GIVE US THIS DAY OUR DAILY BREAD

Bread is a wonderful thing. It is a delicious food, and can be eaten any time of the day or night.

When mom or dad or our guardian or the clever bakers make bread, my, the lovely scent of fresh bread can make us feel hungry!

Well, Jesus loved bread too. Almighty God the Creator had come up with an amazing Plan, so wonderful that the angels cheered in heaven when they heard it.

He made a little seed, a grain. Then when this tiny kernel was pushed into the ground (which, by the way, God ALSO invented!) it popped up through the soil.

It grew green things which God explained to the angels were leaves.

These leaves took the carbon dioxide which we breath out, changed it to oxygen and pushed the clean oxygen out so we could breathe fresh air safely and stay healthy.

What a clever plan. Then when the plant grew tall, it made many many grains. These could be picked by us, God explained, and ground, and baked to make a delicious bread which everyone would enjoy eating.

God always likes to look after us. Well, Jesus took the bread holy God had made possible for us to grow and bake and eat, and made it into an ever bigger blessing. The bread was blessed by Jesus in a special way to become holy communion for us all to eat.

Jesus turned humble bread into holy communion, when He prayed to the Father and then blessed the bread into His holy Self.

This bread is His Body, and helps us to enter everlasting life with Him.

This is a great mystery. 

Jesus taught us to pray in the Our Father for all the things we need every day; for food, shelter, family.

God knows we need Him.

If we are having problems, let us turn to God and pray for all we need.

Let us thank God that He loved us so much that He planned to make us all full sons and daughters of His human family by sending us Jesus to give us the Holy Divine Bread.

How great is God! 

Children, why not watch the great story of how Jesus made the first Holy Communion. This He did at The Last Supper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=997ni1xcmKw 

And colour in a beautiful picture 

http://www.supercoloring.com/pages/the-last-supper-by-leonardo-da-vinci

With thanks to Youtube and supercoloring.com

Angel appears to Shepherds

With thanks to the Flannelboard Artist

AND LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION BUT DELIVER US FROM EVIL

Jesus helps His mom; an obedient Child

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, Amen.

Jesus teaches us in the Our Father prayer that sometimes we can feel like doing things that can hurt ourselves or other people.

This is not right.

As a child of God, we must try to only do good things.

So we ask God to help us.

There is a very naughty spirit called the devil who does not like God or Jesus, and is happy when we do naughty things.

We pray that we will only do good things.

We also ask God to protect us from anything that can hurt us.

  

God has given each of us a special guardian angel, and this angel helps us to choose to do good things.

At the end of the prayer we say Amen, which means 'So be it.'

THY WILL BE DONE ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN

God is so wonderful.

He makes a special plan for each one of us when He makes our special soul and gifts us to our parents.

When Jesus was a little boy, his mother Mary and his earthly father Joseph taught Him how to pray.

The beautiful picture shows us Jesus' wonderful mother Mary teaching Jesus how to pray from the Torah, the Old Testament.

The Old Testament is the great Word of God. 

Just the same as any of us, Jesus had to learn how to do things. 

As a baby, He had to learn to crawl and walk. He had to learn how to talk. And He had to learn how to pray.

It is all very exciting that Jesus had to learn the same things as us.

It means that Jesus came to show us the way to being very holy - by learning and doing things as best we can for the glory of God.

It does not matter how talented or clever we are - every person is perfect, just as they are. And so very, very loved by God.

When Jesus teaches us to pray for God's Will to be done, He leads us to pray that we will follow God's great Plan for us.

God only wants the best for us - as little girls and boys, let us pray to God to help us only do good, as we obey His Will.

Pray this prayer, 

"Dear Daddy God, thank you for making me special.

Thank you for loving me.

Please help me with all the things that happen in my life.

Thank you for when I feel happy, and please help me when I am sad. Amen."

BABY JESUS IS BORN

The great ruler in Italy called the Emperor ordered all people to write their names on a list in the town were they were born.

Mary and Joseph and Baby Jesus under Mary's heart went to Bethlehem.
This was because they came from the family of King David, and Bethlehem was the city of David.

Bethlehem was full of travellers. 
The inns were all full of visitors from all over Israel who had come to write their names on the list, which is called the census.
There was no place for Joseph and Mary and Baby Jesus under Mary's heart at the inns.

Mary and Joseph were terribly worried, because Baby Jesus was ready to be born and they needed a place for Him to be safe and comfortable.

All turned out well, because they found shelter in a stable.
Baby Jesus was safely born.

God was so pleased, He made great celebrations.
A beautiful star shone over the stable.
Three great kings from the East came to honour Jesus.
All the angels sang in honour of Baby Jesus, God's own Son.
Shepherds came to visit the new Baby.

Mary wrapped Baby Jesus in comfortable cloths, and placed Him to sleep in a manger.
The animals breathed gently, keeping the stable warm.
Everybody was happy.
And we, too, are happy that Jesus was born to be our great Saviour.

Why don't you colour in a lovely picture of the Nativity, Jesus' Birth? See link 

http://www.bible-printables.com/Coloring-Pages/Christmas/ 

And watch the story of the Nativity at the link; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YijgnaGk2Us

With thanks to bible-printables.com/ mormonchannel.org 

BABY JESUS

God made a great miracle. 

God sent Angel Gabriel to visit Mary and to ask her to be the Mother of Jesus.

Gabriel told Mary the exciting news that Jesus would be God's   Son, and King over everybody.

Mary was so excited.

She said yes, she would be Jesus' mother.

And so God's Holy Spirit made a miracle; Jesus, God's Son, became Man under her heart.

WHAT IS A TABERNACLE?

A Priest celebrates Benediction in front of a Tabernacle

In some churches there is a beautiful place for the blessed bread of Jesus' Eucharist to be kept safely.

Often a red light burns beside it, to tell us that Jesus is present.

The Christian Tabernacle reminds us of wonderful Jewish times, when Moses pitched a tent for the people of Israel during their long journey through the desert.

This tent was where the Ark of the Covenant was kept. 

The Ark of the Covenant was a sacred golden box with beautiful angels decorating it.  

The Ten Commandments were placed inside the Ark.

A plate of the holy manna bread and Aaron's rod was placed before it. 

The Tabernacle in Moses' time was a tent-sanctuary.

Sanctuary means a shelter.

  

We love Jesus in the shelter of our hearts.

Deep within each of us is a special place where we can feel love. 

We call this our heart.

Let us love Jesus and God very much in this special place in our hearts.

We can make a shelter of love inside our hearts for God.

This is a wonderful thing, and makes God - and us - very happy.

We thus become a shelter for the Lord.

JESUS CALMS THE STORM

Jesus was getting very tired. 

It was hard work, going around the countryside, healing people and helping them with all their problems. 

Also Jesus often often spent many hours in prayer to God the Father, to get His Advice on how to help people. 

Jesus spoke with Moses and Elijah from time to time, getting their advice too. 

So all the hours of work and prayer led to Jesus not getting enough sleep, and sometimes getting very tired.

This day the sun was getting low in the horizon, and it was evening.

Jesus knew that they had to go to the other side of the lake to be ready to help people on that side the next day.

He told the disciples, 'Let's go over to the other side.'

The disciples took Jesus on board.

There were other boats with them.

The boats set sail for the other side. 

Jesus was so tired that he got a cushion, put it under his head, and lay down at the back of the boat; the stern. 

He immediately fell asleep, and the disciples busied themselves sailing the boat.

The disciples started to become nervous when the night fell, and dark clouds started to boil in the sky. 

The lake waters became choppy and rough, and soon freezing cold rain fell in sheets from the sky.  

The disciples sailing the boat looked at the storm which had blown up on the lake, and became very afraid. 

They had often sailed on the lake, and were used to it. 

But this storm was so bad that it battered the boat. 

Water started to fill the boat, and the boat started to sink into the waves. 

Jesus was so exhausted that He did not hear the roaring of the waves, or feel the water slapping over the side of the boat onto Him. 

The disciples woke Jesus from His very deep sleep. 

Jesus was groggy, shook His Head and looked about Him. 

Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and some of the disciples were coughing because the rain had thrown lake water into their faces. 

They shouted at Jesus, 'Teacher, don't you care if we drown?'

Jesus got up from the stern, and spoke to the wind and the waves; 'Quiet! Be still.' 

The wind went quiet. The rain stopped. 

The lake water became quiet. 

The disciples couldn't believe it!

Jesus was so powerful He could command nature!

Then Jesus said to the disciples, 'Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?'

Jesus said this to them because the disciples had seen the very great miracles Jesus had done.

He wondered why they did not believe that even while He was sleeping He had the power as God's Son, to keep them all safe from drowning.

This miracle of Jesus has shown us that we need never be afraid.

Even if things in our life seem to be going very badly, Jesus is watching out for us. 

Jesus is very, very great.

Why not colour in this lovely picture of Jesus calming the storm.

http://www.sermons4kids.com/jesus-calms-storm-colorpg.htm 

And watch the story at this link;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyzwCpofQSA 

With thanks to sermons4kids.com and youtube.

LITTLE BABY JESUS IS BORN

A Big Star twinkled in the heavens. 

The animals breathed gently, keeping the stable warm. And little Baby Jesus was born. 

Mother Mary cuddled Him happily; her little Boy was born at last. Joseph smiled tenderly at Mary and Jesus. 

He kept close eye on the stable door, making sure that the precious Mother and Child would be always kept safe by Him. 

Baby Jesus was made comfortable in swaddling bands, special bands of cloth wrapped around Him by Mary.

Mary laid Baby Jesus in the manger. 

There He slept cosily, happy to be born at last. 

In the meantime, the Great Angel appeared to the shepherds in the fields, where they kept careful watch to protect their flocks of sheep and lambs.

Many other Angels appeared in the skies, glowing with radiant light. 

They sang joyfully the song they had so carefully practised since they heard the amazing news that God was going to send His Son to earth. 

The song was, 'Glory to God in the Highest, and peace to His People on earth.'

The Angels sent the shepherds to see the beautiful Baby Jesus in the stable. The shepherds came down from the fields and hills to the stable door. 

Joseph stood protectively in front of Mary and the Baby until he was sure the shepherds were safe people to let into the stable.

Then the shepherds - whose sheep and lambs had followed them to the stable - knelt before Jesus. 

A baby lamb peeked shyly around one young shepherd to look at the wonderful Baby. 

And great joy had come to us all on earth - our Saviour had been born.

Children, why not colour in a picture of the Nativity - the Nativity means the Birth of Jesus Christ.  

http://www.supercoloring.com/pages/shepherds-come-to-see-baby-jesus 

Here is a story of the Birth of Jesus in the stable in Bethlehem.

http://www.mormonchannel.org/bible-videos?v=2893093383001 

With thanks to supercoloring.com and mormonchannel.org

Jesus Heals a Man with a Withered Hand; Colouring In Page

Children, Jesus did a wonderful thing. 
He met a man whose hand did not work and had withered. Jesus healed the man with the withered hand, making his hand whole and able to work properly again. 
Jesus made a miracle, a wonderful change on earth that only God and God's Son can do.
Why not colour in the page by going to this website which has a lovely picture of Kind Jesus healing a sick person.
http://www.supercoloring.com/pages/jesus-heals-a-man-with-a-withered-hand 

How amazing is the Lord Jesus, God's own Son.

Shepherd

With thanks to the Flannelboard Artist

Mother Mary and Jesus

With thanks to the Flannelboard Artist

Jesus

With thanks to the Flannelboard Artist

AND FORGIVE US OUR TRESPASSES, AS WE FORGIVE THOSE WHO TRESPASS AGAINST US

Jesus forgave the Penitent Thief his sins

"And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us"

 Little children, everyone makes mistakes. 

God teaches us that we make mistakes, and we need to be sorry when we cause hurt to ourselves and others through our mistakes.

Then we must start again, because God forgives us when we say sorry.

Thereafter let us try very hard not to make the same mistakes again.

Jesus also tells us in the Our Father prayer that other people will also make mistakes.

As God forgives us our mistakes, let us forgive others who hurt us.

This is behaving as a true child of God.

It is not always easy to forgive others. When we do this great thing, it means letting go of our own hurt, which is sometimes very hard to do.

It is especially hard to let go of hurt and our anger at being badly treated, when we are still suffering from the results of the unkind act of another.

However, this is the way we become like Jesus, the Son of God.

This is the way we become Christ-like.

Jesus was so wonderful that as He was dying on the cross, He forgave the poor soldiers who had nailed Him there.

He knew they were stuck in a horrible job they hated and were killing people because they had grown up in a violent society, and their mommies and daddies had not taught them not to kill people.

So He said to God, please forgive them Father, because they know not what they do.

Of course what they did not know was that they were killing God's own Son, and this was a terrible thing to do.

He knew when they came to be judged by God in heaven, they would be simply horrified to know just how bad a deed this was.

So Jesus just stopped the whole big problem right there and then, by saying, please forgive them.

Jesus also forgave the sins of the man dying on the cross next to him. Jesus promised the repentant man that he would be in paradise with him that very day. What a great promise.

The man had done terrible things in his life, but repented at the last.

And Jesus forgave Him. What a great God of forgiveness we have, and what an example of beautiful love and forgiveness Jesus is.

Let us try to be more like Jesus.

If there is anyone you need to forgive today, pray the Our Father:

"Our Father, Who art in heaven,

Hallowed be Thy Name:

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy Will be done,

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread,

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those who trespass against us,

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For Thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever, Amen."

Jesus taught us to forgive over and over again. As God forgives us our sins, we must forgive others.

This is a wonderful teaching. We let go of our hurt and anger, and are free to be happy again.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for this great teaching.

HOLY WATER

Many Christian Churches use holy water. 

This special water is used by Christians to bless themselves with the sign of the Cross in honour of Jesus, the Son of God. 

The water is also used to bless the Church and Christian houses, to make sure these places are made holy for God's work. 

Holy Water reminds us of the Red Sea waters through which the people of Israel passed before they could enter Israel, the Promised Land.

The water reminds us of the water of baptism which starts us on the road to God's Kingdom.

Little children, when we are blessed with Holy Water, we are protected from the naughty spirit, called the devil.

We also remember the great Prophet Ezekiel, who said, 'The Lord God says this . . . I will sprinkle clean water over you and you will be cleansed.' (Ezekiel 36/22,25).

Ask your mommy or daddy or guardian to take you to a church, where you can get some holy water in a bottle.

Then bless yourself with the holy water in the sign of the cross, praying, "In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen."

Shake some holy water in your house to bless your house as belonging to God.

If you are ever scared, and want to ask God to protect you very specially, have your holy water with you. Bless yourself with the holy water.

God gives us blessings such as holy water to keep us safe, and help us become holy.

God bless you all, little children. May you all be kept safe and holy, and reach heaven where we will all meet one day and worship around the Throne of Almighty God.

The Good Shepherd

With thanks to the Flannelboard Artist

THE GOOD SHEPHERD (2)

What does a shepherd do? In the morning, he takes his rod and staff, his sling and stones.

No shepherd drives his sheep; he calls them to follow him.

The shepherd knows each sheep and lamb personally, and every one of their names.

They trust him because they known he looks after them, and will save them from danger.

The shepherd protects the sheep at all times. There are two dangers from which the shepherd must specially protect his sheep.

The first is poisonous plants.

The sheep does not know when a poisonous plant is not good grass.

If the sheep tries to eat the poisonous plant, the shepherd calls the sheep by name.

If the sheep ignores the shepherd's warning, the shepherd puts a stone in his sling and sends it flying under the sheep's nose without hurting it; to stop it eating the dangerous plant.

The shepherd also saves the sheep from snakes.

The snakes lie hidden and almost completely covered in sandy hollows.

The shepherd walking in front of the sheep moves the sand round with the crook's end where snakes may be hiding.

If he finds a snake, he keeps the sheep away from it.

In the evening, when the sun sets and the stars start to twinkle in the sky, the shepherd returns with his sheep to the fold, the sheep's safe home.

The shepherd calls each of them to him to turn, and holds his crook level with the ground.

The shepherd lets each sheep jump over the crook.

This shows the shepherd if any sheep is tired or lame.

The shepherd refreshes the tired sheep by pouring oil on their heads and soothing their hurts by rubbing oil into cuts and scratches.

After that, the shepherd fills a large, two-handled bowl to the top with cool water from a cistern which he always makes sure is full.

The shepherd kindly begins with the hurt or tired sheep, and gives them each a lovely cool drink of water.

They are so happy, and baa as they drink.

The shepherd refills the bowl after the sheep has drunk the water, so that none of the sheep need to strain to reach the water.

All the sheep thus have a cup that 'runneth over.'

The shepherd protects the sheep from wolves or robbers who could hurt the sheep.

So, King David was writing about God being the Great Shepherd, and we his human family are like His beloved sheep whom He cares for.

The great Son of God Jesus told us He is the Good Shepherd. 

This means that He tenderly cares for each of us, babies, girls and boys as tenderly as a good shepherd cares for his flock.

Psalm 23 is a blessed Psalm to pray . 

THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David

The Lord is my Shepherd . . .

Many, many years ago a little shepherd boy lived in Israel.

He used to run around the rocky hills near Bethlehem, playing with his sling and looking after the sheep and lambs.

He was a very brave little boy, and loved God with his whole heart and soul.

And God loved him too.

The little boy's name was David.

David became the King of Israel when he was older.

God has great love for shepherds and shepherdesses who spend much time praying to Him, and gently care for the sheep and lambs that need them.

King David wrote beautiful poetry and prayer called the Psalms. 

He wrote Psalm 23, which we love to pray. 

It goes like this;

"The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures; near still waters He leads me.

He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake.

Yes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, no evil will I fear;

For You are with me, and Your rod and staff they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever."

Little children, pray this beautiful Psalm from time to time. Pray in the morning when you get up, to thank God for the beautiful new day.

Pray at night before you go to sleep, asking God to keep you safe through the night.

And pray the beautiful Psalm of David sometimes, remembering how wonderful our God is.

God bless you all, little children.

Give us this day our daily bread

Jesus teaches us to pray in the Our Father for all the things we need everyday; food, shelter, family.
  God knows we need Him.
  If we are having problems, let us turn to God and pray for all we need. 

Image by Catherine Nicolette

Nativity Scene

With thanks to the Flannelboard Artist

Little Children, why not make a Nativity Scene? It's exciting, and fun!

With thanks to the Flannelboard Artist

LITTLE CHILDREN, WHY NOT MAKE A NATIVITY SCENE? IT'S EXCITING, AND FUN!
  TO MAKE YOUR NATIVITY SCENE OR CHRISTMAS CRIB, YOU WILL NEED;
- Paper
- Cardboard
- Shoebox with lid
- Blunt paper scissors
- Wood glue or ordinary glue
- Straw
- Cotton wool

Or;
- Sand
- Water
- A spoon or your hands to mix the sand and water into mud to model your figures
- Sunshine to dry the mud or clay

To make the Shoebox Christmas crib;
Ask your mommy, daddy or your carer to use the computer and print paper dolls which are free to use (the link is below).
    Let them help you to cut out the paper dolls of Joseph and Mary, the Baby Jesus, the 3 Kings, the Angel, the Shepherd and the sheep.   Use a paper scissors with a blunt edge, and only cut them out with your mommy, daddy or carer. 
  Never use scissors yourself without someone helping you, scissors can hurt you if you are not careful. Keep the scissors away from your eyes.

 Then get a cardboard shoe box. Turn the bottom part of the shoebox on its side. Line the bottom with straw, and put in little bits of cotton wool to show there was snow and it was cold. 
  Cover the outside of the box with brown paper, or Christmas paper, or paper from a magazine. 
  If you are in a squatter camp or refugee camp, you can use any magazine you can get if possible.

  Paste the pictures on cardboard, making sure there is a bit extra on the bottom so that you can stick it on the bottom of the shoebox crib. Stick the figures into position in the shoebox. 
  Cut the two parts of the shoebox lid in half, make them into a roof and stick them together. Cover them. 
  Then stick the Angel over the top of the Crib. 
  And you have a wonderful Christmas crib.

  The Baby Jesus was born to bring us good news that we have been saved and that He wants us to lead good lives and be good girls and boys. 
  Then He wants us to be happy with Him forever in Heaven.  This is joyful news. 
  Let us be really good and kind, and go out of our way to be wonderful people. 
  That is the way God wants us to be.

  You can put your Christmas crib in front of a Christmas tree, in the corner of your room, or at the front of your house or shack in the window.

To make the mud figures Christmas crib;
  If you are in a squatter camp or refugee camp, and can't get the things you need to make the Christmas crib, well why not do what my brother and I did when we were little children in Welkom. 
  We went out into the back yard where there was a lot of dry sand. We mixed the sand with water till it became mud. Then we modelled a Joseph, Mary and a baby Jesus in a crib. 
  We left them out in the sun to dry. When they were dry we brought them indoors and used them as our crib. 
  They were great fun to make and we were very proud of them. Best of all, they reminded us of the wonderful gift Mary had brought to us from God; our very own Brother and favourite Friend, Jesus Christ.

  Have a happy Christmas! 

21 Free Christmas Printables
http://smartgirlsdiy.com/2013/12/21-free-nativity-printables/ 

Christmas Ideas 
http://www.designdazzle.com/

The Kitchen Madonna - this is a lovely book!

Photo of my lovely book - why not get one yourself?

Oh children, the book 'The Kitchen Madonna' is such a lovely book.   
  It tells of the story of dear Marta, who came from Ukraine. 
  Gregory, Janet, Mother and Father wanted Marta to be happy, but she was not happy. Why was Marta unhappy? 
  It was Gregory who found out. He asked in his small, quiet way, "What did you have in your kitchen, Marta, that we don't have in ours?"
 
  Marta twisted her hands in her apron, her cheeks flushed deeper red. "You have no 'good place'," she said. It was hard to explain.   "Our Lady and the the Child . . . like picture but more beautiful . . . prickled with gold . . . and stones, pearls, rubies . . ."
  Janet asked, "Real rubies?" but it was Gregory who realised; 
  "She means a sort of icon." 
  And Gregory, the cool and aloof, said to Marta, "Don't cry. I will get you an icon."

   Well. Once Gregory made up his mind to something he was not easily discouraged. 
  Why not read the wonderful story of Marta and the Kitchen Madonna icon. 
  Your Mommy, Daddy or guardian can get the book for you at any of the following links.
  I have the one with the beautiful illustrations of Carol Barker.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1196021.The_Kitchen_Madonna
or
http://www.amazon.com/The-Kitchen-Madonna-Rumer-Godden/dp/1932350233
 or 
http://www.ignatius.com/Products/KM-H/kitchen-madonna.aspx
or
http://www.christianbook.com/the-kitchen-madonna-rumer-godden/9781932350234/pd/232023

Image photograph of book, with thanks to 'The Kitchen Madonna'