining.

An image for you. My daughter recently had opportunity to introduce my sister at a Women's Christmas Tea. My sister is a nurse, single. She finds ways to give to people. She's done a lot of misssionary work over the years. Now she's looking out for & caring for my parents. My sister A was in the Phillipines when my daughter M was born. I was disappointed because I really wanted them to know each other. A moved back and a couple of years ago M had opportunity to live with A for a season. One of the things she said in her introduction was that when she thought of A, she thought of Jesus. When she thought of Jesus, she thought of A. After they finished we told her, there's no higher complement than that. M was surprised but pleased.

People will tell you there's something about holding a real book in your hands. M's a craftsman. She's always been a very tactile, kinesthetic kid. Now, in her free time, she works with fabric and searches out very soft yarns. M said, "When I pick up Aunt A's Bible, the pages are so soft..." Just an image for you before you and your children all go virtual on us...

Pondering lectionary passages

So I pulled some scriptures out of the lectionary and posted them below only because those particular verses jumped out at me for whatever reason or I saw something I hadn't noticed before...

If you use the lectionary in your church or want the fun of using it for devotions. . . This is The Revised Common Lectionary at the Vanderbilt Divinity Library. You'll see the year and the link on the left when you click.

Go looking for kids. You can use Bible stories that tie to the season. You can look for children in the text (reading it in context) or ask where were they? How did these words affect their parents, them, their community?  Look for promises to multi-generations. Look for imagery that is particularly appealing to kids or imagery that children can relate to. If children can't relate to the imagery and the ideas are age appropriate, (branches growing from a stump for instance) what can you do to add that experience to your kids so they have a point of reference? Do you see the passages about peace and being teachable? Don't you love the imagery of beating swords into plows and farm tools? Do you know a soldier turned farmer? A tree specialist? Do you know a metal worker?

I'm not talking long and complicated. Think snapshots in a big album, depending on the ages of your kids. Sure it's good to know the family and the stories and back stories that go with the snap shots but as kids grow you share a little more and a little more. And some day the whole picture of their Loved One makes sense.

Enjoy the season!