Food For Thought

I help serve the Kids' Ministry at our church, which I just love. Kids are hilarious! They're great company and come up with such fun ways of looking at things. They say weird and wonderful things. I enjoy watching them be kind to a friend in the room, without anyone else seeing it happen. I like all their different little quirks. I like the predictability of what they are going to play with each week, and when they catch themselves doing something new or out of character. I love the sound of them laughing, just carefree and usually happy just being themselves. We can learn a lot from children, and how they do life. 

I enjoy making Bible stories fun for them, in order for them to grasp a little of the lavish and exuberant character of God. I especially enjoy seeing how we can link the teaching, however tenuous, to a food-craft based activity. It is something I have implemented at home a lot, with my own children. I want them to quite literally, "taste and see that the Lord is good" (Psalm 34v8) 

My favourite go-to edible item, is usually a waffle. They're pretty versitile. You can make a window, a Bible, a harp, an envelope, and a fish to name but a few. I'm sharing them on my Insta page this week. Some of them are terrible, but kids don't seem to mind.

Occassionally, I am stumped for a food-craft to link to the Bible teaching, (and rightly so probably). Last term our theme was, "Jesus, He did what?!",  looking at Jesus' miracles. We replicated the story of when Peter cut a soldier's ear off, and Jesus made it better, with rice crackers (ears), strawberry sauce (blood) and a sword (chocolate fingers). But when it was the story of the woman who had suffered with menstural bleeding for 12 years, we thought it better, to just make toast that week. (Although you could say she was healed by the Bread of Life. See what I did there?!)

This morning was an easy one; the Fruit of the Spirit. I mean it's right there in the title. "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law". (Galatians v22-23) They had to make a picture, using pieces of cut up apple, banana, melon, peach and pineapple. Some kids were really creative, and some couldn't care less, just munching their way through an A4 piece of paper, covered in fruit. We talked about how plants need light and water to grow. Seeing as Jesus is referred to as Living Water, and the Light of the world, the closer we are to Him, the more these fruits will grow in us. (I also said that children were one of the main ways which cause/help their mums to grow in patience!) At home, we have chatted through Joseph's coat of many colours, using fruit too. It's healthy, and feeds them, as well as 'feeding them' Bible truths, which is of course, really healthy.

One of the kids, during the teaching today was on a roll. He suggested instead of Peacefulness, as one of the Fruits of the Spirit, we should say 'Peachfulness'. Just amazing. He also said we should be full of 'Grapefulness'. Yes!! He really had it all fig-ured out.