Category: Family Devotionals

Today’s family fun requires mixing together some healthy snack foods. You may decide you would rather bake cookies or bread together!

Tuesday, December 22, Day 3

Bible Reading: Isaiah 9:6-7 and 52:13-53:12

Memory Verse: “…and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6b

Interesting Facts:

• Although her name is never mentioned, Isaiah’s wife was one of the women prophets mentioned in the Bible.
• There are at least fourteen prophecies about Jesus in the book of Isaiah. The other prophecies about Jesus are scattered throughout the Old Testament, with most of the rest found in Genesis and Psalms.

Thoughts to Share: Even though God had a plan to send Jesus to die on the Cross for our sins, it didn’t happen right away. In fact, it was thousands of years, before Jesus was born. A lot of things happened during that time. Some things were good and some were bad. Throughout it all, God kept reminding His people that Jesus Christ, the Messiah would come. 

Several authors in the Old Testament were inspired by God to write reminders to the people not only about the Messiah who was to come, but exact details so they would recognize him when he arrived. The details are found in several books, but some of the best known prophecies about Jesus are found in the book of Isaiah. It is important to know that Isaiah wrote this book more than seven hundred years before Jesus was born, yet the details are so accurate no one could have guessed them by accident. Only God could give Isaiah that many accurate details. 

Family Fun Project: How hard do you think it might have been for the people in Old Testament times to wait for Jesus Christ, the Messiah to come to Earth? Waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled can be hard. We all want to go to Heaven, but we must wait patiently for Jesus to return. Tonight you are going to do three  things. First, your family will work together to create your own snack mix. You will have to be patient and eat it when your adult tells you it is okay. There are some conversation ideas here you can talk about while you are eating.Then you will do a fun patience workout routine. (See below.) You will learn a lot of good things to do when you are feeling impatient.

Parenting tips. Patience is a Fruit of the Spirit. Having patience makes it easier to have self control. Here you will find tips for helping your kids develop patience. It will take time and a lot of effort on your part, but patience is an important godly character trait for your kids to have.

Patience Workout

To become more patient, you have to do things that require you to be patient. Some children will be unable to finish even one of the activities below without becoming impatient. If your kids can do all five things in a row and still be patient, they are on the way to becoming patient people!

1. With a straw, blow the Pom Pom across the room.
2. Tie knots in the string and then untie them.
3. Make something out of play doh. Then pass it to the next person. No one can move or talk until every person in the room has made something from the play doh.
4. Count to three and have everyone freeze like a statue. Have everyone stay as still as possible in their statue pose for 60 seconds.
5. Sit quietly while someone reads a book.

If you are just joining us, you can go to our website (www.parentinglikehannah.com) and find the challenge for yesterday. The dates you do the challenges on aren’t as important as doing them in order.

Monday, December 21, Day 2

Bible Reading: Genesis 3:1-24

Memory Verse: “So, whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.” James 4:17

Interesting Facts:

• We do not know what the fruits on the two special trees in the Garden of Eden were. People have guessed many different kinds of fruit that we have today, but most likely it was fruit that was only found in the Garden of Eden.
• We do not know the exact location of the Garden of Eden. Two of the rivers mentioned no longer exist. It was most likely somewhere near the area of modern day Iraq.

Thoughts to Share: God only had one rule for Adam and Eve. They could eat from any tree in the Garden of Eden except from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Satan came to Eve and convinced her to disobey God and eat the forbidden fruit. That was the first sin in the world. Adam soon committed the same sin. 

The sins Adam and Eve committed had major consequences for them and everyone who has lived since then. God made them leave the Garden of Eden. The world was no longer perfect. There would now be pain, illness and death in the world. Sin is when people disobey God. These sins have negative consequences that hurt the sinner and often the people around them, too. But even though the world was now full of sin, pain, suffering, and death, God had a plan to redeem everything. 

He was going to send His son, the Messiah, to be the perfect sacrifice for our sins. The first hint we see of Jesus is in verse fifteen when God tells Satan what will happen to him. God still wants us to obey Him today and to repent when we don’t. We will learn more about God’s plans for us over the coming days.

Family Fun Instructions: There were two important trees in today’s Bible story, the Tree of Life and the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Today you can use the supplies you have around your house to make Christmas decorations that look like trees. You can make different types of tree Christmas decorations. Here is an idea to get you started.

Whenever you see a tree, remember God’s original perfect plan and how our sins cause problems for us and those around us – even if those problems aren’t immediately obvious. After you have made your decorations, find a place to display them. End with a prayer thanking God for His plan to send Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

Parenting Tips. Attached, you will find tips for helping your kids follow directions. Teaching your kids how to follow directions well will hopefully make it easier for them to be obedient and to make the good choices God wants them to make.

We hope you will join us over the next two weeks for our Family, Faith and Fun Challenge. Here is the first challenge.

Sunday, December 20, Day 1

Bible Reading: Genesis 1:1-31 and 2:1-3

Memory Verse: “Give thanks in all circumstances.” 

1 Thessalonians 5:18a

Interesting Facts: 

• In ancient times, naming an object was a sign that you had dominion over it.
• To have dominion over something means to take good care of it, not just that you are in charge of or rule over it.

Thoughts to Share: God’s original Creation was perfect. There was no illness or death. Work was fulfilling, but not difficult. He created many special and beautiful things. Some keep us alive and healthy. Others are for us to enjoy. God wants us to be grateful for His Creation and the other blessings He gives us. He wants us to thank Him for those blessings. He wants us to share our blessings with others so that everyone will know how very much God loves us all.

Family Fun Instructions: One of God’s many creations is snow. Every snowflake is different. God must really love us to put that much detail into His Creation! Use these instructions to make snowflakes or create drawings of snowflakes. You can make large snowflakes or small ones. On each snowflake, write or draw some blessings from God for which you are thankful. Then tape the snowflakes around your living space to remind you of God’s love for each one of you and the blessings He has given you. End with a prayer thanking God for all of the blessings you wrote or drew on the snowflakes.

Parenting Tips. Here you will find tips for raising a grateful child. Using these tips will help you raise children who are more likely to be thankful for their blessings.