Doodle Devotions WK 1

Week One : Creation

Hello!

Today is the first day of what I hope will be a weekly resource for many of you! I will post each page for the week, along with a brief description of how to use it. (The description follows the page image)

I will also include a video lesson/and or song to use in conjunction with the printable handouts. You can grab the weekly files by downloading the complete merged document or download them individually…choosing what works best for the ages of your kids.

You may decide to use these materials throughout the week, or utilize specific pages to support your Sunday worship experience!

Click on the image for printable, then click on the title

Above is a cover for you to use, should you choose to create bound pages or house in a binder. You can print this off and slip it into a binder with a clear front pocket. I bound my pages together with washi tape, and then punched holes and added ties:) Each week will have 5-10 pages.

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

The above image is a coloring page.

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

The above scripture worksheet is designed for readers. It’s a GREAT exercise for young readers to learn how to use the table of contents in their Bible and to practice finding scripture for themselves.

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

Young readers or non reader can color in the numbered days as an adult or older reader helps them to understand what happened on each day of creation. Young readers can label the numbers with the corresponding scripture found on the previous page.

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

Above is a “Doodle 101” This is a step by step instruction. Kids can use this and the following Doodle 101 to create their own CREATION picture story.

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

Above is a printable frame for your kids to create their own “mock Polaroid’ of the creation story, using the Step by Step Doodle 101 worksheets.

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

Above is a weekly activity sheet, to dig in a little deeper! We all connect to learning by doing! These activities are designed to reinforce the lesson and build tactile memories…seeds that will continue to grow! (Day 3 of the creation plates ground/grass is created with Cheerios dyed with food coloring)

Below: The Creation Story VIDEO LINK

SONG “I Am A Helping Hand” (for Annabelle and me ❤️) VIDEO LINK

WE LOVE MUSIC MAE!!!!!! She and her team have LOTS of FUN original & inspirational songs on YouTube or at crossroadskidsclub.net

COMPLETE MERGED DOCUMENT (ALL PAGES)

Finally, for those of you who enjoy baking with your children, and are able to pick up the ingredients…you’ll find my “Pretty Famous Gingerbread Cookie Recipe” (one of my most requested recipes!)

You can use this activity to reinforce the creation story, especially the creation of man.

Encourage the children to talk about their differences as you cut out cookies and later decorate them.

• Using one batch of Dough explain how God formed Adam from the dust of the Earth and how we are all made from the same matter, just as the Gingerbread character is made from the same batch of dough.
• Then as the children cut the Gingerbread character out with a small cutter explain how we are all made the same way no matter what colour or ethnic group we come from and that God loves each of us the same. He created us, out of love…to LOVE US!
• Once the Gingerbread characters are baked, you’ll find that no two Gingerbread characters are exactly the same, & reinforce that even if we are made of the same stuff we are also unique and special. No one is exactly like YOU!

Click on the image for printable file, then click on the title

*This dough is so AMAZING!!! You can roll it out right away, and after baking, the cookies stay fresh and moist for days! Don’t over bake. I usually don’t leave them in for a full 10 minutes, especially for smaller cut outs. The Cream Cheese icing really makes them special! Hope you try them!

Well, that’s is for week 1! I sure would love to hear from you!

1. How can I better serve specific ages?

2. What do you love? What could I add or tweak?

3. Would you enjoy being a part of a Facebook page, where we could encourage each other with photos of our family’s journey, comments, questions, and suggestions?!

4. Please respond in the comments! I would be grateful!

Much love to you,

Sue (aka:MIMI)

“How Could This Hardship Be A Gift To Me?” A Talk by Priscilla Shirer / Going Beyond Ministries

“How could this hardship be a GIFT to me?”

Hello Sisters! Taking this opportunity to share a great message from Priscilla today!

For the printable PDF file of above click HERE

May this be a blessing to you!

Xo,

Sue

Focus

Happy Tuesday!

A special welcome if you are new here! It’s an honor and a privilege to connect with so many Sisters in Christ ❤

Today, I’m beginning with a bit of a confession…

Lately, I have been “focusing” on improving my watercolor techniques. I am a self taught doodler, with no formal art training. (Other than freshman high school art! Thank you Ms. Marsh!) I have so much to learn!

Yesterday, after spending several hours working with watercolor, (twice the time I spent with God) a twitter post from Lysa TerKeurst came across my iPad screen.

“A good heart check for today: Whatever is holding our attention the most is what we’re truly worshipping.” -Lysa Terkeurst

OUCH! The Holy Spirit grabbed my attention in that moment, and caused me to evaluate my time management, which was quite telling of my focus & my heart.

So, I quit what I was working on, and got back to the business of prayer and study.

Later last night, I went to find that quote. It was still “on my heart” and I wanted to create a visual to remember it!

I have a twitter account, but I don’t really use it. I am so technically challenged, that I don’t even know why her tweet came across my screen?!!! 😂

ANYWAY, I was searching google for her twitter feed from yesterday, and the quote below came up from a few years ago…

”Wherever we focus our attention the most, will become the driving force in our lives.” -Lysa TerKeurst

Well, that was right on point too! God, are you trying to tell me something?!

I think so.

I LOVE creating. I could sit and draw, paint, doodle…all day long. That is a misuse of the precious time the Lord has given me to share of His glory and fulfill the purpose He has made me for….I need to listen to the Holy Spirit regarding balance in my life.

Anyway….

I finished this visual today and thought I would share it with all of you!

Hope becomes a visual reminder for you as well…

 

 

 

 

CLICK ON THE IMAGE ABOVE FOR THE PDF

Bless you & your time with the Lord,

 

Sleeping with Frogs

Hello!

I haven’t officially posted for quite a few days…here’s why:)

My husband and I have a vacation home near my Daughter’s family in Winter Park CO. We had a trip planned with them…our first time to stay in the summer!  Many of you know that my Dad has been ill, and I almost stayed in Ohio to be with him. BUT, his good sons came to stay and see to his care, along with his constant caregiver Karen, and so off we went to CO. So thankful for my brothers and for Karen!

I thought you might like to see this friendly Moose we ran into boating yesterday! He was actually with some buddies, and it was a thrill for us  to meet them all! He was so unimpressed with us:)

Before I go on, I do have great news…Dad is improving daily and I am sooooooo very grateful!  Again, many thanks to those of you who have been praying!!!!

So, I have to rise very early in the morning to “beat” my granddaughter up, in order to have some quiet time:) I’ve been reading such a AMAZING book by Beth Guckenberger called Start With Amen. I must admit, I have a hard time reading too many pages at once, because my mind and my heart are flooded with images due to the fact that BETH is an AMAZING story teller and writer.

I HIGHLY recommend her book!!!! You can find it here.

Today as I read in Chapter 4, it’s happened again!  Beth brings a new perspective to this chapter in Exodus…personal in application and loaded with great imagery.

Here is an excerpt from the book:

“The book of Exodus records a scene in which Moses, the one God called to rescue his people from slavery, and Pharaoh, the evil ruler holding them captive, squared off with the plagues in the let-my-people-go story:

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me. If you refuse to let them go, I will send a plague of frogs on your whole country. The Nile will teem with frogs. They will come up into your palace and your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and on your people, and into your ovens and kneading troughs. The frogs will come up on you and your people and all your officials.’” (Ex. 8: 1–4)

I want to imagine myself always on God’s side, fighting for him. But sometimes I choose to align myself with the enemy. It’s usually because I have a habit I don’t want to break, a sin I refuse to confess, or a grudge I would rather hold. Whatever it is, that sin gets in my bed and into my palace. I find it in my oven and in my kneading trough and on my people . . . Eventually, if I go long enough without confessing, I can’t see anything else, and like the frog, it’s everywhere. Then, like Pharaoh, choking on my own poor choices, I must go to the One who has the power to take it all away.

Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people, and I will let your people go to offer sacrifices to the LORD.” Moses said to Pharaoh, “I leave to you the honor of setting the time for me to pray for you and your officials and your people that you and your houses may be rid of the frogs, except for those that remain in the Nile.” (Exodus 8: 8–9)

I love how Beth highlights the fact that it was UP TO PHARAOH to ask for Moses to pray to the LOrd to remove those frogs…and instead of asking immediately, he chose to wait! As we read this story, we scratch our heads and wonder why he wouldn’t want to get rid of them as quickly as possible…and then, realize…that’s our constant state, our sin nature, our pride….it causes us to either hold onto what we think we need or think is best, or we find it hard to admit we can’t handle things on our own.

Sometime the frogs are quiet, and they lurk in the basement. We might not realize they are there until there is an infestation…they are everywhere.

It is our responsibility to “go to the ONE who has the power to take them all away.”

What a great “picture” of what our sin becomes…and infestation.

If we don’t remain proactive (abiding daily) we will find ourselves knee deep in frogs.

Let’s all decide to look (calling on the Holy Spirit, our Helper) for those frogs, and then ASK the Lord to take them away!

Thank you Beth, for such a great lesson, straight from God’s Word and through His Spirit!

Ribbit.

 

 

DAY 26 /iPad Journaling through John / with SHE READS TRUTH app

Day 26 / John Study / She Reads Truth

THE ASCENDED LORD

“In this last chapter of John’s Gospel, we see the risen Christ doing more of what He’d done all along: love and serve, invite and forgive. In fact, John ends his account of Jesus’ life by stating there were so many more things that Jesus did, “if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written” (John 21:25). Volume after volume of love and service. Book after book of invitation and forgiveness.”   -ERIN DAVIS

I really love the story Erin shared about her Jammie breakfast. What a sweet act of service her sister from church extended! But something else touched me about that story…the fact that Erin accepted that unusual request. Like she admitted, it is so often difficult for any of us to accept help…it means being honest about the fact that we actually NEED help. This IS NOT a SHAMEFUL revelation! We ALL DO need help. We need more than help, we need a SAVIOR.

Isn’t it so hard to believe that our GOD, our KING, our SAVIOR and LORD, chooses to SERVE Us?!!!!!! Time and time again, I have to remind myself of this…like pinching myself to wake up, because something is just too good to be true. It would be like one of us showing up at the house of someone who had hurt and betrayed us, to clean their house and make them dinner. I haven’t done that lately:)

How can we accept the precious gift of life and do any less?

FOR THE PDF FILE OF THE PAGE ABOVE CLICK HERE

The only way that we can serve unselfishly, is through the power of Christ in us. We have to intentionally set aside our STUBBORN will to ASK for it out of love and thanksgiving.

Jesus doesn’t ask us to do anything He hasn’t already done before us.

MAN, DO I NEED THIS “SMACK” ON A DAILY BASIS! WAKE UP SUE!!

In serving, we model Jesus, and grow to be more like Him…moving towards the FULLNESS of Joy, He intended for us to experience.

Doodle 101 / Butterfly / Christ in ME!

As we have come to the close of our Women’s Bible Study “The Armor of God” by Priscilla Shirer I am revisiting so many “ah-ha” moments the Lord has spoken into my heart. Re-recording many, in hopes that I won’t forget them!

Priscilla asks the question…”If salvation was only meant to give us a ticket to eternity, what good would it do us now while we are still on earth? Do we just sit around waiting?”

“Receiving salvation is not the same as applying salvation. The first redeems us; the second restores, protects, and shields us daily from the attacks of the enemy.”

I love how she breaks down these aspects of salvation:

Justification : past

Glorification : future

Sanctification : daily

“Sanctification is a process by which we are continually delivered from the wrath of God on earth, fortified against the enemy’s attacks, and molded into the image of Christ as our minds are renewed.”

-Priscilla Shirer.

Is change happening daily? Are we growing to be more like Christ each day or are we stuck in our cocoon?

This is an awesome definition of salvation from the Lexham Theological Workbook:

“Salvation is the rescue from a state of danger and the restoration to wholeness and prosperity.”

We have been rescued from the danger of death to be restored to wholeness and prosperity! We were meant to fly with the power of Christ to accomplish/ overcome anything.

Applying salvation is not a passive assignment. It requires a daily strategy. It is the process of “renewing our human mind” plaqued with “wrong thinking”…limited by a sinful perspective.

Paul instructs us to “take every thought captive” -an ongoing action.

It is a lifestyle, a moment by moment strategy of abiding in Christ.

We must continually replace our sinful thinking (fueled by satan’s attacks) with God’s thinking. Righteous thoughts fueled by truth.

As believers, we have the DNA of CHrist within us! Our responsibility is to rely on Him, resisting our tendency to fall back to our human patterns of thought that take us on a daily emotional roller coaster.

Every piece of armor is rooted in God’s Word, which is TRUTH, which is Christ Jesus.

KNOW IT.  BELIEVE IT. REMAIN IN IT… AND THEN GO!

LIVE every day with your crown on.

One day after Bible study, my dear friend’s daughter (5 years old) walked in wearing a princess crown. She had just come from school, and had worn it there all morning.  What a precious reminder of truth she was for me that morning!

She loves her crown, and is not embarrassed to wear it anywhere!

I want sweet Mya to remember this forever.

We have an a rich inheritance we share with Christ ….

We can be secure, confident, and hopeful when we have it on.

Colossians Chapter 3

2Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. 3For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory.
5Therefore consider the members of your earthly body as dead to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry. 6For it is because of these things that the wrath of God will come upon the sons of disobedience, 7and in them you also once walked, when you were living in them. 8But now you also, put them all aside: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and abusive speech from your mouth. 9Do not lie to one another, since you laid aside the old self with its evil practices, 10and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— 11a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all.

12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. 14Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. 15Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. 16Let the word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.

Take every thought captive. Replace negative thoughts with truth. Post it on your door posts…speak of it as you wake, as you walk and as you lie down. God’s perspective sees beyond all circumstance to the great hope He has prepared for those who believe.

Bless you,

sue

The Virtue of Contentment / WK 4 / Doodle 101 / Peace

Doodle 101 to Bible Page!

The Virtue of Contentment / WK 5 / Day 3

HAPPY DAY 3 OF WEEK 5!

(We are in Wk 5 in our book, but it is the 6th Wk of our study together!)

As we continue to spend time with the Lord, allowing the Holy Spirit to speak to our hearts, it is my prayer that the Lord will increase your confidence in knowing WHO HE IS, and WHO YOU ARE IN HIM.  I am prayerful, that the truth that He has deposited in your hearts over the course of this study, will penetrate deeply…and will bring about change in your life!

Read from Isaiah 55

10″For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven,
And do not return there without watering the earth
And making it bear and sprout,
And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
11So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth;
It will not return to Me empty,
Without accomplishing what I desire,
And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.

12“For you will go out with joy
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you,
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

13“Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up,
And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up,
And it will be a memorial to the LORD,
For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off.”

As we studied 2 Corinthians 12 : 8-10 we learned that the Lord’s POWER is made PERFECT in our weakness.

“Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

My summary…my biggest “take away” from week 2  is below:)

LET’s LET GO of the quest to achieve perfection.  Why do we want to work so hard to achieve so much less than what our God has prepared for us?

IN EXPOSING (NOT HIDING) MY WEAKNESS FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, I CAN FIND CONTENTMENT IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES.

That sounds really GOOD to me!

I’m not saying that we should unleash our weaknesses on everyone around us:)  BUT, as we confess them to our God (who already knows them) we will BRING THEM OUT of the dark cave they have been “festering in” and OUT INTO THE LIGHT for the LORD to penetrate and illuminate…then we will have victory over them…and “His power will be made perfect in us” displaying His Glory, as we EXPERIENCE HIS FAITHFULNESS!

I can’t draw a straight line.  I don’t even try! Instead, I look for ways to create “imperfection.”  I letter with varying styles and shapes with the intention of NOT creating a perfectly spaced, perfectly ordered “piece.”  I surrender my weaknesses, allowing them to be transformed into something beautifully imperfect.

If everything :”looked perfect” we would quickly be bored and uninspired! God created us to be unique. NO ONE IS QUITE LIKE YOU! Are you questioning God’s workmanship as you see yourself as “less than?”

Celebrate your weakness as you allow the Lord’s POWER,  to be made perfect within you! Celebrate your uniqueness…smile at your style! It’s all your own…and God sees you as BEAUTIFUL…and so do I:)

As we let go of our “need to achieve” perfection, we will find contentment in His.

Bless you!

Doodle 101 / Hydrangea