milk & honey mamas

Story contributed by Kristen

Click here for the theological background of John 14-17.

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.

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 14:27

I want your help imagining something. I want to go somewhere in our imaginations, somewhere we create. I want to go to the coziest, safest, most comforting place we can think of. Will you help me?

What is it like? How does it feel? 

Sometimes, it is hard to be a person. It is hard to be a grown-up person and it is hard to be a little person. We get hurt, and burned, and broken. Our feelings are hurt, we get left out, we lose people we love, our world changes. Sometimes it feels very scary. In fact, before you were born I was very afraid. I was worried about the hard things you would face in life. I was worried about things being unfair, and painful, and mean. I was afraid for you, because I love you very much and I hurt when you hurt. But before you were born, something happened. I was gazing out the window and thinking about your life. I saw flowers blooming, and a tree bursting into green. And I had a feeling. I had a feeling that I could trust you, because you are brave, and you are good, and you want to be a person on this earth. Even though it is hard, you want to be here, trying, standing up again when you fall. And I want to be there with you, offering my hand.

Long ago, Jesus worried about his friends. He knew they would be very sad when he died, and that they would be confused and afraid. He loved them very much, and he hurt when they hurt. So he prayed to Father and Mother God. And he said,

Dear God, I do not want my friends to be alone. I love them so much, and I know that life can be very hard and scary sometimes. Please, will you comfort them when I am gone?

And God answered Jesus’ prayer. God still answers Jesus’ prayer today. God says, “when you are lost and afraid, take courage. You are not alone. My Spirit will be with you, always with you, and you can find peace.

Jesus told his friends, and they were very thankful, but they wondered what God’s Spirit was. How could they find comfort when things got hard? Jesus waited a long time before he answered. When he did, he spoke in a quiet voice.

“Spirit is all around us. It is also inside us. in the tree, and the flower, and the great sky, and the sun, and the moon rising at night, and the water flowing toward the sea. Spirit is what continues, what gives us breath and life, and spirit will linger beyond our death. Spirit is what fills you with life, and hope, and renewal.”

He looked around at his friends, his good friends who tried so hard to understand and to be good, and he said, “God’s spirit, the spirit within you and all around you, helps you see what is good and true and steady, so you can walk safely through storms. God’s spirit will help you find peace within your hearts. It is this inward peace, the peace of true and good and alive things, that I want you to feel. Do not be afraid, my beloved ones. You are never alone.”

Ideas for play

Contributed by Kristen

• Explore the Holy Spirit. How does your tradition understand this term? Teach your children what you believe, and what you want them to know.

• For older kids (or adults), explore this video about the Holy Spirit rooted in ancient biblical tradition.

• Make a “comfort” station in your home. Talk about how each of your family members’ feel comfort, and how you can help each other.

• Listen to this song, “I will not leave you comfortless”

• Read The Invisible Web

• Write down some of your favorite things about the world. Draw a picture/create art reminding yourself of beautiful, good things.

• Write down this week’s scripture and decorate it!

Art

Compiled by Caroline

This week, I am giving you five different works that represent the Holy Spirit and asking the same three questions for each work: 1) How is the artist depicting the Holy Spirit? 2) Why do you think this symbol is used for the Holy Spirit? 3) Which symbol of the Holy Spirit speaks to you the most and why?

For a little background information, the Holy Spirit has often been given a symbol in artistic representations. I’ve chosen the most common: a dove, a light/halo, fire, and a messenger. Depicting the Holy Spirit has been a challenge for artists throughout the ages and continues to be mysterious ( Here is a great article on this issue and how it has been approached in various ways), yet these symbols strive to represent an aspect of the nature of the Holy Spirit. As you look at these works with your children, you could ask them how they would represent the Holy Spirit in their own artwork and even encourage them to create a work of their own to show how the Spirit has presented itself in their lives.

A beautiful commentary on this work is found here.

Poetry

Compiled by Caroline

Untitled

By Theodore Roszak

Unless the eye catch fire

     The God will not be seen

Unless the ear catch fire

     The God will not be heard

Unless the tongue catch fire

     The God will not be named

Unless the heart catch fire

     The God will not be loved

Unless the mind catch fire

     The God will not be known

To me, this poem beautifully encompasses the mysterious necessity of the Spirit in our recognition of God. We must “catch fire” in order to see clearly, hear clearly, and love clearly. This clarifying aspect of the Spirit’s power is, I think, part of the “peace beyond understanding” that Christ offers us. As the Spirit comes to work in us, we are able to actually have a working reality of who God is in our lives, which can bring a peace beyond ourselves. As you read this poem with your child, you could discuss the many aspects of fire (source of power, used to purify, used for warmth, etc.) and how these things relate to the Spirit in our lives. You could also share your own experience with the Spirit and how it has helped you see, hear, name, love, and know.

Music

Compiled by Caroline

I Feel My Savior’s Love, Kristen Nelson

The Holy Ghost

Holy Spirit, Love Divine, from The Soil and The Seed Project

Abbeville

Come, Holy Spirit, come,

With energy divine,

And on this poor, benighted soul,

With beams of mercy shine.

From the celestial hills,

Light, life, and joy dispense;

And may I daily, hourly feel

Thy quick’ning influence.

Melt, melt this frozen heart;

This stubborn will subdue;

Each evil passion overcome,

And form me all anew.

Mine will the profit be,

But Thine shall be the praise;

And unto Thee will I devote

The remnant of my days.