Lent Crafts Part One 2015 March 9, 2015

In this post: Band-aid prayers cross, Jesus’ I am statements craft, and the Lord’s Prayer chapel craft.

Hello dear ones! I’m playing catch up again. We did these crafts a couple of weeks ago for the second week of Lent. Enjoy!

• Band-aid Prayers cross~ I saw this idea on Pinterest except they used a wooden cross with a ton of band-aids. Ours is a bit simpler. We just used cardboard, band-aids, and tissue paper. Each week Michael is supposed to write someone to pray for, on a band-aid.

• Jesus’ “I AM” statments craft~ I saw this lovely artwork with the words “I am” but it was about self esteem. I changed ours to Jesus’ statements about Himself. I figured it’d be great for Lent.

Link for inspiration:http://mewithmyheadintheclouds.blogspot.com/2014/08/a-few-things.html

 

Here’s how we did ours:
Michael painted seven different color wedges on his paper using water colors.

Michael pasted a circle in the middle of the wedges. Then he cut out 7 smaller wedges of different types of scrapbook paper and pasted it on top of the water color wedges. I printed out Jesus’ 7 “I AM” statements in different fonts and he cut and pasted them on top of the scrapbook wedges.

I liked it so much that I made something similar, in my prayer journal.

 

• The Lord’s Prayer chapel craft~  I was inspired by a pic on pinterest but when I went to look for the chapel template I couldn’t find it. So I drew out my own. I printed the Lord’s prayer in a nice font and Michael pasted it in the middle. Then he used torn tissue paper for the stained glass.

Well, God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Mardi Gras 2015 March 1, 2015

In this post: Mardi Gras treats, crafts, parade fun, and a lapbook.

Hello dear ones! We celebrated Mardi Gras as a family for the second time. We’ve come up with our own traditions, like decorating a float for our family parade. Anywho, this is how we did Mardi Gras.

• We began with a Mardi Gras lapbook and several videos on Mardi Gras’ history. I’ll include a link at the end.

 

• Michael made a jester mask.

• Michael and I watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame because it has the Festival of Fools in it. It’s not the same holiday but the style is similar. I also like the lessons on sin and grace in the movie. Rio and The Princess and the Frog are also good for this time.

• We had a small feast for supper. We had ham which is a rare treat. We don’t give up anything during Lent, but it was a nod to the history of Fat Tuesday and how people ate all their meat before fasting during Lent. I found the centerpiece at the Dollar Tree.

 

• We made a King cake using cinnamon rolls. We put it in the oven while we had our parade.

Here’s Chris braiding his part.

 

Into the oven!

 

• Michael and I made a parade float out of Leeland’s wagon. We used tissue paper and masks. Then we filled it with beads, moon pies, and coins. Teddy played the king/jester and rode in the float.

 

• I turned up the jazz music and we had a parade. Michael and I took turns throwing things. We put on masks and beads.

 

• Lastly, we decorated and enjoyed our King cake! Mmmmm….we just used the icing that came with the cinnamon rolls and sprinkled it. I couldn’t find purple sprinkles so I used glaze.

You can find the lapbook, videos, and other ideas here:

Mardi Gras on Pinterest

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Mardi Gras past
https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2014/03/29/mardi-gras-dr-seuss-birthday/

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/02/11/crafty-monday-gods-love-hearts-galore-plus-mardi-gras-celebration/

Another good Disney film to watch for Mardi Gras is The Princess and the Frog. Here are some ideas to give you that New Orleans’ flavor:

https://amberdover.wordpress.com/2013/06/10/crafty-monday-disney-countdownpinocchio-the-princess-and-the-frog/

Crafty Monday: Charlotte’s Web Party & Gearing Up for Easter March 25, 2013

In this Post: Charlotte’s Web, our Lent tree & blown out egg ornaments, several Easter crafts (cardboard chapel), and the neatest music site. Also homeschool freebies and online clubs/classes for homeschoolers!

Happy Crafty Monday friends! I’m going to start with the end of the week first since I’m so excited about it. Friday we had a small movie themed party centered around Charlotte’s Web. Yes, I actually kept this one simple. Below you can see we had pig cookies for “Wilbur” and a spider paper craft for Charlotte. I put our popcorn in these nifty popcorn bags that went with our circus party during the Time Machine study. I’ll put my Pinterest link at the end.

Michael finished reading Charlotte’s Web first. Yaaa Michael!

Spider craft:

http://greenbabyguide.com/2009/10/13/how-to-make-a-simple-paper-spider-in-its-web-more-diy-halloween-decorations/

Then we baked sugar cookies for the movie.

Thankfully we had several animal cookie cutters and therefore we had pigs. I added red food coloring, sugar, & cinnamon to cream cheese spread and frosted the cookies with it. We added a chocolate chip for the eye. Maybe it’s silly but I was almost in tears at the end of the movie….even if I hate spiders. I liked Charlotte.

 

Now hold on to your horses. 🙂 I’ve got a ton of Easter crafts!

Art

Blown out Eggs ~ I had not done this since high school but it’s super fun and literally…umm breath taking.

Clean off the outside of your egg with soap. Take a pin and poke a hole on the top and bottom of the egg. Make the bottom hole bigger because that’s where the egg yolk comes from. Blow through the top hole. You want to blow all of the yolk out.

Then I ran water through the eggs and blew it out. After that I boiled the eggs to kill any bacteria and when it cooled blew that water out. I strained the egg yolks for shells.

Then made egg patties to keep in the freezer. I couldn’t stand wasting a dozen eggs.

We painted eggs on and off.

Nana came over Tuesday and painted a few herself.

One of Nana’s (Mom’s) masterpieces.

One of mine.

I used rubber bands to make a striped egg.

This was neat because later I put one of our Lent symbols on it. It was a symbol for Jesus being beat by the whip (cat of nine tails). He bore stripes for our sin. I didn’t realize the egg had whip marks until the day we read it. That was completely unplanned by me…a God thing.

12 eggs for the 12 days leading up to Easter. This goes with our Resurrection Egg lapbook.

I then printed off the Ressurrection egg symbols and modge podged them onto the eggs. I ran thread through the holes to make them ornaments.

We hung them on our Lent tree, a simple branch painted white. I never covered the coffee can it’s in but oh well….adds character ;).

Resurrection Egg Lapbook

Link for this:

http://teachingheart.net/blog/2011/03/resurrection-eggs-idea-with-printables/

Inside the lapbook. Flip up eggs with Lent symbols and scriptures.

Tape Resist Art: Easter Cross

First, we made a cross out of tape, on the paper. Then Michael painted a hill scene over it.

A blue sky then pink rays to outline the cross.

After it dried it came out like this…

Empty Tomb Paper Craft

Easter Wreathe…sans wreathe. We just pinned this to our board.

Cardboard Box Stained Glass Chapel

I cut out windows and doors in an empty Goldfish box. Michael painted the box white.

We made windows with bits of colored tissue paper and contact paper cut to shape. We taped them inside and then taped a construction paper cross.

We put a real candle in it for these pictures but later found a batter operated candle.

Cooking

Rock Candy

I don’t have an after picture because this has yet to work for us. The crystals just form on the top. But Michael and Chris attempted to make rock candy together. They boiled sugar and added food coloring. They dipped the sticks into sugar so the crystals would have something to grow on.

They sit in our window a week later…still doing nothing. Sigh…not sure why this never works for us.

I forgot to tell you but last week we read this book on wegivebooks.org about rocks. It was very interesting. It’s from an evolutionary view but Michael and I just talked about how it differed from our beliefs.

Link here: http://www.wegivebooks.org/books/rocks-and-minerals

This week I read “The Story of Me”. It’s the first in a series of books that teaches God’s design for sex. Each book is for a different age level. The next book is for 6 to 8 year olds but I may wait til Michael’s 9. “The Story of Me” is about a little boy asking to hear how he was born. The baby making process is explained as a special part of Mommy and a special part of Daddy to make a baby. It’s explains the story nicely and goes on to name personal parts and gives a talk about good touch bad touch. Because the word “sex” is on the cover, I explained that sex is how people have babies. I also explained to Michael that certain words in the book were special and should be kept to ourselves. This book presents sex  (they don’t use the exact word) as God’s beautiful plan for marriage. I think it’s great for little ones and especially those expecting siblings. It also talks about breast feeding.

http://www.christianbook.com/gods-design-series-book-story-revised/stan-jones/9781600060137/pd/060137

Nana visited Tuesday. Michael wanted to be a doctor this week so Nana got out her blood pressure machine. She’s a CNA.

Mom (Nana) explaining how to use it.  Later I became the patient, Nana the nurse, and Michael the doctor.

Michael reading on the trampoline while Mom and I watched all the animals enjoy the outdoors.

Under the trampoline. The guinea pig doesn’t like the mouse.

Science

Newton’s First Law Egg Experiment ~ http://www.ordinarylifemagic.com/2010/01/newtons-first-with-raw-eggs.html

All you need is a glass or vase of water, an egg, a toilet paper tube, and a pan. Line the egg and tube up directly over the vase.

Pull out the pan and the egg drops in the water!

Voila! Michael and Nana both tried it too.

Our new Lifepac Science work book~ this booklet is about colors and this week Michael learned how certain holidays are represented by different colors.

Music

Wednesday our homeschool group went to see  “Seussical”, a musical based on Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who. It was fantastic and interesting.

We had an easy day. I found these wonderful Easter themed worksheets for music on:

http://www.susanparadis.com/

I absolutely love her site! There are worksheets for everything. Even composing!  Michael composed his first song by putting the notes on whatever lines or spaces he wanted. The bunny song had a very interesting melody lol.

Michael solved bunny code by writing the note names and he also colored an egg by coloring the notes according to the color code. They also teach bass and treble Cleff. We’ve been slow with piano but Michael practices his scale and intervals each day.

I also found several musical apps on google play for android: Note flashcards, a guitar, and one that teaches piano scales.

Math ~ math apps and games

We’ve been blessed to have this little birdie sing to us most days. I think maybe he’s a Brown Thrasher.

Geography

Continent mobile ~ Michael colored the continents and stapled them to the ribbon. I’m still working on a felt globe. Michael also colored coloring pages for the 4 oceans. We watched and sang a song about the continents and oceans.

At our place there’s always a buddy to listen…sometimes that buddy is a dog :).

Creation studies

The life cycle of a chicken. We made this simple craft and watched a video of a chick hatching. I want a chicken now.

Health and Safety

Traffic signs ~ Popsicle sticks in bottle caps. You can print the signs here:

http://www.doodlesandjots.com/2012/05/04/all-signs-point-to-fun/

These went well with Michael’s race he had Saturday.

I brought the responsibility chart out again and Michael checks it off every day. I have to remind him often but he did good last week. He got a prize for his diligence.

Now for the awesome homeschool freebies site I told you about. You can find free homeschool materials (lapbooks, Ebooks, etc…) at https://www.currclick.com/

Currclick also offers classes and clubs for homeschoolers. We joined a free Lego club where we got to see the teacher online in real time. Michael was able to chat with other homeschoolers as they made a Lego project.

They have many clubs so check them out :).

They also have great classes for good prices. They range from 5 bucks to 50. It depends on how long the course is. We may take a one day class on subtraction tricks. I’m excited about their summer classes. Some require books and others give you the resources you need.

When you go to the site look on the left and click Live Classes to see what they offer.

Here is my Pinterest link for the crafts. Remember email subscribers to come to my blog to see the links.

Easter Crafts on Pinterest:

God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover

Inspirational Wednesday: Ash Wednesday & Valentine’s Message February 13, 2013

Hello dear ones, I have a couple awesome videos posted but please check out the message too. I know it will encourage you in your Christian walk! Remember email subscribers to come to my actual blog site to see videos and links.

This is my first time celebrating Ash Wednesday and I’m excited to dig into God’s word about Jesus’ time in the wilderness. I found this neat decoration idea here:

http://thedickensonfamilyblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/ash-wednesday.html

I’m not sure how I feel about the whole ashes on the forehead. Since I’m not sure we may just do it on our arm. Sounds trivial I know but that’s just me. I celebrate many things including Biblical feasts. This year everything is running together. While I’m prepping for Valentine’s I’m also gearing up for Purim & Lent. Then comes St. Patrick’s Day, Passover, and Easter.  Wheww!

I love the fun of all the holiday traditions, food, and games but mainly I love learning about the Bible through these holidays. I’m not one to do things just for tradition sake. In fact, for many years I didn’t celebrate certain holidays because I thought they were pagan. Since digging deeper into the true history (not propaganda) I’ve changed my mind and have really began to enjoy the rich Biblical heritage of many holidays. I pray whether this is your first time celebrating Lent or you’re millionth time that the message of God’s word will fall fresh on you. There is nothing wrong with tradition as long as we don’t worship the tradition. Even devotion time and prayer can become rote and meaningless without the power of the Holy Spirit.  Holidays whether Biblical or secular can not save you or put you on a different level with God. Only God’s grace through Jesus Christ can do that. May we abide in Jesus today, dear ones.

First…..

Ash Wednesday:

Ash Wednesday begins the season of Lent (40 days leading up to Easter). Why 40 days? Well, it goes along with Jesus’ time of prayer and fasting in the wilderness when He was also tempted by Satan. In Biblical times, people would heap ashes on their heads as a sign of mourning and repentance before God. Thus, the ash cross on the forehead. Some people choose to give something up for Lent or to take on something new. I have friends who give up chocolate the whole month. It is also a time of focusing on service and giving.

I believe fasting (giving up food) and sabbaticals (giving up things or activities) should be a personal matter between you and God. Our church is having a Valentine’s banquet so I won’t be fasting. I’m anemic anyways. I do like the idea of giving up things because I’m doing this Bible study by Kelly Minter called “No Other Gods”. I’ve realized that I have many functional idols….a day away from my laptop may be as excruciating as not eating lol. Again….traditions will not make you holy before God. Jesus Christ is our righteousness…not our works.  I believe just as the Sabbath was made for man’s benefit that these traditions should benefit us.

God’s Word….

You can read the story of Jesus’ temptation here: http://bibleresources.org/bible/KJV/Matthew-4

This is my brief summary:

Jesus fasts for 40 days and 40 nights.

Verse 2 says afterwards he was hungry. Sorry I just have to stop and say what an understatement lol. Yes, I think I would be hungry too after that long ;).

The devil tempts Jesus three times and each time Jesus uses scripture to take Satan down. The Bible says God’s word is like a sword. I could so see a Star Wars thing happening but way better. Anywho, that’s just my overactive imagination.

I’ve always been taught how to use God’s word to make Satan flee but today while reading I noticed something. I want to talk to you about how Satan tempted Jesus. He used three methods and he still uses these today.

First off, the last time Satan tempts Jesus, the Lord tells Satan to go then uses scripture. I believe it is very possible that had Jesus told Satan to go the first time then he would have. but everything the Lord did was for our benefit. He knew we needed an example. So I want to put forward that the word of God is our greatest weapon in each of these temptations.

^3″And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.

⁴But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” Matthew 4:3-4

• Satan tempted Jesus during a time of weakness. Whenever we are hungry, tired, or even mentally drained we are open for attack. Lions attack their prey in times of weakness. A shark is drawn to a bleeding animal/fish. Satan  known as the roaring lion, (1 Peter 5:8) is no different. So dear ones, you must be especially on guard during times of weakness. Do not give the enemy the upper hand. Avoid even the appearance of evil.

Example: When my Hubby was deployed to Iraq I was very lonely. I knew that I missed his affection. I knew I was vulnerable. For my own sake, I decided not to hug people of the opposite sex..even pastors etc…unless they were family. I also did not allow myself to be alone with a man if possible. I’m still very careful about avoiding even the appearance of evil. But I was super careful during my time of weakness.

^6″And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone.

⁷Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”   Matthew 4:6-7

• Satan twisted scripture to tempt Jesus. We learn a lot about how to use God’s word to fight Satan but we often forget that Satan also knows God’s word. Sadly, he knows the word better than us because he’s lived through it. Satan is a master at twisting the Bible and bringing confusion. We must not only know scripture, we must also know it’s context.

Here is a great principle for protecting yourself against false teaching. Never build your theology on just one verse. If it is mean’t to be a foundational belief then it will be supported by several verses in both the old and new testaments. A lot of people (and I’ve been one of them) get into spiritual deception because they take one verse out of context. A close study of the culture, the original language, and the context (in the book/ letter and also the Bible as a whole) will often remedy any confusion.

I’ll admit that this is the hardest temptation for me. Too often I am unprepared when a person takes a verse out of context and shoots it my way. Sometimes this happens with believers and sometimes with unbelievers. Verses out of context can be used for all kinds of crazy beliefs. We must be ready and we must know our Bible. Another thing to note is that Jesus didn’t argue with Satan. He simply stated the truth in context.

^9″And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

¹⁰Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.”   Matthew 4:9-10

• Satan tempted Jesus with worldly possessions. Now this is different for everyone. That’s why each believer has the Holy Spirit dwelling inside them. In the past, the Holy Spirit chose to dwell with only certain people so the majority had to rely on a prophet to speak God’s words. Now we have the immense privilege of going before the Father ourselves because Jesus is our High Priest. We have this beautiful personal relationship with Father God. The Holy Spirit himself teaches us God’s word and he brings conviction. The Holy Spirit knows us best and He helps us with those grey areas.

Maybe you can’t drink alcohol because you have a prior addiction. Or maybe you feel it’s permissible to drink because you don’t have a prior addiction and you never get drunk. In these last days we are to rely on Jesus for every area in our lives. If we rely on man instead of God, to tell us how to live then we are worshiping idols. We are to surrender to Jesus and to follow His words alone. So please don’t let anyone (even/ especially me) try to be your Holy Spirit. Wise counsel is good but Jesus gets the final say.

We are all tempted by different lusts whether it be candy bar or clothes. You know the area you struggle in. May God’s word bring conviction and remember the Word will give you the strength to overcome.  Who is the Word? Jesus himself is the embodiment of God’s word! How awesome!

So dear ones I hope you’ve learned how to counter Satan’s attacks with God’s word.

Valentines…

remember to go to my blog to see vids that don’t show up in email 😉

• Loving our spouse

Marriage Promise Video by Onetime Blind

• loving others

Help by Onetime Blind vid

sometimes God answers our prayers in ways we don’t expect & with people we may not accept

• God’s love for us

Little Things- Onetime Blind vid

seeing God work in the little things

Trash- Onetime Blind

Let God carry your trash. He does it because he loves you. Let it go 🙂

• Loving God

Wash my Feet- Onetime Blind vid

ever try to one up people on your service? A humbling reminder about humility 😉

Lord Lord- Onetime Blind vid

Do you call him Lord but not treat Him as Lord?

A great sermon by Francis Chan on recognizing false teaching

Love to you all! God bless & remember the High King lives! ~Amber Dover