Godly Mothers

“No man is poor who has had a godly mother.”
-Abraham Lincoln

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Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

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A Mother’s Creed

I will worry less about my children and trust God more.
I will commit them into the Lord’s care.
I will love my children unconditionally and let them know I do.
I will believe in them constantly and encourage them often.
I will pray for them daily.
I will teach them responsibility for their own actions.
I will try to be an example of godliness, but I will be unafraid to let them see my faults.
I will give them generous doses of laughter, interspersed with fun.
I will release them when they are grown but they will always be my own.

Her children arise up, and call her blessed. Proverbs 31:28

Source Unknown

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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A Mother’s Rest

A four-year-old and a six-year-old presented their Mom with a house plant. They had used their own money and she was thrilled. The older of them said with a sad face, “There was a bouquet that we wanted to give you at the flower shop. It was real pretty, but it was too expensive. It had a ribbon on it that said, ‘Rest In Peace,’ and we thought it would be just perfect since you are always asking for a little peace so that you can rest.”

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

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Labeled

Introduction
It’s not the clothes we wear, the house we live in, the cars we drive, or names and titles people give us that determine our identity or our value as a person. It’s what’s inside us that counts.

Description
We often identify things by labels. But are labels the best method for identification? Youth / children will learn that labels are not always correct.

Materials
Three similar sized canned food items but with different contents. Preferably, use two that youth or children would enjoy and another that they may not appreciate much (i.e. something like canned peaches, applesauce and dog food)

Preparation
Carefully remove the labels from the cans and swap the labels and glue them on. Trim the labels to fit if needed.

Demonstration
I brought something today I think you will enjoy – Do you like peaches? I love peaches! Is there anyone here who doesn’t like peaches? What happens if I don’t like peaches? Maybe I like applesauce instead. Take the applesauce label and put it onto the same can. Great! Now I can have applesauce. Anyone want some applesauce with me? What? You mean we can’t just change the label? Why not? It says applesauce. Oh, well… let’s have some peaches then…. anyone want some peaches. Open the can of dogfood. Oops… this is not peaches. This is dogfood…. Looks like sometimes labels can be wrong.

Discussion
It doesn’t matter what label we put on the can. It doesn’t change what is inside. It’s not the label that’s important, but what’s inside that counts.

Sometimes we think that if we wear certain clothes, live is a certain kind of house or go to school in a certain type of car that will change us into something that others like more. But its not the things on the outside that count.

Sometimes someone might label us as stupid, as a nerd, a loser or some other name. But those names don’t change our identity. We are still the same person on the inside.

I can use the can as a hammer, or a football, or as a paperweight. But that doesn’t change the fact that it is a can that was created with something unique inside.

In fact, to God, everyone of us is special. Everyone of us is beautiful. He loves everyone of us! It’s what’s in your heart that counts.

Closing Applications

  • Do you call others names, give them labels? Do you judge others by what is on the outside or do you look at who they really are?
  • Do you try to impress others with the clothes you wear, by the things you say, with the things you own? Instead of trying to impress others with things that are on the outside, why not impress them with what you are on the inside…. by being loving, kind, caring.
  • A peach is a fruit, but for us as Christians, God identifies us by different fruits that we have in our heart…. these are love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control. Make a commitment to bless others this week with one of these fruits of the spirit.

 

Scripture Reference

  • “The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Sam. 16:7)
  • Galatians 5:22 (Fruits of the Spirit)

 

MORE IDEAS? See “Creative Object Lessons”
200 page e-book that explains everything you need to know when planning your very own object lessons. It contains 90 fully developed object lesson ideas and another 200 object lesson starter ideas based on Biblical idioms and Names / Descriptions of God.
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Photo Freeze Frames!

Can you imitate the people in the photo and be the first to complete all the images?

Description
Participants will try to copy the poses of people as contained in photos.

Resources
You need a variety of magazines, shopping catalogs, newspaper clippings, photographs or other images that show groups of people in action. For some great photo opportunities have a few cameras available!

Preparation

  1. Since participants will be posing in the same positions as those in the selected images, you will need images that the participants can imitate. You will also need to consider the size of the teams you will use (i.e. couples, groups of three, four, or more).
  2. Cut out the images and mount them on colored pieces of construction paper or notecards.
  3. The crazier the images, the better. To make it more fun, you can have images from specific sports (basketball, football, baseball, golf, swimming, acrobatics, etc), from various professions (chefs, lumberjacks, firemen, construction workers, etc), or from the arts (orchestra musicians, ballet dancers, circus acts, etc). The possibilities and variations are endless.

What to Do
Divide the group into teams. You can play with this in a variety of ways:

  1. Randomly draw from the images. Have all groups imitate the same image. The first group to get in the same pose as the chosen image gets a point. To make it more difficult, allow only one participant from each group to see the image and then they must go back and form their group into the correct pose.
  2. Randomly deal the images to the groups face down so they cannot see them. Provide a judge for each group that will decide if the group is close enough to the original image before moving on to the next. The first group to complete all the images first wins.
  3. Make it a relay race, where group members must run to the other side of the room, grab an image and then emulate it before the next person from the group can go. The first group to have all persons go wins!
  4. Give each group a camera and make it a photo scavenger hunt. Give each group a collection of photos involving props, positions, and even locations that they must duplicate with the group. The first group to complete the assignment and return with the most correct photos wins!

Variations
Choose images containing props and make those the props available (i.e. baseball bat, ballerina skirt, fireman hat, etc). Teams must also include the props.

Taking it to the Next Level
For good and for bad, we often imitate others in life. Sometimes this can be a positive thing when others have qualities or traits that we wish to develop in our own lives. At other times it can be stifling as we try to fit into roles and expectations instead of being the person we were created to be.

    • Are there people in your life you would like to imitate? Name some of your role models.
    • Who are the people you aspire to be like?
    • Is it important to have role models? Why or why not?
    • How do you draw a balance between being the unique person you were created to be and expectations that society expects us to conform to?
    • What are some of the qualities you would like to imitate from a role model? How can you develop these qualities?
    • If you don’t have a mentor or role model, who is someone that has the qualities, skills or experience to help you in your personal development?
    • Is there an area of your life where you have simply been conforming to what is expected rather then expressing your unique self? If you were not concerned about other people’s expectations and what other people think, what is something you would change about yourself?

Application

  • Choose a trait or quality you want to develop and find a role model or mentor to help you develop that in your own life.
  • Choose a trait or quality that you have stifled because of expectations that you can begin to develop and learn to express in a positive way.

Possible Scripture References
Psalm 139:14ff, Ephesians 2:10; Deuteronomy 18:9; 1 Corinthians 4:16-17; Hebrews 6:12; Hebrews 13:7; 3 John 1:11, 1 Corinthians 11:1-2; 2 Kings 14:3; John 13:15; Philippians 3:17; 2 Thessalonians 3:7; 1 Timothy 4:12; Titus 2:7; 1 Peter 2:22-24

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Quotes From Famous Mothers

PAUL REVERE’S MOTHER: “I don’t care where you think you have to go, young man. Midnight is past your curfew!”

MARY, MARY, QUITE CONTRARY’S MOTHER: “I don’t mind you having a garden, Mary, but does it have to be growing under your bed?”

MONA LISA’S MOTHER: “After all that money your father and I spent on braces, Mona, that’s the biggest smile you can give us?”

HUMPTY DUMPTY’S MOTHER: “Humpty, If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times not to sit on that wall. But would you listen to me? Noooo!”

COLUMBUS’ MOTHER: “I don’t care what you’ve discovered, Christopher. You still could have written!”

BABE RUTH’S MOTHER: “Babe, how many times have I told you — quit playing ball in the house! That’s the third broken window this week!”

MICHELANGELO’S MOTHER: “Mike, can’t you paint on walls like other children? Do you have any idea how hard it is to get that stuff off the ceiling?”

NAPOLEON’S MOTHER: “All right, Napoleon. If you aren’t hiding your report card inside your jacket, then take your hand out of there and prove it!”

CUSTER’S MOTHER: “Now, George, remember what I told you — don’t go biting off more than you can chew!”

ABRAHAM LINCOLN’S MOTHER: “Again with the stovepipe hat, Abe? Can’t you just wear a baseball cap like the other kids?”

BARNEY’S MOTHER: “I realize strained plums are your favorite, Barney, but you’re starting to look a little purple.”

MARY’S MOTHER: “I’m not upset that your lamb followed you to school, Mary, but I would like to know how he got a better grade than you.”

BATMAN’S MOTHER: “It’s a nice car, Bruce, but do you realize how much the insurance is going to be?”

GOLDILOCKS’ MOTHER: “I’ve got a bill here for a busted chair from the Bear family. You know anything about this, Goldie?”

LITTLE MISS MUFFET’S MOTHER: “Well, all I’ve got to say is if you don’t get off your tuffet and start cleaning your room, there’ll be a lot more spiders around here!”

ALBERT EINSTEIN’S MOTHER: “But, Albert, it’s your senior picture. Can’t you do something about your hair? Styling gel, mousse, something…?”

GEORGE WASHINGTON’S MOTHER: “The next time I catch you throwing money across the Potomac, you can kiss your allowance good-bye!”

JONAH’S MOTHER: “That’s a nice story, but now tell me where you’ve really been for the last three days.”

SUPERMAN’S MOTHER: “Clark, your father and I have discussed it, and we’ve decided you can have your own telephone line. Now will you quit spending so much time in all those phone booths?”

THOMAS EDISON’S MOTHER: “Of course I’m proud that you invented the electric light bulb, Thomas. Now turn off that light and get to bed!”

Get Creative Youth Ideas: "Holiday Collection" ebook Holiday Collection
Games and Activities in Celebration of common Holidays.

Creative Holiday Ideas has over 300 pages of ideas to help you plan your next New Year’s Day, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween or Fall Festival, and Thanksgiving event. If you’ve ever wondered what you’re going to do for all these holidays and how you’re going to do it, this resource is for you.

=> Tell me more about the Holiday Collection