I turned on the CD Seeds of Courage tonight while we were eating dinner. Lydia is always working on being brave and strong. So, these are scriptures she needs to hide in her heart! The very last song, Do Not Fear is from Isaiah 41:10:

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

If you knew the complete and utter fearful meltdown we had with Lydia on Saturday, you would understand why just listening to this song brought tears to my eyes! I was thinking about doing some role-playing with this verse because role-playing really seems to bring up a lot of questions and scenarios for us to talk about. I was actually going to write a social story type thing with her about being afraid and remembering this verse.

As we were listening to the song at dinner, I said, “Lydia this is the song we’re going to do an activity about!” And I told her the words as they sang. Her eyes got big when I said “Do not fear” because she knows we talk about this all the time. Then she said, “What’s a righteous right hand?” She’s a leftie and is really into right and left hands!

So, I pantomimed holding my hand out and pretending there was a little person inside. Then I closed my hand and covered them up. She thought this was hilarious! She grabbed a napkin, wadded it up and put it in her hand. She pretended to be God and protect that napkin. Then we had an even better idea! We took her gummi bear vitamins and let them be Lydia-Bear and Asa-Bear. We had Lydia-Bear and Asa-Bear get scared and run around our hands. Then we closed our fists tight to protect them. She was having SO much fun! (Especially when I dropped Lydia-Bear and asked her if that’s what God would do. She said “Noooo!”)

As she played with her gummi vitamins and had them dance to the song (I put it on repeat), I grabbed the video camera. She finally started dancing and singing in our living room. Then we made up motions/dance to the song.

So do not fear hold both hands to mouth like you’re biting your fingernails in fear
for I am with you take both hands down and place on heart
do not be dismayed shake hands  in front of you like you are very upset
for I am your God. jump up and shake hands in the air as if motioning to God
I will strengthen you make big muscles with both arms
and help you scoop flexed arms in front of you like you just helped someone up
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. make a big muscle with right arm and point to your closed fist with your left hand
Isaiah 41:10 hold up 4 fingers, then 1 finger and then 10

It was such fun and also made me cry. I can’t wait for that little seed to grow in her life. I’m even excited for the next time she gets scared and then pictures Jesus holding her in the palm of his hand–his strong, helpful arms, His righteous right hand.

Impressing your kids with God’s Word doesn’t always take a detailed lesson plan, an intricate craft or a lot of preparation. Sometimes it’s just going with what your kids like and what the Holy Spirit quietly speaks to you.

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