More to go to heaven for...

Today, I have more to go to heaven for, than I had yesterday. My grandmother is home now with our Lord.
Growing up, and being 3,000 miles away from her did not keep us from being close. My mother made sure we were connected to them. She was my little Mamaw.  Growing up, my favorite thing about Mamaw Martin was talking to her. I would lay down and  put my head on her lap and she would comb my hair while we talked. She was easy for me to talk to. As I got older, it felt like she understood me. And that meant a lot.  She taught me so much. I will always remember her teaching me to crochet.  Her patience and even her laughter at just how many different ways I could mess it up will always be my favorite memories. The afternoons of sitting with her and talking about life and asking about her child hood and how she fell in love with my papaw. And her wisdom from a simpler, and more slow paced life.   Her love for the Lord and her life long dedication to Him. The memories of when she would make hot cocoa for my husband and me and we would sit around the table and just visit, or play a game of Wahoo!
 She got the best Christmas gift this year, Heaven! This is the second grandmother I have lost in the last 8 months. I knew growing up with six grandparents, these days would come. But that does not make it easier. I wish I was able to be there with the family, and celebrate her life with them. Right now California feels SO far away from Arkansas. It hurts to be here and not there with them. I am so thankful for her faith in Jesus as her personal Savior! Because of that I know I will see her again! I am going to miss you mamaw. What an awesome woman you were. And I hope some day I can be a grandmother like you were. My mom wrote this poem and I want to share it.

WHAT A SPECIAL CHRISTMAS GIFT

What a special Christmas gift,

my Mother received this year.

She got to go to heaven

to see her Savior there.

She got to see her Daddy,

her Mother and sister too.

She is holding all the babies

that only Jesus knew.

She had so many blessings

thorough out her entire life,

But the greatest one of all,

was being our Dad’s wife.

She loved him more than life itself

and hated to be apart.

He was her only love,

her joy, her purpose, her heart.

She did not want to leave him

to make it on his own.

But knew that God was with him

and he would not be alone.

Mother we will miss you

as we continue on.

But look forward to our reunion,

at God’s Eternal Throne.

Sharon Coulter

Dec 23, 2011

Wednesday Night Science Bible Lesson- God is Real

With this windy weather, this was the perfect time for this lesson.  I started class by asking the students if anyone "saw" the wind that day? Most of the kids said "yes". Then I asked them what it looked like? They described the leaves falling off the trees and things getting blown around. This is when we talked about how we can see the EVIDENCE of wind, but the wind itself is invisible.  I asked the class if wind was real? They all said yes.  I said "but you can't see it".  They said "but we feel it and see what it does".  Then I asked if God is real! They all said Yes of course. I asked if they had ever seen God.  The answer was "no".  The students said that they could feel Him and see His work all around them. And that proved He was real!  I read John 6:45-47. No man has seen the Father, but that does not mean He is not real!  We have Faith.
Hebrews 11:1-  Now Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
I asked the kids to list off some "evidence" of God.  They went for it.
- salvation- creation- conviction- blessings- protection- the bible
It was great to hear them listing off all the evidence of God.

I blew up a balloon for each student and gave them stickers to decorate them. (hands on stuff is always the best way to learn) Then set up a blow dryer and fan, and had them experiment with putting their balloon in front of the fan and see what happened. They had a great time chasing the balloons all around the room. We again talked about how we can't see the air moving the balloons, but we saw the evidence of the air and that proved it was real. 

Then for the science! First I lit a candle.  I poured some vinegar into a measuring cup. See through glass. Then I put a some baking soda in and it began to bubble up and have a reaction. I covered the top of the cup with my hand, holding in the gas. 

Then, when the bubbling was done I took my hand off the top and did a pouring action onto the candle, but as you can see NONE of the liquid came out of the cup. Yet it still blew out the candle. The kids loved it. It was like magic. You could not SEE the gas, but it was there and it blew out the candle. This one was so simple and easy to do, only a few ingredients and had a big impact. 

Just because we can't see God, does not mean He is not there. He is alive and with us ALL the TIME! Just look at all the evidence!

If You Are Part Of Our Family...

Tonight, our little family started something. Something I am excited about! I saw this idea on pintrest and changed it up just a bit. After reading the 23rd Psalm, (we are trying to memorize the whole thing together as a family), we ended it with prayer. Not just any prayer though. I wrote the names of our family on some popcicle sticks, (the one on pintrest had cut out pics of all the different family members glued to the sticks...but that was a bit much for me to get done). We went around and each of us drew out a stick. Then we took turns praying, and it was so precious to hear my babies praying for their family. I am looking forward to bed time (even more now:) because I can hear my kids say such sweet prayers for our own! I love watching them learn to pray for others. What a blessing the Lord gave me when He sent them to me! So if you are in our family, you will be prayed for, and we love you all!

 Tonight cousin Cody, cousin Cassie, Ruthie and Uncle Steve were prayed for!  Can't wait for tomorrow night!

"My Mom Said"

When I was told I would not be able to have babies without "intervention" my world changed. I was faced with personal decisions. Decisions that made Dan and I have to take time and pray... A LOT! We had to really take our time and make sure we were doing what we felt the Lord was leading our family to do. So as the doctor explained just exactly what "intervention" meant in our case, my heart sank. We knew it was not for our family. It was something that we both felt the same about. And it was heart breaking.

For the most part, we have been supported in this. With understanding...or at least in front of us. :) As I know everyone will have their own thoughts about it. But in the end it was up to Dan and I.

There have been some who have hinted that it is not "natural" for me to not want to "do whatever it takes" to get pregnant. Or that I must not want it, like other woman. One comment that comes to mind was made by a young child, about 3 years after deciding to not use infertility treatments. This child asked me why I did not have any babies. And I said "cause God has not sent me any yet". The child responded "my mom said if you really wanted a baby, you could have one".

It is frustrating to me, how choosing not to go the path of infertility treatments has made it seem like I did not have the same degree of desire for a pregnancy and a baby. When talking with someone, and sharing the wonderful way God used adoption to create our family, I often get questions like this... "so what kind of fertility treatments did you try?" or " have you tried that IVF thing?" and when I answer "no we decided that fertility treatments were not for us" I get the most confused looks. As if I am so STRANGE for not going as far as it takes to get a biological child.

I am so so so so extremely grateful that we made the choice we did. It is why we now have the three children we were meant to have! My children were not "plan B". They are not just what we got cause we tried everything else under the sun first. They are what was PLANNED by God. My Benjamin, my Hannah  and my little Ruthie girl. There are no biological links between us, but they take after me, they learn from me, and I am their mama.

I will always carry some sadness because I was never able to give birth to a child.  I am a woman and God has put that desire in me.  But I would not change a thing, because it brought me my sweet babies! 

I did REALLY REALLY REALLY want a baby! And God gave me THREE! How blessed am I!!!!!

Wednesday Night Science Bible Lesson- Study, Then Teach!

This lesson is now my new FAVORITE! I had seen this science fun last April and had it on the list of lessons I wanted to write and use!  I was finally able to get everything that I needed and went for it. The kids LOVED it and it was a fun class from start to finish! 

When I know I will have an experiment that will excite the kids, I make sure and teach the Bible part of the lesson BEFORE I bring out the science stuff, as it is more difficult to keep their undivided attention after bringing out the science parts. The science part is there to "reinforce" the bible lesson.

So with this lesson, I had the kids sit and had a discussion with them first. I talked with them about how I had taught piano lessons, before I became a full time mommy. I asked them how I was able to teach others how to play piano. They answered, because I knew how to play the piano. I talked about how I had to LEARN the piano before I could teach others!  I had fill up with piano knowledge and skill before I could begin to teach others how to play. 

I had a sign with these two verses written on it. First I read 

2 Timothy 2:15- STUDY to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the WORD OF TRUTH.

We must first STUDY the WORD OF TRUTH and fill up with the knowledge of Christ and His Word. Then I read the first part of 

Matt. 28:19 Go ye therefore and TEACH all nations...

Our commandment from God to His church was to TEACH all nations. We must learn and study His Word BEFORE we can go TEACH it to all the nations! Our job is to make sure we are studying, learning and filling up with His knowledge so that we can teach others! 

Then came the science to show the "filling up with the knowledge" and the "going to teach all nations"

first I set up a towel, a bowl with a lip or rim, filled half way with warm water, a cup with some dish soap and water and some dry ice.

Using tongs, I put some dry ice in the warm water in the bowl. Then I soaked and coated a long strip of scrap material in the dish soap/water mixture. The dry ice itself is fun to watch! With younger ones, be very carful that they do not put their hands in the bowl. It can be very exciting and they might want to touch. (it was not just the younger ones who could not keep their hands out of the bowl, so watch them close)

Then I took the strip of scrap material out of the soapy water and wiped the whole rim of the bowl, making it nice and soapy. Then I took the strip of material and pulled it flat and dragged it across the top of the bowl to form a layer of soap over the bowl.

Then the magic begins!!!!!!! It forms a bubble that gets bigger and bigger. This was the "learning and studying and filling up with the WORD OF TRUTH. 

Filling up!!!!!

The anticipation was fun!!!!!

And then when it popped the mist went ALL OVER. Just like us going and teaching ALL NATIONS!

(I love how little Madison has her hands over her ears. I think she thought it might be loud because I told them it would pop)

Of course we  had to do this more than once! Through out the science I would quote the verses, and ask what the bubble and the mist spreading out meant with our lesson. 

As you can see it is pretty neat and the kids said this was their new favorite science lesson! I love it when class is full of smiles and learning and fun! These are the lessons they remember!  And it is fun for the teacher too! 

Wednesday Night Science Bible Lesson- Go Ye Into All The World

We did this lesson a couple months ago. The kids loved it and STILL talk about it.  I could see these lessons used for Children's Church or youth group devotionals, and even ladies meeting devotionals! Object lessons always seem to work well with all ages!

The verse we used in this lesson is

Matthew 28:19-20 -Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

We talked about our job as God's church and how we are to go into ALL the world and teach others all that Jesus taught.  

Then we did the Science experiment! 

I had enough water bottles for each student to have one of their own. A funnel, oil, food color, Alka-Seltzer,  and water .

Fill the water bottle with 2-3 inches of water

Using the funnel have students add oil, leaving 2 or so inches at the top.

Have students choose a color and add 3-4 drops (this can take a few mins for the color to float down and color the water)

The water represents the church, the oil is the world. They are separate. But out job is to "go into all the world"

Break apart a Alka Seltzer tablet, and have the students put them in their bottle (leaving the bottle UN capped the whole time)

When the tablet reaches the water at the bottom, the magic begins! The water begins to go up and down all through the oil. Just as we are to go into the world with the gospel!

These are like Lava Lamps! My kids had fun shining flashlights through the bottom of the bottles. The great thing is that when the bubbles stop you can put the lid on, send some tablets home with the students and their bottles and they can do this fun activity over and over.  

Wednesday Night Science Bible Lesson- Letting Your Light Shine

This week's lesson was another winner! Found this fun experiment on Youtube! I had to use it! So I wrote a bible lesson to go along with it! 

First we read 3 verses from the bible.  I asked them to listen close and tell me what was common in the verses. (with older students, have them look up the verses, younger ones can participate by finding the numbers for the verses after you find the right book and page for them. )

#1- Psalm 18:28- For Thou will light my candle: the Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

#2- Matthew 5:15- Neither do men light  a candle and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

#3- 1 John 1:7-  But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another...

They all said the verses were about lights and candles! I said that verse #1 tells us that God is the one who lights our candles.  That verse #2 tells us to let our light SHINE to everyone!  And verse #3 tells us to walk in the light and choose to stay in the light.  Then we read 

1 Peter 5:8- Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil,  as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

We talked about the devil and how he wants our light to be "devoured" or blown out so that we will not lead others to Christ.  

Then it was time for the science experiment!

You need water, a bowl, food coloring, a glass, a candle and a lighter or match

First have a student pour just enough water to cover the bottom of the bowl. 

Add some food coloring to make the water more visible for the experiment. (we did this several times, letting the kids choose different colors, so some pics will have different colored water)

Next place a candle in the middle of the water

Light the candle! (always supervised or done by the teacher) The candle represents US and our testimony and influence. The water represents all those around us that we are an example to. When our light is burning, we are a bright light for Christ to others. (we even turned out the light for a short time to show how bright we can be)

The glass represents the devil and how in 1 Peter 5:8 it says he is "seeking who he may devour". Slowly  put the glass down on the candle.  Saying examples or things we might do to let satan in our lives... like lying or stealing or cheating. 

Set the glass all the way down over the candle and wait.  As the oxygen was "devoured" it burned out the candle AND created a vacuum and sucked all the water around the glass into the glass.  Was neat to watch and hear as it bubbled into the glass and the kids  were amazed! We talked about our example, and how we are to be a light to the world. Our example can either lead others to Christ or away from Christ.  Also, we are human and WILL mess up. But God is "faithful and just to forgive us our sins" and if we ask for forgiveness, He will light us up, just as before and will use us for Him!

I sent each student home with a candle, and told them to have their parents help them with the lighting part and share what they had learned. The kids wanted to share it with the whole congregation, so when class was over we did a demonstration for the adults. They seemed to like it just as much as the kids! Science is Awesome! 

Wednesday Night Science Lesson- ALL KNOWING!

This lesson was fun to put together, but I was not able to teach it. My husband had the pleasure of teaching this one! The focus of this lesson was to teach that God is an "all knowing" God. 

This weeks science experiment part of the lesson took a little prep before hand. I used baking soda, vinegar, food coloring and clear containers. (I just use small glasses, they just need to be see through)

Before class I set it all up. I put a few drops of food coloring in the bottom of the glasses, and then quickly covered it up with a couple spoonfuls of baking soda.

I did this with all four colors, blue, red, green and yellow.  Making sure all the glasses looked the same and you could not tell what color was underneath the baking soda. Then set them inside a bigger container. I just used a glass casserole dish. This is what to present to the students. Telling them that each glass will reveal a color, but could they tell me what color each glass would be. Have the students guess and try to get it right. For older students, allow them to guess, maybe even writing down their guesses and then let them pour in the vinegar into the glasses to reveal the colors. For younger students, you will need to do the pouring, but they can still guess. 

At the end, talk about  how many they got correct if any and that the ones they got right, were ultimately just a guess. 

Read Proverbs 15:3- The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

Talk about how God knows everything. He even knew what colors were in the glasses. He knows our future and He holds tomorrow! 

Have older students look up and read Isaiah 46:9-10. Have a discussion about how God is in control and is All KNOWING. How does that make them feel? The fact that God is in control is a feeling of security, but responsibility comes with knowing that God sees and knows all! We may sin, and even try to cover it up, like the colors, under the baking soda, but God knows, even if others don't. 

Dan said the kids really liked it, and even screeched (I even heard them all the way in the sanctuary) when their guesses came out right or wrong. The anticipation of watching the colors be revealed was great! 

Wednesday NIght Science Lesson- Being Followers of God

This lesson was great! No matter how old you get, magnets are just plain fun! I found myself "playing" with the magnets right along with the students!!! We started with reading our verses. 

Eph. 5:1- Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

and 

Galatians 5:16- This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

We talked about walking "IN" the Spirit and following the Spirit's leading in our lives.  I went to our local learning store and found these great magnet wands for only $2 each!

I hid one under my chair before class. Then I put some cut up pipe cleaners on the table in front of me. All the kids were watching the pipe cleaners. I secretly reached and got the wand and under the table started to make the pipe cleaners move around and even stand up on end!

The kids were so intrigued! The were wondering "how are you doing that"!!!! I had some fun making the pipe cleaners move  and then pulled out the magnet wand. We talked about WHY the pipe cleaners moved when the wand was near. They have metal INSIDE them. When we are saved the Holy Spirit lives INSIDE us too! And we are able to be "followers of God" by following the Spirits leading!

I gave each student a pipe cleaner in the shape of a person. With the wand I showed how we need to be following God, just as the pipe cleaner person follows the magnet. If we do, then we will be living in His will and can do Great things for God with our lives!

After the lesson... I handed them all a wand and some pipe cleaners and paper clips to play and experiment with! It was fun and hard to put it all away when class was over! Some even "magnetized" paper clips by rubbing one on the wand really fast and then picking up other paper clips.  

I really enjoyed this lesson. Was relaxed...not a real big mess and easy to clean. Just swipe the wand over everything and it was clean!  While they were having their fun, (and me too) I kept repeating the verses and having them answer questions about how magnets work and what they taught us in this lesson. 

Wednesday Science Bible Lesson- Cleansing From Sin

This weeks lesson was so much fun!!!! I get all the science experiment ideas off the internet and then write a bible lesson to go with it! One of my students said tonight's lesson was the best one EVER.   

We started off with the most important part... THE SCRIPTURE! 

We talked about what confessing means. And that no matter what we do, God's forgiveness is big enough to cleanse our sins! I brought out a white board and colored some black spots on it. Talked about confessing our sins and how God can wipe us clean and white as snow, as I wiped off the spots. 

This is when I pulled out a bar of Ivory(MUST be IVORY) soap. We talked about what the purpose of soap was and that it was meant to clean and wash away dirt and stains. Then we went to the kitchen and I put the bar of soap on a paper plate. I asked what they thought would happen if I put it in the microwave for 30 sec? They all said it would melt. Was so fun watching them "ooooo" and "ahhhhh" when they saw it do this...

It was neat to talk to the kids about how no matter how big our sin is... God's cleansing power is always big enough to forgive it. "He is FAITHFUL and JUST to FORGIVE us our sins" After it "grew"  I had each of them pull off a piece and wash their hands to see if it still works. And of course, it did! 

Then at the end of the lesson, I had prepared a bar of soap with instructions and the verse written on it for them to take home and be able to show their families what we did! 

"STOP IT", "LEAVE ME ALONE", "GIVE IT TO ME"!!!!

I am a mommy who requires manners and nice talk. Call it one of my pet peeves, but EVERY child who can learn to talk, can learn to talk NICE! Sometimes, what I hear coming from children's mouths make me cringe!  Whatever happen to talking with manners and respect?   

So needless to say, this is a biggie in our home!  There must be "please" and "thank you's" and "excuse me's".  BUT, with three children ages 3, 4 and 5  this is sometimes not as easy as that. Ruthie is getting more "vocal" and  B and H are learning "older" ways to express themselves.  I saw this idea on... yes, pintrest... and thought it would be PERFECT to reinforce our "nice talk". 

First I sat down with the kids and read the verse from Proverbs 15:1. We talked about what soft words felt like and what "wrath" was. That when we talk mean, it causes anger and that anger grows!  (I know, I am NOT an artist!) I put the verse up on the wall, so we can refer to it through out the day.

Then I showed them the two containers. I said that mama would listen and when she heard nice, soft and polite words, they would be able to put a soft ball into the heart container! When mama heard a mean, or angry word, then we would take a soft ball out of the heart container.  When the heart container is full with "soft words"  then we will go to Rite Aid and get a ice cream cone. (they LOVE this and mom LOVES the price!) 

At first they were ON TOP of it! Doing great. I was glad, but wanted this to REALLY make a difference, so I did not let them "just say nice things" to get the container full. I waited for "real" conversations they would have and catch them when they did not think I was listening.  On the first day, they had quite a few soft balls.  The next morning, they were not talking so nice, and after a pretty big argument, lost all the balls. This seemed to make them step back and try harder. I stuck with it. And now, have gotten two great weeks of polite talking, and encouraging words from the kids! We are almost to the top and the kids are excited to "earn" ice cream!!!!  

I did not know if this would work or not. I am happy to say it has worked AWESOME and the kids are really responding to it!  

Wednesday Science Bible Lessons! Uplifting Eachother

I have been writing bible lessons and  teaching Wednesday night class for 3 years  (with a short 4 month break) at our church for children ages 2-12. Now that is a HUGE age range! And it takes LOTS of time to get each lesson ready for all the different age levels! Without a doubt, the last couple months have been the most enjoyable! Some nights, my husband teaches the class my lessons, since I am needed in other areas. I miss teaching these fun lessons and find myself a bit jealous when he gets to teach!  I have ALWAYS loved doing hands on, object lessons for kids. They learn so easy when they can SEE and DO along with the lesson! 

 I started doing simple science experiments and using them to teach bible concepts! I have gotten all the science activities from various sites off the internet and then have written the bible lessons to go along with them! They have been going great, and I have had some ask for me to write them down so they can try it at their church!  I thought this would be a good  place to do that! Share the lessons and how they worked...whether great or not so great! Science is fun for all ages! So it fits just right for the broad age of kids in my class! 

Last nights lesson was lots of fun!  First I asked the kids what these four words meant

-EDIFY-

-EXHORT-

-UPLIFT-

-ENCOURAGE-

It is always fun to hear the crazy ideas the kids have about what the words mean. Lots of fun and entertainment for the teacher. :) Then we read Hebrews 3:13 and focused on the first part of the verse...

But exhort one another daily, while it is called today;...

We talked about how God has commanded us to encourage and uplift each other! That it is our job to "help" each other keep our chin up! Then we did our experiment! 

First I had pre-measured 1/4 cup of vinegar into separate empty water bottles. 

Then in class I scooped 1 TBS of baking soda into a deflated balloon! 

Then put the balloon over the mouth of the bottle with the vinegar in it. Looks pretty sad all hanging there off the side. I asked the kids if it looked like the balloon felt encouraged and uplifted. Of course they all said NO!

So I picked the balloon up and let the baking soda fall into the bottle. This caused the reaction and the bubbles and the gas to "uplift" the balloon! We all sat there and watched the balloon blow up! The looks on their faces are always so fun to watch!!! 

Of course I had enough for each of the students to make their own. (this makes them remember the lesson, and it is always fun to go home and share the experiment) Since we have such a broad age group, the "olders" get to do "most" of the stuff on their own. The "youngers" need more assistance and that is when I step in and help. This part of the class is fun, because the kids are all participating and laughing and having fun watching their very own experiment! 

After we had our "science" fun, each student chose a member of the church and colored a encouragement card for them! I bought some blank cards from the $ store for this. 

I have to say this one went nice and smooth. I was glad that I pre-poured the vinegar, it made it go more smooth and saved time. 

I am working on getting more of my lessons up on here. Feel free to try them out where ever you are, and let me know how they work for you!!!!