Week 3 of 'Super Family Bible Night' and it was Lily's first turn at leading the night. What would a 5yo have in store for us tonight???... All week Lily had planned for 'Jonah and the whale', she'd planned a cubby to be the whale's belly and who was playing each part... but then... window biscuits!! "Window biscuits?" I hear you say – where did that come from? Well, over the weekend our church ran kid friendly services during the school holidays and gave us a booklet of ideas and activities to do with our kids, one of those activities was making window biscuits. As soon as she heard that – Jonah was ditched pretty smartly and all she wanted to do was 'Jesus is the light' so she could make window biscuits!
So with a last minute scramble, we looked up Matthew 5 – you are the light of the world. She needed a light (candle), a bowl, a dark room and of course some window biscuits. First stop - kitchen for biscuit making (see recipe below), the recipe was really easy and Lily was able to make them on her own (with some instructions along the way). So with the biscuits in the oven we headed to the kids room for 'Super Family Bible Night'. Lily had positions for everyone to sit (we all sat on the floor – while Lily sat on the bed, no surprises there). With lights off, candle lit, the time began. As we read the passage we pretended that we were in the bible times and had no electricity – how different it would be to read a book, to play with toys and even clean our teeth. Then Lily put the bowl over the candle and it was dark. Toby remarked "why would you put a bowl over a light? That's a silly idea! I can't see anything." BINGO! Point made!
We shared about what it means to shine God's light to others – by being kind and thoughtful to others, doing good things, sharing God's love with others. But to cover up the light with a bowl means not doing those things or being nasty or mean to others. We began a great discussion together and just as it was getting good ... beep...beep...beep the oven timer went off. Window biscuits ready. The discussion abruptly finished... biscuits were ready :)
The biscuits however weren't as successful as the bible time. The holes we'd put in the middle were far too big for the lollies inside and so we only had ½ a window pane, and I used dodgy baking paper and so the lolly centres stuck to the paper, so we ate paper covered window panes (mental note: add baking paper to shopping list). In spite of that the biscuits were a great hit for Lily (she's still talking about shining God's light like light shines through a Window biscuit).
Summing up: very fun night together, a bit of preparation in the baking and a tricky passage to explain to a 5yo and 7yo, but Lily and Toby loved it and remember it, so that's the important part, even if it was just the food they remember. Oh, and it's worth eating all the biscuits within 24hours cause after that all the lolly centres begin to melt and there's no window anymore :)
Matthew 5: 14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
115g soft unsalted butter
55g caster sugar
185g (1 ½ cup plain flour)
1-2 tbs milk
1 small bag boiled lollies (or life savers)
Icing sugar, to dust
Method:
Preheat oven to 180deg. Line a baking tray with non-stick baking paper. Beat the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale and creamy. Sift in the flour and stir in the milk. Use your hands to form the mixture into a soft dough and roll it out onto a lightly floured surface until ½ cm thick. Use a cookie cutter and cut into shapes. Cut a 1-2 cm circle (or any shape) from the centre of each biscuit. Carefully transfer the biscuits to the lined tray. Place boiled lolly in the centre of each hole and bake in the oven for 15minutes. Set aside on the tray to cool. Dust with icing sugar.
Great website: Found a great interactive website this week with stories and activities for primary aged children based through discovery and family time. Check it out: http://www.biblesnackpacks.com/
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