Showing Love to Jazzi

Everyone at school avoids Jazzi. Her long brown hair would be pretty, if she combed and shampooed it once in a while. Besides that she smells funny and talks slowly and she has a lisp so that everything she says thounth like thith. Between the lisp and the fact that no one talks to her, she is a girl of few words.

At lunch and recess she sat alone. If anyone did sit with her it was only to make comments like"When was your last bath!" or "Doesn't your mom ever comb your hair?". Through it all Jazzi never cried, at least not at school.

One day Reuben, who was quiet and clean, sat down at his desk next to Jazzi's and discovered that his favorite pencil was missing. He never really gave much attention to her, but when Reuben looked around for his pencil he discovered that it was in Jazzi's hand! Reuben was so upset! He wanted to stand up and yell that she had taken it, but the teacher was already speaking. Reuben seethed through most of the class, but by the end he had calmed down.

At recess Reuben found Jazzi at her usual spot, alone on the swing set. When Reuben accused her of taking his pencil, she only smiled a crooked smile and swung higher.

That night Reuben frantically told his parents what had happened and wanted to know what he should do about it. Knowing of Gods love they gave him an answer he did not want to hear. Tossing and turning in bed that night he thought about what his parents had told him. He was supposed to forgive Jazzi for taking the pencil, let her keep it, and pray for her! "How?" was his only thought. Finally he had crafted a plan, said a prayer for her, and drifted off to sleep.

The next day as everyone was putting their coats and bags away, Reuben put a gift on Jazzi's desk. Reuben watched as she carelessly threw the small gift in her desk. Shocked and hurt he avoided Jazzi all day. That night Reuben angrily told his parents what she had done with his gift. They reminded him tat God's love is patient and so should our love be. That night, and every night for about the next week, he prayed for Jazzi. He also placed a small gift, same shape and size at her desk every day. Every day she tossed it in her desk.

Finally, at the end of the longest week of Reuben's life, Jazzi found Reuben on the tire swing at recess. "Why?" was all she said. Caught off guard Reuben stammered out that he had forgiven her and was trying to be her friend. "Thank you" is all she had time to say as the bell ran for them to go back in. They didn't talk the rest of the day, but Reuben felt something he didn't expect, peace. That night he excitedly told his parents about their small, but important, conversation. Reuben and his parents agreed that it would be alright for him to invite her over sometime.

The weekend passed and on Monday Reuben saw that Jazzi was using one of his gifts, a pink and purple pencil. All of his gifts had been pencils. On his desk he found his favorite orange pencil. At recess, Reuben asked Jazzi if she would like to come over to is house on Saturday. With her crooked smile her only reply was "yeth.". Jazzi and Reuben became quick friends even though Reuben's friends gave him a hard time.

She became a regular fixture at Reuben's home, and started attending church with them. It took a few weeks, but Jazzi came out of her shell. Reuben and his family learned that Jazzi ad her dad lived alone. He worked two jobs to keep them going, so she was home alone a lot of the time. Reuben's mom taught Jazzi how to care for her hair, bathe, and clean her clothes. Jazzi's mom had been gone since before Jazzi could remember so she didn't know how to do these things. Jazzi's dad noticed the changes in his daughter. She was talking more, even if it was still slowly. She was smiling more, and looked clean! Curious to know how this happened and why, he started coming by Reuben's home too. Pretty soon he was going to church with Jazzi and Reuben's family . When school let out for the summer, Jazzi and Reuben's family spent a lot of time together. They had cook outs and camping trips and went to the summer fair together. When Jazzi's dad was not working, he would come too. It was about the end of summer when Jazzi and her dad accepted Jesus as their Savior and were baptized. All of this, thanks to Reuben and his family showing Jazzi and her dad God's kind of love.

The Adventures of Puppy and Kitty on Grateful Island-Forgiveness

Kitty and Puppy are friends.

They live on Grateful Island.

Today they are gong to the waterfall.

They walk in tall green grass.

They see a red fox in his home.

Over the gray stones they go.

Kitty sees a white bird that flies.

It is fast.

Puppy is tired. He looks down.

He was not looking at the bird.

Puppy wants to stop.

Kitty wants to go.

They are not far from the waterfall.

She will not stop for her friend.

Puppy is sad. Kitty is sorry.

"I forgive you!" says Puppy.

Puppy and Kitty are happy.

They are thankful for forgiveness.

They are at the waterfall now.

Puppy and Kitty run.

They see the blue water.

They play in the blue water

They see the green and brown trees.

They play under the green and brown trees.

They see the purple flowers.

They smell the purple flowers

As the sun goes down they go home.

Over the gray stones they go.

In the tall green grass they walk.

To their homes they go.

This day was a lot of fun!

This is a story for K-2. They can read it on their own or with help from an adult. I hope it will teach them about thankfulness and forgiveness. Grateful Island was made up one night when I put my daughter to bed. She always wants a story. As Puppy and Kitty explore the Island they discover different things to be thankful for. My daughter brought home a sheet of sight words she knew and was learning. Until I got that paper, I didn't have a direction for writing these stories. I realized these could be simple stories children could read themselves by using the words on the sheet. I hope you enjoy them as much as we have! More to come about Grateful Island.

To Be Free (A parable on the Rich Young Ruler - Matthew 19:16-22)

TO BE FREE


Twelve-year-old Chelsea had it all. Born into a rich family, she always had everything she wanted. For her fifth birthday party, her parents paid for a mini-circus to perform at their house and invited all of the kindergarten. Around ten every night for about a week she asked for a horse. That weekend she woke up to the sound of a neighing horse. She is now 12 and for good grades, her parents reward her with trips to places like Paris or Sydney. Chelsea was used to getting what she wanted when she wanted it.


Except for occasional trips with her parents, Chelsea spent most of her life with nannies. She went through them like a bag of chocolates. Most of them couldn’t stand her demanding ways.


But then Sarah came. She was different than the others.


Chelsea didn’t understand why Sarah didn't yell or leave her after a few days or weeks. Soon her curiosity got the best of her, and she asked Sarah why she didn‘t leave as the other nannies had. Sarah explained that she loved Chelsea, no matter what she did. This was so different and new that Chelsea wanted to know more.


So Sarah started taking Chelsea to church. She found the world strange and uncomfortable at first. The people were kind and loving but indifferent to Chelsea's wealth and status. With each passing Sunday Chelsea became a little more used to the people and was able to pay attention to what was taught. She heard about Jesus healing the sick, feeding the hungry, but what caught her attention about Jesus was his love. She heard that Jesus had come to earth from heaven to live and die for her, and for all people, so that she could be forgiven. Chelsea noticed that at church she saw people helping the sick, the hungry, and most of all she saw them loving people - people like her and not so much like her. That Sunday she talked to Sarah about following Jesus and before long Chelsea accepted Jesus as her Savior.


One Sunday the preacher told about a rich young man who visited Jesus...




And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”And Jesus said to him,“Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments:‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’”And he said,“All these I have kept from my youth.”When Jesus heard this, he said to him,“One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich. Jesus, seeing that he had become sad, said,“How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”Those who heard it said, “Then who can be saved?”But he said,“What is impossible with man is possible with God.







Moved by the desire to obey her Lord, she devised a plan so as to not become like the rich young ruler; alone, sad, and without her Lord. On the way home, she told Sarah her plan.


At dinner that evening Chelsea asked her parents to give her all of her savings. Nearly choking on their food, her parents demanded to know why. Chelsea took a deep breath and told them about Jesus and that, with Sarah’s help, she planned to give her money away. They were shocked but, as always, they gave in to her.


Sarah helped Chelsea find organizations that would make good use of a large portion of her money, places such as soup kitchens, half-way homes, foster/adoption agencies, churches, missionaries, and homeless groups. Chelsea felt a weight lifted off her and a new freedom in obedience. With her petty cash, she and Sarah performed many “acts of kindness”. Every Saturday they would serve soup at the local soup kitchen. On each tray Chelsea would place a ten dollar bill. After serving, Chelsea and Sarah would sit and eat with those they had served. At school Chelsea started to mingle with the “have less” kids. Here she became quick friends with many. On several occasions she would help her new friends with things like new clothes, books, or buy their lunch at school. One time she even helped a family get repairs on their only transportation.


It took another year, but when Chelsea's parents saw their daughter becoming more respectful, thoughtful of others, and responsible, they started joining her and Sarah at church. And on Chelsea‘s fifteenth birthday, her parents also accepted Christ as their Savior!

Does God Hide?

How does God hide in plain sight?

Ecclesiastics 3:11 “He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set _______________ in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end.”

We want hope for something more than this life. We hope for eternity, to be able to live forever. This want in our hear has been put there by God so that we will see Him out, even if we do not understand everything.

Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in spirit, for they shall ________________ God.”

Pure in heart: Someone who puts God’s word in their heart (memorize, read, study) so that they will not sin.

Matthew 6:33 “But ____________________ first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

What things? Matthew 6:33 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Matthew 7:7 “________________, and it will be given to you; _______________, and you will find; ________________________, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks ________________________, and the one who seeks _______________________, and to the one who knock it will __________ _____________________.”

What does this say about God?

Romans 1:20 “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been _________________________ perceived, ever since the ___________________________ of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without ______________________.”

Should we be able to see God? ______________

Where do we see God? _______________________________________________________

With what kind of heart do we need to have to see God? __________________________________________

Does God hide? _________________________

Why does it snow?

Why does it snow?

Other than the scientific answer, I don’t know; however, here are some interesting verses.

1)    Snow is recorded in 2 Samuel 23:20.

“Benaiah… killed a lion in the middle of a pit on a ________________ day.”

2)    Snow is talked of by God in Job 38:22.

“Have you entered the storehouses of the __________________, or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,”

Where does God keep the snow? __________________________________________

3)    Snow is recorded in Psalm 68:14.

“When the Almighty scattered the kings there, it was __________________ in Zalmon.”

4)    Wives (families) prepared for snow in Proverbs 31:21.

“She is not afraid of the __________________ for her household, for all her household are clothed…”

5)    Snow has a purpose Isaiah 55:10-11.

“For as the rain and the _________________ come down from heaven, and do not

return there without __________________ the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word ... goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to me empty, without accomplishing what I (God) desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I (God) sent it.”

What does God’s word, the Bible, accomplish when it is read or heard?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

6)    Snow is used to describe something clean in Isaiah 1:18.

“Come now, and let us reason together, says the Lord, though your sins are as scarlet,

they will be as white as ___________________, though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.

How does God make our sin “white as snow”?

______________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________

7)    Jesus’ clothing looked like snow once in Matthew 28:3.

“His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as __________________.

Why do we pray?

Why Do We Pray?

From the following scriptures, tell the action Jesus took, the setting and what he is doing there.

Matthew 14:13 ________________________________________________________________

Matthew 14:23 ________________________________________________________________

Mark 1:35 ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­____________________________________________________________________

Mark 6:45 ____________________________________________________________________

Luke 4:42 _____________________________________________________________________

Luke 5:15-16 __________________________________________________________________

Luke 6:12 _____________________________________________________________________

Luke 22:41 ____________________________________________________________________

What is Jesus doing in all of these Scriptures? ______________________________

Did it matter to Jesus what time it was when he prayed and should it matter to us?

___________________________________________________________________________

Did it matter to Jesus who was around when he prayed and should it matter to us?

_____________________________________________________________________

Did Jesus become frustrated with interruptions to his prayer time, do you?

____________________________________________________________________

We pray because Jesus prayed and showed us how. What is one way you can pray like Jesus did this week in your life?

___________________________________________________________________

This lesson is not to go over different kinds of prayer or the benefits of praying, rather it is tackling the question as to why we pray in the first place.

(Scripture taken from Donnie Smith’s lesson on Stillness.)

A lesson on how to treat bullies

How should we treat bullies?

1. Luke 6:27-36

"27 But I say to you who hear, __________ your enemies, do ____________ to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, ___________ for those who mistreat you."

If you do what these verses call you to do, whose child 

will you be called? 

(verse 35)_________________________________

 God takes care of whom on this world? (verse 35) 

__________________________________________

Do you lend to your friends or enemies?

__________________________________________

 Are we supposed to expect anything back?

__________________________________________

2. Romans 5:10

Were we enemies to God? ____________________

How did God treat us? __________________________________________

3. Matthew 5:43-45 and Romans 12:20

How should we treat our enemies?

__________________________________________ 

__________________________________________

4. John 14:16-17; 26-27

Do you think this is possible without the salvation of Christ in our lives?___________ 

What does our salvation give us to help us with tough things like this?

__________________________________________