Doing The Bible With Play Dough: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

I'm just going to get this right out in the open:

Yes, 

I am doing a series

on teaching kids about the Bible through play dough.

No, 

I do not have even the slightest of talents 

in the art of play dough creations!

Even still, I'm just so excited about the idea (thank you, children's church group!), and I'm super encouraged by my daughter's reception of it!

During the series, we'll be studying a new story from the Bible each week and reenacting it via play dough.  (So, if you've got any stories you'd like to see unfold, let me know!)

Materials:

Play dough - We used store bought, because, as you can see, we have A LOT!  If you're looking for a homemade recipe though, here's one that I pinned from Living Well Mom.  I haven't tried it yet myself, but it looks very simple!

Bible - This week's story comes from Daniel 3.  It's a huge plus to have read the story prior to trying to recreate it with your kids.  I have found that, while I certainly do read straight from the Bible to my daughter, her attention stays with me a lot better if I can give her an excited and animated summary instead. 

This all is really very easy.

I told my girl a 30-second version of the story first, and then suggested different things we could make with the play dough. 

We went for the obvious and started with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

And, of course, don't forget the angel!  

Why, yes!  Shadrach does look just like a jedi!
(Hey, you work with what you've got!)

My daughter was amazed by this part - that there was a fourth "person" in the flames with them.  

Over the years, we have collected a ton of play dough tools.  We just fished around and found what would fit with our story.  If you don't happen to have any tools, you could always just make the flames yourself...Even if you're challenged like I am, simply making blobs of orange and red for the fire will do just fine..if your kids are anything like mine, they'll just love the fact that you got the play dough out!

Once everything was all set, I told my daughter the story once more, but this time I used the figures we had made.  When we got to the part about their hands being bound, I squooshed their hands together.  When we got to the part that they were walking around freely in the fire, I just pulled their hands back apart.  You get the idea..

So there you have it!  Our first Bible reenactment via play dough!  Despite my lack of play dough know-how, my daughter absolutely loved this project!  She actually said in the middle of it all that "this was the best day ever!", so really, a chance to teach my child about God AND a chance to do it in an exciting way for her is really a complete win-win in my book!

We'll be doing these reenactments each week, so be sure to check back in!  Got any play dough reenactments that you guys have done at your house?  Send those pictures my way!  I'd love to see!

Yogi, or Not Yogi? That is the question...

Ugh, being convicted can be so, SO hard...especially when it involves something that you love!

You might recall that I have had some issues with my back over this past year.  (In case you missed it, you can find it here and here)

2016 was a tough one physically, for me.  Once so strong and hardcore athletic, I found myself floundering in my new injury and all of the limitations it carried with it.  I went to physical therapy a couple times, a chiropractor a couples times (multiplied by 10!), and a back specialist, but nothing seemed to help me...

Then yoga resurfaced into my life...

Image by Aaron Neifer via FreeImages

I'd done it over the years here and there, but starting this past Fall, I picked it up again and really became attached to it.  I was astounded by the way my back began to heal and I felt...I mean, I really and truly felt, that God had led me here to help me heal and grow strong again.

...but then it happened...

...My oldest and I were doing a Bible devotional the other night, and the topic was:  "Is it wrong for a Christian to do yoga?"

In my head, I immediately knew the answer..."Of course not!"  Now, I knew already that yoga was rooted in a religion that I did not align myself with, but I felt with all of my heart that, if I kept my head out of that end of things and just did the poses for my back, I was totally fine...

...but then, yes, the video...

It was only two minutes long, but it stuck in my head like an unwanted thorn in my side.

I couldn't believe this guy was telling me 

that yoga was not okay for a Christian to do.  

How could something so beneficial for me 

not be something God was in agreement with?  

I tried to write the guy off, proclaiming this was a "gray area" and that if you do the poses with the right intentions in your heart for God that it was just fine....Needless to say, the devotional time with my son was a complete wash.
I'm not sure he got much out of all the confusion that ensued on my part,

but I'm starting to see now that 

the devotional was never meant for him. 

It was meant for me.

To backtrack, a couple of weeks prior to this devotional incident, I was starting to feel a pull from God when I was doing yoga.  It wasn't anything huge...just a little-by-little thing.  I was doing yoga videos off of an app on my phone, but something just wasn't right with some of the things they were saying and I could feel it.  Foolishly, I pushed on through, because I was nearly done with my session (or whatever other justification I could conjure up!).

Back to the video though, that thing got into my head and it just wouldn't go.  I mean, I actually started to feel a little mad at the guy for what he'd said.

He was altering my whole plan for my back 

and, to be honest, 

I just plain love yoga!  

I always feel so great and peaceful afterwards, and it always relieves my back.

I prayed about all of this a lot, and I also went to the internet...

First I went to my trusted source...(I love Got Questions?)...
They didn't support my cause either.

Next, I outright Googled it.  That obviously was no help.  I mean, let's be honest, you can find support for any side of any conflict that there ever could be on Google.

Despite two strikes against me with the devotional and my trusted source, I was back to square one, still hunting for someone with Christian roots to give me that "green light" I was wanting!

Fast forward to my women's group:  I tell my group leader the situation, complete with how it heals my back (I mean, that has to give me a pass...right?!), and asked for her input.  As it turns out, she too was very into yoga for a time but then felt convicted and quit the practice all together!

Great.

Still searching for my godly influences to throw me a bone here, I went to one final person who also agreed that any postures created to worship pagan gods were no postures for a Christian at all.

Ugh...like I said...conviction, right?  

God wasn't letting me get away from this!

That night, I dreamed that I was searching for the answer, and I woke up this morning with my quest still fresh in my mind.

Surely Christian yoga could be my answer, right?

Wrong.  

Everything just goes back to the root of the matter.  

These yoga postures were created for worship of other gods.  

There's no other way to slice it.  

I was being convicted...and more and more deeply by the second.

I realized that I was holding onto yoga and was shaping my perception in such a way that would allow me to keep it...
...but the kicker was this...

What if, when I got to Heaven, Jesus asked me:  

"...but why...why if you love me so much, 

did you choose to be a part of a practice 

that does not honor or worship me at all?"  

And then I thought of my daughter...
...my sidekick both in the house and on the yoga mat.

So maybe I might not be misled amid the roots of yoga, but what about her?

What if I became the reason she pressed on with yoga even after God called her away from it...
What if I was her "green light" that told her this was the way to go?

Even if I did not follow the beliefs behind yoga, 

what if she did?  

What if I lost her to this, 

and it was because of the example I set?

Even the idea of this is enough to bring me to my knees.

I've realized, quitting yoga isn't harmful, but sticking with it actually could be...

I don't want to get to Heaven and have Jesus ask me 

why I had led my children down the wrong path...

I mean seriously, why would I be willing to jeopardize their faith by putting questions in their heart about what faith and loyalty to God really looks like?

How do I explain to my kids 

that sometimes it's okay 

to intertwine themselves with things rooted in darkness?  

I mean, is that really the lesson I'm looking to give?  

How dangerous and slippery a road is that when they then take these same lessons and apply it to their own lives and their own situations!

No.  Thank.  You.

It's not worth it.  None of it is worth it.

I have everything to gain 

by quitting yoga 

and everything to lose 

by sticking with it.

I no longer believe that God has healed my back through yoga.
I believe that He healed my back despite it.

I know that, in my obedience to Him, He will not leave me stranded.
He will not leave my back to suffer, but even if it does ail once more, my heart and my soul are free, and I know that I am able to be the teacher to my kids that I long to be.

They will be able to look one day at a situation they are in and hopefully apply the lessons of my choice here to whatever circumstance they find themselves to be in.  Oh yes, they might still make the wrong choice, but because of my choice here today, in regards to yoga, hopefully, just hopefully, that will anchor them in and make all the difference in the steps they take thereafter.

So now to the heart of the matter:

Yogi, or not Yogi?  

That was my question.

and NOT yogi 

has finally become my answer.

It may have seemed harmless to me on the surface, but I realize now that I had far far too much to lose by staying.

Lord Jesus, take me deeper now than I have ever been before with You.  Thank You for clearing my path and for helping me to establish the paths for my children.  Thank You for Your gentle yet powerful insistence, Holy Spirit.  Thank You for Your patience.  And thank You, Father, for loving me so much that You never leave me alone.  You surround me with Your presence in Christ and the Holy Spirit.  Thank You for Your forgiveness...for the reward I have felt since making this choice for You.  I will praise You and rejoice in Your Holy Name forever.  In Christ's Name, Amen.

How to Get Your Child to Do Chores

For any parent who has ever tried to get their kids to do chores, you know the struggle that often comes with it.

If you're anything like me, the hassle alone might have been temptation enough to cut them loose from the whole chore thing altogether.  I mean after all, sometimes it's just easier (and more peaceful) to do it ourselves, right?!

I admit, I am guilty of this...
Judge me if you want to, but when we got knee-deep into the holidays this year, there was just no way that I wanted to deal with the aggravation of it all, so liberate them (and myself) I did!

With it now February, I've got my head on as straight as it will go and am ready to fire up those chores once again.  To avoid the debacle that was last time, however, I've come up with a new way to assign chores.

While the kids still have the responsibility of their own rooms to keep clean, I'm trying something a little more outside-the-box for them.

I've selected a handful of chores that desperately need attention around here and have written each down on a piece of paper.

Every Sunday, each kid will be selecting two chores from the bag (yes, that's a Reindeer food bag...I'm hoping that instead of attracting Santa and his sled, we can maybe attract a little cleanliness!)

They will be responsible for their two chores (and their room) for that entire week.

Once the week is done, they can toss those chores back in the bag and select new ones for the week to come!

See, I'm loving this because there is nothing rigid in place.  If they are hating their chore, they just need to persevere through the week before they choose a new one in its place.  Also, I can add or take away chores from the bag at any time.  

So that's it...
...That's the plan around here.

We start tomorrow.
I'm sure there will be complaining, but it wouldn't be our house if there wasn't!

What about you?  What helps your kids stay on task with their chores?  Leave your suggestions in the comments below.

How to Be Organized!

While that post title may be a little ambitious for me, I am motivated with my new whiteboard that I got from Walmart!  (No, I'm not being paid to advertise for them, but I figure, if it helps you, why not share?!)

Check it out:

I've got everything color-coded by child, so I can see at a glance, who's got what to do!  While it's still a work in progress, and not everything is even close to being listed here, it's a start for me and a complete load off my shoulders with not having to remember absolutely everything for everyone all at once (even if I haven't hung it up yet!)

What about you?  What's your secret weapon of organization?  

So far, for me, my weapon is this this whiteboard!

Want to know my most favorite part?  

Getting to erase the task when it's all done!!

How My Mom F-A-I-L Moment Has Been A Wake-Up Call

I think when I first became a stay-at-home mom, I believed that I would get so much done with each and every day:  The beds would be made and the house would be clean, there'd be crafts with the kids, and I'd have everyone on an organized schedule.

That was when my daughter was two.

Fast forward nearly three years and another child later, and I can safely say that we are SO far from that goal.  On a typical day, I am able to write off the craziness and chaos by telling myself that all the other moms are no better organized and orderly than I.

Last night, that bubble of mine totally burst, 

leaving me to realize that I seriously need some help!  

On Wednesdays, my family and I go to varying groups at our church.  Each child is in a different classroom, and my husband and I go to ours as well.  As it goes with classes, there is homework, and while I was never able to complete the entire thing each week with my daughter, we always read through the exercises and had the memory verse completed.  I really thought this was enough and actually felt pretty good about it.  There's just no more space to pack anything else into our days, and I was happy to feel I'd done my best...besides, there's no way other parents were getting all of this homework done...at least not everyone...right?

Wrong...so so wrong.

Turns out, my girl was the only one in her entire class to not have all of the items checked off in her book, which also meant that she was the only one to not have earned all of her badges.  While her teacher explained to me that this was the reason she had had a melt down in class, my heart just dropped.  I felt completely horrible for having let my daughter down, and I was just plain embarrassed.

Seriously, talk about feeling like I'd just committed a major parenting F-A-I-L!  

As we drove home that night, I couldn't help but think, "Where am I suppose to put this all?" and "How on earth am I seriously the only one to have not had this completed with my daughter?!"  I felt incredulous and truly like I was failing at this whole mom thing.

I think the long and short of it is that I just need to get organized.  I feel like the walls in this house are literally coming down around me with the dirty dishes and the clutter and the mess and our flying out of the house and arriving at the last minute all the time.  I seriously need to get off of this cycle and start a new one.

Remember that Crystal Paine book I was talking about?  Yeah, still the first chapter; but I picked it up again today.  I didn't make it very far, but she has me writing down everything I already do in a day right as I'm doing it.  I thought it would show me all of my time-wasting moments, but so far, what I'm seeing is more of a chaotic pattern.  While I may go into the kitchen to start the dishes, I'll notice something on the table that needs to go into the other room and redirect to there, and so on.  There's no rhyme or reason.  No order or structure, and while part of me likes that, it's also not working.

My husband thinks I should buy a giant white board so I can get everything down in one place.  I think I will.

This is going to take a while.  Last night was a wake-up call for me.  I'm sure it was imagined, but I could just feel that teacher wondering how I could let something so important fall by the wayside.  Really, that's just not true.  We aren't like that in our home.  We are constantly discussing the topic of God and Jesus Christ with our kids, but the sting was there and I've awoken to the fact that I need help...some serious organizational and cleaning help.

I just have not figured out how to balance 

time with kids and time on the house, 

and clearly both are feeling the repercussions of that.

What is the main thing that you do to keep your house and family organized and running smoothly?

I'm sure hoping this book will shed some light for me, because even though I so badly want to cut from my previous mold, this is all so much harder than it looked from the outside!

One thing I am certain of, however, is that whether I figure this whole thing out or not, my God loves me.  He sees my heart and knows my intentions.

We are all works in progress...sometimes I forget about that.

God did bring a verse to my heart though.  I love the entire passage, but in particular, I can feel that He wants me to focus right here for a while until I can also say it for myself:

"...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances..."

Philippians 4:11

May you also learn contentment, no matter where in your life you may find yourself.  Give yourself grace and a large portion of mercy, and remember, we are all works in progress for Him, and He will continue His good work in you straight on through to completion (Philippians 1:6, paraphrase mine).

Photo by Cheryl Empey via Free Images