milk & honey mamas

Story contributed by Kristen

Click here for the theological background of John 2-4.

Remember, repetition helps children internalize and make connections. It might be a good idea to read the same story every day for a week. You can add different activities every day.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” – John 3:16

What is a miracle? Have you heard that word before? Try tasting it on your tongue to see how it feels. Mi-ra-cle. How does it taste?

A miracle is something special, something extraordinary, something that helps us see how close God is. Miracles are waterfalls and new babies and mother’s milk and bird’s eggs and fox’s hidden dens.

Sometimes miracles are invisible. We can’t see flowers spreading their roots underground or mice digging their homes in the forest ground. So sometimes we miss miracles. But other times, God helps us open our eyes and look in just the right place and then we see! We see the glorious truth: life is throbbing underneath what looks like death.

Jesus loved to help people open their eyes to see life. It was one of his very favorite things to do, and when he was on the earth he did it all the time. Do you want to hear a story about what he did to help people see? Here it is.

Water to Wine

One day, Jesus was in a place called Cana. He was at a wedding, a huge happy celebration.

Maybe there was great food (Mime eating food, ask what food the kids think there was) Maybe there was music and dancing (Imagine what kind of music? Dance with your kids!)

There were lots of people there, and everyone was having a great time. But then, something happened. The wedding family ran out of wine!

What if we were having a huge party and we realized we were out of pizza? We would be so worried! What if people were hungry? That’s what happened to this family. And back then, it was a really big deal if you didn’t have enough drinks for your guests. It was going to be really bad for this family.

Well, good news. Mary was there! Remember Mary? She is the brave mother of Jesus. Mary noticed what was happening, and she knew she needed to help. So, she went over to Jesus and she said, “my son, we need your help. We are running out of wine.”

Now why do you think she went to Jesus for help? Maybe because she knew that Jesus was God’s beloved son, and that he had come to earth to help and love people. And Jesus said, “Mother dear, I want to help you. But do you think this is the right place for me to show who I am?”

Mary thought for a minute and then she said, “Jesus, I think that it’s always a good time to help people.”

So, Jesus rolled up his sleeves, and he went over to some special pots that the Jewish people used, and he asked some friends for help filling them up with water. And here’s where the miracle happened.

Once the jars were filled, Jesus said, now let’s fill everyone’s glasses so no one is thirsty! And guess what? Out of the jars came not water, but wine. Wow!

What do you think happened? 

Nicodemus: Becoming New

Well after the wedding, some people were starting to think that maybe Jesus was exactly who they had been waiting and praying for. Maybe he was the Son of God! Other people started thinking, “Hey, who does this person think he is?”

One person who was wondering about Jesus was someone very powerful. His name was Nicodemus, and he was a ruler of the Jewish people and an expert on religious law. That means that he knew a lot and a lot of people knew who he was.

Nicodemus was watching Jesus, and he kept thinking about the miracles he saw Jesus working, like how the water turned to wine at the wedding. But he was really nervous, because he didn’t want to get in trouble with the people who were worried about Jesus.

So one night, way past bedtime, Nicodemus got out of his bed and put his slippers on and closed his front door very quietly and went to the place where Jesus was staying. And he knocked on the door and said, “please, can I talk to you for a bit?”

And Jesus opened his door wide and said, “Of course, come on in.”

And Nicodemus said, “I’ve been thinking about how you turned water into wine. And I believe that no one could do that unless God was with them. But I am not sure who you really are.”

And Jesus smiled, and he put his arm around Nicodemus, and he said, “My friend, let me tell you something. All life is a miracle. And the way we can see miracles is by coming close to Father and Mother God and letting them wash us with water and make us new again.”

And Nicodemus didn’t quite understand. He said, “Wait, how can we be new again? We can only be tiny babies one time, and then we grow up!”

And Jesus said, “Ah ha, now you see! Becoming new happens inside your heart. It happens when you let my love fill you up, like water fills up a river. Because Mother and Father God love us so much that they sent me here to earth, to help hearts be new again.”

What do you think Nicodemus thought of that? What do you think?

The Woman at the Well

After talking to Nicodemus, Jesus continued journeying. His next stop was a place that most other Hebrew people did not like to go to: Samaria.

Samaria was a land that had some different religious traditions, and other Israelite people were very upset with the people who lived there. They thought Samaritans weren’t very good people—in fact, they tried to go around Samaria so they wouldn’t have to go through it. (Could action play going around Samaria rather than going through it).

But Jesus went through Samaria.

Why do you think he did that?

Well, as Jesus was traveling through Samaria he got really thirsty. So, so, soooo thirsty. Have you ever been really thirsty? How does it feel?

Well, Jesus really needed a drink of water. He started looking for a place to get a drink.

Now, back in Israel there weren’t water bottles or drinking fountains or restaurants with icy cold glasses of water. People—mostly women—had to bring water up from inside the ground. They used wells, and they had to work really hard to lower buckets down into the well and then pull the heavy water up.

Pretty soon Jesus came to a well, and there was a woman there drawing water. Jesus hurried over, hoping he could get a drink. He said, “Hello, could you please help me get a drink?”

The woman was so surprised she nearly fell off the well!

She said, “You are a Jew! Jews don’t ever talk to Samaritans, but you are a Jew and you’re talking to me!”

And Jesus said, “My friend, I am here to talk to everyone. I am here to fill your heart with the water of life.”

The woman said, “What is the water of life?”

Jesus smiled at her, and he reached out his hand, and he said, “that’s a great question. When you drink the water from the well, you will get thirsty again. But when you drink the living water that can fill up your heart, you never have to be thirsty inside again. Because living water, water inside your heart, comes from God. And God wants to fill us up.”

What do you think Jesus meant by that? What things fill up your heart? 

Ideas for Play

Contributed by Kristen

Miracles

• Looking for miracles: go outside, either to a park/backyard or on a nature walk, and notice “invisible” things. Notice the tiny miracles.
  
  
• Drawing miracles: what are some miracles in your life? Draw, paint, or write them down.
  
  

• Act out the wedding at Cana and the miracle. Use felt, wooden, or paper characters (see resources ideas for play) and let children act out the story. Try to resist the urge to have them tell/replay it correctly—just let them explore and make connections.
  
  
  

• Watch Waiting on a Miracle from Encanto and discuss. What does Mirabel mean by a miracle? What is she hoping for? What does Jesus mean by a miracle?
  
  

• Read “The Night of the Wedding” in The Moments with Jesus Encounter Bible (see resources tab)
  
  
  

Becoming New

• Write down John 3:16 and discuss. What does Jesus mean? What does this mean to you? Color/draw/decorate the scripture and display as you work on memorizing (If you choose) 
  
  

• Play with making these new on the outside (dirty to clean stations inspired by Coffee Cups and Crayons) and on the inside (use pictures to talk about what helps you go from sad to happy, angry to peaceful, etc.) 
  
  
  

Living Water

• Practice drawing water using buckets (Could attach a rope to make it more like a well. Or you can even try making your own well like this video, here!)

• Act out the story with wooden, felt, or paper characters

• What fills you up inside? Art project (collage, drawing, painting, word wall)

Art

Here are two paintings about the turning of the water into wine to explore with your children. 

The first painting is The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese (1562-1563).

Here are some sample questions you could ask your child as you explore this painting together: 

• Where is Jesus in this painting?
• Why do you think this is Jesus?
• Where is Mary?
• Why are there so many people?
• Which person do you like to look at? Why?
• What colors do you see?
• Who is looking at Jesus?
• Can you find a servant pouring wine?
• Can you find the animals in this painting?
• How would you feel being at this party?
• What do you think it would sound like?
• What do you think it would smell like?
• Where would you want to sit at this big table?
• What’s your favorite part of this painting?

The second painting is Changing the Water into Wine by Fernando Gallego and workshop (circa 1440).

Here are some sample questions to explore with your child:

• How are the two paintings different?
• How are they the same?
• Where is Jesus in this painting?
• Where is Mary in this painting?
• How long do you think it would take to fill up one of those big jugs?
• Why do you think the servants listened to Jesus and worked hard to fill the jugs up?
• What colors do you see in this painting?
• What do you think it would’ve felt like to be in this room?
• What sounds would you hear in this room?
• What would it smell like?
• What’s your favorite part of this painting?
• Which painting do you like better and why? 
  
  
  

Poetry

Compiled by Caroline

Background for parents: This famous poem by Walt Whitman asserts that not only do miracles exist, but that they are interwoven into existence itself. Whitman walks us through some common experiences of his life, but by meditating on them they are suddenly transformed to show us the throbbing presence of God. 

As you read this poem to your child, you could ask them to listen for anything they’ve experienced. Have they felt sand in between their toes? Have they stood under a tree? Have they seen the stars?

Each of these experiences can show us the miracle of being alive in the world. Wonder comes so easily to children that this will probably feel natural to them, but giving them language to understand the depth of these experiences can help them to be more attuned to these daily miracles. 

Miracles

by Walt Whitman

Why, who makes much of a miracle?

As to me I know of nothing else but miracles,

Whether I walk the streets of Manhattan,

Or dart my sight over the roofs of houses toward the sky,

Or wade with naked feet along the beach just in the edge of the water,

Or stand under trees in the woods,

Or talk by day with any one I love, or sleep in the bed at night with any one I love,

Or sit at table at dinner with the rest,

Or look at strangers opposite me riding in the car,

Or watch honey-bees busy around the hive of a summer forenoon,

Or animals feeding in the fields,

Or birds, or the wonderfulness of insects in the air,

Or the wonderfulness of the sundown, or of stars shining so quiet and bright,

Or the exquisite delicate thin curve of the new moon in spring;

These with the rest, one and all, are to me miracles,

The whole referring, yet each distinct and in its place.

To me every hour of the light and dark is a miracle,

Every cubic inch of space is a miracle,

Every square yard of the surface of the earth is spread with the same,

Every foot of the interior swarms with the same.

To me the sea is a continual miracle,

The fishes that swim—the rocks—the motion of the waves—the

        ships with men in them,

What stranger miracles are there?

Music

Compiled by Caroline

Both of these songs are inspired by our scripture of the week—John 3:16. The first is a very upbeat and joyful song by We The Kingdom; the second includes a tiny cutie reading the scripture and is more gentle/childlike in tone. See if your child has a preference! 

There are so many ways to include music that focuses on the scriptures we are currently studying. Listening during daily parts of your routine (cleaning up dinner, driving in the car, getting ready in the morning) or even using it as your scripture study for the day can be easy ways of engaging with the scriptures differently.