Thumb wrestles & Jacob

Tonight wrestling played a major part of our family night! Thumb wrestles, arm wrestles & leg wrestles! Kids loved it! Squeeling with delight as wrestles became stacks on daddy!!

The night included many laughs as we read the story if Jacob & his wrestle with God. We were very impressed to hear how much the kids remembered about the background of Jacob, his family and life. Toby reeling off names and locations & stories perfectly! Love it!

We looked tonight about what it means to wrestle with God, things we might wrestle with him included; decisions, things we do or don't want to do, and giving examples of times we have wrestled & questioned.

Asking questions is a vital part of growth, and especially spiritual growth. Giving our kids an environment where they can always ask questions is one of our families key values!

I would like to say that although I lost my thumb & arm wrestles, I did win at leg wrestles!! Even against Adam, to his dismay & my delight!

How's your family going?

Family values & goals for 2014

After a few weeks break over Summer, we started back today with our Family night! 

Rather than starting straight into regular story routine, this year we decided to look at what are the things important to our family and create some values and goals. Each of us took time to think about the things we'd like for our family. This included things like eating dessert, being kind, argueing respectfully, getting personal fish & fish tank, family games nights and some other great ideas.

We came up with some great ideas that we shared together. Then went about voting on our favorites with stickers. We came out with our top 6 values & goals for 2014. What do you think of them?

Looking forward to what 2014 holds for the Butler family.

Advent family style

Chatting to a friend today and she shared how her family are doing advent. I loved it & asked if I could share it with you! She said yes!! So here it is!

First, grab a reusable advent calendar.

This is the wooden one she uses.

In each day, place a reading of the Christmas story. See below for my friends readings. Add something yummy... Chocolate, lollie, or special something for your family (only little as it's a tiny date box). 

My friend has 4 children, so each day a child takes a turn to take out that days reading & eat the surprise. Together after dinner they read a portion of the Christmas story and pray. 

I love this idea as it involves all the family, it's simple, practical & reminds us each day as to why Christmas really exists.

Special thanks to my friend for sharing her families idea! It's better than the One Direction advent we currently have up! 

Here is the daily readings...

Isaiah 7:14

14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

 

Isaiah 9:6-7

6 For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the greatness of his government and peace 
    there will be no end. 
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever. 

Luke 1:26-33

The Birth of Jesus Foretold part 1

26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favoured! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favour with God. 31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.”

 

Luke 1:26-33

The Birth of Jesus Foretold part 2

34 “How will this be?” Mary asked the angel.

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be unable to conceive is in her sixth month. 37 For no word from God will ever fail.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her.

 

Matthew 1:18-21

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son part 1

18 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.19 Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

 

Matthew 1:22-24

Joseph Accepts Jesus as His Son part 2

22 All this took place to fulfil what 2he Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us).

24 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

 

Luke 2:1-3

The Birth of Jesus part 1

1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to their own town to register.

 

Luke 2:4-5

The Birth of Jesus part 2

4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.

  

Luke 2:6-7

The Birth of Jesus part 3

6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

 

 

Luke 2:8-12

The Shepherds part 1

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

 

Luke 2:13-14

The Shepherds part 2

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
    and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests.”

 

Luke 2:15

The Shepherds part 3

15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

 

Luke 2:16-20

The Shepherds part 4

16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Matthew 2:1-2

The Magi Visit the Messiah part 1

2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”

 

Matthew 2:3-8

The Magi Visit the Messiah part 2

3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born.5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:

6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
    are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
    who will shepherd my people Israel.’

 

The Magi Visit the Messiah part 3

Matthew 2:7-8

7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

 

The Magi Visit the Messiah part 4

Matthew 2:9-12

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

 

The Escape to Egypt part 1

Matthew 2:13

13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”

 

The Escape to Egypt part 2

Matthew 2:14-15

14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

 

Herod the jealous king

Matthew 2:16

16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

 

The Return to Nazareth part 1

Matthew 2:19-21

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”

21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel.

 

The Return to Nazareth part 2

Matthew 2:22-23

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene. 

 

God’s Promise

John 3:16

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

 

NOW READ THE WHOLE STORY TONIGHT. Christmas Eve.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

 

It's Christmas time...

Tonight was Lilys turn to lead, she chose the birth of Jesus & read us a couple of stories from her Bible.

She was very excited, although you wouldn't know that from her pout as I took this pic.

Boys of course did their best to enjoy the night.

Lily used the nativity scene to tell us the story & ask us some great questions about why its important that this story is in the bible.

Kids wouldn't let me take a serious photo so opted for the crazy one!

Well done Lily, we had a great night! Great way to start Advent leading up to Christmas!!

Around the walls of a nursing home

Tonight was Lily’s turn to lead ‘Super Family Bible Night’ and after last week’s episode of army men mime – I was a little concerned. Lily flicked through her bible and chose her story because she like the pictures, interesting because the story she chose was ‘A wall falls down – Jericho’.

This week was drama week,  Lily played the part of Joshua, Daddy & Toby the 2 men sent to check out Jericho, mummy was narrator/Rahab and whoever else was needed along the way. As we read the story we acted it out along the way – although Toby was quite disappointed that he was able to really hid in the roof like the 2 spies did in the story, and disappointed he had to settle for sitting on a table.

For those who don’t know we are currently house sitting a large nursing home, (for about 6 months so - with no residents) so you can imagine the fun and noise we had when it was time to walk (we ran) around the walls of Jericho. Firstly once every day (6 times), then 7 times on the 7th day. All the while shouting and playing our pretend instruments along the way. There are a lot of walls to run around in our mini city and we were exhausted by the end of it and collapsed on the ground to listen to the end of the story and pray.

This week was certainly a week to remember, we had a lot of fun and Lily especially loved being in charge and playing the part of Joshua. Mmm... think there may be a leader in the making there.

Blessings to you and your family!
For more information on bible engagement or Milk to Meat resources please go to http://www.milktomeat.com.au/

Daniel and the army men

This week was Toby’s turn to lead ‘Super Family Bible Night’ and he was desperate to use his new Toy Story Army Men, so regardless of what story he chose those men were going to play a major role.  So with army men set and ready we all sat down for the night and ready for the night to begin. Toby chose to create a ‘show’ for us – illustrating the story of Daniel and the Lion’s Den using a bucket and his army men. What was most interesting and intriguing was that he decided it was going to be a silent show, kind of a mime but using army men which have no facial expressions!

That created a challenge and Lily was totally confused because she had no idea what Toby was on about. I think Toby got the idea from a recent circus incursion at school which had the kids performing mime – however it should be noted that mime does not translate well when using mini army men. But he had fun and we all got to have a ‘turn’ playing out the story of Daniel and in more than one ‘turn’ the story changed and poor Daniel (army man) was eaten alive by the vicious lions (which were Might Beanz --- mmm they are very ferocious).

Summary – sometimes you just have to let the night go where the kids want to take it – they (eventually) got to understand the story and it’s importance but on the way there we had a lot of fun together and hopefully mime with army men won’t be an option again.

 

Blessings to you and your family.
For more information on bible engagement or Milk to Meat resources please go to http://www.milktomeat.com.au/

The Tower of Newspaper

Tonight was daddy’s turn to lead ‘Super Family Bible Night’ and what a fun night it was. Tonight began with a little competition, not a fair competition in my opinion but we were split into 2 teams of which Toby chose to go with daddy & Lily with mummy. We had newspaper & masking tape; we had to build the tallest tower that was able to stand on its own when the 5min timer went off. Now personally I thought we were going to lose this one – I know Adam’s played and won these game lots of times before with youth group kids, and his ability to make things stronger and stand easier meant I felt the girl’s team was starting from behind. So resolved that we would lose, sad I know. However what I didn’t take was that while Lily & I plodded along adding each piece to the tower as we went along – the other team where so fixated on making lots of pieces and making them strong that they totally ran out of time and so when the timer went off their tower wasn’t even close to standing – WOOHOOO!! Girls won!! And boy were we excited!!!

So after the excitement died down and we received our prize (a lolly J) we all sat down together to read the story of the Tower of Babel and how and why God confused the language of the people. We discussed what it means to make things and ourselves more important than God. Funnily this week Lily shared with us her ‘Love Chart’ which is the order of the things she loves, which I thought was quite fascinating.

Lily’s Love Chart

1.       God/Jesus

2.       Sheepy (sheepskin she’s had since birth)

3.       Mummy

4.       Toby

5.       Daddy (poor daddy)

Although the last 3 change daily depending on mood and how she’s interacted with that person on the day. But Sheepy is always at number 2.

Love to hear your stories and thoughts on how you involve your kids in bible stories. Share a comment below.

Of course afterwards we had a newspaper sword fight

More information on bible engagement or to purchase Milk to Meat go to www.milktomeat.com.au

Jesus and the popping sprinkles

Tonight was Lily’s turn for ‘Super Family Bible Night’ and we also decided to incorporate a special dessert into our Family Nights. The kids have been bugging me about making a special dessert for the family for weeks, but I have been reluctant after the last dessert Toby made for us which was: strawberry jelly & ice cream mixed together with a large dollop of Nutella on the top, then on top of that was marshmallows, Milo, musk stick and sprinkles onto was Star Dust (the kind of sprinkles that pop in your mouth). It was a massive sugar overload and the kids took a LONG time to go to sleep. So as you can imagine I was a little hesitant to allow Toby back into the kitchen again to make dessert. But with some guidelines Toby headed off to make dessert.

So as we all sat around the table, with wine glasses in hand, we began to wonder just what did our 5yo have in store for us tonight? Well, she had prepared well and sent dad off to the supermarket to get some grape juice and she shared the story of how Jesus to water into wine. Dad thought he might have been able to do that miracle too, just like Jesus but he just couldn’t make it happen. But as we sat outside on a warm night we were able to share and discuss the power and miracles of Jesus and that same power is still available today.

Afterwards we all scoffed Toby’s dessert – which was still jelly & ice cream but we did have a hint of healthy food with some fruit salad.

Well done Lily and Toby on a great fun family night.

Moses and the burning craft

Bunny ears

This week was Toby’s turn to lead ‘Super Family Bible Night’ and he was very excited (although totally unprepared). After sifting through the Children’s bible stories about 6 times he finally came to the story of Moses and the burning bush (I think he like this idea because he could think of an idea for a craft activity). Oh well I guess whatever works for him hey!

I wonder if my burning
bush will burn?

So we sat and read the story of Moses and the burning bush, and Toby asked his set 3 questions that he seems to ask every time he leads 1. What is important about this story? 2. Why is this story in the bible? 3. What prayer points do you have? And the quicker he could get through those questions the quicker he could get to his activity.

His craft activity was cutting out pictures from coloured paper and re-creating a scene from the story. Toby loves being able to do anything involving art – he’s quite talented in the craft area (he doesn’t get this from his mum that’s for sure!!). Although he would have loved to have actually set his craft alight to see whether it really did “burn up” – we decided against that idea. But he loved leading this week and we now have paper craft of Moses and the burning bush hung up around our house. And as you can see from the pics we had a lot of fun too

Why not share your thoughts with us on how your family engages the Bible together we’d love to hear your thoughts & ideas.

For more information on Bible Engagement, Milk to Meat or other blogs go to www.milktomeat.com.au

Boys, boys, boys...

Nought & crosses and 10 commandments

This week was Adam’s turn for Super Family Bible Night, we moved house this week so I’ve uploaded 2 weeks close together. So enjoy this one and also last week’s Samuel in a bunk bed.

Noughts & crosses

Adam started the night with a game of wooden noughts & crosses, the kids and I played against one another and then Adam played Toby. However, when Toby got 2 of his pieces in a row, Adam would change pieces and announce “I WON”, to which Toby would protest “NO you were circles and I was crosses and you just put down a circle, you didn’t win”. So they played again and Adam again put down one of Toby’s pieces, and announcing “I won”. “No” Lily and Toby shouted. “That’s not the rules”. Adam’s reply: “Who said? Who’s rules?” Lily: “That’s not the rules DAD, you can’t play like that. It’s not fair. You need to play the rules” Adam: “Who said?” Lily: extremely frustrated at this point not knowing the answer pulled out the big one “GOD SAID!”

Thankfully, Adam moved on before a brawl started and asked what would life be like with no rules, of which the kids answered “Cool. Amazing. Fun.” Until Adam asked what would soccer be like with no rules? What if someone took off with the ball or punched someone? Toby: “That wouldn’t be fun at all”. To Lily he asked what would ballet be like with no rules, if people could come into class and just dance whatever they liked and didn’t listen to the teacher. Lily: that wouldn’t be nice. Aaaah – point made!

Adam then read through the story of Moses receiving the 10 Commandments from God and what those commandments meant and what they mean to us today. To give us a framework to help us enjoy life instead of anyone being able to do whatever they want. They aren’t just a set of rules but how God wants us to live – to love God and to love others.

Summary: I was quite concerned early on in the night that Lily was going to reach over and soc her dad one for not playing the game by the rules but they certainly understood the point by the end of the night and I don’t think this is one Super family Bible Night they’ll forget.

It's not fair!!

For more ideas and resources on Bible Engagement or to buy Kylie’s ‘Milk to Meat’ book go to www.milktomeat.com.au

Samuel in a bunkbed

This week was my turn for Super Family Bible Night... well actually it was 2 weeks ago but we moved house and I didn’t get a chance to upload the last 2 weeks, so finally here it tis.

This week’s was based on the story of Eli & Samuel, we headed to the kids bedroom to use their bunk beds. I thought it’d be fun for them to swap beds for this drama – but unfortunately drama is what I got! Toby: “I don’t want to be in Lily’s bed – her bed’s pink!” Lily: “I don’t want to be here mum, I want to be in my bed, Toby’s bed stinks!” Mum: “Tough! Lily you’re Eli and you’re on the top bunk. Toby you’re Samuel and you’re on the bottom bunk! End of discussion!” Response: humf – sulk. This was not quite the start I’d planned for Super Family Bible Night, mmm.



Not happy Toby



I read out the story with dad playing the voice of God, and Toby and Lily quite reluctantly playing their part – that was until Lily got to tell Toby to “go back to bed” cause Samuel had woken Eli up 3 times (she enjoyed that part). I think in the end they enjoyed it, even if it was reluctant joy.

Afterwards we played a game of Chinese whispers – I started off and chose the tongue twister “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers”, in reality I should have known better and that was way too much for a 5yo to handle, and it came back to me as “poo, poo, bum, bum”. The kids then wanted their turn but the saying didn’t get much better than “poo poo bum bum”. So it ended soon after that.

We did thankfully have some interesting conversations about it means to listen to God and different ways that we can hear from God, which the kids really got into. So was it a successful night – well they keep asking to play Chinese Whispers again – is that a success??? I’m not so sure!

Cheeky Chinese Whispers

Moses and the parting of the bath

Tonight was Lily’s turn for Super Family Bible Night and boy was she excited! She’d been looking forward to this night all week. There were a lot of secret talks happening between daddy and Lily as they began their preparations, Toby & I weren’t allowed to venture past the lounge room until they were ready.

Suddenly there was a ring of a bell and we were all ushered into the bathroom – mmm... just what did our little girl have in store for us?

The room was dark, with candles lit all around and we were instructed to take our shoes off and sit in that bath (decided this was not a good option in clothes so opted to sit on the side of the bath J). And so in the dim light of the candles Super Family Bible Night began – we read the story of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt. Adam read the story, and Lily pointed out that the candles were the pillar of fire that led the Israelites at night, and that the bath water was the red sea. Lily tried so very hard to part the red sea (bath water) but much to her dismay it just wouldn’t stay parted. Toby was imagined himself walking along the bottom of the ocean and pictured himself reaching his hand into the side of the wall of water grabbing a shark or starfish out with his bare hands. “How awesome would that be mum, I could have my own shark!”. (mmm I’m not happy that he’s saving his pocket money for a pet Gecko so the thought of having a pet shark.... NO!)

Lily did a great job, very creative to have us all in the bath for this night – and even thinking of the candles – she’s really outdone herself this week! However,  more than once I was very worried that we’d all end up soaked from the bath water. But thankfully we all left the bath relatively dry and memories of a fun night together!