but what does it mean?

I know, from working with my own children {as well as with some adults that grew up with no basic knowledge of God}, that sometimes the terms we use leave our children {and others} completely lost and confused… but often not able to articulate what they do not understand.

A few of these questions can be as basic as:

1. What does it mean to be “saved”?

and

2. How does Jesus come into our hearts?

I originally wrote about those [here].

We often throw around this term of being saved… and having Everlasting Life. But what does that mean? Even now, as a saved, “born again” adult… could you explain it?

my precious girls… in 2011

Jesus will only save you or come into your heart if you ask Him to.

But how?

Children are often quite literal. 🙂 Is there a little chair inside our bodies that Jesus will come sit in?

No, we understand Jesus wants to become a part of our life and help us in our mind to choose to do right instead of wrong; He wants to help us become more like Himself: full of love for God and others.

But often those unfamiliar with God and church and Christianity do not understand that.

Very simply: we can teach our children that He can help us think good thoughts and be nice to others. He can help us be strong enough to help others {such as a younger brother or sister} choose to do right, too.

…Read a little more about explaining these terms.

some Scripture reading: John 3:1-21 and Acts 2:21 & 10:13; 16:30-33.

some day they will need to KNOW how to hold God’s hand

first-things-first

by tascha

first-things-first

As my older children get older and my younger ones come up, I have come to realize that I forget.

I forget that my youngest hasn’t fully learned/comprehended things my older ones know. I realize that I sometimes take for granted that all my kids understand just because some of them do.

I know I only have 4 children, but with 7 years between the oldest and youngest… I often forget that I’ve not been as consistent at teaching my youngest. {does that make any sense?} [My husband is much better at teaching them!]

kids2

from Deuteronomy 11:

18 ~Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 19~And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20~And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates:

We canNOT stop teaching our children truths of God…

NOT STOP!

This blog was born out of a desire to share, with whomever wanted to read, things I was learning as a young wife and mother…

And this is one thing I’m learning:

Do NOT stop reminding your children the truths of God,
even if they “already know that, mom.”

I’m glad my mom didn’t stop, even when I felt she was redundant {because don’t all 14 year olds know everything?} 🙂

Several years ago, I found several blogs that were aged women sharing truths they learned …[as Scripture commands].

And I was so grateful!

And I want to share what I am learning, as I learn it, so maybe I won’t forget it 🙂

Now that I’ve begun Bible Journaling, I have a renewed spirit to learn and teach and grow!

So, back to first-things-first: WE [parents] MUST teach our children: GOD IS.

Our children will not automatically know God
just because we do.

He is real.

Jesusis

This FACT is a fundamental of our faith in Him.

It’s the FIRST…

signature

A coloring page… [FREE] for you! {1}

by tascha | 12 comments

So, I know I said “next post” would be more from Psalm/James…

but because a friend asked… and my children like when I remember 🙂

And because I needed to draw another one since my original was made into a bookmark and given as a gift {to a very special lady 🙂 }…

I drew this as a gift for you.

If you download this, I would LOVE for you to leave a comment and let me know!!

Right Click the image and SAVE LINK AS to download a print-ready-PDF

And after you’ve colored it… you can share it on my FACEBOOK page or tag me on INSTAGRAM [@tascha @designing31]!!

a step-by-step {patience}

by tascha | 4 comments

a step-by-step {patience}

As I was sketching this one out, I had the idea to take a photo every few steps into the process and post them!

I don’t know if this will be a help to anyone trying to jump into Bible Journaling, but I pray so. 🙂

I apologize that it is all very light, but I sketch lightly in pencil to make erasing more simple.

First I wrote out the words, trying to figure out a pleasing layout [on a scratch paper]

you can see I started with just the first part of the verse…

…but I realized that I really needed the whole verse….
Patience will leave me “wanting nothing”… that’s important!

pencil sketch2

Then I figured out margins… to help me stay on track and not get too close to one edge or the other.

I wanted flowers on both sides… so I needed to move everything over a little bit 🙂

Here’s my margins and word-guides drawn.

lines:margins

You can see some are wider than others… to accommodate the different sized letters I’d already sketched.

Then I lightly sketched the words… in this shifted over space:

wordsonly If you notice the bottom 2 lines… they shift even more when I pen them, because sometimes, that happens 🙂

I like those thin petaled flowers {though I’m not sure how realistic they are}:

Lflowers

They are just a small circle with thin petals coming out… I turn my page as I draw them to make it more comfortable for my wrist.

and sometimes, there are mistakes that won’t get penned 🙂

Then I drew large “blades of grass”

Then I added other flowers: just long lines with circles lining it OR a swirly circle…

very simple, but has a fun look when you’re done.

on the swirly flowers I marked on the stem where I wanted it to stop when I penned over it

then I added a few flowers and “grass blades” on the other side:

and some more lines that are smaller ‘grass’

and now the banner with the reference

{I have numbered them, but they will not appear in order–I apologize}:

You should be able to click each photo and see it larger

: ~ 1 ~

: ~ 2 ~

: ~ 3 ~

: ~ 7 ~

: ~ 6 ~

: ~ 4 ~

: ~ 5 ~

Just one more little detail, since the top seemed… empty:

just a swirly line, very simple

and here’s the finished pencil-sketch:

and… PENNED, with a Sharpie Pen

allpenned close up of how the last 2 lines got penned a little differently than the pencil:

because sometimes, it’s necessary

here it is… all penned, erased and ready for coloring!

[you can download and color it for yourself!]

Right Click and SAVE LINK AS and you can download to color!

and all colored:

I would love to know if you found this helpful… and if you download and color your own! 🙂