The first time I went to Disney’s Animal Kingdom I was enthralled with the banners and flags that hung in the land of Asia. We finally asked about them and were told that in some Asian traditions, people would hang flags up with pictures of their prayer requests so the wind could carry their prayers to God (or god as the case may be). They also tied bells in the trees so they could hear their prayers going to God.

Now, I realize this is slightly un-Christian in that they were probably worshiping some made up god. But I just love the visual of putting your prayer requests out where YOU can see them. Not because God notices a giant flag and will act. No, because it reminds ME that God does answer prayers and that we can talk to Him at all times about anything.

Prayer bells and flags do seem slightly more outward than a real internal conversation-prayer that you have with God. More symbolic than spiritual. But you know what? God was (is) into symbolism. I’m reading a really great book right now called, Treasured by Leigh McLeroy. Each chapter is about an item in the Bible like the blood-stained wood above the Hebrew slaves’ doors, Hagar’s wineskin and Joseph’s colorful coat. The last chapter I read really inspired me to do this activity with the kids–it is  about a golden bell.

Really? A bell in the Bible? Sounds more Polar Express, doesn’t it?

God instructs the Israelites to fashion a tabernacle for him. He is specific in every detail–down to the lamp stands. He asks for his dwelling place to have gold, purple and scarlet thread, spices, silver, bronze and linen. It was going to be downright swanky! And when God got to the instructions for the priests’ clothing he didn’t spare any expense–or detail! He commanded that the robes would be richly embroidered with pomegranates and filled in with tiny golden bells. Imagine the priests (yes, the guys killing animals for sacrifice) decked out in embroidered clothes that jingled when they walked!

Leigh McLeroy calls God, “the God of Show and Tell” because of his attention to detail and beauty. The priests were to do this for Him–to show and tell of His greatness. Of course, when Jesus died on the cross and came back to life, He became our forever priest. (Hebrews 7:23-25) And He was the ultimate SHOW and TELL of God’s great love for us.

So, what does this have to do with some prayer banners? Well, I love the show-and-tell-ness of God. And I want to replicate that in our home–I want to SHOW off the greatness of God in our lives. That’s why I hang up scriptures everywhere in our house. And I want to TELL my children about the wonder and love He has for them. I want to make God known in our home!

Today, as we made our own prayer flags, we did them based on Philippians 4:6 CEV, “Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God.” We talked about the things that worry us–what we need God’s help with; the things we want to ask God to do and the things we want to thank him for. Then we painted a symbol of those requests on our flags. They are waiting to dry but I cannot wait for them to hang in our house—or maybe even outside in a tree!

This verse came from our first “letter A” activity based on Big Thoughts for Little Peopleby Kenneth Taylor. The poem says, “A is for asking. We ask when we pray. God is happy to answer and help us each day.” I love the idea that God is happy to help us. Wow!! God as OUR helper?! That’s a nice thought.

We made our flags out of felt. I just cut a basic 29cent piece of felt into quarters. Then we used some stencils and fabric paint to make our symbols.

Lydia made a flower with the letter A for Alizeta, our Compassion daughter. She asked that God would take care of her. I made a flag for Papa (my dad) because he has Hepatitis C and I want God to heal him. We made a hand print to remind Lydia and Asa they are best friends. A smiley face because Lydia wants to be a helper. And a heart for Daddy because he had to go to the doctor today. And several more that were thoughtful requests to big happy thankful thank yous!

I don’t know about my kids, but when I see these flags hanging up, I will be reminded of the amazing love God has for me–that He is willing to be MY helper. And that He has commanded me to offer up requests to Him!

Last night the four of us snuggled on the couch with hot chocolate (chocolate milk in a sippy cup for Asa) and some catalogs. We were looking for Christmas gifts. Were the kids making their Christmas lists with Toys R Us catalogs? Nope. We had the Samaritan’s Purse and World Vision gift catalogs. We were picking out gifts for Jesus.

Asa picked out a goat. Only $75 from World Vision and it can give milk, cheese, yogurt, meat and even fertilizer for a family in an impoverished country. Asa couldn’t live without his “milkie” so we knew he’d like this gift best!

Lydia had me read every single entry. She was interested in every single one. She couldn’t decide what to pick so I asked her “If you were a little girl in another country who didn’t have a lot of food or clothes, what would you want?” I was trying to steer towards fruit trees or uniforms for school. But she chose bunnies! For just $80 you can send 5 bunnies that will produce over 100 babies in a year! Just think of the food and profit that will result from those 5 rabbits.

I chose blue plastic. Yup. 1000 square feet of blue plastic is $130 and it is enough to build a temporary shelter in Haiti. The first time I saw these “blue villages” I knew I had to help buy one. I could just imagine a mom like me who had no place to lay her kids down at night. What would that be like? Giving a house to a mom on Christmas? I can’t think of anything better.

My husband is deciding between farming help and stocking a pond with fish. Typical man gift, don’t ya’ think?

We prayed over our gifts and asked Jesus to accept them as gifts to him. And that he would make them miracles in someone’s life. I think this will be my most favorite activity this year!

We got the idea from a book called The King’s Christmas List by Eldon Johnson. It’s a sweet story of a little girl and her dog who are invited to The King’s Birthday party. On the way to the party, the little girl encounters several people who need help. She gives her own possessions to them and arrives empty handed to the King’s party. But just when she feels uncomfortable about it, she sees that all the guests start giving gifts to each other and not to the King.

The girl approaches the King and asks him why the guests are giving each other gifts. The King explains that the gifts He truly wants are the ones she had already given to those in need…

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

But the best part of the whole book is the end–the author encourages kids to redefine Christmas and start giving gifts to Jesus! He’s partnered with World Vision and blood:water to give to kids around the world—which really means giving to Jesus! You can even go to the King’s Christmas List website and click a big map to pick gifts for kids in those countries.

I wish I could explain how excited I am about this. We’ve always done only 3 gifts to the kids (in honor of the 3 Wise Men) but I would honestly love to do NO gifts on Christmas and just give gifts to Jesus instead. My kids don’t need another toy, book or shirt. But there are kids around the globe who need bunnies and goats and blue plastic to survive. I pray this small act will instill a love for others in my children—and most importantly a love for Jesus!

Please check out The King’s Christmas List online and on facebook. Then, run right out and buy the book! Or if you’d like wait a couple of days because Tommy Nelson (the publisher) is giving away THREE copies of The King’s Christmas List to you! Wanna win?

To enter, click over to Samaritan’s Purse or World Vision’s catalog and tell me which gift you’d like to give to Jesus.

If you’d like an additional entry (or would just like to get the word out about this book!), leave me a comment for any of these that you do:

• LIKE this post on Facebook (it’s easy, there’s a LIKE button below!)
• Tweet the following: What are you giving JESUS this Christmas? Win The King’s Christmas List from @impressyourkids and @tommynelson http://bit.ly/kingslist
• LIKE  The King’s Christmas List on Facebook
• LIKE Impress Your Kids on Facebook
• Anything else you can think of that I would like…chocolates, sky-writing, etc.

I’ll pick a winner on Saturday. Open to US Residents only.

***Contest closed!***

So, what would you give Jesus?

linked to Diaper Diaries Things I Love Thursday because although Tommy Nelson sent me this book in return for a blog post, they could not have had any idea how much I would love it!

It’s a fairly simple craft. All you need is a stick of some sort (we used old paint sticks) and some leftover ribbons (I save them from everything!). I glued, stapled and tied them to the end of the stick. The other end was held tightly by my kids. And suddenly they were not so simple anymore. They were beautiful birds of paradise dancing and twirling before the Lord.

I know it sounds dramatic. But we were in fact imitating Birds of Paradise! I just got a spectacular book for review called, Creation Inspirations by Cheryl Pickett. It’s basically a devotional book with each chapter focusing on a different animal. The chapter begins with some basic animal info–what they eat, where they live and what they look like.

But the next section is the cool part. It’s called “A New View” and is a devotional related to the animal. I read through several (no, not all, but several!) and was impressed by the creativity of the connections to God. (I read the panda and hippo chapter first and thought, “Wow. I should do this devotional for myself!”)

Each chapter ends with an activity, snack or craft that relates to the animal, the scripture or the devotional. After a quick read through of the book, I was excited to share it with Lydia and Asa!

We chose the Bird of Paradise chapter and loved it! Birds of Paradise are GORGEOUS birds found mainly in Papua New Guinea. These birds are amazing creations–they have long feathers and a myriad of colors. But the most fun part is that the males DANCE to show off to the female birds. Really. Dance.

The devotional section about Birds of Paradise gave a great description of the real and ultimate paradise–heaven. It ended with an encouragement to remember that whoever believes in God will be in paradise with Him forever…based on Luke 23:42-43, “Then he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.’ Jesus answered him, ‘I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.’” Lydia and I got to have a great conversation about Heaven and the thief on the cross (to whom Jesus said this verse.).

Then it was time to make our ribbon sticks. And you can see from the pictures that the kids loved it. After reading the chapter, looking up Birds of Paradise on National Geographic and even listening to their calls online, making their own ribbon sticks to mimic the Birds of Paradise beautiful plumes, my kids were ready to spread their proverbial wings! Per the instructions in the book, I turned on a CD (Seeds of Praise) and the kids danced and raised their hands and ribbons to God for the entire length of the CD.

I am absolutely impressed with this book. I love the whole idea–taking an animal and making a God-connection out of it. That’s really what I try to do with my kids all the time—take a normal every day item or event and teach them about God. Please check out Cheryl Pickett’s Creation Inspiration blog/website and take a minute to order Creation Inspirations.

This book would work for kids of all ages–your older kids will enjoy some of the activities that involve writing, cooking and more. But everyone will enjoy the teaching, the activities and the encouragement from God’s Word! They will in fact, be INSPIRED by God’s great CREATION!