Want to have fun playing with play dough and teach your child an important spiritual truth? Check out my latest post with Christian Children’s Authors. Play dough recipe included!
Click to their website to read devotional script and find the recipe:
Sometimes life doesn’t make sense. We look at the situations that we are experiencing and wonder where God is, or if he even cares at all.
Other times, life seems quiet and blah. Doesn’t God have any special assignments for us? Why does everyone else seem to be “#blessed” when we feel “#forgotten.”
Life can be puzzling!
This week in our Children’s Church lesson I taught on the life of Timothy. Timothy was born and raised in Lystra by a God-fearing mother and grandmother. One day the apostle Paul came to visit Timothy’s town, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ, and he healed a man who couldn’t walk. All the people wanted to worship Paul, but Paul told them he was only a man, and that they should worship Jesus. This angered some of the townspeople, and they forced Paul to leave Lystra.
There is no way that young Timothy could have known at that first encounter with Paul that he would one day travel on an extensive missionary journey with him, nor could he have predicted that one day Paul would ask him to become the leader of the Christians in Ephasus. God had many wonderful things in store for Timothy’s life. But they didn’t all happen right away.
We have the advantage of being able to look at Timothy’s life from start to finish and see how all of the puzzle pieces of his life “fit” together.
I find it interesting that the Bible is silent about the years of Timothy’s life leading up to Paul’s invitation to travel with him on a missionary journey. What was going on during those years?
I marvel at Timothy willingness to say “yes” to Paul’s invitation to go with him on a missionary journey. He would have had to leave everything familiar behind, with no cell phone to keep in touch!
Finally, I love Paul’s description of Timothy in Philippians where he says, “I have no one else like him.” It is evident that their journey together created a tightly knit bond of special friendship.
In my own life, I need faith to believe that God has my “puzzle” planned, and that one piece at a time he is fitting it all together according to his masterful design.
When God is silent…that piece of the puzzle is there for a reason!
When a situation doesn’t work out the way I had hoped…that piece of the puzzle is there for a reason!
When I feel overlooked…that piece of the puzzle is there for a reason!
Lifelong learning happening over here! I have successfully migrated my Blogger blog to a new and improved WordPress website hosted through Bluehost. I am relieved to have it DONE! But honestly, it will never really be done…it will always be changing and growing…hopefully for the better.
How did I do it?
Researched,
Asked questions,
Watched tutorials and read instruction guides (countless),
Shed a more than a few tears along the way,
Questioned whether it was really worth it,
Realized at that point it was too late, I had to keep moving forward with it,
And slowly but surely, built each piece.
And the end result is … this new look!
Snuggle Time Bible Stories is the latest in the Snuggle Time series by Glenys Nellist, illustrated by Cee Briscoe.
Reading together with a toddler is such a special connection point with them. You will definitely want to add this lovely book to your home library. As you read together, you will be introducing your child to many heroes of the faith including Noah, Moses, Samuel, and David. My favorite is the story of Jesus with the children. Here is a sample:
Some children came to Jesus
One bright and sunny day.
“He’s busy!” the disciples cried.
“You’ll have to go away!”
But Jesus called the children
And sat them on his knee.
“I love you all,” he softly said.
“And you belong to me.”
All of us, adults included, need to be reminded of the Savior’s love and of the fact that he calls us his own. What simple, but beautiful words, describing a marvelous truth.
Thank you, Glenys, for another wonderful story book in this series.
Amazon link:
Snuggle Time Bible Stories
Twitter: @Glenys Nellist
Facebook: Glenys Nellist: Author
