Wonderous Works of God and Making Memories

Hi Parents and kids of NPMB church.  

Are you plugging along in this COVID-19 time? Are you in a place where you are hoping in the Lord and praising him? Are you numb? Doggedly persevering? Are you singing and worshipping?

Wherever you are at in this journey called life, I would like to encourage you to engage with your children to make memories so they can remember the wonderous works of God during a really hard time. Psalm 126:3 says: “The Lord has done great things for us; we are glad!” 

My father told the stories of many disasters and hard times in the 1930’s. At one time a tornado destroyed their barn. In those bleak days a shelter for the animals was crucial. He recalled how the family literally roamed the homestead to collect the boards lost from the barn. They rebuilt the structure as well as they could. The result was, no roof. At least the animals had shelter from the cold winter prairie winds. That roof was not replaced until my father left home, married and came back to the homestead to help my grandfather put a new roof on the barn. How long until the family gained enough to put a roof on that barn? 25 years!  

Here is the barn without the roof in winter. 

The hardship of those days was so wearying, but this disaster created for them a family memory that reminded them of the faithfulness of God.  They were so thankful that they found enough boards to re-build the walls of the barn. The story has been told many times, and continues to be told to the grandchildren and their children. We grow as we see the faith of our grandparents.

Here is an activity that can encourage you as a family to remind yourselves of great memories and of the things God has done in your family. Make popcorn and bring out your favourite snacks. Instead of watching a movie, reminisce about things that you remember doing together as a family. Have one of the children call their grandparents and put the speaker phone on. Have the grandparents tell of one of their favourite memories. Tell your kids how you came to know Jesus and let them tell their story. Maybe there are pictures you can bring out to help memories flow and the kids may even want to look through albums.  End with Psalm 126:3 “The Lord has done great things for us, we are glad!” 

These events and memories in our family are the things that remind us of how God has worked in our life.  All of God’s works are wonderous. Review some of God’s great works from the Bible and end with the wonderous work of Jesus on the cross. Tell Jesus in prayer that you are glad for his wonderous works.

Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have the Easter story. This is the most wonderous work of all. If your children are all old enough, pick one of these gospels and read the account of what Jesus did for us. For younger children, reading the account in a children’s Bible would be great. Share the Gospel as we have learned it in Kids Zone. You can download the prompts below. Your children will remember verses and actions to help share the gospel. The children will know to start with: The Gospel is Good News (We have memorized all verses in the ESV).  

Enjoy making memories this week.

Praying for you always.  

Emily