Advent activities for families—you either love them or hate them, right? While some moms are crafty, cute, and always on top of their Advent plans for the year (and if that’s you, I’m so glad!), I tend to be more on the well-intentioned but rather last-minute side. I want to do meaningful things, but planning is a struggle. Plus, budgeting the time and intention you need to celebrate Advent just makes me kinda overwhelmed.

With all the things happening during December—Christmas parties, school and church plays, recitals, seeing family, and alllllll the sweet goodies given and received—the crazy doesn’t really stop. To me, Advent can seem like just another thing to add to the checklist or make us late for bedtime . . . again. And honestly, it’s hard to find Advent activities that are fun, deep, AND manageable. Considering all this, is it really possible to find meaning in our Christmas preparations instead of just stress?

Advent Activities for Families: Finding a Meaningful Christmas Countdown

What’s the Point of Advent Anyway?

Though we often think of Advent as simply a “countdown to Christmas,” the origins of Advent are way deeper! The word “advent” literally refers to an anticipation of the coming or arrival of someone notable and important. Early on, Advent was a time of new year preparation that early Christians used to celebrate and look forward to Christ’s second coming! Eventually, though, Advent became specifically tied to the four weeks leading up to Christmas and celebrating the anticipation leading up to Jesus’ birth.

Finding Meaning in Advent Activities for Your Family

Despite the fact that Advent has always been connected to deep biblical truth, Advent activities for families seem to have lost much of their significance for us today. Even unbelievers pick up Advent calendars to incorporate into their holiday celebrations.

Of course, there’s no problem with chocolate, fun crafts, or excitement leading up to Christmas. But there can be a problem if the focus is all on us. The thing is that this can happen so easily before we even realize it. But Advent can’t be about us! We can’t save the world from sin. We can’t bring ourselves peace and joy and hope—no matter how many advent chocolates we eat and Christmas movies we watch. Unless it’s all about Jesus, Advent is as meaningless and empty as the boxes and wrapping paper littering the floor on Christmas day.

Instead of just celebrating Advent, let’s teach our kids the truth about its meaning. Let’s get deeper and actually talk about why we do what we do. Let’s turn our eyes toward the beauty of what Jesus did for us!

What to Look for When Choosing Advent Activities for Your Family

Truth-Filled

To show our kids the meaning of Advent, we have to start with truth! So many things, from nativity scenes to kids’ Bible storybooks to Christmas carols (yes, I’m serious), don’t actually give us an accurate description of what the Bible tells us about Jesus’ birth. Now, I’m not saying to throw out your nativity scene that includes wise men. And I’m definitely NOT saying you should quit listening to Christmas carols. These are still good things! But I challenge you—look for activities and countdowns that are rooted in and filled with Biblical truth.

If this sounds overwhelming, please know it doesn’t need to be! You don’t have to read a 45-minute sermon to have a truth-filled Advent activity. Even just one or two verses or one passage of Scripture is enough to point your family to the truth about Jesus AND encourage meaningful discussions. Don’t know what verses or passages to pick out? Well, hang around . . . we just might have what you’re looking for!

Christ-Centered

How do we know Advent activities for families are filled with truth? Easy—you’ll find Jesus at the center of EVERYTHING. Not us, not fluffy feelings, not watered-down Bible stories. In fact, if our Advent activities don’t center around Jesus, we’ve missed the point. Meaningful Advent activities will teach our kids the truth about why and how Jesus came to save us!

If you think about it, what does chocolate or lighting candles have to do with Jesus? Maybe they had candles in the “stable” in Bethlehem? Maybe the wise men brought Mary chocolate when they brought Jesus’ gifts? (KIDDING!) But think about it—in and of themselves, these things really don’t mean anything. The fact that they mean something deeper keeps us coming back to them. So instead of getting lost in the symbolism, we should choose Advent activities that will teach and directly remind our kids of Jesus!

Simple and Manageable

As much as Advent activities for families should be truth-filled and Christ-centered, they also need to be manageable. Unless you have some unusually focused kids, they won’t sit through a solemn 45-minute-long, deeply symbolic ritual every day leading up to Christmas. Our Advent activities won’t teach our kids if they’re struggling to stay focused!

Instead, pick an activity that you can complete in 15–20 minutes each morning or night. Maybe you can read a couple of verses and have your kids share or draw what they learn. Or you can try learning a new Christmas carol each week leading up to Christmas and talking about what the words mean. Advent calendars are awesome as long as we’re reminding our kids each day about why we count down to Christmas. Short, engaging activities like this without too much prep or cleanup will help YOU not get overwhelmed or give up halfway through, and it’ll help your kids stay focused too!

The Perfect Christmas Countdown and Advent Activities for Families

It’s hard to find advent activities or Christmas countdowns that check all the boxes! If you want pretty and engaging, it might be fluffy. If you want deep, it might be hard to keep your littles’ attention. That’s why we wrote Uncovering Mercies at the Manger, our 25-day Christmas countdown Bible study for kids!

Discover the why behind Christmas joy and hope by uncovering the mercies of God leading up to and at the manger. By setting aside just 15 minutes a day to study individually or as a family, you can learn the truth of why Jesus came to earth and discuss it together! With Primary, Junior, Youth, and Parent Guide levels, this study takes biblical truth, makes it manageable for each of your kids, and allows you to get involved too!

Our coordinating Christmas Countdown Cards are a beautiful reminder of truth and go right along with the study or can be used on their own! There are so many ways to use these cards—just pick what works best for you or come up with your own way!

Tips for Using Your Christmas Countdown Cards

• Hang them up in order with the numbers showing, and turn around one card each day to reveal the symbol and truth for that day.
• Hide the card for the day around the house somewhere and have your kids search for it. When it’s found, everyone can have a special treat to eat while you read the truth and verses aloud together.
• After you read each day’s card, hang them on your Christmas tree for extra decoration and a continual reminder as you get closer to Christmas.
• Have each child take turns reading the Scripture and card or explaining the symbols they see on it.
• Place each day’s card in a bag or box with goodies for each of your kids that go along with the theme of that day’s card!

However you decide to use them, our Christmas countdown study and cards will help you have a meaningful Christmas countdown with your family this year!

As moms, one of the most important things we can teach our children is to serve others. Not only does Jesus call us to do so, but we are blessed and grow closer to Christ in the process! However, this can be a huge challenge for families with small children. It’s easy to think we’re just in a season when serving with kids isn’t possible, but truthfully, we just need to think outside the box.

Serving with kids—especially with little ones in tow—will look different from how others may serve, and that’s okay! It’s even a good thing. There are ways you can serve and meet needs that others cannot. But sometimes, it’s hard to know how to serve or where to start.

Serving with Kids: 5 Practical Tips and More Fun Ideas!

1. Serving With Kids Can Be Simple

As much as we might be tempted to think the ways we can serve might be too small or unimportant, this is not true! Anything we do in serving with kids is serving God first of all and others second of all. Jesus said even those who give a cup of water in His name are serving Him! We don’t have to do elaborate acts of service or amazing things to serve Jesus.

Serving with kids doesn’t need to be larger than life—simple acts of kind service go a long way! It may be as simple as a smile and “Can we take your cart for you?” to a fellow mom struggling to get her groceries AND children into her car after a shopping trip. The smallest things like this can make a huge difference to someone else!

2. View Serving as an Opportunity to Teach

Because they have limited experience and a smaller perspective on life, kids are very self-focused. It comes naturally to be focused on ourselves—why would we worry about other people? Part of serving with kids is teaching them to look around them and see the needs of others. Until they start realizing what’s going on around them, our kids won’t understand why we should be serving others!

We can start by teaching them to notice small things, like when someone seems sad and might need comfort. But as we continue serving with our kids, we can also teach them to notice as we drive through town how some people seem to live outside all the time or stand on the street with signs. As they start to see people with needs, we get the opportunity to teach them about meeting those needs! For example, we will get to share how the homeless man under the bridge does NEED food. But is a cookie or milkshake going to be the kind of nourishment that is most helpful? A better way to meet that need is probably with bottled water and protein bars.

Once your kids have started learning to think this way, ask them to look around and tell you what needs they see. Encourage them to think of ways to meet those needs and tell you their ideas. You may need to guide their thinking A LOT at first. But keep encouraging them—soon they will be telling you about ways they served without your prompting!

3. Serving With Kids Means Giving Them Achievable Tasks

It kind of defeats the purpose of serving with kids if we are the ones doing everything! Getting our kids involved personally by giving them kid-sized tasks and responsibilities will help them take ownership of their ability to serve. Kids are so creative—you might be surprised how much they can do or what problems they can solve when they are involved in tasks they can handle on their own.

Don’t burden yourself by feeling like service has to look like a perfectly curated four-course dinner delivered to someone’s home. Serving with kids never looks perfect and often involves a mess—but it will be a sweet mess because you served together. Tell your kids you’re going to write notes or make drawings or paintings for an older lady in your church who can’t get out on her own very much. Ask them for suggestions of snacks or small, comforting things to cheer up a friend or family member who is in the hospital. When we ask for their input or make them responsible for age-appropriate tasks, kids will enjoy getting to serve!

Serving with kids never looks perfect and often involves a mess—but it will be a sweet mess because you served together!”

4. Intentionally Make Valuable Memories

Make serving valuable—these moments can stick in your child’s mind for a long time, so make it something they remember as important in their life!

Some of my most detailed memories are of the many opportunities to serve that my parents involved me in from a young age. Whether it was visiting the nursing home weekly where we sang, played the piano, and talked with the residents or keeping an eagle eye out for visitors at church so we could welcome them and show their kids to their classes, my earliest memories include my parents encouraging me and leading me in serving.

When we intentionally and habitually serve with our kids, they will make memories that stay with them for the rest of their lives! These early memories will become valuable parts of how our kids view serving and, consequently, how they view life. They will value our teaching and guidance when they have their own families someday and are teaching their children to serve as well!

5. Prayer Is a Crucial Part of Serving With Kids

It’s so important that we continually direct the focus of serving back to God. We don’t serve to make ourselves look good or to feel like we have done our duty. We serve to honor God and bring glory to Him by spreading His love! This is why praying that God will give us opportunities to serve is a great place to start. Then we need to keep praying when He shows us needs so we can have the wisdom to meet them in a helpful way! Finally, after we serve, it’s a wonderful practice to direct our hearts to God by praying He blesses our service and brings forth fruit from it. It’s pretty hard to be selfish or proud about serving when we continually direct our hearts to God in prayer!

More Ideas for Serving With Kids

Maybe you’ve heard principles about serving your whole life, but no one ever talks about what it looks like. We may get all energized to serve, do one big day of service, get completely burnt out, and let serving fall by the wayside. The best way to make something a part of our everyday lives is to make it a habit! So here are some ideas of what serving with kids actually can look like as you seek to make it a habit in your family:

• Fill a gallon ziptop bag (or several) with toiletries, protein bars, socks, etc., and give it to a homeless person.
• Ask your kids to pick two or three items that would cheer them up if they were sick (a teddy bear, crayons and a coloring book, a blanket) and deliver them to a child who is in the hospital.
• Write notes to send in the mail or deliver to elderly people in your church or community.
• Make “get well soon” cards or pick up medicine, tea, and snacks for a family struggling with sickness.
• Pull weeds or rake leaves for a neighbor who can’t do it themselves.
• Find one new family at church to greet, be kind to, and establish contact with throughout the week.
• Ask your kids what they would like to say to a friend and text the parent with your kids’ encouraging message.
• Bake cookies to give to families in your neighborhood.
• Bring extra snacks to the neighborhood pool or community playground to share with the kids there.

Discipling Them at Home

Ultimately, learning to serve starts right in our homes! Because we believe this is incredibly important, we have written Becoming a Servant, a Bible study for all ages on serving like Jesus. In this study, your kids will learn why we serve, what a servant truly looks like, and how they can start serving. Whether you have pre-K kids who can’t read yet or older kids who need encouragement in learning to serve, we have something for you!

Need some ways to help your child serve others? Read
more on how to encourage your child to become a servant!

A couple weeks ago, I was talking to our teen group at our church. As we discussed Jesus washing His disciples’ feet shortly before He gave His life on the cross, the conversation took a turn I wasn’t expecting.

What about when we just don’t feel like or care about serving others?

Everyone wants to serve when it’s fun and exciting! But service that looks like caring for the needs and concerns of others is genuinely hard. And, as I’m sure you know, serving our families or our church FAITHFULLY often means putting off what we want to do and making sacrifices.

For kids, this feels WAY harder—many times, they struggle with long-term goals and internal rewards. Often, their focus is on things that will make them happy right NOW. As far as they are concerned, serving others may seem like a waste of time.

How do we help and encourage our kids to serve when they don’t seem to care?“

Things to Remember When Your Child Doesn’t Care About Serving Others

Serving Others Is Not Natural

Before we go any further, we need to set something straight. NONE OF US naturally wants to serve others! We are self-focused, selfish humans whose first concern is for ourselves. In this state, we may serve, but mainly for a benefit coming our way. Jesus didn’t have to tell us to love ourselves. In fact, He told us to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Matthew 22:39) because He knew we already know how to love ourselves!

We naturally care about ourselves, not others. This is especially true for those who have not trusted Jesus for salvation. If your child is not a believer, their lack of desire to serve is simply an outflowing from an unchanged heart. Of course, this is not an excuse to show no concern for others. We still have to hold them accountable to be kind to their siblings and friends.

But if your child who professes to know Jesus still doesn’t care about serving others, here are a few things to bring up with them and keep in mind yourself!

Serving Others Is Modeled in Scripture

None of us likes to be the “bad guy” in expecting hard things from our kids. Maybe serving seems like a battle that you just don’t want to fight or have the energy to encourage. But the good news is that the command to serve others doesn’t come from you!

There’s no question about what Jesus thinks of serving others. Just by coming to this earth as God in human form, Jesus humbled Himself and served. He met our greatest need for a Savior to take away our sin! When we look at this amazing act of service, we know we could NEVER serve in a way as great and wonderful as this. But Jesus does tell us how He desires for us to serve!

Jesus made the idea of serving others real and tangible for His disciples and those who follow Christ today. In John 13, Jesus explains that if He, the Lord and Teacher of these disciples, washed their feet, should they not wash each other’s feet (John 13:14)? But then Jesus goes further. He commands them to follow His example of service and “do just as I have done to you” (John 13:15).

Serving others isn’t just a good or nice thing to do. Jesus calls all Christians to follow His example of service. So when we get pushback from our kids about serving, we can point them to a higher authority. Jesus says to serve!

Serving Others Starts With Conversations

Have you ever assumed something about your kids? Sometimes our assumptions are 100% accurate. But sometimes, when we finally talk to them, we realize something completely different has been going on. Just like a fear we don’t understand or an attitude that comes out of nowhere, the apparent lack of desire to serve others may take a conversation to get to the heart of!

This conversation might involve asking questions about what they personally believe about service. Ask if they have studied what God tells us about service in His Word. If they need a good place to start, suggest they read about Jesus’ example in John 13. Then you can even discuss what they observe in that passage and any others they study!

Another benefit of having a conversation with our kids about serving others is the openness it brings. When our kids know they can come to us about things, it helps us help our kids! These conversations reach their hearts—the whole point of serving in the first place. So before assuming your child doesn’t want to serve, have a conversation about it. You never know what you’ll learn!

It’s Reinforced by Your Joyful Example

Something I have noticed in my life is that I may serve, but I don’t always do it joyfully. I get flustered when I feel like I’m the only one who sees the crumby floors and overflowing trash. I feel like I’m the one always serving at church and others could be jumping in. Of course, this is not really the case. But despite my best efforts, this discontent or anger at the “slackers” definitely shows up in my service.

If this is what serving others looks like, why would my kids want to serve?

Our response to serving others tells our kids about the importance and value of service. If “serving” puts Mom in a bad mood and brings frustration that she takes out on her husband and kids, serving doesn’t look like something good anymore. It looks like an expectation you are guilted or forced into instead of a joyful, voluntary outlet for the love God puts in our hearts! True service will be joyful and loving because it comes from a heart full of love.

If serving puts you in a bad mood, full of frustration, you are sending the message to your kids that serving isn’t a good thing.”

Serving Others Is a Different Way of Seeing

A huge part of serving others is learning to see the needs around us! More often than not, kids don’t have the life experience that helps them realize when there is a need. Plus, they’re just more used to someone taking care of THEIR needs. They probably won’t figure out this new perspective on their own. We have to teach them—just like we teach them *almost* everything else that makes them decent humans (haha!).

Some kids really are naturally better at observing and seeing where service is needed. But others need a little push in the right direction or suggestions to get them started. Our kids may not be good at seeing where they need to serve yet. Or they may even be afraid to jump in and serve. But we can help them!

Serving Others Is Easier When We Start Small

We all know the daunting feeling when there’s a task that seems too huge or overwhelming to tackle. It’s like the feeling when you’ve had paint supplies sitting in the corner of your kitchen for months. You truly want to repaint the walls and cabinets! But it’s ridiculously hard to just. get. started.

The same is true for serving others—especially if your kids don’t really care about serving. If they’re hesitant or just don’t want to, finding small ways to get them started can help! The goal is getting them involved in the physical action first. Then the discipline of serving will naturally lead their hearts to get in step too.

Small Ways to Help Your Kids Start Serving Others

Younger Kids

If you can, starting young will help your kids learn a serving mindset early! Small, attainable actions of service for young kids may look like:

• helping their siblings clean up their toys
• wiping the table after dinner
• feeding your family pet
• emptying the clean silverware from the dishwasher
• picking up trash at church
• collecting or passing out papers or worksheets for their teacher
• putting away supplies in their classroom.

Kids who are a little older can handle bigger tasks such as:

• sweeping up crumbs
• wiping down the bathroom sink
• collecting laundry and carrying it to the laundry room
• helping younger siblings to get dressed
• looking out for younger kids while they play
• straightening chairs or collecting items left in seats at church
• joining and helping older siblings in how they are serving.

Maybe you’re already thinking of ways these or similar things will work for your family. This list doesn’t even cover all of the ways your young kids can serve—the possibilities are truly endless!

Teens

Teens are capable of so much, but we often don’t expect much from them. Giving them responsibilities in our homes communicates that they are an important part of what goes on! Don’t worry—you aren’t ruining their lives. You’re actually helping them in one of the kindest ways possible.

One great way to get teens thinking about serving others is to encourage them to start where they are. Challenge them to look around the room they’re in and look for one way they can make it better for the next person who enters the room, like:

• taking out the trash
• cleaning the toilet
• straightening pillows on the couch
• cleaning up games, books, blankets, or toys that have been left out
• vacuuming and mopping the floor when it looks dirty
• putting away food
• cleaning up the kitchen after meals.

Though the home is where we start, serving others should spread to outside our homes too! Some ways to start are:

• helping elderly people out to their cars after church
• setting up or tearing down chairs, tables, or equipment at church
• assisting in the nursery or kids’ classes at church
• putting away the shopping cart for a mom with young kids
• cleaning or doing yard work for a neighbor who is unable.

Of course, there are so many more ways than this that our teens are equipped to serve, but having the mindset of “making it better” will help them learn to see needs and know where to start!

How to Make Serving Others Easier

No matter how you end up encouraging your kids to start serving others, all of you need to be on the same page about serving! This is why we have written Becoming a Servant, a Bible study for kids about serving like Jesus. This four-week study dives deep into what servants truly look like. Starting with the example Jesus gave and working through other passages that show us true servanthood, this study challenges you to make serving personal in your home, church, work, and friendships!

When it comes to conflict resolution for kids, one of the first images that pops into my head is a referee blowing a whistle. From little league soccer games where kids couldn’t care less but parents yell at referees anyway to World Cup games where grown men bite each other or flop over on the ground to get penalties, the referee has a crazy and sometimes frustrating job.

Maybe like me, you start to empathize with the referee when you’re in the middle of breaking up fights and dishing out penalties at home. It can seem very attractive to be able to deal with conflicts by blowing whistles and “banning” people (haha!). But a referee can only resolve so much conflict. A red card can shut up a player or a parent and even ban them from the league, but it can’t bring what we truly want—peace.

Though it is exhausting and discouraging, the fact that conflict surrounds us almost constantly is not surprising. God has created our kids as unique people with different priorities, likes, and dislikes! They’re bound to get in the way of each other as they pursue what’s important to them. But here’s the shocker—conflict isn’t the problem. Nope, it’s not the conflict causing the endless fighting or the tense atmosphere in our homes. It’s their responses to the conflict. And THAT is something our kids can absolutely have control over!

5 Ineffective Ways To Handle Conflict Resolution for Kids

Picture it with me. You’re having a bubble bath and eating bonbons cooking dinner and loading the dishwasher peacefully when war breaks out.

Emily was carefully collecting materials so she could do an art project at the table. Scott saw her, which reminded him that he also wanted to do an art project. So he gathered his things quicker and raced to the table, consuming the space Emily needed.

When Emily gets to the table and finds Scott already there, she begins to throw his stuff on the floor. “You knew I was going to sit here. How could you?” she screams frantically.

Sounds familiar, right? Just insert different names and circumstances, and you’ve got a glimpse into every Christian home. Yep, I said “Christian.” Sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that Christians would never have conflict. Ha. Everyone has conflict. The difference is in the resolution.

So how can you master conflict resolution with your kids? Let’s look at some ways we might be doing it all wrong!

1. Escape the Conflict

If we are being honest, this is typically our first response as parents. We walk in on an Emily and Scott situation and tell everyone to go to their room. That will solve the conflict, right?

Wrong. Sometimes our desire for peace can make us forget what true peace looks like. If we ONLY separate fighting kids or ONLY forbid them to speak, we may actually be trying to escape the conflict rather than resolving it. Does silence = peace? I would say no. Like a fire that burns whether we’re next to it or run away from it, angry and hateful hearts, grudges, and bitterness can all still exist even when our homes are quiet and our kids are separated into their own rooms.

Though this response might start with how we, as parents, deal with our kids’ conflicts, they will quickly learn this escape response too. Refusing to speak to someone or secluding themselves in their rooms may be signs that your kids have learned the “escape” response. But this will not lead to conflict resolution—in fact, like ignoring a fire, it will undoubtedly make it worse.

Make it right—> Is there ever a time to escape a conflict? Yes! Teach your kids to recognize when it’s the right thing to do. For example, if your life is in danger (or you might be physically hurt), ESCAPE quickly! Another reason to escape could be for kids who need a minute to cool down. Just remember not to leave it there! Once emotions are under control, the conflict needs to be resolved.

2. Avoid the Conflict

Let’s say Emily sees what Scott did and just goes back to her room. We might initially praise her, but that’s because we don’t see that she went to her room to pout for the rest of the day, collecting yet another tally on her list of wrongs against Scott. This behavior is toxic and will only increase sibling rivalry, causing a bitter root that will one day rear its ugly head.

Does this sound like one of your kids? Maybe you have a child who hates conflict and would rather ignore a hurt or offense in an effort to avoid conflict and make “peace.” But avoiding the person or even a conversation about the offense doesn’t bring true peace either! It only prolongs a conflict without resolving it and laying it to rest. Though they might mentally dismiss it or say, “It doesn’t matter,” they aren’t actually dealing with conflict. They are only avoiding what will inevitably come up again and probably in a worse way next time.

We, as parents, avoid conflict by ignoring it or refusing to deal with the situation.

Make it right—> Should kids ever walk away from a problem? YES! In fact, the Bible is super clear that we should be overlooking the offenses of others. Proverbs 19:11 says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.” Just remember that “overlook” means to forgive. When we avoid, we often hold the offense against the person privately, not overlooking and forgiving.

3. Lashing Out and Attacking to Resolve Conflict

It’s pretty obvious that attacking isn’t a good response to conflict. (This includes us, parents!) Though angry outbursts where we yell at people, call them names, or physically attack them can feel justified or right in the moment, they don’t resolve conflicts.

It can be hard to know what to do and very overwhelming when our child’s first response is to lash out in this way. If we don’t help them learn to control their response now, it will be so much harder one day when they get older. Kids who continue to respond to conflict by lashing out in anger will become adults who cannot maturely handle conflicts in their job, friendships, marriage, and with their own children.

Make it right—> One of the most effective ways I’ve found for helping kids with this is role-playing. It sounds silly, but it works. Have your kids practice offending the other and then role-play a correct response. The more you practice things, the more they become habits, and we want the right response to be a habit! Another trick I’ve used is when walking into a conflict my kids are having, I’ll yell, “Freeze-frame!” They know this means to literally freeze. Sometimes just these words are enough to “knock” some sense into them because it takes them out of the moment. If not, this gives me a second to say, “Is this really the way you want to be responding?”

Note that a biblical response to conflict comes from a heart that wants to please God. If your kids aren’t saved, pray for that first! We can’t please God if we don’t want to.

4. Playing Judge Judy in Conflict Resolution With Kids

It can be tempting to think that if we can just hear all the sides and make a judgment, the conflict will go away. But the point isn’t to be Judge Judy and make rulings on who is right and who is wrong. No matter how well and wisely we discern right and wrong, we will not have peaceful homes until we deal with the real problem of wrong responses. If our kids never learn how to control their responses and achieve conflict resolution on their own, we will play Judge Judy at every family gathering for the rest of our lives!

The point is to help each of our kids see what they themselves could have done differently to prevent the escalation of a conflict. There is always something they can do—whether it’s walking away from a situation so they don’t explode in anger, speaking calmly to an angry person, or humbly letting the other person have their way—to defuse conflict and make resolution possible.

Make it right—> Is there ever an opportunity for a hearing of sides in conflict resolution? Nope. I don’t play “he said-she said.” But if you have a child who needs to be heard to process their own thinking, do it! I often listen to my kids without passing judgment, so they can “be heard” and talk themselves into the right response. Just remember to always focus on helping the kids see what they can do to resolve the situation versus listing the wrongs of the other person.

5. Playing the Blame Game Hinders Conflict Resolution for Kids

If your home is anything like mine, as soon as you walk into the room of a screaming Emily and crying Scott, the fingers start pointing.

The response to conflict we see from the beginning of time in the garden of Eden and still today is the very human tendency to blame other people. At the first sign of trouble, we deflect responsibility from ourselves and place it on others. Surely it is always their fault. We would never have responded how we did if she or he hadn’t done ____.

Of course, this comes naturally to our kids just as much as it did to Adam and Eve. But when we allow our kids to play the blame game, we’re actually hindering them from resolving conflict. Instead of always blaming someone else or believing it’s not their fault, our kids need to learn to look at their own responses and identify what THEY could have done differently. As they learn to take responsibility for their own actions, our kids won’t need to look for others to blame.

Teaching kids to look at their own responses and actions is one of the key steps in biblical conflict resolution! We’ve got excellent resources to help!

Resources for Teaching Conflict Resolution for Kids

The wonderful thing is that we don’t have to choose between false peace and continual fighting. We can teach our kids to resolve conflicts and make peace with their responses. Thankfully, we don’t have to figure out how to do this on our own—God has shown us what biblical conflict resolution looks like in His Word!

Check out Making Peace, our Bible study on conflict resolution for kids. As your kids work through this study, they will see what the Bible says about why we need peace, where we find peace, and how to resolve conflict by working things out and planning peace.

I’ve found that some kids just really struggle to obey. Have you?
Here’s how to help your kids make wise choices.

I saw this struggle to make wise choices a lot as a classroom teacher. Some students were just natural rule followers who couldn’t get in trouble if they tried. Others couldn’t stay OUT of trouble if they tried. Even their best efforts fell short. Every. Single. Day.

As a parent, I wasn’t surprised to have kids all over the spectrum. I have two kids that I’d say are average trouble-makers (ha). One child who can’t get into trouble even if she tries and one who can’t stay out of trouble no matter what she does. (Good thing God gave us a sense of humor, right?)

Of course, I don’t have to tell you that my trouble-finding child (often labeled as strong-willed) requires a lot of attention. We talk often about wise choices and decisions she makes (like, say, hitting her brother because he looked in her direction). And we have a LOT of teachable moment “talks” and a lot of tears in the process.

But last year she asked me a question that stopped me dead in my tracks. “Mom, why is it so hard to do the right thing?”

This is exactly the question we want to be asking because until we come to the end of our own ability, we can’t see our need for a Savior.

Since I’m the rule-following-never-gets-in-trouble type, I had to think a lot about the answer. Was it hard for me to make wise choices? Mostly no. But if no one was looking, I have to admit that I also struggled to do the right thing. She was right and the question was valid.

Why is it so hard to do the right thing and how can we ALL make wise choices instead of getting ourselves into trouble?

More importantly, how can I help my kids with this struggle? I don’t have all of the answers to these questions either, but I have found a few tips that make a big difference in all of my kids–regardless of their natural bents.

Tips for Helping Your Kids Make Wise Choices

A Long List of Rules Won’t Help Kids Make Wise Choices

What do you do when no one is looking? This was the question that worried me the most as a parent. I could make a grocery list of rules for my kids, but the second I’m not watching, what happens? Our fleshly response is to try to do right if someone is watching, but then we don’t always follow through when they’re not.

This is where rules fail us.

Rules don’t permeate private spaces like your room,
your friend’s house, and your thoughts.

If we want our kids to make wise choices, we will need something that goes deeper. Plus, we all know someone who “follows” the rule by finding a loophole or exception. They think of something no other kid has ever tried. Because kids are all different, our rules can’t possible cover everything.

Rules aren’t one size fits all
because ALL kids are different.

I’m not opposed to rules. (In fact, I’m a rule follower, so I thrive on rules!) We just have to remember to keep rules in their place and not rely on them to keep our kids safe. In fact, rules can even push you away from God if they focus on your failure instead of helping you see your need for God.

Making Wise Choices Takes Understanding

All of us know how to obey—whether we accept the rules as good things or rebel against them. But just because we know HOW to obey doesn’t necessarily mean we know WHY we should obey. I’m sure you have, like me, been asked “why?” more times than you can count by your children. Is it bad that kids ask these questions? Often we feel like they are insulting, but it’s just not so.

Kids need to ask questions and be encouraged to seek answers
so they can take ownership of what they think and believe!

Understanding your WHY goes farther than outward conformity. It reaches our hearts! Understanding “why” ultimately makes the difference between a compliant child and an obedient child.

To help your kids see the importance of obedience, try using teachable moments when you are living out life. Point out consequences for choices made (but never shame another person). You can use these real like situations to pray for the struggles of others while teaching your kids to recognize the consequences of behavior.

For example, if you are in the checkout line and a child is screaming and throwing a fit, your kids will notice. When you get to the car, say, “hey let’s pray for that child and her mom.” Then do it! Once you are done, ask your kids what consequences were caused by the child’s tantrum. This is a great opportunity to have compassion for everyone involved while still using it to teach your kids about how our choices affect others.

Be sure to set your kids up for success. Don’t go into the grocery store at naptime or when everyone is starving. Even adults struggle to make good choices in those situations. Yes your kids will need to learn to handle it, but this is better done when they are much older. Trust me, there’s plenty of teaching time at home, too!

Another practical way to help your kids is to be real with your own struggles. If you give the impression that you are perfect, this sends the message to your kids that there is something wrong with them. They can never measure up to your perfection! Instead, we ought to be showing them how to go to God for help, forgiveness, and guidance when we struggle. Remind your kids that there’s ALWAYS hope because God is faithful and merciful toward us.

Give Your Kids Tools To Help Them Make Wise Choices

If we want our kids to take ownership of their faith, we can’t just lecture or tell them things. We need to SHOW them the truth and where to find it. Every time there is a question or problem, open the Bible and have your kids read the truth you want to apply to the situation. Then talk about what it means.

It’s vital that we don’t teach our kids to rely on our words alone because all parents make mistakes. The enemy will use our mistakes to take captive the hearts of our kids. But if you teach your kids to stand firm on the truth of God’s Word, the enemy has no grounds.

Want help? Do Right is a 4-week Bible study all about making wise choices in the face of temptation. As you put on the whole Armor of God and understand who the real enemies are, you will learn how it’s possible to make right choices no matter what!

This study is available in parent guide, primary, junior, AND TEEN versions, making it a great fit for family devotions and/or discussions.

We also have a free, one-week Armor of God Challenge that you can get started on while you wait for your studies to arrive!

Sign up, download the free printable, and follow along as we discuss why we need the Armor of God, discover where we can find this armor, and learn how each piece fits together to help us make wise choices in the face of temptation. Each day, we will look at biblical truth, learn practical solutions, and participate in challenges designed to grow you and encourage your faith!

When it comes to our homeschool, field trips are the backbone. There is nothing quite like a completely hands-on learning experience. Books and videos are great when you can’t be there in person, but there is no better teacher than life itself.

That’s why we make it a priority to stop in every possible education spot we can find! On a recent visit to Florida for a homeschool convention, we hit the road to the South Florida national parks.

Ready, Set, Go—South Florida National Parks With Kids

Alligators, manatees, and turtles—oh my! South Florida is a dream destination for wildlife lovers. You’ll learn about diverse habitats and ecosystems that will blow your mind. Did you know that South Florida is home to THREE National Parks? The Everglades is the most well-known, but you’ll also love Biscayne and the Dry Tortugas. PLUS, once you’re down there, you can’t miss Pennekamp State Park.

I’m going to tell you all of our favorite stops in South Florida, but first, you’ll want to download this awesome printable pack. Teaching your kids about the ecosystems, animals, and history you expect to see will give them a framework to better absorb the information when they get to learn it in person! Plus, you’ll love the daily travel log!

Our Top Tips for Visiting South Florida National Parks With Kids

We drove into South Florida from Orlando because we were here for a conference. Driving is the frugal way to go, and I think Florida is full of fun stops along the way like Crystal River, Rainbow Springs, and of course, Buc-ee’s in Daytona.

But, it takes forever to drive from north to south in Florida, so keep that in mind when planning. If you’re going to fly in, consider flying to Naples and renting a car. That way, you can see all the South Florida parks and not pay the higher prices from Miami. We stayed at Home2 Suites Naples 1-75 Pine Ridge Road on the way down. It was a perfect spot for an early morning airboat tour.

Everglades National Park With Kids

Our first official day started in the Everglades. We took this epic airboat ride out of Everglades City. The company is a Christian family-owned company and one of the few that has headsets so you can talk to each other.

I’m not going to lie—this airboat ride is not for the faint at heart. It was the first one my kids were old enough to remember, but having grown up in Florida, I’ve been many times. This ride was different. We were flying through the mangrove forest! My teens couldn’t stop talking about it.

We drove about 40 minutes from the airboat ride to the Shark Valley entrance of Everglades National Park. There are 3 different entrances, but this is the best in our opinion. Of course, we got our national park passport stamp at the visitor’s center first and learned about everything we’d see. We considered biking the path, but it was June and 150 degrees outside (OK, I’m exaggerating . . . a little.) There is a tram tour you can take, but you need to book tickets in advance. Do it!

Since we didn’t have tickets and it was so hot, we did the short loop, and in just that time, we saw a baby alligator, a few teenage-sized gators, turtles, and tons of birds. There is NO shade at this park, so work that into your plan. The tram is definitely the way to go!

Plan to bring hats, sunscreen, and bug spray when you come. You’ll need them all year-round, but especially in the summer months.

Because we had been to the Everglades many times, we kept moving pretty quickly. But you can easily spend a day exploring this park’s different visitor centers and trails. I highly recommend a boat tour, even if you don’t like the fast-paced airboats.

Biscayne National Park With Kids

The drive to Biscayne National Park is about one hour from Shark Valley, and it’s a BEAUTIFUL drive. Biscayne is a really unique park in that 95% of the national park is water! You can go on a number of tours to snorkel or view the lighthouse, but the weather was not in our favor for either. Instead, we asked lots of questions in the visitor center, played with the hands-on exhibits, and got our passport stamp. Then we headed out to the boardwalk for a beautiful walk.

Because the weather wasn’t great, our visibility wasn’t either, but we did see some fun fish and a few little creatures in the rocks.

Our journey continued south to Key Largo with a stop at Robert Is Here Fruit Stand and Farm. This is a must-do on the journey to the Keys. I’d say it lives up to the hype. We had fresh fruit smoothies, bought some fruit, and even saw two giant tortoises mating in the petting zoo out back. (Just another day in science class! Ha!)

After a pretty full day, it was finally time to head to the hotel. We stayed at Hilton Curio in Key Largo, which I highly recommend. There was so much for the kids to explore, from hammocks to lizards to paddleboards. The kids had an incredible time.

Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park With Kids

Admittedly not a national park, John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park still wins some time on this list because of its incredible learning opportunities. We chose to kayak so the kids could get up close and personal with the mangrove ecosystem. The water is relatively clear, so you can see some pretty fun animals.

Somehow I didn’t get any pictures of wildlife, but we saw manatees, plenty of fish, a gator, and some pretty large lizards. The mangrove loop is really long and finishes off on the ocean side, so be ready for some tougher paddling on that side.

Wear lots of sunscreen and a hat. Kayaks aren’t fast, so this was a HOT tour in the afternoon.

The drive from Key Largo to Key West is about 2 hours without traffic (and there often is traffic.) But you won’t even feel the time because there are plenty of fun stops AND it’s absolutely beautiful.

You can stop at Bahia Honda State Beach, search for Key deer, visit the Turtle Hospital, and our personal favorite, stop at Robbie’s in Islamorada. If this place looks like a tourist trap, it totally is. But it’s the best ever. You can feed tarpon, and you must. It was thrilling. There is shopping and, of course, a great restaurant. It’s worth the hype.

Key West With Kids

I wouldn’t say that Key West is known for its family-friendly atmosphere, but there are many great things to do here besides the national parks we came for. There are places to learn history, geography, ecology, zoology, and pretty much everything in between. Some of our favorites were:

• The Hemingway Home and Museum
• Key West Shipwreck Museum
• Sunset dolphin cruise Not only did we see a ton of dolphins, but our guide was full of history, geography, and more.
• Fort Zachary Taylor Historic State Park
• Boca Chita Lighthouse

One tip for making the most of the island with little people is to rent a golf cart. We LOVED having the ability to hop in and ride up and down the streets, but note that you have to park legally, and parking isn’t easy in Key West.

Dry Tortugas National Park With Kids

I don’t want to play favorites, but our trip to South Florida was largely centered around this one park: Dry Tortugas National Park. It’s been a bucket list item for years, and it was well worth the effort. First, you should know that there are only two ways to get there: boat and seaplane. Because the trip is so long, you won’t find tours, but there are some private sailboat charters. I’ve been told the seaplane is epic, but the price tag didn’t fit our family size, so we went with the ferry. It’s not cheap, and it’s not short. The ride over is 3 hours, and you should be prepared if you get sea sick.

There was a guide on the boat giving facts, history, geography, and all kinds of things pretty much the whole way there. (Most of us slept in silence on the way back!)

The ferry provides snorkeling equipment, but you’ll want to bring towels, a change of clothes, sun protection, and a hat. Once you get off the boat, you are free to explore! We started with Fort Jefferson, learned about the island’s history, and got our passport stamp. That part was probably an hour and a half of our time on the island.

Then we headed down to the beach to snorkel. The best snorkeling was right up against the fort wall. It was easy enough, but the water is too deep to touch the bottom. It would have been nice to have a floatation device to help hold you up. If you are snorkeling with younger children, I’d definitely bring one along.

Be sure you wear sun-protective clothing and reef-safe sunscreen (apply every hour). The sun is very close down here, and you’ll get a sunburn easily. If you take the ferry, though, you won’t have terribly long. We snorkeled and played on the beach for about two hours before we headed back to change and get ready to return home.

South Florida National Park Printables

One of the most important parts of taking your kids on epic field trips is making sure they learn about what they plan to see. There is nothing cooler than a sea turtle floating by in the ocean unless, of course, you have no idea what you are really seeing! Take the time to help your kids learn a little before you go. We’ve made it super easy with our South Florida Adventure Guide. It’s a printable pack you can download and print before you go. You can even keep a little journal as you travel.

I know, I know . . . it’s the end of the school year, and you are more than ready to take a break. So many things in life call us away from some of the planning and record keeping that we know we need to do.

Whether it’s that upcoming vacation, relaxing by the pool, picking up that book you’ve been waiting to read, or any other number of pleasures (or even obligations!) that are calling your name—what I have to share with you today is essential to your homeschool year.

I have three (truly) easy steps that will help you be so neat and organized with all your homeschool records so that you can sit by the pool carefree! Don’t put off what you know will stress you out in August. Do it now and ENJOY your summer!

Wrapping Up the School Year

STEP 1: NOTEBOOK PORTFOLIO CREATION

If you have been following along with me for any length of time, you probably already started a notebook portfolio for your kids at the beginning of the school year. If you just found me, or are simply new to this topic, then you need to go ahead and buy a notebook for each of your kids. For elementary ages, a 1-inch notebook will work. For junior high and high school, you will likely need a larger notebook (no larger than 2 inches). The older the child, the more detailed assignments they will have and the longer papers they will write, so they will naturally need a bigger notebook.

The long-term goal is to have a notebook for each school year. This means you’ll want to use the smallest notebook possible that will fit all that you need to keep—the more compact, the better (more on that in step 2). You also need dividers with tabs to write each subject’s name on for each child’s notebook.

You will place schoolwork from the past year for each subject into the notebooks behind the appropriate tabs. Now, this might shock you . . . but do NOT keep everything! Only keep SOME of the things. Keep the important things, the milestones, the favorites, tests, field experiences, hours, etc.

Then guess what? Throw the rest away! Yes, I said it. As my son Luke said, it’s actually quite freeing to throw some of it away! And don’t just keep the assignments with the best grades, but also keep those that were especially challenging. It will remind your child of their educational journey, and that is an important part of learning.

Let your kids pick their notebook colors and decorate them. We have pretty consistently done this over the years, and it’s a lot of fun for everyone.

We start this notebook at the beginning of the year and sort through papers at least once a month (once a week when my kids were younger). But don’t worry, you can create that habit for next year.

You should also put your lesson plans, grades, assessments, field trip details, and other records in this notebook. We personally use the Student Record and Planner I created because it’s a nice, compact book that has literally all I need in one spot. This book has everything from a yearly calendar to attendance records, all the way to the educational snapshot (my version of lesson plans).

Regardless of how you keep track of these items, put them in the pocket of the portfolio notebook for quick reference. If your kids are involved in things like piano, sports, theater, or volunteer activities, you will want to put those recorded hours in their notebooks. Our free printable Back-to-School Activities Pack has a form that makes this super simple.

So why do you need to do this? In my case, my state doesn’t require it, and I’ve never been asked to prove anything. If ever I am asked, it will all be readily available (trust me—it’s worth being prepared on this one). But it’s more than that. I’ve known many parents who needed records to apply for scholarships and even college admission. So get organized now!

STEP 2: STORAGE

Now that you have these notebooks each year, how do you organize them? I put them into clear storage bin plastic bins, one for each child. We always use clear bins so we can easily see what’s inside.

Be sure to label the edge of each notebook with your child’s name, the year, and grade level so you can have everything right at your fingertips.

Remember when I said you want to use the smallest notebook possible for the number of things you need to put in each one? This will help in general organization, but it will also help you fit the notebooks in the bins with ease.

Last but not least, these are also fantastic keepsakes to go through with your kids later. My kids absolutely love looking back at their work and all the memories they made.

That’s it! Simply store these bins in your garage, attic space, or wherever it makes sense for your family.

STEP 3: EVALUATE

The process of evaluating your school year is SO important that I think it will either make (or break) your next homeschool year. Yes, it’s THAT important.

I use the Organized Homeschool Planner to keep track of evaluation notes. This planner was a lifesaver for me as a homeschool mom. You don’t have to use this exact planner (although I do highly recommend it), but you need to find a way to organize and write things down. In the Organized Homeschool Planner, I have a section for evaluating the last year. It has questions like: What went well? What didn’t go well? Is there something that was lacking? What schedule changes need to happen? And many more.

For example, we’ve tried several different homeschool co-ops, which never seem to be a good fit for us. This year, I made a note to remind myself to NEVER do that again. Another example is that I realize I need to add more theology topics into our year to better prepare my kids. I felt like there were a few holes in this area, especially for my two youngest. I also incorporated a “no internet before 2 pm” rule. That worked really well for us. The point is that by evaluating the ups and downs of the past year, we are intentionally preparing a better plan for the upcoming year.

The Organized Homeschool Planner also has a section for evaluating each child emotionally, spiritually, and academically. Where are they struggling or excelling? This is truly one of the most important aspects of helping our children grow from year to year. We can look at the last year and see if they have made any progress over the summer as we plan for the upcoming year. This will help you to see the areas that need to be nurtured.

Write down your evaluations in your planner or the notebook you will be using for the NEXT homeschool year. You NEED to do this at the end of the school year, though. Why? Because it’s all fresh in your mind. And you might think you will remember it all, but let’s be honest with ourselves—that’s not happening. So let’s do it!

If you need extra help with homeschool planning in general, join me in my Homeschool Planning Boot Camp, where I will help you plan for your whole school year in just 5 days! It’s fun and FREE!

STEP 4: CELEBRATE

It’s not really a step, but celebration is one of the best parts of life, and you will never regret taking the time to celebrate with your kids. You can do something different each year, or pick something you love and make it an annual tradition! Here are some ideas of ways to celebrate wrapping up the school year.

• Have an ice cream bar (lots of ice cream and all the special toppings to make your own creation).
• Create a photo slideshow of the past year and watch it together.
• Go camping for a celebration weekend.
• Have a special family game night with unique snacks.
• Make a summer bucket list together as a family.
• Make a scrapbook of the school year together while listening to fun music.
• Have each child present their top 3 favorite school projects to the whole family (invite extended family too).
• Have a scavenger hunt with prizes.
• Go fishing and take a picnic lunch.
• Have a glow-in-the-dark party and invite other homeschool friends.
• Have an end-of-the-year ceremony with awards for areas the kids excelled in.
• Create a year-in-review questionnaire for your kids to fill out and share with the family. It’s fun to review past years’ questionnaires at the same time to see how the kids have changed.
• Be creative and come up with your own celebration!

This Books of the Bible Printable Pack will help your kids memorize the books of the Bible and make connections in God’s Word!

Remember back in the day when Sunday school and vacation Bible school teachers taught kids songs and rhymes to help them remember the order of the books of the Bible? Knowing the order came in pretty handy during the “sword” or Bible drill challenges when we raced to find the passage first.

Recently I was working with a 6th grader at our church to find a passage for the lesson, and I started singing the books as she flipped through. She giggled and thought I was strange.

Perhaps you’ve wondered the same thing she was feeling at that moment. Why would I need to memorize the order of the books of the Bible if there was always a list of them on the very first page of my Bible?

This might surprise you, but there’s more to memorizing the books of the Bible than earning the sword drill trophy during VBS.

Even though we can always flip back to that table of contents, nothing will help us understand how the Bible cohesively fits together like memorizing the books of the Bible! Knowing the order of the books gives us a general understanding of how the Bible connects with history, as well as God’s work throughout all time. This foundational knowledge will give your kids a place to start as they grow spiritually!

But can you actually have fun memorizing? Well, yes—let me show you how! We’ve created this free Books of the Bible Printable to help your kids enjoy memorizing the books of the Bible and make connections within God’s Word.

FREE Books of the Bible Printables: 7 Ways to Make Memorizing the Books of the Bible Fun!

1. Find Your Way: Old Testament Maze

As your kids work through the Books of the Bible maze, they get to visually connect the order of the Old Testament books with symbols and stories from the books themselves! The visual association and ordering in this activity will help them see how the countless Bible stories they have heard actually fit into the Bible they are holding in their hands.

2. Search It Out: New Testament Word Search

Many of the New Testament books are named either after the people who wrote them or named after the people the books were written to! But there are so many names that it can be hard to remember which ones are just people in the Bible as opposed to actual books of the Bible. The New Testament word search in the Books of the Bible Printable will help your kids think about each book of the Bible as they look for it in the word search! As a bonus, word searches help us learn to spell words.

3. Organize the Shelf: Books of the Bible Sorting Game

While memorizing the names of 66 books in order might seem overwhelming, it doesn’t have to be! A great way to memorize anything is by dividing it into smaller, manageable chunks. As your kids cut out each book of the Bible and put it into its genre, they will see how different books fit together in order. Then, they can work on memorizing those smaller groups!

4. Put Them in Order: Books of the Bible Stack-Up Game

Maybe you have some kids who are only motivated by competition. Well, we’ve got you covered! Use the list of books provided to label styrofoam cups with the names of the books of the Bible for this timed activity! Then, challenge your kids to go as fast as they can to stack the books of the Bible in order. They can race their siblings or friends or even try to beat their own time.

5. Which Testament: Books of the Bible Sorting Game

Even if you’re not sure exactly where a book is located in the Bible, it helps to at least narrow down whether it’s in the Old Testament or the New Testament! Our Books of the Bible coloring page asks your kids to figure out where each book of the Bible fits, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament! As they color-code each book according to where it fits, they will grow more familiar with these many different books, and a secret image will be revealed!

6. Use the Clues: Books of the Bible Crossword Puzzle

While memorizing is something I do if I have to, what I truly love is learning new information—it actually helps me remember simpler things like a list of names when I have specific, intriguing things to connect to them. As your kids work through this crossword puzzle, the clues will expand their knowledge and challenge them to connect new details to what they already know about the books of the Bible.

7. Find It First: Books of the Bible Scavenger Hunt

Finally, our Books of the Bible Printable includes a scavenger hunt to help your kids put into practice what they have been working on by memorizing these books! They will get to pull out their Bibles and search them to find what the scavenger hunt asks them for. Make sure you brush up on your Bible trivia. Your kids will love sharing their finds with you, but it may be in the form of a quiz! Haha!

Do you want to make Bible lessons for kids come to life in a meaningful way that will impact them forever?
Here are 5 secrets you probably haven’t thought of.

1000 pieces of the puzzle are dumped onto the table before you, and there’s NO BOX. Do you accept the challenge?

Oh, I forgot to tell you one thing. You’re putting together a picture of a giant ocean storm. Still in? 

Sounds like an absolute nightmare to me. 1000 blue ocean pieces with nothing at all to help you figure out what the finished puzzle should look like? No thanks!

Sadly, this is exactly what we do to our kids when we cherry-pick cute stories and verses out of the Bible to teach them. It’s like dumping out a 1000-piece puzzle all over the place. We give them little glimpses of God’s people mixed in with a little bit of knowledge about who He is. Then we move on and do it over and over again. 

The secret to putting together that impossible puzzle is to find the corners, then find the edges, and keep connecting from there. Teaching kids about the Bible is the same way. Bible lessons for kids must make connections!

We need to start with some very crucial and central truths (the 4 corners), but then we need to build on those truths, connecting the pieces one by one until we see the whole picture.  

God has actually given us the box! Not the box to figure out all of life’s questions. He’s given us the box to help us to KNOW Him and become more like Him. Every single piece of the puzzle (or, in this case, verse in the Bible) is working together to form that picture! 

The secret to making Bible lessons for kids come alive is to help them connect the pieces.

5 Ways to Make Connections in Bible Lessons for Kids

1. Connect every Bible lesson for kids back to God’s character

The Bible is a GIANT puzzle that reveals the story of God. That story is revealed through God’s character. If there’s one thing—one MOST important thing—we want our kids to know about the Bible, this is it.

Knowing who God is helps us trust Him with all of the details of our lives. As you read Scripture together, help your kids make connections between the stories and God’s character. 

For example, David and Goliath is an epic battle story, but WHO is it really about? When we help our kids look for God in the story, they can better understand who He is and how He works in the lives of His people. 

One really meaningful way to do this is to learn the different names of God found throughout the Bible. One of my favorites is Jehovah-Jireh. It means “the Lord will provide.” We find it in Genesis when God provides the ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of Isaac, but if you look closely, you’ll see God as our provider all throughout the Bible!

2. Connect the books of the Bible together

If I gave you one blue puzzle piece, you probably wouldn’t have any idea what the puzzle would end up looking like. It could be an ocean, the sky, a whale, a beautiful flower, or even a ship. There are so many blue things. Unless I give you some context, you may never guess the puzzle.

Since the Bible is one giant “puzzle” or story revealing God to His people, we want to be regularly stepping back and connecting the pieces with our kids. How do the stories fit one with another to show us the WHOLE story of God?

When we treat Bible lessons for kids as stand-alone events, we get too caught up in the little things to notice the big picture. Imagine reading the book of Joshua without knowing the events that happened before it. It wouldn’t be that impressive that the Israelites got the land if you didn’t know that they were previously slaves, saved by God, who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years.

Helping kids make these connections will help them see the ultimate story that God wants us to know. (More on that in a minute.)

3. Connect the dots historically in your Bible lessons for kids

The first time I took a class on the Old Testament, I was blown away by how things fit together in history. I couldn’t believe that the Bible was an accurate retelling of all of creation because it had never been taught to me in that way.

Kids need to know that the Bible is the TRUE story of God, making every word in it history. In fact, I had no idea that all of the people I had learned about—Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Noah—were all part of the same big family!

It’s so important that we help kids see the historical connections in their Bible lessons because that’s the only way to really see God’s masterpiece. Without understanding where events fit in history, kids won’t see the beautiful puzzle unfolding right before their eyes. 

Did you know that the books of the Bible are not in order historically? For example, Job is the 18th book in the Bible, but it was actually written during the time period of the book of Genesis! Before you even dig in, show your kids how the books of the Old Testament fit together historically.

Check out this really cool chart included in our daily apologetics course for families, Faithipedia. 

4. Connect the prophecies of Jesus

Remember how I said that the Bible reveals the story of God? Well, the story of God is actually one giant love story where He creates people, gives them rules to live by, forgives them over and over again for breaking the rules, and finally sends His Son to save them from their inability to do the right thing.

Jesus is the story! All puzzle pieces point to Him! As you read the Old Testament, Jesus is revealed over and over again.

Make sure to help your kids connect the pieces of this puzzle, not just have a collection of Bible stories for kids etched in their memory. Consider keeping a notebook to track the mentions of Jesus as you study, or use a chart like this one.

5. Connect the Bible lessons for kids to everyday life

Sometimes it’s hard to relate to the stories in the Bible. I mean, we’ve never seen the Red Sea parted and can only imagine what the temple may have looked like.

The Bible is absolutely the most incredible way to know God’s story and should NEVER be replaced by anything! But, we can learn a lot from studying how God worked in the lives of others, such as hymn writers, missionaries, authors, pastors, and so many others.

Seeing how God works in their lives gives us practical examples of the biblical truth we find in God’s Word. This is super helpful for kids as they make the connections and put together the pieces of the puzzle. Every Bible lesson for kids needs a practical everyday life connection, so they can understand what these truths have to do with their lives today.

6. Connect the Bible words to meanings

Have you ever been a part of a conversation where two other people were speaking a language you didn’t know?

When adults start using big theology words around kids, they might as well be speaking a foreign language! Not only do kids feel left out, but they also miss out on an incredible opportunity to understand the puzzle!

When teaching a Bible lesson for kids, don’t assume your kids know the words they find in the Bible (or even the words we use at church). Help them make the connection between the word and its meaning. If I’m being honest, I’ll tell you this is hard to remember. We forget the words we’ve covered and the things our kids don’t really know. 

First, encourage your kids to ask questions when they don’t know a word. But don’t leave it at that, be intentional to teach those big theology words. One of the ways we do that in our home is through the Faithipedia: Daily Apologetics for Families flipbook. Each week there is a new theology word for us to explore!

Whether you are a puzzle fan or not, putting the pieces of God’s story together is absolutely life-changing. As you connect the pieces with your kids, you will GROW in knowledge which strengthens your faith. Kick the old Bible lessons for kids to the curb and start making meaningful connections today!

You’re going to love putting those pieces together!

RESOURCE FOR MAKING THE BIBLE COME ALIVE

We’ve put together an incredible resource for families who want to connect the pieces to learn God’s story!

Faithipedia is daily apologetics for families, walking you through a bite-sized portion of study five days a week. Perfect for your morning time, this resource covers: 

• God’s Books
• God’s Words
• God’s Character
• God’s Stories
• God’s Timeline

Pick up a set today and start connecting the pieces of God’s incredible story together as a family!

Studying missionaries is a great way to experience other cultures with your kids. Check out this super cool printable pack.

I don’t know about you, but I love traveling. I love tasting new food dishes, seeing the beauty of God’s creation in diverse landscapes, and learning about customs and traditions that are unique to the area. Sadly, we can’t spend ALL our time traveling because we do have school to get done. But what if you could “travel” by studying real people and their ministries in countries throughout the world?

The second volume of our history study, To Every Nation 2, explores the lives of 12 different missionaries and the countries in which they served. By studying the lives of these faithful servants of God, your kids will learn about major historical events in their lifetimes and the Christian character God developed in them as they faced challenges. Then, “Make It Your Mission” extension activities push your kids to collect and apply new knowledge. But today, I want to tell you about the To Every Nation 2 Culture Pack, your kids’ opportunity to dive deep and experience culture in a country they have never seen!

Read on to learn how to get this bonus printable Culture Pack download absolutely FREE! Trust me, you don’t want to miss out on these activities—I think you’ll enjoy them as much as my family does.

10 Ways to Experience Culture With Kids by Studying Missionaries

1. Make Chinese Lanterns

One of the fun crafts in the Culture Pack is making Chinese lanterns! These colorful paper creations have a fascinating history in addition to their modern significance. After they research the cultural meaning of these lanterns, let your kids plan and celebrate a Chinese festival in your home. You can even participate in the Chinese practice of writing riddles on your lanterns for each other to guess!

2. Celebrate With Your Own Papel Picado

Grab some tissue paper and start snipping! Papel picado, literally “punched paper,” is a traditional Mexican banner hung up as decoration for many different festivals and celebrations. In Mexican folk tradition, the holiday being celebrated dictates the colors represented in the papel picado. Your kids will love personalizing this fun decoration by picking their own theme colors to celebrate a birthday, holiday, or traditional Mexican festival!

3. Build a Pyramid

While the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World, you can actually build your own . . . with paper (haha!). After your kids build their pyramids from the Culture Pack, encourage them to investigate the mysteries of the construction and purpose of the pyramids. This fascinating topic provides a great starting point for a research paper or presentation detailing the culture of ancient Egypt. For a modern twist, research the modern tourism industry or the social services in the region where Lillian Trasher established her orphanage.

4. Craft a Traditional German House

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a German villager hiding Jews in the early 1900s? Using the printout in the Culture Pack, craft your own little village house! Then, learn about life in a German village by researching common professions, daily schedules, and traditional food. To take it a step further, discover the role local villagers played in protecting Jews during Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s time in the German secret service.

5. Color the Design of a Boomerang

Since John Flynn’s place of mission work, Australia, is home to some amazingly unusual and dangerous animals, you’d expect Aboriginal Australians to have the weapons to match. And they don’t disappoint! Find an audiobook or documentary about the Australian Outback for your child to listen to or watch as they color and cut out their boomerang from the Culture Pack. Encourage them to explore the uses and necessity of a boomerang in the indigenous culture. They can even read about the fascinating wildlife native to Australia!

6. Model the Taj Mahal

I’m sure you’ve seen many pictures from people documenting their visit to the Taj Mahal. This amazing mausoleum immortalizing the wife of an Indian emperor (and where the emperor himself is now buried) is one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World. As your child cuts out and assembles their own model of the Taj Mahal, talk about what such a grand tomb symbolizes to the country. It might have something to do with what religious beliefs this people group has. For a fun way to experience Indian culture without traveling there yourself, look up an Indian recipe like curry to cook with your kids. Then, let them give their reviews on the preparation and taste of the meal!

7. Construct a Colonial Ship

We often think of the United States of America as a place that sends lots of missionaries to other countries. And this is true! But before we were ever a country, missionaries came to the original colonies to share the gospel. Though you probably understand the culture of the United States today, colonial American culture was quite a different experience from our modern comfort and lifestyle. Using the materials in the Culture Pack to construct a colonial ship, you and your kids can begin your own exploration into life aboard a boat headed to America! Once you have learned about trip lengths and sailing conditions, you can compare them to the modern sailing experience.

8. Put Together the Tower Bridge of London

Build your own famous bridge! Tower Bridge is probably London’s most well-known bridge—but it may be a surprise that it’s not the London Bridge we sing about. Once your child fits together their cut-out stone pillars and bridge pieces, encourage them to seek out the history, construction, and massive size of this awesome bridge! Enjoy experiencing the history of this famous structure along with your study of William Booth’s work in England!

9. Color a Beautiful Scene Depicting the Country

Whether you’re 8 or 38, a coloring page is always a good idea! The Culture Pack includes 2 coloring pages—one showing a scene in Japan and the other representing Saudi Arabia. By zooming in on one representative picture of the culture in each of these countries, these coloring pages offer a time to think or talk about the day’s study. These discussions can range from where you would like to visit in the country to the sights and activities to be witnessed and experienced.

10. Play Shisima

A great way to experience a country’s culture is to do something they do! The Culture Pack allows you to experience a small part of African culture by playing a traditional African game, Shisima! Once you cut out the pieces, follow the instructions included for you. You can play this game yourself with one child, or two children can play together!

I hope you and your children enjoy these various cultural experiences and that your thirst for studying missionaries only grows as a result! Simply order To Every Nation 2, and you’ll get this bonus Culture Pack download for FREE! Click here to get going on your own exciting “travel” adventures!

One of my pastors loves to tell the story of what happened when my son was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2016. We had been at the hospital for maybe an hour after a frightening morning at the pediatrician, followed by the longest ambulance ride of my life.

My friend had graciously brought Chipotle for me to make sure I was strong enough to help sweet Luke with whatever was going on. As we stood there outside of his ER room, visiting with the pastor and wolfing down the food so Luke didn’t know I was eating, the doctor came with the news.

As he concluded his diagnosis with the word tumor, in between bites, I responded with, “OK, what do we do about it?”

It still makes me laugh when I hear that story. Now don’t be mistaken. I’m not superwoman, nor am I as “spiritual” as I’d like to be. In that moment, I had hope because I knew God was faithful to His promises. I had seen Him prove His goodness to my little family over and over again.

As Christians, we know we have hope within us. But do we live like it? Do we join in with the complaining on social media and the gossip in small groups? Or do we turn the conversation back to the goodness of God? If you’re like me, it’s much easier to let the circumstances of life control you rather than our hope in Jesus.

But when we are controlled by hope, we can readily share it with those who need the hope we have!

5 Ways to Share the Hope Within You

1) Be ready to give an answer

The first way you can share the hope within you is by having an answer ready for those “why are you happy?” or “why are you okay right now?” questions. How do we know how to answer these questions without tripping all over ourselves and spouting some incomprehensible babble? Memorize the Word! As you hide God’s Word in your heart, you will grow more confident in God’s truth. Then, you will always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15)!

You can use one of our beautiful Scripture card sets to hide God’s Word in your heart so that you are ready for questions when they come!

One great way to invite questions is wearing a faith-based t-shirt that will stir curiosity. (Hint: it also encourages your own heart.) I have worn our #NotConsumed shirt to every single MRI and many of our chemo visits for both of these reasons. Check out our Hope t-shirts!

2) Be joyful

Whether or not your neighbors, coworkers, or friends know you are a Christian, how you react to hard things in life will inform them about whether you believe you have hope or not. A joyful response to a hard situation like the loss of a job or unexpected move will confuse and befuddle those whose worlds have crumbled at less. They will expect you to be dismayed, panicked, or upset.

In contrast to dismay or discouragement, joy can be shown through a smile and kind greeting on the sidewalk. When an opportunity to complain arises, verbally praise God in front of others! Surprise them and show them the hope you have within you!

3) Work faithfully

The hope within you trumps tiredness and discouragement and energizes you to DO! You can be hopeful as you trust God to reward your faithful service to Him.

Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58

Are you the person who complains about the endless list of things you have to do? Getting kids to music lessons, folding the piles of clean laundry on the couch, or standing up for 15 minutes more to do the dishes are all labors we must do. But we can do them faithfully because of our hope! Our labor is not in vain when it is done for Christ. (Even when the kids don’t seem to notice!)

As moms, we have a huge influence over our kiddos as they watch how we work, pray, and love each day. This is a great opportunity to teach your kids about how faithful work is a witness to those around us. If you want some help, check out this family Bible study about working faithfully unto the Lord!

4) Love generously

One of the ways we fail to share the hope within us is when we don’t take the necessary steps to show people we really care about them. When we are miserly or “thrifty” with the love we show, we paint an inaccurate picture of our hope! The hope of salvation and eternity are lavished upon us in abundance, according to Ephesians 1:7–8. Because of this, our interactions with others should be generous and hospitable to give a proper view of the hope within us!

We can show our abundant hope by inviting neighbors over for a meal or dropping off cookies at their house. Maybe we can give gifts to those who are struggling financially, or we can do yard work or offer to watch kids for an afternoon. Perhaps sending a small gift to someone you know just to encourage them could open their heart to the message of hope you have within you. Open your heart and share your hope!

5) Pray for others to receive hope

No matter what we do to show the hope within us, ultimately, it is God who gives us opportunities to witness and who works in people’s hearts. So let’s pray! Pray for opportunities to share your hope, just as Paul requested of the church at Colossae (Colossians 4:3).

We can also pray for the Spirit to work in the hearts of unbelievers. Pray that He would reveal His truth and bring hope into the hearts of those you interact with on a daily basis. And don’t forget those who are receiving the gospel throughout the world! Our most powerful tool to share our hope is prayer, so let’s use it!

Our #NotConsumed Prayer Journal is a great resource to support and encourage you in your prayer life. Write down the names of those you’re praying for and come back to them daily so you do not neglect to pray for hearts to receive the hope that is in you.

These 24 Scriptures for Identity in Christ will encourage you and help you understand how valuable you are to Him!

It was April 17, 2010. I watched in disbelief, tears streaming down my face as my husband of 9 years decided family life was not in his plans and walked out the door for good. Although 2 little girls clung to my knees in despair, I had never before felt as alone as I did that day.

I felt lost. Suddenly a life that had been so neatly planned was upside down. I didn’t know WHO I was.

Those coveted words “wife” were no longer mine. It was a tearing that couldn’t be undone. A tearing that will never be healed in quite the same way.

I had built my identity on something that felt so sure but lacked the necessary foundation of truth.

Can you relate? Maybe you’ve also built a life around a “title” like mom, friend, sister, daughter, employee . . . only to find a breaking you could never have imagined. Or maybe there is no breaking, just an emptiness nothing seems to fill.

Identifying yourself based on a role you’ve been given in life isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but we must remember that all of life’s roles are temporary. And NONE of them can give us the identity we truly long for—only Christ can do that.

As I live out the calling God has given me as a mother, I’m reminded of how important it is that I meditate on this truth often. I’m also reminded of how important it is to teach my children not to look for the roles that they one day might fill, the circumstances that might be just right, or even the physical appearance that others desire, but to help my kids find their identity in Christ.

Our identity is in Christ alone. In Him, we find true worth, value, security, and safety. May we remind ourselves as we teach our kids to look for identity in NOTHING LESS THAN JESUS.

Scripture for Identity in Christ

There is a lot of truth the Bible tells us about our identity in Christ. And the Holy Spirit often highlights that truth as we combat the lies and the distractions we face throughout the day. I’ve learned to put my identity in Christ foremost—above my roles, above my feelings, above what the world says. Meditating on Scripture is a reminder to look at who Christ says I am and not rely on who the world says I am.

Scriptures for Identity in Christ: My Relationship

• I am a child of God: Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world. Philippians 2:14–15
• I am saved: But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
• I am chosen: Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Colossians 3:12 
• I have eternal life: For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
• I am instructed: But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. James 1:22
• I am not lacking: Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!  Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!  The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing. Psalm 34:8–10
• I am renewed: So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. 2 Corinthians 4:16–17
• I am a good work: And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

Scriptures for Identity in Christ: My Reality

• I am created: For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16–17
• I am wonderfully made: I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. Psalm 139:14
• I am His workmanship: For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10
• I am called: But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 1 Peter 2:9
• I am forgiven: Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32
• I am loved: Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:11–12
• I am gifted: For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. Romans 12:4–6a
• I am cared for: Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7

Scriptures for Identity in Christ: My Refuge

• I am victorious: You shall not fear them, for it is the LORD your God who fights for you. Deuteronomy 3:22
• I am upheld: Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
• I have perfect peace: You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3
• I am guarded: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7
• I have hope: Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Romans 5:2–4
• I am protected: This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him. Psalm 18:30
• I have strength: But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40:31
• I am rewarded: And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

These Scripture verses are found in the My God Says Truth Cards. There is so much truth found in our identity in Christ. I pray we can hide that truth in our hearts and walk in the security of knowing who we are in Christ.

We’ve created a “Scriptures for Identity in Christ” printable as a visible reminder of who you are in Christ. You can read through God’s promises to you and pray through the included verses to meditate on His words.

Print out this Scripture printable and place it in a spot where you will see it frequently. Hang it near your mirror, tuck it into your Bible or prayer journal.

I would suggest printing on 8.5″ x 11″ cardstock as it will be more sturdy.

The world has an ugly message. The good news is there’s a lot we can do as parents to help our kids find their identity in Christ.

I was so excited about youth group. These Wednesday night gatherings where I could enjoy my best friend and interact with people my age were a perfect diversion from a week of school. We were laughing and talking when, out of the blue, one of the other girls in youth group asked pointedly, “What’s that on your face?”

My smile instantly faded. I knew she was just playing dumb to point out the bright red zit on my nose I had spent half an hour trying to conceal before leaving the house that evening. I had even spent hours that day coming up with the perfect hairstyle and outfit for that evening. That blemish was the ONE thing wrong with my appearance. And she had deftly singled me out to call everyone’s attention to it.

I smiled icily, my ears burning with embarrassment. “It’s a zit,” I replied, glancing pleadingly at my best friend. Though she quickly rescued me by steering the conversation in a different direction, the other girl’s words and falsely innocent face stuck in my mind.

My already fragile identity had taken a blow and would not easily recover. How could the words of someone I didn’t even respect cause me so much embarrassment and internal agony? Well, like many junior high and high schoolers, I had placed my identity in the hands of people who were changeable and unkind instead of placing my identity in Christ. As a result, my identity was confusing and dangerously insecure.

How to Help Your Kids Find Their Identity in Christ

“Zit” stories are all too familiar to most of us. We’ve lived through that age where even a little red dot on our nose was the end of our world. It’s funny how we forget this when the same thing happens to our kids. We see our kids for the beauty God created in them and can’t fathom why they don’t see it. (Hint: for the same reason we struggled to.) The good news is that there’s a lot we can do as parents to help our kids find their identity in Christ instead of banking on a zit-free youth group night.

1. Identify Sources of Wrong Thinking

So, where do our kids run to find their identity? Well, this world is doing its absolute best to give them answers to their questions. Social media tells them what name brands the “cool” people wear and that relationships are the source of the happiness they desperately seek. Meanwhile, TV shows depict kids “just like them” finding their belonging in achievements or acceptance.

Friends are another place our kids run—as I did—to find belonging and worth. Maybe you’ve noticed that whether their friends or teammates approve or disapprove of them can be the difference between a good day or a terrible day for your child. A comment like “that shirt looks stupid” or “you have a zit on your nose” can devastate a child who is longing for acceptance.

Maybe you’ve heard your kids say (or allude to) some of these things:

• I am not pretty or good-looking enough.
• I am not valuable.
• I am not gifted or talented.
• I am not able.
• I am not heard.
• I am failing.
• I am afraid.
• I am not content.
• I am hopeless.

These phrases are hints that we are searching for identity in the wrong places. For help responding to these specific statements, check out this post on feelings kids struggle with.

Regardless of the feeling, we need to help our kids identify when it’s rooted in wrong thinking. Point it out when you notice yourself thinking that way just as much as when you find your kids feeling that way. Identify it when watching movies, listening to music, or when you overhear it while passing by.

Anytime you hear a WRONG thought, direct attention to it, but remember to be kind and full of grace. Remember that you struggled with this too. Everyone does!

2. Point Them to the Truth About Their Identity in Christ

Though it is sometimes hard to remember, we don’t find our identity in talents, possessions, or relationships. If your kids are children of God, their identity is found in what He has said about them as inheritors with Christ (Romans 8:16–17)! We see in John 17:17 that what God says is TRUTH. So no matter what this world tells them, our kids need to know that if it doesn’t line up with what God has said, it isn’t TRUE!

One of these precious truths from God is that we are all wonderful works (Psalm 139:14). Our eye color, our loud laugh, our personalities were not mistakes! God knitted us together in our mothers’ wombs and carefully designed us before we drew breath (Psalm 139:13). We don’t have value because of our appearance, abilities, accomplishments, or the like. We have value because He loves us and sent Jesus to die for us (Romans 5:8). And THIS is why our kids can find their identity in Christ! Praise Jesus!

3. Fight the Lies with Truth

Maybe the scenarios I’ve mentioned are similar to things you have encountered with your kids. You might only be seeing the beginnings of identity crises, or perhaps you’re deep into one. But no matter where you are or where your kids are, identity matters. And if your kids are struggling, they need help!

The truth is that Satan will take any opportunity he can get to shake them and tempt them to find their worth in worthless and empty things—because a child of God who forgets their true identity is vulnerable and powerless. I don’t want this for my kids, and I know you don’t want this for your kids either.

Only God’s truth is strong enough to fight the lies Satan throws our kids about their worth and identity. This is why we have created our My God Says Life Journal—so our kids can learn what God says about them and their identity in Christ.

This colorful and fun journal gives your kids 15 truths they need to combat common lies they will encounter in this world. Pushing them to grow in their understanding of God’s love and plan for them, the interactive, Scripture-drenched pages of this journal show them how God’s truth applies to their lives. Plus, the real-life stories of men and women of God included in each chapter tell of God’s power in those who embrace His truth about their identities!

4. Pray for the Strengthening of Their Identity in Christ

I’m sure you are well aware that we cannot protect our kids from all the lies, bullies, and unrealistic expectations this world will hurl at them. If you’re like me, knowing your children will face these things just makes your heart hurt. Maybe it even makes you feel anxious or worried.

But, as 1 Peter 5:7 reminds us, Jesus cares for us! Because of this, we can cast all our worries on Him and trust Him to take care of us. God will protect our children—He loves them even more than we do! If they are His, no one can pluck them out of His hand (John 10:28). And nothing can separate them from His unending love (Romans 8:37–39).

It sounds so easy—”Just cast your cares on Jesus! Just pray your kids will be protected!” But you and I both know it’s not that easy. These worries still cloud our minds and weigh on our hearts. But one thing I’ve found immensely helpful is writing out your prayers. The physical action of slowing down and putting my prayers down on a page helps me mentally cast those cares on Jesus. Want to give it a try? Our #NotConsumed Prayer Journal will help you!

In a world where value and identity are uncertain and constantly changing, I pray that your kids find their identity in Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). And I know first hand the My God Says Life Journal will help support your efforts!

Feelings kids struggle with can quickly spiral into lies about who we are and how God made us.
Here are 9 ways to combat them.

Tears streamed down his flushed cheeks as my son slammed the car door shut.

Ever since I can remember, my son has wanted to play basketball. For hours and hours, he would practice in the yard—endless bouncing, passing, and taking shots.

Yet here we were 2 weeks into the season, and all of the excitement had turned to anger and tears.

At bedtime that night, the truth came out. One of his teammates had said something about him not being good enough to make any shots during the game. But it didn’t stop there. Ugh. The teammate went on to tell my son he would never pass the ball to him because he wasn’t worthy of playing during precious game time.

It took every ounce of self-control I could muster to hold back my mama bear defense and instead take the opportunity to help my son understand life’s harsh realities. Hurt people hurt people. They say mean things, and often those things aren’t even true.

When people say ugly things, it feeds that negative voice inside of us that “always knew” we weren’t good enough. Then the feelings lead to a slippery slope of trouble. Thankfully my son didn’t punch the other boy in the face or quit the team. Instead, he shared his feelings with me. (Something we should praise our kids for!)

So what do you do when your kids struggle with big feelings?

First, it’s important to validate your child’s feelings. God gave us a wide variety of feelings, and most of those feelings in and of themselves are not sinful. It’s okay to be hurt, angry, happy, sad, frustrated, or lonely. It’s our reaction to feelings that gets us into trouble. So start by acknowledging that feelings are REAL.

Once your child understands that feelings are REAL, show them that the Bible tells us they aren’t reliable.

Some kids stuff their feelings until they POP. If this is your kid, check out this fun object lesson on stuffing your feelings inside. Other kids will be tempted to listen to the lies the world tells them until their feelings bubble out into a giant mess. If this is your child, check out this object lesson on feelings.

Our feelings can very quickly spiral into lies about who we are and how God made us. Feelings can’t be trusted because they are often rooted in what someone OTHER than God says about us. So the best way to combat them is to know what God says when you struggle with those hard feelings.

9 Feelings Kids Struggle With

1. My body is not good enough.

“Beauty is important.” “Look good.” “Have the right hair.” “Have the right build.” Have the right . . .”

The expectations go on and on. And when our kids don’t fit into those expectations, they feel discouraged, disappointed, and defeated.

Feeling—> My body is not good enough.

Truth—> My God says I am a wonderful work because He made me.

The truth is they are a wonderful work—just as they are! We can encourage our kids with the truth that God made them—the Creator of the universe made them—and He does not make mistakes! God made them in His image, and they are wonderful!

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.

Genesis 1:27

Hearing and applying the truth will take some work. But it will make such a difference. We can start by having our kids look in the mirror and tell us what they see. What makes them wonderful? What did God create in them that is special and unique? Then discuss the truth found in God’s Word about their image. They were wonderfully made—in His image!

I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 139:14

2. I am not valuable.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The world says things like being the best, looking the best, standing out, and being the most popular make you more valuable than others. The world is wrong!

Feeling—> I am not valuable.

Truth—> My God says I am valuable because He loves me.

Understanding and applying the truth of God’s Word to the lies of the world can help change our view! We are valuable—perhaps not to everyone, but it’s important to remind kids that our value is NOT defined by others. It’s defined by our creator God.

Even when we mess up, God unconditionally loves us. Not because of what we do or how well we do it. (If this were the case, wouldn’t we all fail to be enough!?) We are unconditionally valuable because God loves us.

Teaching kids that both beauty and value were created by and defined by God alone is the first step to helping them understand this truth.

But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 5:8

3. I am not gifted or talented.

Our culture tends to elevate flashy talents. It can be deeply troubling to our kids when they feel like they don’t measure up. They might think, “Why would God make me this way?! I feel like I’m not good at anything.” There is deception at the root of this thinking, which causes feelings kids struggle with.

Feeling—> I am not gifted or talented.

Truth—> My God says I am gifted because I am part of His body.

The truth is that God cares more about us fulfilling our mission here on earth, which includes serving others. We need to teach our kids to strive to bring glory to God in all they do. The Bible tells us that we are all part of the body of Christ, each with different gifts—all of which are important for the body to work as intended. (It wouldn’t work well if we had 10 hands and no arms, right?)

Try making a list with your kids of the gifts and talents God has blessed them with and brainstorm ideas on how to use them to fulfill their God-given mission.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

1 Peter 4:10

4. I am not able.

We all have weaknesses. (I’m often reminded of this!) I’m sure most kids struggle to do some things that others seem to do so easily. Feelings that stem from this can be very challenging! Especially when we want to fit in and be accepted.

Feeling—> I am not able.

Truth—> My God says I am able because He gives me strength.

The truth is that we are able because of God’s power, not our own strength or efforts. And the best part is that He uses us IN our weakness. It definitely reminds us that we NEED Him!

God’s perfect plan doesn’t mean we will do everything well. It means trusting God with weaknesses and strengths, being content with His plan, and praising Him through it all. When we can’t do something in our own strength, God’s glory shines through us!

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

2 Corinthians 12:9

5. I am not heard.

At some point, all of us feel unheard in one way or another. This is no different for our kids. Maybe we, as parents, get too busy and don’t give full attention to listen to our kids when they need it. (Ouch.) Perhaps a friend isn’t a very good listener. Understanding that people will fail us is a reality we will continue to face.

Feeling—> I am not heard.

Truth—> My God says I am heard because He listens to the prayers of His children.

The most refreshing thing is the truth that God hears us. And if He even cares about the birds of the field, we know He cares about what we have to say even more.

Just because we don’t see the answer to a prayer doesn’t mean God didn’t hear us. He is a big God who sees ALL things, knows ALL things, AND listens to the prayers of His children.

This is also an excellent opportunity to teach our kids to be good listeners themselves, just as they want other people, and especially God, to listen to them. Remind them that even when others fail us, God never fails!

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.

1 John 5:14

6. I am losing.

Do you ever feel like you’re losing the battle? We all have three main enemies: our flesh, the world, and Satan. The lies of our enemies are so sneaky and even seem attractive at times. We are tempted with feelings of fear, selfishness, anger, pride, and other ugly monsters. These lies affect our thoughts and behavior, which can make us all feel like we are failing.

Lie—> I am losing.

Truth—> My God says I am victorious because He fights for me.

We can know with confidence that we have the victory! If God is for you, who can be against you (Romans 8:31)? When we are warring with a bully or our own pride (or any other struggle), our victory comes from God.

This is certainly easier said than done, though. The key is to understand that God gives us every tool we need for every battle (hint: the armor of God). God can easily help the little guy (like David) defeat their struggle (like the giant). Teach your kids how to put on the armor!

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

Ephesians 6:10–11

7. I am not safe.

Fear is a powerful feeling kids struggle with, just like adults do. Fears come in all shapes and sizes—fear of new places, failure, rejection by friends, being left alone, not making good grades—the list goes on! Fear is one of the biggest lies the enemy uses to entangle us because it shows our lack of trust in God.

Feeling—> I am not safe.

Truth—> My God says I am safe because He is in control.

Just like Peter who jumped out of the boat, when we keep our eyes on Jesus, we are safe. When we look at the world around us, we feel like we are sinking.

But God tells us to fear not! We can learn to be brave and confident in Christ. Remind your kids to fix their eyes on Jesus (Isaiah 26:3) and not on the circumstances around them. Our amazing God, who created all things, is in control.

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10

8. My life is not good or happy.

We all desire things, and we buy into the lie that certain circumstances make us happy. We are lured into thinking we need things or certain circumstances to be content.

But the appeal of new things fades quickly, and we start looking for the next new thing to fill that gap.

Feeling—> I am not content.

Truth—> My God says to be content because He is always and only good.

Teach your kids that we can be content not because of the things we have or the circumstances we are in, but because of God’s character. He is always and only good! Happiness is a feeling based on good circumstances. Contentment is not a feeling at all. It’s a result of trusting in God’s goodness.

But those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

Psalm 34:10b

9. There’s no hope.

When things appear hopeless, it’s hard to feel like life has a purpose. While this may seem like something only adults face, kids can feel hopeless too. That math problem feels hopeless. Learning to do something difficult may seem hopeless. Making friends may even seem hopeless.

Feeling—> There’s no hope.

Truth—> My God says I have hope because He has a purpose for my life.

Helping our kids to have a confident expectation (the Biblical meaning of hope) will inspire them. Biblical hope never changes, unlike hope in the world, which is constantly changing and failing. No matter what situation we are faced with, God’s truth will allow us to know that He is always in control and He is always good.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 

Hebrews 10:23

Get More Help for Feelings Kids Struggle With

Believe me, I know parenting kids in this culture is a challenge. But the fact that you are searching for ways to help them says a lot about your willingness to take on the challenge. The good news is that you are not alone in this journey. God provides in all areas of our lives.

“Give a man (or child) a fish, and he will eat for a day. Teach a man how to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.” With that thought in mind, you can give your child tools to help them seek after what God says instead of just telling them what they should think or letting others around them shape their thoughts. The My God Says Life Journal is the perfect tool to help them dig into Scripture, write down thoughts, and solve those hard-to-answer questions.

The My God Says Life Journal covers 15 different topics where God’s truth must be the foundation for our children’s thinking and emotions. It’s packed full of thought-provoking questions as well as applicable Scripture so they can know without a doubt what God says.

A life journal will help your kids process life’s emotions and hurdles in the light of God’s truth.
Kick insecurities to the curb!

When I was in the 11th grade, the most horrific thing happened to me. We were 22 minutes into English class when I sneezed. Being a kid with extreme allergies, I never sneeze once. My sneezes always come in a three-pack. There’s absolutely nothing I can do. The other students in the class laughed as the sneezes fired in rapid succession.

My teacher tried to talk over the disruption, but by the third one, she angrily spat, “Get out of my class. Now. You can spend the rest of the hour in the hallway.”

The fiery red that burned my embarrassed cheeks as I walked out of the classroom that day is a memory I’ll never forget. To say I was embarrassed was a gross understatement. I felt like the laughing stock of the entire school.

Have you ever had a moment like that in life?

It only takes one such event to scar us in ways we don’t even realize. To this day, I apologize for every sneeze and even feel a little anxious that I can’t control them (even though I know that what the teacher did was cruel and wrong)!

Here’s the truth: life is full of struggles. People will say hurtful things. We will get embarrassed by something we did. Bullies will bully. Friends will wound. We know we can’t escape those things. Life will throw us hard circumstances. We must learn to navigate the feelings we face so we can overcome them—so we can live #NotConsumed.

I love the idea of my kids having a life journal to help them process life’s hurdles in the light of God’s truth.

1. A life journal helps you process big (and little) feelings

It’s crazy how a seemingly small thing can unexpectedly rock our world. It’s almost like we can feel the emotions boiling up inside. Our kids face those types of feelings as well—like when they receive a failing grade on a project or when their best friend moves to another state. One minute they may be handling it okay, and the next, not so much.

Feelings are REAL! It’s important that we help our kids acknowledge that their feelings are real and that God created us to feel things! It’s not a sin to feel an emotion. The problem is OUR RESPONSE!

Feelings are a slippery slope. What starts out as a weird look from a lady at the grocery store can avalanche into a narrative we tell ourselves about how ugly we are and how no one has ever loved us. It’s not just girls who do this either! My 14-year-old boy can avalanche into a nasty pity party faster than any girl I’ve seen!

Feelings are real, but they AREN’T RELIABLE! When we listen to our feelings and let them determine our path, we slide into trouble because emotions are driven by the heart, and the Bible says the heart is deceitful (Jeremiah 17:9).

A safe way to process your feelings is to get them down on paper. A life journal is a great place to record your thoughts. You’ll be amazed at how just writing things down helps you identify when you are reacting to feelings instead of truth.

2. A journal helps you filter through untrue thoughts

Speaking of TRUTH, do your kids realize that feelings most often DON’T tell the truth? That’s because our feelings are rooted in our hearts (Jeremiah 17:9) and can’t be trusted.

It’s CRITICAL that our kids learn to NEVER make a decision based on their feelings.

Why? Because feelings may tell you that you’re unlovable and will never add up. Feelings convince amazing people to do things like taking their own life because “no one will even miss me.” Feelings lie! But it’s not just feelings—the world lies, too.

Our kids are inundated with images, messages, and ideas about what they should look like, think like, and act like. It’s literally in every single thing they see, from billboards to commercials to YouTube ads to social media posts.

So what is true? John 17:17 says, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

Kids need to know that God’s Word never changes. His Word is the ultimate source of truth. All feelings should be sifted through the filter of what God says!

Using a life journal, kids can admit that feelings are real and then learn to stand on the RELIABLE truth of God’s Word instead of slipping down the slippery slope into a giant tub of “rocky-road” feelings.

3. A life journal helps you understand that God’s Word has the answers to your questions

Our kids have questions and a lot of them. Sometimes it seems as if their questions will never end. But I’ve learned that their questions are very real and very important at all stages of life. I’ve found that, as kids continue to grow and develop, so do their questions.

Now, instead of “Why is the sky blue?” their questions might sound more like, “Who am I?” “Do I have a purpose?” “Am I loved?”

These are important questions because the answer, and the source of the answer, can literally be a matter of life and death. When we answer life’s questions from the wrong source, we buy into lies about ourselves that cause great damage.

Kids need truth to help guide and direct their questions and snuff out any lies the world might present. A life journal is a great way to ask questions and seek the answers. My kids will often begin to process something and then come to me to discuss it!

In fact, the activities and application questions in a life journal might even bring up questions about God and truth they didn’t realize they had!

4. A life journal will help you learn to counsel yourself using the Bible

Kids are always looking for advice. They ask their friends about things. They look to movies to see how kids are acting. They look on social media for tips and ideas on responding to life situations. If we are being honest, we do this too!

Do your kids know that they can use the Bible to help seek counsel for life?

Thoughts and emotions continually boil up in our kids’ lives, and rather than bottling them up, they will get to sort them out and process them in light of truth. Instead of falling prey to lies, kids can learn the truth and walk in victory!

But remember that it’s a continual process. We need reminding. We need stories that inspire us to keep pressing on. We need a safe place to be real with our feelings that will still lead us right back to the truth about them.

5. It reminds you that your worth is based in Bible truth and not what others say

Sometimes well-meaning people say hurtful things to our kids, even family! Although we love and respect others, our kids need to know the truth for themselves, so they can identify when sweet Aunt Mildred (or the girl in history class) went a little too far with her comment.

They need to understand that God’s Word is the beginning and end of our self-worth and confidence. Our kids can be confident, not because of their own merit or what others tell them, but because Christ saved them and gave them His merit.

Whether it was from a grandma who was meaning well but said things that didn’t line up with what we believe, or from a friend who has never been to church and doesn’t know Jesus, our kids need to know where to turn when things don’t make sense. The My God Says Life Journal will help lead them and direct them toward God’s Word.

As they apply Scripture with journal prompts and activities found in each chapter, they will become more confident in identifying truth and using it in real-life situations. They will get to know God better as they learn to trust Him.

Everything I’ve mentioned above is available through the My God Says Life Journal for kids and teens. Kids will:

• Learn to process feelings
• Filter feelings through God’s Word to determine truth
• Understand that God’s Word has all of the answers they need
• Learn to counsel themselves with God’s Word
• Sort through comments made by others that don’t line up with truth

One of the most exciting benefits of this journal is that it also gives prompts to help kids reach out and share what and how God is teaching them. After all, sharing His truth with others is one of our greatest missions. And it’s a beautiful thing to witness our children doing just that.

Acts of kindness don’t come naturally to me. I’m embarrassed to admit that, but it’s true. Life is full of needs, circumstances, and to-do lists that rarely point me toward others. You too? As a single mom with 4 kids to homeschool, a full-time job, church ministry, and a never-ending pile of laundry, serving other people is often just too much. Although my heart desires it, the time budget just won’t allow me to carve out the time.

But serving others is God’s way, and I want my kids to live out this truth, too.

Whenever I do squeeze room into my schedule to serve others that God puts into my path, I’m reminded of the incredible blessing it is for us both! Maybe it doesn’t come naturally, and maybe I have to push aside the demands of the to-do list, but it’s worth being intentional!

I’ve learned that sometimes we miss the little things because we are looking for a BIG opportunity to serve. The truth is that the little acts of kindness are the ones that make all the difference! Let me share some of our favorite simple ideas.

Loving Your Neighbors Through Acts of Kindness

1. Knock on doors.

One way to start showing love is to get to know your neighbors! Knocking on a door and introducing yourself and your kids is a quick way to say, “Hi! We’re glad you’re here, and we want to be your friends!” If you take walks, pick one house per walk to stop by! Even if they don’t answer the door, you can leave a note with flowers or a tasty treat as an act of kindness towards them. This is one time that ding-dong ditching is totally acceptable—just make sure you leave something nice for them to find when they open their door.

Need ideas? Our FREE Random Acts of Kindness printable game has lots more ideas for you to choose from!

2. Say thank you or give a compliment.

When you start looking for chances to speak kind words, you may be surprised at how many opportunities you actually have—neighbors are everywhere! A simple “thank you” to the person cleaning the public restroom or mopping up a mess on the floor is one way to show our appreciation. Even a kind compliment paid to the person next to you in line is a great way to spread kindness through our words. Words are powerful—let’s use them!

For extra fun, you can use our free printable Bible verse valentines to spread words of love and encouragement! They are so easy to hand out quickly or to leave for others to find. HINT: you don’t have to limit these to just one day of the year. Spreading kindness is always in style. We usually have a few on hand when we are out and about so we can brighten someone’s day.

It takes a bit of thoughtfulness to encourage someone or leave them a sweet note. Parents, don’t get discouraged when speaking kindly does NOT always come naturally for your kids. (Ahem . . . we adults struggle with this, too!) Be intentional about learning how you and your kids can love others and obey God through the words you speak. We’ve created a simple resource to help you do this. Check out our Bible study on the power of words.

3. Provide a meal.

Making a meal for someone else is a fun way to get kids involved in showing kindness! Yes, I know it takes time, but I usually double the recipe and we eat the same thing that night. Sometimes I will triple it and put one in the freezer so I’m ready to help, even at the last minute.

Don’t make this just Mom in the kitchen. Kids can help choose a meal, make a grocery list, and—depending on their age—they could even run out to get the necessary items. If you have a child who loves baking, they can take care of the dessert! And small children love to help wash and prepare veggies. Of course, everyone can help deliver!

So . . . what if cooking a meal is not an option due to a lack of time or short notice? Many restaurants work with services that can deliver a meal wherever you want them to! Kids can help with this process too—it’s really fun to select all the menu items and think of what others would enjoy having show up on their doorstep!

If things are too tight to make or buy a full meal for someone, sending them coffee or making them a dessert are both great options that still communicate kindness. It’s not about how big and showy your act of kindness is (thank goodness!)—just that you took the time to think of someone else and do something for them.

4. Donate to a homeless shelter.

Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:42, “Give to the one who begs from you,” truly show His love for those in need. In fact, this was Jesus’ ministry to all of us—He came to meet our need for a Savior! We are surrounded with people who have needs, whether spiritual or physical. Even though we cannot meet every need, we can still help!

We keep non-perishables like granola bars in the car to give to beggars when we see them on street corners. Sometimes we even have blessing bags packed to give them, but more often, we take them directly to the homeless shelter.

Shelters for the homeless can always use donations of money or even time to help with work projects like building or organizing. One way we donate is by looking through our blankets, coats, or clothing for things still in good shape that we do not use or need anymore. You know that closet that everything in your house gets thrown into, never to be seen again? Yep, that one. Announce a raid on it and enlist your kids to search for items that would help someone else. Then, donate them!

5. Adopt an elderly person in your community.

Many elderly people in our churches, neighborhoods, and communities need our help! But they probably won’t ask for it. So instead, volunteer your kids to pull weeds or rake leaves while you clean the house or wash dishes. Kids can give small gifts like their drawings, stationery and stamps, or even a basket full of snacks. Many older people would be thrilled just to have someone to talk to or someone who would take the time to listen to stories from their lives (and they especially love interacting with kids).

Here are some practical ways to serve the elderly:

• Make them a meal
• Take in their trash can
• Write them a note
• Pull weeds in their yard or clean up trash
• Walk their dog
• Mow their yard
• Spend time with them
• Sweep their sidewalk
• Rake leaves in their yard

Serving others is so important for our kids to learn to do while they are young! In this post on practical ways to serve with your kids, I walk through simple ways to serve even when you have very young children along for the ride.

6. Give out bubbles or stickers to other kids at the park.

Though some people may be less-than-receptive to your acts of kindness, very few people will resist your showing kindness to their kids. That’s a huge reason for involving our kids in loving our neighbors to start with! Maybe people will tell you, “No, thank you,” but let’s be honest, who can resist a cute little kid?

A great opportunity for our kids to show kindness to their neighbors is at the playground, where there are lots of little “neighbors” running around anyway! Let your kids make friends and show love by passing out these small bottles of bubbles or some other small trinket, like stickers, to the kids playing there. Kids love little gifts, and they love being loved!

Don’t wait for Valentine’s Day to spread the love! Daily loving others is where friendships begin (Proverbs 18:24)! For more ideas on turning neighbors into friends, check out these tips on kids’ friendships!

7. Send a gift to a missionary.

Though most of them are far away, missionaries are our neighbors too! We meet them as they visit our churches, learn about them as we read their prayer letters, and pray for them. But we tend to forget that, as they travel on furlough or live in a foreign country, acts of kindness may be quite a rare experience for these missionaries and their families.

Sending gifts like a goodie box, birthday card, or favorite book is a great way to let missionaries know we haven’t forgotten them. You can let your kids pick out crayons, coloring books, balloons, and small toys to send in the box. They can even write notes or draw pictures to include in the box. And they will learn that thinking of others and showing kindness is fun!

Need some more ideas for how to show kindness to missionaries? Check out our post on ways to pray for missionaries with your kids!

I hope these ideas inspire you to show love to those around you this month and always! I pray that showing kindness through actions will be a thriving part of your life and the lives of your children.

When I was little, there was a TV show called The Waltons. Each show ended with the lights down in the house and all of the family members hollering good night to each other from various rooms. I wanted a family like that. One with lots of siblings who love each other so much that they have to get that last “good night” in before their head hits the pillow.

Growing up, I only had one sibling, and let’s just say the relationship was rather contentious until we were about 30. I figured there was just something wrong with us and vowed to do better when I became a parent.

Then my kids were born.

I quickly learned the truth about kids fighting. Turns out, conflict is a normal part of life. Any two people put in the same space will eventually have different ideas, goals, and desires. (Just get married, and you’ll figure that one out!)

But here’s the thing. We don’t have to give up on the idea of building strong sibling relationships. We are just going to have to be intentional about helping our kids cope with their differences and better learn to resolve that inevitable conflict. One of the best ways to do this is to be PROACTIVE about teaching our kids to stir up love (instead of trouble) with acts of kindness.

7 Acts of Kindness for Siblings to Stir Up Love

1. Speak kind words.

One of the best ways to start stirring up love is with our words! Proverbs 16:24 tells us that gracious or kind words are sweet like honey, and Proverbs 15:4 describes a gentle tongue as a “tree of life.” Take a moment to think about those images. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have that kind of beautiful peace in our homes?

We can accomplish so much with just our words! Though we often tell our kids to be kind or say nice things, we can’t assume they know what “kind words” should look like. They might just need some inspiration! That’s why we included space in the Sibling Challenge Journal for kids to record their ideas. When you give kids tools, they can stir up acts of kindness for their siblings without the roadblock of not knowing what to say. As a bonus, these words are great to practice for sharing love with anyone in their lives!

2. Do something extra “just because.”

Stirring up acts of kindness for your siblings starts with your words, but kind words need to be backed up by kind actions. And no, your kids aren’t the only ones who find it difficult to stir up kind actions “just because.” Here’s what I teach my kids. Kindness is not something we necessarily feel like doing, and it’s not something we do because the other person has done it to us. We can be the FIRST person to do something kind, and we don’t need a reason to do it. Our Sibling Challenge Game cards share lots of practical ideas even for younger kids, like making a snack or drink for your sibling or giving him or her a back or foot rub!

3. Make food together.

The kitchen is such a wonderful place to stir up love—and yummy treats! Working together to get through a recipe is a great way to inspire sibling kindness and love. Who doesn’t love making a bit of a mess and getting to enjoy a treat afterward? We will sometimes even give the extra goodies away to friends, neighbors, or elderly people. Once you get stirring, the love goes everywhere!

Another way to turn food into an opportunity for kindness and love is having a picnic. Picnics take a bit of creativity and extra planning, and a lot of kids are way better at this than you might think! In our home, we have a special blanket and basket specifically for having picnics. Getting to use these special items is super fun for the kids, and they get to use their creativity to come up with fun ways to help their siblings enjoy the whole experience.

4. Write an encouraging note.

I don’t know about you, but to me, one of the kindest things someone can do for me is to write me a note. I feel loved when I see that someone took the time to tell me in writing that they love me or are praying for me or that I’m doing a good job. (This is why my office has notes from friends and my kids all over it).

I love the time and intentionality that notes show, so I encourage my kids to use notes as a way to stir up love! Siblings may write out in a note something they would have trouble finding the words to say out loud. Maybe they can take the time to explain why they love their sibling or encourage their sibling in something they’ve seen them do well in. Something we do is hide notes where the other person is likely to find them. Then, in the middle of school or a chore, that sibling is encouraged and feels loved!

It may be hard to find the right words to say in a note at first. But we’ve got you covered! Our Sibling Challenge Journal includes small love note prompts for siblings to write and give to each other! These notes, while small, are an intentional way to act in kindness.

5. Serve them.

Romans 12:10 encourages Christians to show love to one another by “outdoing one another in showing honor.” Showing honor might not be the first thing on your child’s list of things to do, but it is so valuable to learn! And showing honor often just looks like seeing needs and meeting them—sounds a lot like serving people, right?

Service is a huge way for siblings to show each other kindness and love. Suggest your child do a chore for their sibling without being asked to help or expecting anything in return. Siblings can also clear each other’s dishes or help clean up a mess to show kindness as well. Serving can be as simple as giving up the favorite living room chair and allowing a sibling to sit there instead. Encourage your kids to look for opportunities they can find to serve—they are everywhere!

6. Build something together.

1 Corinthians 16:14 encourages us to do everything in love! So whether it’s intentionally serving someone or just going about our normal routine, we can be motivated by this verse. This is why we can make doing fun things together a way to show love! One really fun thing my kids love doing is building something together. They get to put all their creativity into making something and also learn to work together for a common goal!

Whether it’s a fort, an obstacle course, LEGO city, or a lemonade stand, working together to solve problems is an awesome way to work on kindness and stirring each other up to love. Plus, there will be giggles and silly situations they will remember for many years.

As your kids grow older, encourage them to build bigger things together like a charity fundraising campaign, a gift for someone, or even plan a family vacation.

7. Talk with your sibling about Jesus. 

Ultimately, the greatest expression of kindness and love toward someone else is telling them about Jesus! We often make this more complicated than it has to be. Telling someone about Jesus doesn’t necessarily mean we sit down with the Romans Road and spell out the plan of salvation for them. We simply might share something learned in our own quiet time with God or something from church. Maybe it’s sharing an answer to prayer. However that ends up happening, when it does, it is one of the biggest encouragements to hear my children telling each other about Jesus in love.

Another awesome way to show love to a sibling is by praying for them. Maybe they are nervous before a sports game or recital, or they aren’t sure about a certain friendship. Children are never too young to start casting their cares on Jesus (1 Peter 5:7). Siblings that know how to encourage this are wonderful examples of love! And sharing our needs with each other stirs us to love and grow closer to those we have shared with.

Do you want a little help nurturing the sibling relationship? Consider getting your kids a Bible study they can do together! It’s not a magic pill, but God’s Word is always faithful! Our My Brother’s Keeper study goes deeper into the nitty-gritty of sibling life and learning to be the kind of sibling God wants your kids to be.

I hope this has excited you about all the ways we can encourage our kids to stir each other up to love and good works (Hebrews 10:24) through acts of kindness.

We want good things for our kids. One of these good things is good friendships—we want our kids to find good people who will be loyal and encourage them to do right. But actually making friends is hard for many kids! For some, it comes naturally. For the rest of us, we have to learn and be intentional. This is one truth I shared with my daughter when she was in middle school.

Her sister was a natural. Everyone was friends with her. But Leah just wasn’t the same. Friendships were hard. She didn’t always know what to say, and few people walked up and made an attempt to befriend her. I told my daughter something I wish someone had told me at her age. FRIENDSHIP IS NOT about what others can do for you. It’s not about waiting for someone to act like a friend TO YOU. It’s about being a friend to others. Our acts of kindness TO OTHERS create those friendships that we desire.

How to Nurture Friendships Through Acts of Kindness

1. Initiate friendship.

When my middle school daughter was struggling, I encouraged her to look for people who needed a friend and then BE the friend. Instead of looking to fit in with people or be in a certain group, I encouraged her to look for people sitting alone and strike up a conversation. This simple act initiated dozens of friendships in church, groups, traveling, camps, and even as a dual-enrollment student at college!

This is truly the best way to build strong friendships that stand the test of time and don’t fall apart if you forget to wear or say the right things. But it’s also one of the kindest things we can do. Everyone needs a friend, but most of us don’t really know how to build quality friendships—especially when we are in our teen years.

Another great way to encourage your kids to do this is by reminding them to look around for the person who doesn’t seem to know what’s going on and take them under their wing. Kids love explaining things to others and feeling like the expert! They can use this enthusiasm to help others feel loved and included.

2. Put others first.

We go hiking in the woods a good bit, which means encountering bears is a very real possibility. Once when looking for bear spray, we saw a shirt that said, “No need for bear spray. Just hike with a friend that is slower than you are.“

It was funny but also sad because the reality is we live life like that. Okay, I know most people would never actually do that, but every day we make little decisions to put ourselves first. Instead, put your friend first. The Bible tells us to:

Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Philippians 2:3

Most people are happy to “help” until it slows them down or is inconvenient. We fall into the trap of helping only if it’s not a sacrifice. Helping others may require us to slow down and be intentional. It may cost us something, but it is always worth it! Jesus was the ultimate example of this. Friendship is a sacrifice. You don’t push your friend down as bear-bait.

What does this look like practically?

• Look for those struggling to keep up. Drop back and cheer them on.
• When you see someone who has too many things to carry, offer help!
• Stop to talk to someone even if you are in a hurry.
• Don’t make things a competition. Make it something you do together!

As parents, it may take a little reminding and even pointing out needs. We can mention something like, “I’ve noticed your sibling has a lot of school work and chores to do. Could you help out in any way?” or “Your friend seems really discouraged. Maybe you could offer to talk with them.” The act of offering to help others will impress the importance of kindness on our kids and make them better friends in the process!

3. Give generous gifts.

Encourage a spirit of hospitality and generosity in your child by helping them share with their friends. Letting them pull out their favorite toys while friends are over instead of hiding them teaches them to give their best to others rather than being selfish. But sharing doesn’t come easy for anyone. This is something your kids will need to practice and something you’ll want to help them with.

Drum up ideas for ways that your kids can share with others. One day, send them to class with cookies for everyone or a snack like Chex mix for Sunday School. You can even suggest that they bring a sheet of stickers to church just to pass them out and be kind. Passing out goodies to their friends is an instructive experience for your kids of how blessed it is to give rather than receive!

Here are 10 Valentine’s Day Bible verse printables your child will enjoy giving to their friends, but don’t wait for a holiday. You can give stuff like this anytime! When you do, it’s even more meaningful than doing it when everyone else is or when it’s expected.

4. Speak kind words.

Words are hard enough for us as adults, right? Our kids need to learn early that their words can be either a powerful tool for kindness or a destructive weapon. They need to choose wisely!

We can set a good example by watching our own words. Remind them what gossip is and help them avoid it in their conversations with you. Then, they can do the same with their friends. When I was young, I learned that someone who will gossip to you will also gossip about you. Help your kids steer clear of this friendship-killing habit!

The good thing is that when we use our words wisely, we can strengthen our friendships! Help your kids practice kindness in thinking of encouraging things to say like “I love your laugh” or “You are so kind to people—that’s one reason I’m glad you’re my friend.” The Bible says words of kindness are life! We can help our kids learn this while they are young.

5. Write an encouraging note.

While speaking kind words is definitely an important action, there are more ways to be kind through our words! There are times we may not be around to speak to someone when they need encouragement, but we can do something else instead.

Encourage your child to write a kind note to someone. Maybe they can leave a note in their friend’s backpack for them to find when they get home or send a postcard to a friend who is far away. Another fun idea is to write a bunch of notes and put them all in a jar to give to a friend. Then, when he or she is feeling sad or discouraged, they can pull out a note from their friend to read!

My kids use these Fruit of the Spirit Love Notes to encourage each other and their friends. It’s a great way to write a simple note that also shares biblical truth!

6. Be consistent.

A great way to nurture friendships is by being consistent. We need to help our kids learn to be consistent, with new and old friends, in all situations.

I like to remind my kids to be on the lookout for ways to be a consistent friend, someone people can trust to be a friend. Maybe it’s asking the new neighbor to go for a bike ride, sitting with different groups in Sunday School, or smiling and waving to someone they met at church. We can be a great example in helping our kids be consistent in all types of friendship situations.

This verse in Proverbs comes to mind often as I remind my kids to be consistent friends:

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

Proverbs 17:17

Whether it’s teaching them to ask questions and be a good listener, encouraging them to seek out playdates, reminding them to talk to their shy friend at church, or helping them drop off cookies to someone from youth group who is sick—these things will help our kids be a consistent and trustworthy friend in all situations.

7. Talk about Jesus.

Sharing about Jesus to others is hard for most of us. That is true in part because we make it harder than it is. We assume several things that make it nearly impossible:

• We assume we must have the whole story mapped out in verses to show them in the Bible.
• We assume it’s our job to foster the results.
• We assume we have to know everything the Bible says in order to do this.

NONE of those things are true! Yes, it’s great to learn things and grow in Christ so we can better share Him with others. In fact, the more you grow, the easier this becomes. But the biggest thing we can share with others is found in 1 Peter 3:15.

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

1 Peter 3:15 KJV

Talk to your kids about this verse and help them to see what it means. As Christians, we are called to be different. We might make a different choice. We might react differently. We might see a viewpoint that someone else doesn’t see. When your friends notice these things and ask why, this is your chance to share how God has helped you.

When my son went through his first round of chemo, this became his weekly goal. We prayed before arriving, and he handled the blood draws, needles, and port access like a champ. When the nurses would marvel at his strength, he would always say, “God helps me!”

That’s all it takes to be a witness! Share the hope. Tell others how God helps you. Explain why you are different sometimes. It’s the kindest thing you could ever do. One day, your friend might ask for more information. If you know, show them. If not, remind your kids that there are people who can help, like pastors, teachers, and youth group leaders!

More Resources on Kids’ Friendships

Friendship is a topic Christian parents should diligently pursue! Our kids need good friends, but they need help navigating the waters of friendships.

Find more tips for nurturing kids’ friendships here.

Find prayers for friendships here and enjoy this free printable!

Are you seeing any areas in which your kids need help with friendships? We have a Bible study specifically for them! Check out Navigating Friendships to encourage your kids in their acts of kindness toward others and equip them to enjoy healthy friendships now and in the future!

I’m sure you, like me, have had to break up many a squabble caused by one child feeling justified in hitting or yelling because the other child took something away from them. As adults, most of us have struggled with anger towards someone who has hurt us or even been tempted to take revenge. And even if we don’t physically take revenge, maybe we allow ourselves to be vengeful or unforgiving in our hearts. Let’s be honest—usually, our natural response when someone has hurt us is to hurt them back.

But God tells us something different in Romans 12:19-21:

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Not only should we refuse to take revenge, but we should intentionally do good to those who we would consider our enemies. Though “heaping burning coals” might seem like some kind of righteous revenge, the idea here is actually that our love and kindness would so confuse and frustrate our enemy that the result would be them turning to God—the source of the love we show them!

Of course, we should never let someone continue to harm us or our children in our efforts to do good to them. That’s not what these verses are telling us to do! But we can, when it is safe and wise, still show them kindness.

Loving enemies is tough for adults AND children, but it may be especially difficult for our kids to come up with ways to love their enemies on their own. This is why I want to share with you 5 ways our kids can love their enemies through acts of kindness.

5 Acts of Kindness Towards Your Enemies

1. Pray for them

The first and the best place to start is prayer (Matthew 5:44)!  When we remind our kids to pause and mention their enemies by name before the throne of our Heavenly Father, we are teaching them to ask for His power and wisdom over the situation. His great power and love is unlike anyone else’s. It works at the heart level. It cuts right into the heart of a matter and creates change from the inside out. 

I know that when it comes to praying, it’s sometimes hard for kids AND adults to know where to start. But don’t be discouraged! Our kids’ prayer bundle will help teach your kids what prayer is, why it is in important, and how to use it.

For more tips, check out our post on teaching children to pray!

2. Offer a smile or peaceful gesture

In addition to praying for their enemies, kids can show kindness through actions as simple as a smile or acknowledging nod. Think about it—what better way to extend forgiveness and love to someone from a distance? Maybe it isn’t safe to have a conversation at the time, but kids can still show God’s love through this simple action!

As Romans 5:5 explains, we are able to show God’s love to others because He has poured His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. As we spend time getting to know God through His Word, that love grows and grows so that it flows out of our hearts and into the lives of others! Written with this goal in mind, our kids’ Bible studies help your children dig into God’s Word every day so they will know God better and grow His love in their hearts.

3. Hold the door open for them

Loving our enemies isn’t just not taking revenge—it’s also intentionally doing good to them! If we were only kind to those who were kind to us, we would not be fulfilling God’s call to love our enemies (Matthew 5:46-47). There’s not much heaping of coals going on when we only show kindness to our friends! Believers are different from the world because we are able to love not only those who are loving towards us, but also those who are unkind, rude, or hurtful towards us.

When dealing with an enemy, it can be hard to be intentionally loving while also keeping a safe distance. But holding the door for an enemy is a way to show consideration and kindness without being in-your-face or requiring a response. The enemy to whom your child is trying to show kindness may not even acknowledge this gesture, but it will still set your child apart in their mind as someone who wishes good for them and not evil.

4. Anonymously help with a task

Showing kindness does not always involve an in-person interaction like a smile or holding the door. There are plenty of ways to serve enemies without their ever knowing who helped them. Kids can mow their enemy’s lawn while he or she is gone or even bring their trashcan back from the road on trash day. Even taking notes for an enemy who is absent in class could spread kindness.

Since helping with some tasks could be unsafe or unappreciated, I try to remind my kids that if they have any doubt as to whether their task would be helpful, to run their ideas past me. But don’t forget to encourage your kids as they begin initiate acting in kindness towards their enemies!

5. Leave a gift where they will find it

Another anonymous way our kids can show kindness is by leaving a gift for their enemy. Maybe they would like to bake some cookies to leave on that grumpy neighbor’s front porch. They could even write a kind note to their enemy and leave it with a piece of candy where they know he or she will find it and understand it is for them.

Our FREE printable random acts of kindness game gives you so many ideas on how to show kindness anonymously or in person! Make it a family challenge to show kindness—whether to enemies or friends.

Looking for a great way to share the love of Jesus this Valentine’s Day? These FREE Valentine’s Day Bible verse printables are perfect!

We are always looking for ways to tell people about Jesus. Whether it’s a kind act or direct conversation, we want everything we do to point to God’s love. Valentine’s Day is no different! In fact, it’s the perfect time to spread a sweet love note that includes the beautiful message of scripture!

Look for more teen or adult-friendly valentines? Check out 7 Free Valentines Scripture Printables for simple and elegant ideas your friends, co-workers, and even neighbors will love!

10 Free Valentine’s Day Bible Verse Printables for kids

1. God has made you “smartie”

This valentine is so simple, yet the kids will love it! For less than $10 you have Valentine’s for the whole class!

All you need is the printable, some cute washi tape, and a bag of Smarties candy. Print the cards on cardstock for stability. One tip for printing: make sure that you set your printer to the “best” quality. It will make your printables really lovely. Once printed, I cut them apart with a trimmer for ease, but scissors will work as well.

2. Jesus, the Ultimate Super Hero Valentine’s Day Bible Verse Printable

I made these super cute valentines with my oldest son a few years ago and they were such a hit! All you need are lollipops, scrap ribbon, and the printables. This one contains two items to be printed. The first is the cape. It’s up to you, but I prefer to print these on plain paper, as they are more flexible. Once I slip them on, I crinkle them a bit for character. Many use cardstock for this part though and that’s fine, too. Just remember to write the “to and from” section on the back of the capes before you slip them on.

The second printable is the small circle. I do print this one on cardstock and then punch a hole at the top and bottom. The last step is to simply tie a ribbon at the top of the lollipop and then slip the circle through the stick.

3. Mini Bibles Valentine’s Bible Verse Printable

This might be my favorite Valentine’s day Bible verse printable this year. I guess it’s the crafty girl in me. But don’t fear, it’s not as hard as it looks. You can make a class set in under an hour!

First, gather your supplies and cut the paper and ribbon into the right sizes (noted below). On the back of the cardstock, write your “to and from.” Glue/tape the ribbon about halfway down the center of the OTHER side of the cardstock.

Tape two nuggets in the center of the valentine paper. Fold your printable verse in half and then glue to the top of the candy. Bring the ribbon over the top and glue down in the center. Trim if needed. Set aside to dry.

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR MINI BIBLE:

• 2 Hershey’s Nuggets
• Cardstock cut into pieces that are 2.25 inches wide, 1.5 inches tall. This is the one I used.
• Thin Ribbon (cut into 2 inch long pieces)
• Printable Verses
• Tape, Glue

4. Trust the Lord with all your Heart Verse Printable

I’m a busy mom. Sometimes things like Valentine’s Day threaten to consume me. I want cute valentines to give out, but I don’t have a lot of time. If this resonates with you, I think you’ll really love this valentine. (As a bonus, it’s under $5 to make a class set!)

Simply print the cards on cardstock for stability. One tip for printing: make sure that you set your printer to the “best” quality. It will make your printables really lovely. Once printed, I cut them apart with a trimmer for ease, but scissors will work as well.

Then, tape on heart-shaped candy of your choice and add a personal “to and from” message. A meaningful Valentine’s Day Bible verse printable valentine done. Simple, huh?

5. Jesus, Light of the World

In a world with a billion allergies and special diets, sometimes it’s nice to have something cheap that isn’t candy! If you’re looking for answers to that quandary, you’ll love this Valentine’s Day Bible verse printable!

Glowsticks are usually found in the dollar bins for $1 per package. That’s a wonderfully frugal deal! Or you can grab these from Amazon. Either way it’s less than $10 to make a class set and you’ll have leftover glowsticks for a glowstick family fun night.

Print the verses on cardstock for stability. Once printed, cut them apart with scissors and add a personal “to and from.” Punch holes at the top and bottom and slip onto the glowstick. Your kids’ friends will love it! I’ve also seen people give these out for all kinds of occasions!

6. Pencil Bookmark Valentine’s Day Bible Verse Printable

Another great non-candy Valentine’s option, we’ve used these pencil valentines for both the holiday and year-round events because the message is one that everyone needs to hear! “Your name is written on the palm of His hands.” Isaiah 49:16

Coming in at $10 for a class set, all you need is Cardstock and a fun valentine’s pencil. Often you can find these in the dollar bins or holiday sections. I got the red heart pencils here. You will also need your hole punch and paper cutter (not mandatory, but creates a nice clean cut!)

7. Mini Bubbles Valentine’s Day Bible Verse Tag

Kids get enough candy at Valentine’s. Be every mom (and kids) hero with these simple mini bubbles Valentine’s Day Bible verse tags. We’ve given them to preschool classes, children’s church, and older kids. Bubbles are fun no matter how old you are. Sometimes you can find bubble packs at Target in the Valentine’s section, but if not, these white heart bubble wands from Amazon are perfect! If you split the pack, you can still make a class set for less than $10! Print your tag on Cardstock and tie with your favorite ribbon. I used twine and fun red ribbon.

8. S’mores Valentines Day Bible Verse Topper

Who doesn’t love s’mores? We made these one year for my Wednesday night class at church and they were a huge hit with the 6th graders! They take a little more time to make, but they are rather inexpensive.

Lots of church camps have used this printable to make up little kits for their attendees, too. It doesn’t have to be valentine’s to share God’s love with someone!

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR S’MORES VALENTINE’S BIBLE VERSE BAG TOPPERS:

• Cardstock: one sheet for every two toppers you want to print
• 4 inch wide party bags. You can get them at Walmart or craft stores. Look in the cake decorating aisle. Or order them from Amazon to get them the cheapest.
• Paper cutter (not mandatory, but creates a nice clean cut!)
• Heart shapped chocolate candy (the Hershey’s ones look better than the Dove)
• Graham crackers (each bag contains two whole crackers broken in half)
• Marshmallows (two per bag)

9. Chapstick Bible Verse Printable

Another really simple valentine, this chapstick printable is literally the bomb. Ok, I’ll refrain from the corny mom jokes. But seriously, Luke gave these to the nurses one year when he was doing weekly chemo and they absolutely adored them! But if you have the budget or you only have a small group of kids, they will love this valentine.

MATERIALS FOR LIP BALM BIBLE VERSE PRINTABLE:

• Cardstock: one sheet for every six valentines you want to print
• Paper cutter (not mandatory, but creates a nice clean cut!)
• Lip balm: any kind works, we went for Burts Bees. It’s the best!
• Washi tape to adhere the lip balm. We used this one.

10. Valentines Bible Verse Printable Bag Toppers

This free printable valentines Bible verse bag topper is my new favorite because you can literally fill it with anything heart-shaped! If you are doing this for a large class, you need a slightly larger budget, but it’s a great one for a smaller church class or homeschool group of kids.

I used Dove chocolates, conversation hearts, Jolly Rancher hearts, cinnamon hearts, and even pretty jellybeans, all found at your favorite big box store.

These make great gifts for teachers, neighbors, and even the staff at your church, too!

MATERIALS NEEDED FOR VALENTINE’S BIBLE VERSE BAG TOPPERS:

• Cardstock: one sheet for every two toppers you want to print
• 4 inch wide party bags. You can get them at Walmart or craft stores. Look in the cake decorating aisle. Or order them from Amazon to get them the cheapest.
• Paper cutter (not mandatory, but creates a nice clean cut!)
• Heart shapped or valentine colored candy

My bags are always taller than needed. Simply cut it down and staple the bag shut before you add the bag topper.

Download Your Free Valentine’s Day Bible Verse Printables

Just fill out the form below and we will send the printable straight to your inbox. We can’t wait to see how you share God’s love with those around you!