Enjoy Family Time with Simple and Engaging Family Devotions

Do you ever find that the things that matter most to you are often the most challenging to prioritize? I get it!🙋🏽‍♀️As a mom, I’m passionate about cultivating faith, helping my kids grow in character, and enjoying fun and laughter with my family.

Yet despite my background as a kids' ministry content developer, I found it challenging to be intentional with my own family in my early years of parenting. Prayer before meals and bedtime Bible stories were staples most days, but it’s like I felt stuck beyond that. Lack of direction, time, and energy were significant hurdles. Cue ALL the overwhelm!

If you resonate with these challenges, you're not alone. That's why I now create resources to share with you (and use with my own family), including a seven-week family devotional series! These printable or digital pages focus on different aspects of how God made us, accompanied by sweet animal illustrations to catch the eye of your little ones. I want to equip other families with tools to help them discuss things like emotions, friendship, and faith.

Whether you stay at home, work outside the home full time, or anything in between, you can find ways to be intentional with those adorable, silly, and energetic kiddos running around your house. But let's keep it simple—no need for complicated lesson plans or elaborate crafts with 207 steps to follow. In our house, simplicity is key!

So, what can you expect in our family devos? Fun facts, discussion questions, Bible verses, easy activities, and more—all tailored for 3-7 year olds. I designed these resources to be easy for parents to use while of course being enjoyable and engaging for kids. You can use these devotions to help your kids build a foundation of faith as they learn more about who God is and who He created them to be!

True character is built over time as we are transformed to become more and more like Jesus. While only God can change hearts, these resources can be a great way to nurture seeds of faith. I want to raise kids who are kind, courageous, patient, and are daily becoming more like their loving Creator. If you share this desire, consider checking out our resources by subscribing to my email list.

These days I love integrating fun, faith, and family time into our weeks, and I hope to help you do the same!

Five Fun Advent Activities for Kids

We love celebrating Advent at our house, and I’m excited to share some of our favorite Advent activities for kids!

The Christmas season gets filled up with lots of busy all too easily. The parties and presents and decorations can all be great, but let’s not let those things cause us to forget about what matters the most. Advent is a time of waiting as we prepare to celebrate our Savior, Jesus! His birth—the greatest gift ever—is what this season is really about.

Whether you love using an Advent calendar in your countdown to Christmas or if this is your first time diving into embracing Advent, this is for you. These fun activities can help you and your family keep the focus on Christ this Christmas!

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Advent Activity #1

Lay out a blanket and have a picnic dinner in front of the Christmas tree as you read Isaiah 9:2, 6-7.

We love eating outside in the summer! Here in Minnesota, outdoor picnics just aren’t an option during the winter months (unless you enjoy sitting in -10 degree wind chills and feet of snow…I don’t!).

But because we enjoy our picnics, we will occasionally bring the picnic indoors! Our little shih tzu mix pup loves this too because all the delicacies are right at his level. And just a friendly reminder to keep the meals simple and unlikely to cause too big of a mess if spilled on the carpet or smeared on the walls. Not that I speak from experience. ;)

As you eat and enjoy the twinkling lights of the tree, you can also talk about Jesus bring light into our dark world! Christmas Day is actually one of the darkest days of the year here in the US in terms of actual sunlight, and it’s pretty cool how our Christmas tree and all the lights can remind us about the Light of the World!

Advent Activity #2

Act out the Nativity story. You could make a blanket fort for the stable and find other props for your performance! We like to grab a bunch of stuffed animals and place them all around the manger. And now that all of our kids are a bit too big to play “baby Jesus,” we use one of our many baby dolls for the baby king.

Our kiddos also absolutely love going around the house and knocking on doors while I act out different “inn keepers.” We take a lot of creative freedom as we play and reenact this beautiful story.

In fact, did you know that the “inn keeper” isn’t even in the Bible as part of the Christmas story? It’s true!

Oh, and did you know that the wise men didn’t actually visit Jesus on the night of His birth? It probably took them many months to travel from their home in the east to get to Jesus.

Honestly, it used to bother me that these inaccurate details (among others) were included in so many retellings of the Christmas story and essentially presented as facts. But it doesn’t bug me quite as much as it used to. And while I’m committed to biblical accuracy in the resources I create, I absolutely think there’s a place for imaginative Bible retellings! (I’ve even written a few in recent years.)

Anyway, with all of that…let’s move on to another activity idea!

Advent Activity #3

Set up a simple hot cocoa bar and use candy canes as stir sticks. As you sip, read about the shepherds in Luke 2:8-20 who were visited by a group of angels on that special night of Jesus’ birth.

You can talk about how candy canes are often bent into the shape of a shepherds crook to represent the celebration of Jesus’ birth. And then what happens if you flip those candy canes upside down? They make the shape of a “J” for Jesus!

If you want to go even further into some of the symbolization we can see in a candy cane, you could talk about how the color white in the candy cane represents Jesus purity—Jesus was perfect and never sinned. The red represents Jesus’ love and the blood He shed on the cross when He took the punishment for our sins!

Advent Activity #4

Wrap Christmas presents and pray for the people who will be receiving them.

As you wrap, you can also talk about how giving gifts is a fun tradition we do and how exciting it can be to get gifts too! Ask your kids what their favorite gift that they’ve ever received is—and you can ask them what gift they have been the most excited to give someone. The talk about the greatest gift ever…Jesus! God sent Jesus to earth as a gift to the world. Jesus makes it possible for us to be close to God now and forever!

As you pray for people, you can ask God to help them know and love Jesus because He is the best gift that anyone could ever have.

Advent Activity #5

Tell the real Christmas story about Jesus' birth to someone today! Hearing a young child tell others about the birth of our Savior can be one of the sweetest things.

I have a precious memory from when our oldest daughter was about three. She opened up my Bible (I think it was upside down) and as she turned the pages, she began sharing the story of Jesus coming to the world. It was amazing how much she had absorbed, and it was also super cute to hear some of the details she shared that weren’t exactly how the traditional story goes.

See if your kids are willing to tell you or maybe a grandparent the story of Jesus’ birth. It can help them grow in confidence in their ability to tell others about Jesus—and it’s just SO STINKIN’ CUTE.

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So, there you go!

If you like these Advent activity ideas, I think you’ll also enjoy a fun (and free!) resource I created. It has printable Advent activities that you could put into your Advent calendar each day or simply place them around the house for kids to find each morning. Do all 27 of the activities or just pick out a handful that you like—it’s totally up to you.

No matter what we do during our Christmas countdown, may we all remember that Jesus is the real reason for this special season.

Enter your info below to get access to my Fun Kids Advent Activities resource—and lots of other free stuff too!

Teaching Truth to Our Kids

Our world says we’ll find what we’re looking for by focusing inward. It sends messages like...

Trust in yourself.
Do what feels right to you.
Focus on what you need.
Get more for yourself.

And if we do all these things, we should be feeling great, right?

Well, God’s Word says something different.

Where the world says to trust yourself, God says to TRUST HIM.
Where the world says to do what “feels” right, God says to DO WHAT IS RIGHT.
Where the world says to focus only on yourself, God says to HELP OTHERS.
Where the world says to get more, God says to BE GRATEFUL.

I want my kids to be able to tell the difference between the world’s tugs and God’s truth.

Maybe we can’t change the messages the world sends, but we CAN be intentional about how we teach our kids to respond to those messages. Kids can learn to take a message that the world says and compare it with what the Bible says, replacing any lies with truth. And this can lead to change in our kids’ hearts, which can change our homes, which can change our neighborhoods, which can eventually change the world.

If you want to help your kids learn how to change it up God’s way, while also handling change itself well, I’d love to share my Change It Up activity pages with you!

In this free five-week series, there are interactive story scenarios about a group of animal friends who are seeing some big changes in the forest. There are also Bible verses, family activity ideas, songs, a traceable big idea, and coloring sheets.

Each week has its own Big Idea: trust God, do what’s right, help others, be grateful, and lead others. These Big Ideas help our family set up a theme for the week to guide conversations and do simple (emphasis on the simple!) activities together.

Here’s one of the weeks to give you a better idea of what these are all about.

If you want my Change It Up activity series along with other free resources I’ve created, enter your name and email below.

I hope you and your kiddos enjoy these fun, faith-filled activity pages!

Counting Down to Christmas!

Christmas has been sneaking its way into our house for a while now. Even my husband who is usually in the camp of waiting until after Thanksgiving for anything Christmas-related has been playing Christmas music, watching Christmas movies, and he was even the one to suggest getting out the Christmas decor early. I love it.

No matter which camp you fall in, the start of Advent is almost here!

Around this time last year, I was feeling totally overwhelmed. We had three kids ages three and under, and although I loved being a stay-at-home mom to our girls, we needed to change things up. We needed some structure. And celebrating Advent seemed like it could be a great way to do that.

I bought an Advent calendar, but the day before Advent started, I still didn’t know how I was going to use it. So at the last minute, I decided to write down Christmas activities each day of Advent and put those inside the cute little tree doors.

Thankfully the girls loved this new tradition! It not only offered the sense of routine I was looking for, but it also brought family fun and conversations about Jesus that we may not have had otherwise.

This year instead of scribbling down an idea for each day the night before (or the morning of!), I got all the ideas together beforehand and added in a little more festiveness too.

I’m excited to do these Advent activities with our family, and we invite your family to join us!

There are 27 activities, so you could start on the first day of Advent (which is November 29 this year) and have an activity every day through Christmas. Or just pick your favorite activities to add extra faith + fun to your weeks! Some activities incorporate scripture and the Nativity story while others are simply Christmas-themed activities to do with your family.

If you don’t have an Advent calendar to put these in, no worries! You could hide them each morning for kids to find or set them out on the breakfast table for kids to see after they get up. You can switch up the order, add in your own activities, or whatever works for your family.

As we head into this holiday season, let’s take time to remember what Advent is really about. Advent is a time of counting down the days to Christmas as we prepare to celebrate our Savior. Activities like these can add some extra fun while learning about the birth of Jesus, but what happens in our hearts is way more important than whether or not we make homemade Christmas cookies.

Let’s remember that Jesus is the real reason for this special season while helping our kids begin to understand that too!

Help Kids Understand Feelings & Emotions

Do you wish you could help your kids better understand their feelings? With three kids ages four and under, we have lots of big emotions at our house. And I’ll admit, it’s not only on the kids’ end either!

Emotions aren’t the enemy. Of course we love feelings of joy and happiness, but emotions like anger or sadness can help us too by signaling that we need something. Maybe we need community. Maybe we need to make a change. Maybe we need to connect with our Creator. God gave us different emotions for a reason, and we can honor Him by learning how to handle our emotions well.

So, how can we help our kids better manage and understand their feelings? One way is to show them through our own words and actions. It won’t look perfect, but our kids learn a lot from our example. We can talk about our feelings out loud and then say how we are going to handle that emotion.

Example: “I’m feeling frustrated. I’m going to take a few deep breaths to help me calm down.”

Of course we won’t do this every time we experience a big emotion, but demonstrating this can be helpful for littles. Kids will still learn from us simply by our actions because they are watching!

Another great way to help our kids learn to handle their big emotions is by providing them with tools and opportunities to talk about their feelings openly. Making faces out of food can be a fun + yummy way to do that!

I originally wrote the activity below for Clubhouse Jr. magazine, but I’m sharing it here as well for anyone who wants to try it out. Have fun!

FOOD FACES: Help Kids UnDERSTAND BIG FEELINGS

Make snack time with your kids extra fun while learning about different feelings & emotions! 

GATHER:
Paper plate
Yarn or pipe cleaners (for hair)
Scissors
Glue
1 apple
1 bell pepper
1 large carrot or several carrot sticks
1 strawberry
1 banana
2 blueberries
(Feel free to get creative and substitute or add in other foods too!)

GO:
1. If you’re using the yarn, cut several pieces of yarn to the desired length. Attach the yarn to the plate with the glue. Let the glue dry completely before step 3. Or use pipe cleaners and shape it into the hairstyle of your choosing. :)

2. Prepare the fruits and veggies.

Apple: cut slices into half circles or crescent shapes
Pepper: cut the pepper into thin, long slices
Carrot: cut the carrot into several short sticks
Strawberry: cut the strawberry in half
Banana: slice the bananas into full circles

3. Place two banana circles on the plate and put a blueberry on top of both slices for “eyes.” Use half of a strawberry for the “nose.”

4. Use the other pieces for the mouths and eyebrows, and create a variety of faces that show different emotions. Answer the questions below and enjoy your healthy snack as you go!

Emotion Ideas:

Happy: Use the crescent-shaped apple slice to make a smile!
-What or who makes you happy?
-How can you try to make someone else happy today?

Sad: Use the pepper slice to make a frown.
-What makes you feel sad?
-Who can you talk to when you’re sad?

Angry: Arrange the little carrot sticks in a zig zag pattern to make a mad mouth and then add some angry eyebrows.
-When is the last time you were angry and what made you mad?
-What helps you calm down when you’re angry?

Surprised: Use an extra banana slice to make a surprised face.
-What is one of the best surprises you can imagine? 
-How could you give someone else a good surprise this week?

God gave us emotions for a reason. Let’s not shy away from helping our kids understand and manage those big feelings so they can continue to become the very best version of themselves!

Treasure Hunt Clues for Kids

I’ve been trying to be more intentional about finding fun activities that also get my kids thinking & moving too, and one thing we’ve been loving are treasure hunts! 🔎 I may enjoy them just as much—if not more—than my kiddos do. It’s so fun to watch them run around and get excited as they find clue after clue!

If putting together a treasure hunt sounds like a lot of work, it really doesn’t have to be. I like to keep them pretty simple.

Here are a few ideas to get started with your own treasure hunt!

1. Choose the treasure. This could be a little prize, a surprise movie to watch together, a fun snack, a birthday gift, etc. We did fruit snacks the other day, and it was a huge hit! ;)

2. Pick a theme/lesson. I like to incorporate a little lesson into our activities when possible so it’s like a 2-for-1 (fun+learning)! A theme we did recently was “searching for the truth.” In our family, we talk about how the best place to find truth is in the Bible!

3. Write/type out the clues. I write them out on little pieces of paper—nothing fancy. But you could totally take more time with it and make the clues more official looking too.

You can create your own clues or use some of the ones we’ve done below. Use whatever clues apply for your home/location and just skip over or switch up the ones that don’t.

4. Hide the clues and go have fun! 

CLUES YOU CAN USE! 🔍 

🔎 If you make a mess, you might need a good scrub.
Splish and splash here while you go rub-a-dub-dub.

🔎 When you want to sit and just watch a short show,
this is the spot where you usually go.

🔎 Some food is sweet, some is salty or bold.
Some food is hot, but head here where it’s cold.

🔎 When it’s getting late and it’s soon time for bed,
you go to this spot and you rest your sweet head.

🔎 To get some fresh air and enjoy a nice day,
this is where you like to go out and play.

🔎 Head right to the spot where feet reach for the sun,
where pushing and pumping can be lots of fun!

🔎 You might find some bugs or even a few frogs,
but for the next clue, find a big pile of logs.

🔎 The next clue’s not up so don’t look in a tree.
Instead look down low where your toes get sandy.

🔎 You might grab a chair to go sit near this spot. 
Roast marshmallows here, but be careful it’s hot!

🔎 You’re almost done searching so go and head back
and find some nice shade where you might eat a snack.

🔎 You followed the clues and found treasure—hooray!
Enjoy and keep looking for truth every day!

Change It Up!

Change is a normal part of life. Kids learn this at an early age through changes in schedules or seasons, new siblings or new schools, and lots more. 

But dealing with change well takes practice. Even grown adults have been known to throw a toddler-style tantrum here and there when faced with too much change. (When I start acting a little too much like our 2-year-old daughter, I know I’ve got some work to do!)

The amount of change our world has collectively experienced due to the pandemic is crazy. Our family has been slowly easing back into a new normal, as you might be doing too. It’s tricky to navigate, but there are some things we can do to help us handle these and all sorts of other changes well.

I’m excited to share that I created a new activity series to help kids learn about five great things they can do to handle change God’s way. I worked for several years as a kids ministry content developer, and I still love to create fun + faith-filled resources that I can use with my family and share with others too!

In this free five-week series, there are interactive story scenarios about a group of animal friends who are seeing some changes in the forest. There are also Bible verses, family activity ideas, songs, a traceable big idea, and coloring sheets. You can do it all or do the sections that work for your family.

Each week has its own Big Idea: trust God, do what’s right, help others, be grateful, and lead others. These Big Ideas help us set up a theme for our week to guide conversations and activities, but you could certainly do these all in one week if you prefer to do that!

Here’s week one to give you a better idea of what these are all about.

When things change and we’re searching for security, our world often tells us to focus inward. But God’s Word says something different.

I want to help my kids know the TRUTH and learn how to change it up God’s way!

If you want a free copy of my Change It Up activity series along with other activity sheets I’ve created, enter your name and email below.

I hope you and your kiddos enjoy these fun, faith-filled activity pages!

No-Bake Monster Cookies

What do you do when your oven is broken, but your family is still craving cookies? You make No-Bake Monster Cookies!

This recipe is a variation of peanut butter energy balls I make often. But these cookies are extra great for kiddos (or kids at heart) with all those crunchy M&Ms.

This super simple recipe is great for little helpers. The most challenging part of it all was keeping their little hands out of the bowl!

Bonus: these cute, colorful treats are healthier than your average cookie as they are packed with lots of oats, honey, and dark chocolate. Win-win!

…and they are just SO yummy!

Here’s the recipe if you want to try them out too.

NO-BAKE MONSTER COOKIES
Makes 12 cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups oats
1 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup M&Ms
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips/chunks

Instructions:

1. Mix together first three ingredients in a large bowl—you can use a mixer or just some elbow grease!

2. Add in M&Ms and chocolate chips. Stir together.

3. Form mixture into cookie shapes.

4. Place in the refrigerator for an hour—or try the freezer for a frozen snack.

5. Enjoy!

Hope in Heartache

The past few weeks have been hard. There has been brokenness and division and tears. I’ve been listening, learning, and leaning into the burdens of others. And my heart has been breaking again and again.

But you know what? Over the past few weeks, there has also been hope. Hearts are being changed and communities are coming together. People are joining in prayer, listening to one another, and seeking truth.

I’m continuing to pray for justice and for peace and for true racial reconciliation. I’m praying for our black brothers and sisters, and for restoration in our country. I pray that we raise our girls to love God and to love all of His children.

Something that I want our kids to understand is that we are all alike in that we are made in God’s image, and we are all different at the same time. Our differences are beautiful, but they can only make us stronger when we come together.

A book that has helped me teach this important lesson to our girls for the past couple of years now is God’s Very Good Idea by Trillia Newbell. It’s about “God’s delightfully different family,” and it shares the gospel message beautifully. There is even an activity book to go along with it!

As Christ followers, we are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus. What that looks like practically might be a little different for each person, but it can start with prayer for God to align our hearts with His.

When we ask God to work in and through us, He will. He’ll change our hearts which can change our homes which can change our world.

He’s the God of compassion, justice, peace, hope, and love.

He’s the God of all things good.

We need more of those things.

We need more of Him.

Raising Helpful Kids

[Originally posted on The MOPS Blog.]

While making dinner the other day, I noticed our 2-year-old setting silverware out on the table. Although I never taught her how to do this, it didn’t surprise me, since she loves mimicking her big sister. And big sister helps set the table. She looked so sweet attempting to place the forks in their designated spots.

As I walked closer, however, I realized that instead of taking the clean silverware from the drawer, she had pulled dirty utensils out from the open dishwasher. I praised her initiative as I explained how we use silverware from the drawer instead. Then I promptly put the silverware back in the dishwasher and finished setting the table.

All this got me thinking about how important it is for kids to know that they have a place at the table, literally and figuratively. Children want to know that their presence matters and that they can add value. I’m so quick to just do things myself because that’s usually easier, but our kids want to be part of what we’re doing in the home.

These days many of us have our kiddos around 24/7. Maybe this means it’s easier to come up with opportunities to involve your kids because you have more time. Or maybe you’re like us and things seem crazier than ever. Either way, we can all find ways to help give our kids a sense of belonging and stability in this ever-changing world. And bonus: something that can give children this stability might even help you, Mama, with your own to-do list.

Numerous studies have shown that children are inclined to help. They usually aren’t looking for a reward for helping either at young ages like two or three - they simply want to be part of what’s going on. I think this speaks to our innate desire to be part of something bigger, something beyond ourselves.

There’s a reason God puts value on relationships with him, with our family, and with other believers. We are created for community, and in a healthy community, people love and help one another.

While I believe it’s wise to offer positive reinforcement for behaviors we want to encourage, there might also be times when we can let the “reward” for helping simply be the joy that comes from being part of something bigger.

So how can we foster this innate desire to help? Here are four ideas:

1. Start them young. Even 2-year-old kiddos can be given simple jobs to do. Maybe it’s setting napkins on the table or holding the dustpan while you’re sweeping. They’ll likely embrace the opportunity to make a contribution and view this work as fun, since they likely haven’t yet been taught that work is hard or negative in any way.

2. Recognize the value they add. While you’re making lunch, you could give your kiddos a task to help you with meal prep. For example, my daughter loves to add that beloved orange powder to the mac 'n cheese. Then while you eat, remind your child how they helped make that meal possible.

3. Work as a team. When I ask my kids to clean up their mess, I’m often answered with, “Mommy, will you help us?” I don’t always help, especially if they were solely responsible for making the mess. It’s interesting, though, because when I do help, even just by putting away one or two items, my girls act as if it’s more of an activity than a chore.

4. Make it fun. Have a contest to see who can pick up the most toys or talk in silly voices as you set the table together. One thing my girls and I often do is turn on music so we can dance and sing as we clean. Helping really can be a lot of fun.

Maybe now more than ever, we can so easily get caught up in what’s happening in the world that we forget to focus on what’s happening in our homes. As moms, we have a unique opportunity to give our kids a sense of stability and belonging amidst the changes around us. And while it may add some extra work on the front end, the fruits of raising helpful kids can make a big difference for years to come, both inside and outside the walls of our home.

No matter what your home looks like these days, we can all find ways to raise helpful kids - even if that means dirty silverware on the table from time to time.

Rhythm and Rest When You Have Littles

A sustainable rhythm needs rest.

Growing up, my piano teacher would talk about the importance of the beats in between the notes. Without the appropriate pauses, my songs sounded like a jumbled mess. That’s because the notes can’t do their job and establish a rhythm without rest.

I’ve seen the value of creating a rhythm and simple routine for me and our family as well. Our rhythm has changed a lot these past couple of months, but something that hasn’t changed is the importance of rest.

With three littles running around our house (well, technically one is still crawling but she’s speedy!), I need to be really intentional if I’m going to rest. This is especially true when my kiddos make it clear that attempting to get a full night of sleep is a fool’s errand.

If our desired rhythm doesn’t seem to be working, it might be worth looking to see if we’re giving ourselves opportunities for rest throughout our days and weeks. We prioritize nap time and rest for our kids, but we can easily forget to do this for ourselves. I also do better when instead of trying to follow a rigid schedule, I create more of a “routine”...think looser time frames and more flexibility overall. (Because how do you “schedule” time for cleaning up diaper blowouts and impromptu picnic parties?)

One thing I’m trying to be better about adding into my routine is taking at least 15 minutes during my kids’ nap/quiet time to either rest my eyes or at least rest my mind. This can can look different daily, but it’s definitely not scrolling on social or reading the news! I pretty much rely only on family and friends to give me news these days, which still offers more than enough. 😉

Another thing my husband and I have been doing on the weekends is taking turns doing a few hour shift at some point where one person is “on duty” and the other gets a little break. Maybe we’ll still go on a family walk or watch our church service together during that time, but basically when you are off duty it means you aren’t responsible for diaper changes, meal prep, cleaning spills, etc. It’s been a game changer!

I’ve learned that without good rest, I become a jumbled mess—just like my piano playing back in the day. I’m a way better mom and wife and human when I take time to rest. That can look like going to bed at a decent hour, resting my mind in God’s promises, and setting down the to-do list.

As we continue to figure out new rhythms and routines in this ever-changing world, let’s remember that a good rhythm also needs good rest. 

Fun & Faith-Based Activities for Kids

Why are the things that matter the most to us sometimes the hardest things to actually do? I want to help my kids learn that they are created to be kind, wise, and brave. I want to have fun and laugh with my family. I want to give my kids tools to talk about things like emotions and faith.

Many families are spending a lot more time at home these days. While this “new normal” certainly has its challenges, it can also bring opportunities to be more intentional with our cute + silly + crazy kiddos. :)

Now this doesn’t mean spending hours working on complicated lesson plans or doing crafts that require 97 different supplies including gobs of glue and handfuls of glitter either. (I’ll admit, I’m a big fan of glitter, but my hubby could still use convincing.) We have three kiddos ages 4 and under at our house, so we are all about keeping it simple!

I love finding simple ways to incorporate fun, faith, and family time into our weeks. For several years, I actually worked as a kids’ ministry content developer where I created resources to help kids and families do this very thing.

However, as a stay-at-home mom to our three girls, I recently became frustrated that I was still struggling to be intentional with my kids in the ways I wanted to be. I’d spent years devoted to helping other kids have fun and grow in their faith, but I just couldn’t seem to figure out a good rhythm with my own family. We would pray before meals and often read Bible stories before bed (which are great things by the way!), but beyond that, it was like I was stuck. I knew the things I wanted to be doing, but I wasn’t doing them. There are a whole bunch of reasons why I think this was a challenge for me, but a couple of them were not having direction and lacking the time and energy needed to come up with meaningful activities.

I’m guessing I’m not the only one out there who struggles with this. That’s why I decided to create fun resources to share with you and to use with my own family.

One of those resources is a five-week activity series with pages you can print out or pull up on your phone/device. Each week features a different way God made us to be, along with an animal friend to help make the learning extra engaging for your littles.

I want the resources I create to be easy for parents to use + fun for kiddos to do. I think these activity pages fit in that category, and more importantly, I pray that they bring families together and help kids grow in their faith!

So, what’s in these activity pages? There are fun facts, discussion questions, family activities, coloring sheets, and lots more in this interactive resource geared toward 3-6 year olds. Here’s week one to give you an even better idea!

I want to raise kids of character who know they are made to be KIND, BRAVE, PATIENT, WISE, and LOVED. If you’d like to do that too, I would love to have you to check these resources out by subscribing to my email list where you will get access to these and other free resources. (I promise that I am very intentional with what I send out, but you can of course unsubscribe at any time!)

I want to bring more fun and faith into my home, and I hope to help your family do the same!

TEACHING KIDS ABOUT GRATITUDE

Gratitude is one of the best ways I’ve found to combat worry. Choosing gratitude has helped me through some challenging times, and I want my kids to know the value of practicing gratitude too.

One simple thing we do daily is share a few things we’re thankful for while sitting down to breakfast. When we first started doing this last fall, the answer for several weeks was consistently, “barbies and sunshine and Jesus!” It was always in that order too, and we’re still working on it. ;)

After we share at least one thing we’re thankful for, we pray and thank God for those things. It’s such a good way to start the day!

Here are a few other ideas that you could use to practice gratitude with your family:

1. Make a thankfulness poster. Write or draw pictures of things you’re thankful for. Decorate it and hang it up somewhere so you see it often!

2. Write a thank you note for someone. We don’t have to reserve thank you notes for gifts only! Thank someone for what they mean to you. Or send a note to an essential worker you’re especially grateful for.

3. Create a gratitude jar. Keep slips of paper next to it, and encourage everyone to write down (or write for them) different things they are thankful for each day, and then put it in the jar. At the end of the week, read the gratitude notes together!

Let’s have fun and be grateful!

KIDS EASTER EGG ACTIVITIES

I like coming up with activities we can do with things we already have around the house, since we accumulate enough stuff as it is! Right now, we have lots of plastic Easter eggs ready to be filled with candy for Easter Sunday. But, I’ve found that there are a bunch more ways to use these little eggs. Some of them incorporate faith and some are just for fun. Pick your favorite, or if you’re feeling ambitious, go ahead and try all five!

1. Egg-cellent Snack Holders: Place plastic egg halves in an egg carton and put your snacks inside. Another option would be to put the snacks in the eggs, close them up, hide them, and then do an egg hunt. (Just keep track of how many you hide and where they are...you don’t want to find an egg full of moldy cheese in July. 🤪) Kids are sure to *eat* this one up!

2. Resurrection Egg Hunt: Draw pictures or write words that relate to the biblical Easter story inside the eggs (some ideas: donkey, Palm branch, water bowl, garden, soldiers, cross, tomb, empty, angel). Hide the eggs and have kids search for them. Open the eggs and put the pictures/words in order as you talk about the Easter story and Jesus coming back to life!

3. Egg & Spoon Challenge: Give each person a spoon and place an egg on top. Then do various challenges while trying to keep the egg on the spoon like spinning in a circle, hopping on one foot, or singing a song with your eyes closed. Take turns coming up with fun & silly things to do while trying to keep that egg on the spoon!

4. Roll the Egg: Sit in circle and roll an Easter egg to each other. Decide on a question you’ll all answer like “what are you the most excited about for Easter?” or “how can you pray for someone this week?” Then have each person answer the question when the egg is rolled to them.

5. Egg Maracas: Make maracas out of Easter eggs and dried beans (or improvise), turn on some worship music, and have a praise parade! We’ve done this one a couple of times in the last week, and the first time we used jelly beans inside the eggs. Well, we ate those, so when we made them again a couple days ago, we put coffee beans inside. And our kids may have discovered that coffee beans don’t taste quite like jelly beans. 😂 Hint: tape the eggs shut if you don’t want kids eating or spilling whatever is inside!

So there ya go, friends! Happy Easter!

RAISING PRAYERFUL KIDS

By Steph Thurling, co-founder of Raising Prayerful Kids.

One of the questions we are most commonly asked when we speak to groups is, “My kids don’t want to pray, how do I make it fun?”

I think that one of the biggest misconceptions of prayer is that it is a very sacred, very solemn, quiet, eloquent, solo act. This can be true, but it is not the only truth. There is a time and a place for quiet and solitude, but there is also a time and a place for joy!

Kids are full of joy and life and enthusiasm and that is why we are passionate about praying in a variety of ways. Using variety teaches kids (and adults!) that prayer can easily fit into their day and can be done in a way that works for them. Faith is not supposed to be a separate part of our life. We are not Christians at church and at Bible study and regular people the rest of the time--we are Christians, living out our faith, consciously or not, all the time. 

The same goes for prayer. Prayer does not have to be a separate part of our day. There are a lot of things we can do to make prayer part of our daily life, we just have to be intentional about it and change our language a bit.

Grateful Game

The Grateful Game is our most simple prayer, but it is so fun and one of our kids’ favorites! All you do is take turns shouting out something you want to thank God for and try to keep thinking of new items to thank him for on each turn. 

Kids are competitive and love to think of new and creative praises. We start each phrase with “Thank you God for…” and add in our idea. Then we tell God why we are thankful. For example, we might say, “Thank you God for cookies because they are delicious.” For an extra challenge, go in order and avoid pauses just to make it a bit more fast-paced and fun! 

We like to play this one when someone is having a grumpy day or if we are in the car and the kids are getting restless or fighting. It’s amazing how showing gratitude and praising God can turn even the hardest day around and make everyone smile.

Nature Prayer Walk

Nature Prayer Walk is another really good example of how you can change your language to turn something that you are already doing into prayer. If you’re walking to the park, point out all the things you see that God made along the way. “Thank you God for the beautiful clouds.” “Thank you God for this big tree that is making shade for us to sit in.” Or you can bring a basket along and have your kids collect nature objects. Thank God for all of the items collected and then make an art project out of it. This is a really simple, but genuine prayer, and it is a wonderful opportunity to show your kids the wonder of our Creator.

Beach Ball Prayer Game

Sometimes it can feel frustrating when kids only ask for things when they pray. Even though it is developmentally normal, I still find myself annoyed sometimes! We have found that when we make prayer fun, kids are more excited to try new things. We started the beachball prayer game in Sunday School classes and it is always a hit. Here is how you play: 

You need a sharpie and a beachball (you can also use any other type of ball that you already have on hand, just improvise with the sections). Write one category of “fill-in-the blank” prayer prompts on each colored section of the ball:

1. I praise you for…

2. Thank you for…

3. Please bless…

4. Jesus, forgive me. (ends with a period because we don’t want to force confession)

5. Please help me with…

6. Hallelujah! (yell it out and do a crazy dance!)

Have fun throwing the ball from person to person. When you catch the ball, check and see where your right index finger landed and read off that prayer prompt.

If you don’t have a ball, you can print out our Dice Prayer Game HERE. It’s the same concept, just with a dice instead of a ball. Print it out, cut it, and tape it together. 

Be encouraged that prayer can be fun, accessible, engaging, and not a ton of work! There are so many ways that you can incorporate prayer into your family’s life. Check out our website HERE for more ideas but don’t be afraid to come up with your own ideas too. Pay attention to what your kids are doing, what they love, what they’re good at, and how they learn, then ask yourself how you can incorporate God into that. You will likely be surprised at your creativity! And remember, our job is not to be perfect and have scheduled daily devotions and prayer time that we never miss (though those are awesome goals!). Our job is to love Jesus and love our kids in a way that points them to Him.

Steph Thurling is a co-founder of Raising Prayerful Kids, a ministry that equips and encourages parents to be praying with their kids in a meaningful way. She is passionate about faith formation at home, almond milk lattes, deep friendships, and beagles. She lives in Minnesota (even though she hates the cold) with her husband and three kids.

EASTER ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Easter 2020 is going to look different.

We may not be able to have neighborhood egg hunts, but we can still find ways to have fun.

We probably won’t gather together in church buildings, but we can still worship.

We might not be sitting down to a big meal with family and friends, but we can still celebrate.

While working as a kids ministry curriculum developer, Easter was my favorite thing to write and teach about. Why? Because Easter is about something better than chocolate bunnies, ruffly dresses, and Easter brunch.

Easter is all about Jesus coming back to life!

Even when everything seems to be changing around us, we can have hope knowing that Jesus doesn’t change. The reason we celebrate Easter hasn’t changed either. We can remember this truth as we prepare for an Easter that looks vastly different from any other Easter we’ve ever experienced. And we can still make this Easter special for our families and for our kids!

If you’re looking for Easter activity ideas, I created something that you can use with your family right at home. I love finding new and engaging ways to help kids have fun and grow in their faith at the same time, so that’s what this resource aims to do.

These free Easter activity pages tell about Easter and the days leading up to it in a way that gets kiddos interacting as they learn. The activities are geared toward kids ages 3-7. There are five days, and here’s day one to give you an idea:

We plan to start our activity pages on Tuesday, April 7. Then we’ll do a page every day up until the day before Easter.

We’d love to have you do these activities and learn about Jesus “with” us!

You can print these out or simply pull them up on your phone/device. To get this free Easter resource, enter your name and email at the bottom of the page so we can send them your way.

I hope this can be a fun way for you and your kids to celebrate Easter together. Remember, how we celebrate Easter might look different this year, but our reason for celebrating hasn’t changed one bit.

HE IS RISEN!

MADE TO BE LOVED

I want my girls to know without a doubt that they are loved like crazy by me and many others. But most importantly, they are also loved like crazy by our Creator.

We’re going through the last week of our Made to Be series over here, and it’s all about how we are made to be loved.

Our activity for this week is memorizing John 3:16. There are lots of ways to make this engaging for your kiddos. Here are ideas to use with this (or any) verse you want to memorize:

• Write the words of the verse out on separate pieces of paper, hide them around the house, and then put them back in order like a puzzle.

• Come up with fun actions together and then repeat the verse using silly voices.

• Make up a tune to go with the verse, grab some instruments, and do a little performance.

• Write the verse on a wipeable surface with a washable utensil (you can get creative!). Read the verse. Then erase one or two words. Read again. Keep going until it’s memorized!

And hey grownups, remember…

God loves the world.

The whole world.

He hasn’t forgotten about us.

His love for you is the same today as it was yesterday as it was last month. And He will still love you tomorrow with a never-ending, forever-and-always, no-matter-what kind of love.

FIVE BRAVERY-BUILDING ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Download this free Made to be Brave coloring sheet and find other coloring pages here.

[Originally posted on the Raising Prayerful Kids blog.]

There’s a lot of fear surrounding us right now. There are unknowns and questions. People are stockpiling toilet paper and canned goods in search of safety and security. Grown adults are running scared and kids are noticing.

So how can we help our kids handle their fear tied to the coronavirus? Or any fears they are facing for that matter? Here are five ways that we can help our kids process what’s going on and hopefully help them choose to be brave.

1.     Allow your kids to ask questions. Give them the space to express how they are feeling. If they genuinely don’t seem to be affected by what’s going on with COVID-19, we don’t need to push the issue or go into details that they aren’t asking about. Doing that could actually lead to more fear. But more than likely if you have kids who are in school (or possibly even younger), they’ll have some questions. Let them lead the discussion.

2.     Be aware of the words you say in front of your kids. Even your nonverbal cues or off-hand remarks about the current pandemic can have a profound impact on them. Remember, your kids are watching you closely. Now this doesn’t mean you need to feel guilty if you’re afraid or anxious right now. A lot of people are feeling this way, and it’s not healthy to totally brush everything under the rug either. But friends, if you are feeling the fear and forgetting Who’s in control this next point might even be more for you than your kids.

3.     Remind your kids of the Truth. We don’t need to pretend like nothing is going on, but we can talk to our kids about Who we can turn to with our fears. Yes, some crazy things have transpired over the last few days, weeks, months, but God’s not surprised by any of this. In John 16:33, Jesus tells us that we will have trouble in this world, but He has already won the battle over the world. We can have peace and remember that God is in control no matter how out of control everything around us seems. And He loves us with a love so pure and so deep, we can’t even fully comprehend it. (Ephesians 3:18-19)

4.     Pray with your kids. Encourage your kids to tell God how they’re feeling. Ask Him for His strength and peace. Pray for those most greatly impacted by this pandemic. Ask God for courage to tell others about Jesus. Here’s a prayer I wrote recently that you can pray with your kiddos.

Dear God,
Thank You for being with me. I know that You’re near.
And when things seem scary, I don’t need to fear.
Please help me to trust You with big and small things.
Please give me more courage for what today brings.
Please help me give fear a great big goodbye wave.
I know You made me, and I’m made to be brave.
Amen.

5.     Have fun with your kids! Laughter is great medicine. Depending on your schooling situation, you may be looking at some more extended time with your school-age kiddos. Make the most of it! Here are some fun yet super simple activity ideas along with ways to incorporate faith & bravery into your day.

·      BRAVERY BADGES: Make your very own Bravery Badges! You could go all out (laminating, adding a pin, etc.), or keep this super simple like we did with some paper, scissors, and coloring utensils. As you’re coloring, read your kids verses about being brave. Deuteronomy 31:6, Joshua 1:9, and 2 Timothy 1:7 are a few of our favorites. Once you’ve designed your badges, go around and share at least one way you’re going to be brave this week!

·      OBSTACLE COURSE: Set up an obstacle course, continuing to switch things around after going though it a couple of times. For older kids, you could take turns wearing a blindfold and leading each other through the course. Talk to your kids about how our lives can be filled with tricky obstacles too. We may not know what’s coming next, but God does. He wants to lead us!

·      THANKFULNESS POSTER: It’s hard to stay anxious or fearful when we’re focused on gratitude. Make a poster (you can tape together pieces of paper if you don’t have a larger sheet) and draw things that you are thankful for. If you’re feeling especially brave, get out the washable paints and turn this into a finger-painting activity. Hang the poster up and say a prayer thanking God for all of His blessings!

As you’re helping your kids find ways to be brave, remember to take care of yourself too. If you’re feeling anxious and fearful, talk to someone. Talk to God. Let’s get the help we need to process, but also make a conscious decision to trust and hand our worries to Him. Let’s be wise in the days ahead, while not letting fear win. Continue to laugh with your family and love those around you. We can be a beam of light in the darkness when we remain tethered to the Light of the World. 

HELPING KIDS GET WISE

Our littlest started crawling a couple weeks ago, which means we now have three kids three & under moving around our house! Yep, we’re busy.

As my girls continue to grow and make more of their own choices, I pray that they make wise ones. I know they won’t always choose the wise thing (I’m still figuring this out too!). But talking about it can help.

Here’s a simple wise/not wise activity idea that can also spark some great conversations:

Pick a movie where the characters do things that are both wise and unwise. (Go ahead and grab some popcorn while you’re at it!) Most Disney movies are FULL of unwise choices—plus a few wise ones too. 😉 We love Disney over here, but I also want my girls to know that those princesses make some pretty poor decisions. (Asking an evil talking octopus for help? Not the brightest move, Ariel.)

As you’re watching, pause when a character makes either a wise or unwise choice and discuss it. Then continue on and do it again. Warning: you might want to give your kids a heads up on what you’re doing to help avoid meltdowns!

So why do this? Kids love stories and are usually more likely to remember something if it’s connected to an engaging story. While the scenarios may not always be real-life, kids can start to more easily see wise vs. unwise choices. Plus, this activity can help them be more aware of what they read and watch—a very good skill to have!

This could also be an opportunity to talk about James 1:5 and how we can ask God for wisdom whenever we need it. He’ll give us the wisdom we need through His word and/or other wise people He’s placed around us. We are made to be wise, and we can do that with God’s help!

Here are a few other activities to help our kids wise up!

• Have your child think of an unwise choice they made recently. Then create a story scene by drawing a picture or series of pictures showing them in the same situation but making a wise choice instead! Stick figures are totally fine here, friends! It’s the thought that counts. ;)

• Memorize James 1:5 by coming up with a song and/or actions to go along with it.

• Print out these Made to Be Wise coloring sheets and talk about examples of wise choices as you color.
  

PATIENCE ACTIVITIES FOR KIDS

Do you feel like you’re running low on patience? Like all the buttons are being pushed? At the same time? Again and again? With three kids ages three and under, this is a daily reality for me. I may not always show my lack of patience outwardly, but you bet I can feel it it my spirit.

Even the most patient among us can break when every two minutes someone’s either tantruming, coloring on the walls, dipping their toes in the toilet (why?!), or asking repeatedly for a snack while you're still cleaning up lunch. Being patient doesn’t come naturally (at least not for most humans I know!), but that’s all the more reason to help our kids practice patience from a young age.

Now a confession...while I was attempting to play a game to help our girls practice patience yesterday, it became clear that I was the one whose patience was really being tested. And I was struggling. This sort of thing happens a lot though while I’m trying to teach my kids something. Maybe it’s God’s way of reminding me that I still need Him.

I’m so thankful that when my imperfections are showing a little more than usual, I can go to my perfect Heavenly Father for help. And how patient He is with us, friends! So if you feel like a hypocrite teaching your kiddos about patience, remind them that 1) you’re working on it too and 2) we can be thankful for a God who is exceedingly patient with us all day, every day.

PATIENCE BUILDING FOR KIDS

We like keeping things fun and simple around here. So when a mason jar + pom-poms becomes a week’s worth of patience-building activities, I’m all for it and want to tell you about it too!

Here are 3 ways you can use these 2 items to help your kiddos learn about patience:

1) TOSS THE POM: Take turns tossing a pom into the jar and practice patience when it’s not your turn. (Facilitating this activity with a two year old and a three year old turns out to be a good patience challenge for mom too.) .

2) PATIENCE POMS: Put a pom in the jar each time the kiddos patiently wait for something. If we fill up the jar by the end of the week, we get to have a party! Put those juice boxes on ice!

3) POM-POM RAINBOW: Make a pom-pom rainbow while talking about the story of Noah’s Ark found in Genesis 6-9. Noah, his family, and the animals had to patiently wait a long time on the boat, but God had a plan and a promise that He sealed with a beautiful rainbow. (Turn this into craft time by adding in some paper and glue!)

Have fun!