{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: The Picture-Smart Bible

I had heard about The Picture-Smart Bible when it was first developed several years ago. Then, in May 2010, I had the opportunity to see the program at a convention, and I was instantly hooked. In fact, I took advantage of special convention pricing and purchased the complete set for our family.

So, what is The Picture-Smart Bible? According to the program website, it "is an innovative approach to 'seeing' Scripture as a total entity. This Genesis-to-Revelation course is designed to help participants learn, remember and teach the themes and concepts in each book of the Bible...and have fun in the process!" In other words, it's a complete Bible curriculum presented in a unique format that will engage young children, youth, and adults alike in such a way that they'll actually remember key scriptural ideas.

The Picture-Smart Bible is unique because, unlike any other Bible curriculum of which I'm aware, it's been designed to appeal directly to the powerful picture-smart element in every person's brain.

Specifically, Dan and Juanene Peters, the creators of the program, have developed a one-page blackline drawing to represent each and every book of the Bible. Each drawing incorporates images for all the key events and concepts presented in the book, and detailed notes help a teacher walk her students through a systematic, engaging study of the text. As the teacher explains a particular idea, students activate their brains by tracing and/or coloring the appropriate parts of the drawing until the entire page is colorized as directed. If desired, a student can then use the completed illustration to explain his understanding of the book in his own words, and, thus, activate another powerful memory tool. And, when pictures for every book have been finished, each student will have an illustrated, personalized summary of all of Scripture.

I found with my daughters that taking several days to go through each book was most conducive to absorbing and remembering. So we've chosen to incorporate it as an occasional supplemental homeschool activity - one, I might add, to which they always look forward. As a result, we finish a handful of book pages a year and will be able to enjoy our study for years to come. Others I know have chosen to use The Picture-Smart Bible as a daily component of their homeschool curriculum and, thus, produce completed keepsakes after just a couple of years. In either case, students can look back to a book's summary sheet at any time when they're engaged in other Bible study, so it's a tool they really can use for a lifetime.

But it's not just for homeschoolers. Families whose kids attend school outside the home use The Picture-Smart Bible for family devotions, utilizing it to build both Bible knowledge and family unity. And it's also an excellent resource for Christian schools, Sunday school classes (for children as young as four or five all the way through to adults!), and youth groups; in fact, if a school or church adopted The Picture-Smart Bible for use among all its members, I daresay it would be the most Bible-literate organization for miles around!

Of course, whether in a family or within a school or church, the goal is not mere knowledge. But the fact of the matter is that we must know Scripture in order to really know the Lord, and I can't think of a better tool than The Picture-Smart Bible for parents and teachers who really want to engage kids in that process. Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home, and be sure to link up your own ideas below!

About the Author: Tina Hollenbeck and her husband Jeff are raising two daughters and have another waiting for them in the arms of Jesus. Before becoming a mom, Tina taught English to immigrant kids in public secondary schools for nine years, but now she cherishes her role as an at-home wife and mother and also advocates passionately for homeschooling. Tina writes regularly for her blog, Being Made New, and is also the staff writer for Celebrate Kids, Inc, a Texas-based ministry to parents and educators. In addition, she’s developing a public speaking ministry of her own, and is available to address homeschoolers, women’s groups, and young people on a variety of topics. In her spare time, Tina enjoys singing on her church’s worship team, exercising, and scrapbooking.

{Hope for the Home} Linky Party: The Ministry of Presence

This past weekend, my daughters hosted a sleepover for nine of their friends. Actually, this was the second of what appears to have become an annual event for our family, and we ended up nearly doubling the guest list as well as extending the festivities for an additional six hours compared to last year.

Getting ready cost me extra cleaning time, as well as time for shopping, cooking, and baking. It also cost a fair amount of extra money to buy food to feed all those girls for three meals and a rather substantial "tea party." It cost my husband and me a lot time and effort to supervise and guide the girls from early Friday evening through mid-afternoon on Saturday. And it cost us all clean-up time afterward.

But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Way back when my girls were toddlers, a Titus 2 woman in my life advised me to make my home a place where my kids and their friends would want to hang out. She noted that, while I'd likely be able to trust my kids' well-being in the homes of a few other families, I'd be wise to nurture relationships with my children and their friends so they'd choose to be in our home more often than not. I'd know they were safe, and I'd be available to provide necessary guidance and direction. She said it'd be easier to allow them to gather elsewhere - but, of course, wise isn't always easy.

She was right, of course.

I'm not a big fan of sleepovers in general. I know from my own childhood that they can be great fun. But I know from personal experience that the conversations and activities at such events aren't always wholesome, healthy, or God-honoring. And, sadly, I also know that sleepovers can sometimes be fodder for luring kids into hurtful, soul-damaging encounters.

I would, indeed, trust my girls to playdates and even sleepovers at the homes of a couple of close family friends. Of course, even then I err on the side of caution by asking lots of questions about planned activities and how the parents expect to be involved. But the beauty of hosting an event in my home is that I already know the answers - and I know my girls (and their friends) will be safe...body, mind, and soul.

It's not that my husband and I hover; in fact, we let our daughters take the lead in terms of directing the flow of an event they host. At the sleepover, my main, visible task was simply preparing food at the prescribed times.

But we provide the crucial "ministry of presence." That is, though we give the girls and their friends a wide berth, we are available. And we keep our ears and eyes attuned to anything that might require adult intervention. I even camped out in the same room for the actual sleepover portion of the festivities rather than leave the girls alone to their own devices. After all, though my daughters and their friends are lovely, trustworthy young ladies, they are still prone because of their youth to become unwittingly caught up in folly (Proverbs 22.15). So it's a parent's job to provide a better path whenever necessary. And we can only do that when we're present.

You may or may not feel comfortable with sleepovers. But I would urge you to consider making your home a place where your maturing kids will choose to gather with their friends.  And be sure to practice the "ministry of presence" when the kids are there. You're not aiming to become one of the gang, so to speak. But you want your kids and their friends to know they've got an ally in you. And they can only know that if you welcome them in and remain available for them while they're there.

Go here for more ways to make God apart of your everyday life and home, and be sure to link up your own ideas below!

About the Author: Tina Hollenbeck and her husband Jeff are raising two daughters and have another waiting for them in the arms of Jesus. Before becoming a mom, Tina taught English to immigrant kids in public secondary schools for nine years, but now she cherishes her role as an at-home wife and mother and also advocates passionately for homeschooling. Tina writes regularly for her blog, Being Made New, and is also the staff writer for Celebrate Kids, Inc, a Texas-based ministry to parents and educators. In addition, she’s developing a public speaking ministry of her own, and is available to address homeschoolers, women’s groups, and young people on a variety of topics. In her spare time, Tina enjoys singing on her church’s worship team, exercising, and scrapbooking.

Raising Biblical Superheroes {Ephesians 6}: The Helmet of Salvation and The Shield of Faith

Today was another fun "Superhero Saturday" at our house! The boys are loving the dressing up and playing, and we are loving the teaching them what it means to be a "warrior" for God...or Biblical Superhero, if you will!

I was planning to make superhero masks today, but when I found these cute little masks in the party section at Walmart the other day for only $2.00 (just $.50 apiece), I decided buying them was much easier! :) But if you would rather make them, go here for some printable superhero mask patterns.

The boys loved wearing them!

Scary...ha!

And it worked out perfectly because one of the masks in the package (Thor) was actually a helmet, not a mask, which led right into our discussion of the "Helmet of Salvation."

We talked about the fact that one of the pieces of armor that we need, in order to be in God's army, is salvation through Christ alone. In order to win the final battle against the devil and spend eternity in Heaven with God, we must have a personal relationship with Him through faith in Jesus Christ.

We MUST...

A - ADMIT we're a sinner, that we need Christ as our savior, and that all those who call on the name of the Lord Jesus will be saved! We simply need to turn from our sin and turn to Christ.

B - BELIEVE the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God, who took our place on the cross, dying for our sins and then 3 days later rising again, conquering death and Hell, so that we can have eternal life in Heaven with Him when we die!

C - COMMIT our lives to the Lord, putting our faith and trust in Him as Lord and Savior, allowing Him to lead and guide us! We need to strive to live a life for Him, becoming more and more like Him, knowing that we will not be perfect until we get to Heaven.

Go here for more information about how to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, which leads to eternal life in Heaven when you die.

Then the boys put on some superhero costumes and went to war against the evil Daddy! ;)

I had not planned to discuss the "Shield of Faith" today but Little A was blocking the "fire balls" that Big A was throwing at him (actually squishy baseballs) with his Captain America shield and it was just too good to pass up. I used the opportunity to talk about how having faith in God, putting our trust in Him, will enable us to overcome sin and remain victorious against the devil and his lies.

The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still. {Exodus 14:14}

I hope you are having fun playing with your little superheroes, all the while using the Armor of God passage to teach them how to "fight" for the Lord!

Check back next Saturday for a fun little superhero giveaway! And be sure to post your Biblical Superhero pictures and ideas onto our Facebook page or simply leave a comment here, with the link to your blog post, or on Twitter using the hash tag #biblicalsuperheroes. I will feature them here next Saturday.

Go here to find out what we did last week to teach the boys about the Sword of the Spirit!

Happy Saturday, friends!

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.

Raising Biblical Superheroes {Ephesians 6}: The Sword of the Spirit

My friend Courtney (who blogs for our Hope for the Home series) posted a brilliant idea on her blog Lil Light O' Mine  a few weeks ago.You can read about it here.

It was basically saying that we can use the Ephesians 6 passage (The Armor of God) to make our little men into "warriors" for God, incorporating it while we play superheroes with them.

Um...LOVE! Hello, I have 2 boys who are CRAZY about all things superheroes. Off the top of my head, I know that we own the following costumes...Spiderman, Captain America, Ironman, The Hulk, Wolverine, and Bumblebee Transformer, to name a few. Not to mention we own our fair share of swords, shields, masks, capes, etc.

With this in mind, I decided to start "Superhero Saturdays" in our home. Basically, every Saturday in October (and maybe longer, not going to put a limit on how long they want to do this) we are going to dress up like and play superheroes, while discussing what the Bible has to say about being a "Biblical Superhero," ready for battle against the devil and his schemes!

I thought it would be fun if we included some sort of superhero craft or recipe as well, to reinforce the lesson for the day.

That said, every Saturday during October, I will post what we did right here on the blog, so that you can follow along if you want! If you can't do Saturdays, no worries. Simply choose a day and time that works for you.

Feel free to use my ideas or come up with your own. I would love for you to post your pictures and ideas onto our Facebook page or simply leave a comment here, with the link to your blog post. I will feature them here the following Saturday. I would also love for you to share your ideas and pictures on  Twitter using the hash tag #biblicalsuperheroes. I will feature them here as well. We may even have a fun giveaway along the way. :)

Will you fight with us?

We started with the sword, for no other reason than I had the supplies needed to make them. :)

Here is exactly what we did...

1. Dress up like superheroes, using anything they could find from the costume bins in their playroom or around the house

2. Make the swords, using the following steps:

First, I used scissors to cut strips of cardboard from boxes (that we no longer needed) in the garage, leftover from our recent move. I'm sure poster board, foam board or card stock would work too.

Second, I drew a sword onto the cardboard strips, using a pencil. I free handed it while looking at a picture of a sword. One, because I did not care if it was perfect and two, because I was too lazy to print a pattern. But you can use a pattern if you would rather.

Third, I cut out the swords using scissors.

Fourth, I set out the supplies...markers, foil, stickers and stamps. You could really use anything you wanted...fabric, crayons, glitter, buttons, etc. I just used what I had on hand in our craft cabinet.

Fifth, I called the boys up to get to started and had them color their handles. I helped them wrap the blade in foil and then they decorated their swords with stickers and stamps.

Last, we discussed Ephesians 6:17, which says that we need to take up the "Sword of the Spirit," the word of God. We talked about the fact that we need to read our Bibles daily and memorize scripture, so that we are ready to stand against the devil's schemes and the lies the world tells us.

Specifically, we talked about examples of things that the world says are true, that differ from what the Bible says. For example, the world says that we have to dress, look and act a certain way to be accepted but the Bible says in 1 Samuel 16:7, "The LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

We ended the day playing "superhero wars" with Daddy...you know the whole fighting, wrestling, boy thing that takes place daily in my house. This time using their new swords. :)

Let us know if you have "Superhero Day" at your house and check back next Saturday for more "Biblical Superhero" ideas!

Here are the other posts in the series so far:

The Helmet of Salvation and The Shield of Faith
The Gospel of Peace..with giveaway!
The Belt of Truth and The Breastplate of Righteousness...and a winner!

Happy Saturday, friends! :)

About the Author: Erin Vick Franklin is the founder and director of Worthy of the Prize. Erin has a BBA in Marketing and Management from TCU and a Masters of Christian Education in Church Recreation from Southwestern Seminary. She is a published, award-winning author and poet. Purchase her book Worthy of the Prize Sports Camps: A Church's Guide to Implementing an Effective, Community-Reaching Christian Sports Camp to be used as an outreach tool for your church or mission organization. Erin is the wife of A, a Worship Pastor, and a work-at-home-momma to 2 crazy little boys, a and e.