Monthly Archives: April 2014

Easter Blessings

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For our last class before Easter break, I thought it would be fun if we had an Easter Egg Hunt. As we entered the classroom, Chase and Ryan were the first to notice some hidden eggs. Their eyes widened and a look came over their faces that expressed, THIS IS GREAT! At that, they yelled out “Eggs,” pointing to the ones they saw. The next thing I knew, the whole class, like little chicks on the loose, were off and running. My natural instincts came into play; a quick “Uh uh,” slang for, “Don’t do it; stop right where you are.” It was like a game of freeze tag. They all stopped mid motion. I said, “Come back to the door, prayer first.”

I find it best to first huddle together on our knees in prayer before they go to their seats. It’s the best place to thank God and pray for everyone we love, and to pray for each other. Also, to introduce our lesson for the day and new classmates. At that point, I welcomed Nicolas. We now have twenty first-graders in our class.

Today, I read our class, The Story of Easter. The story was about a little girl named Alice who loved to read her favorite Bible stories. One day, when Alice was sitting in her garden reading, a giant screen appeared before her. As Alice got up and walked through the screen, she entered the land of the Bible, and had the privilege to walk though the story of Easter. It was here that she saw how much God loves us. How, through Jesus and His death on the Cross, “He gave His life to purchase freedom for everyone.” 1 Timothy 2:6

As I spread this great love of our Lord to our class, it is my prayer that they will always hold on to this awesome truth. The Cross–there is so much to be said about it. What man could think in God way? None. Only through the Holy Spirit of God, could we understand. Why did God the Father choose a cross, with all the other ways to die, why a cross? That is the simplicity of God’s love, found anywhere and everywhere. It’s the arms stretched out to hug and hold, comfort and love anyone who choses to come into them. If only we would.

“May the Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

Easter Blessing today and always,

Deanna Danielle

 

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All Hands Are In

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The greatest love anyone could ever know, is to know God’s awesome love for them. This is why it brings me great joy to teach about our faith. As my class and I gathered around in a tight-knit circle, I held Noah’s Arc puzzle flashcards. I believe working together makes life a little easier and more enjoyable. So, with teams of two, I gave every team a piece of the puzzle.

I shared with our class the story of Noah and how God called him to do what no one had ever done before, and that was to become the first major shipbuilder. God told Noah to go into the ark with his whole family and take with him seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate. He also took seven pairs of the male and female of every kind of bird. It rained for forty days and nights, as Noah, his family and all the animals sailed on to a place where only faith in God could take them.

I shared with our class how Noah did everything just as God commanded. Reflecting upon this story, I thought about how it took a team, God’s team, to bring about this fresh new start. Keeping that huge ship clean and orderly could only work with everyone giving it their all by working together; cleaning up, feeding the animals, collecting eggs, and tending to all the needs that took place. We even get a glimpse of how the raven and the dove helped out, by seeing if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. As I share the meaning of these beautiful scriptures with our class, it is important to me that I show them the joy of working together. With a piece of the puzzle in hand, along with team work, they put all the pieces together. From the unknown to the beautiful, all hands were in. They all had fun working together.

 Mother Teresa of Calcutta put it best, “I can do things you cannot, you can do things I cannot; together we can do great things.”

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

May God bless you always,

Deanna Danielle

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