milk & honey mamas

Story contributed by Kristen

Click here for the theological background of Acts 16-21

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.

God [created] so that [we] would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’

Acts 17:27-28

Sharing, sharing, sharing

This week we are telling more stories about Paul. Remember him? At first, he thought that the Jesus followers were total weirdos who needed to be stopped. And then he had an amazing experience. Jesus spoke to him, and his whole heart did a somersault of change. After that, Paul became one of the loudest Jesus followers out there! He wanted everyone to know about Jesus and Jesus’ message. He spent the rest of his life trying to share Jesus’ message of love, and kindness, and hope, and healing. He called himself a preacher. What do you think that means? Today, some people call Paul a missionary. What do you think that means? 

I wonder if being a missionary means being a share-er. A person who shares good and beautiful things. Remember when Jesus told his disciples that he trusted them? That he believed they could do his work? And remember how Jesus spent most of his time sharing good things with people, and telling them beautiful stories? Well, if we try to do Jesus’ work, maybe that’s what we can do too! We can share good things, and notice people who are sad or hurting or lonely, and we can tell beautiful stories, and we can ask big questions, and wonder big wonders, and share the things that delight us. So let’s talk about how Paul did that. 

His favorite thing to teach about was how much Mother and Father God love us. He said, “God wants us to seek them. To reach out our hands, and feel the world. To open our eyes and find the lovely things. To love our bodies and love each other’s bodies and find that God is not far away, but right here in our breath and being. 

Paul and Silas in Prison 

Some of the people who heard Paul talking about Jesus were already Jesus followers, and they were ready to accept Paul as a messenger. Some people heard about Jesus for the very first time from Paul, and they felt in their hearts that Jesus’ message was just what they needed. All of these people had names and stories and beautiful lives that would take whole books to write about. Whoever wrote about them in the scriptures didn’t tell us very much, but we know about Lydia, and about a woman with special powers, and about women who were powerful and wealthy, and about Damaris, and Priscilla, and about women who could see things that were to come. We know that there were many who believed, and who tried to follow Jesus, and we can imagine what their lives were like. 

But other people heard Paul talking about Jesus, and they got scared. Just like the people who killed Jesus, they were worried that Paul was trying to destroy the good things and good ideas and good practices that already existed. And they were worried about power, and about staying in control. These people had names and stories too, and we don’t know all of the reasons they were afraid. We just know that they tried to stop Paul and his friends from teaching people about Jesus. They tried really hard.

In fact, some of them were so worried about Paul that they threw him and his friend Silas in prison! They locked them up and told them to STAY PUT. Well, Paul and Silas sat down in their prison cell, and guess what? They smiled at each other. And they started to sing. They sang some of the songs that Lydia and Damaris had written about Jesus. And as they sang, something happened. Maybe the earth heard the song and felt it deep within her heart. Maybe the wind came wooshing in. Maybe the rocks cried out with voices of love and joy. Whatever it was, the whole earth began to tremble and shake. The walls and doors of the prison fell apart, and the prisoners had nothing to hold them. The prison guard came rushing in, and when he saw the prisoners without doors and walls and fell on his knees and cried. “They will be so angry with me,” he said in despair. But Paul said, “don’t be afraid! We are all here. We have not escaped.” 

And then Paul told the guard about Jesus, and about what they were trying to teach. And maybe that same Spirit that moved the earth and the stones and the wind came to the guard, because he felt deep in his bones that Paul’s message was good, and kind, and beautiful. 

Eutychus

Another day, Paul was teaching people in Lydia’s house. Paul was great at a lot of things, but sometimes he could talk for a really long time without stopping. Have you ever been at church and heard someone talking for a really long time without stopping? Do you ever get a little bit bored? Well, that’s what happened to someone named Eutychus. He wanted to be a Jesus follower, and he was there listening to Paul, but Paul had been talking for a long long time. It had been a long day, and his seat by the window was so very warm and cozy, and before he knew it, Eutychus had fallen asleep. This would have been just fine, except that Eutychus’ chair was right by the window, and they were very high up. When he fell asleep, he started leaning further and further out of the window until – crash! Out fell Eutychus from the window all the way down to the ground! It was far, very very far, and when Eutychus hit the ground his body was so hurt that it died. 

Everyone came running and surrounded Eutychus. Paul came right up to him and knelt down on the ground. He took Eutychus by the hand and he said a prayer. Then he turned to the crowd of people and said, “don’t be afraid, Eutychus’ life is still within him.” And then he lifted Eutychus up, alive again!

Ideas for Play

Contributed by Kristen

• Act the stories out!

• Read books about sharing:

• What Does it Mean to be Kind

• A World of Kindness

• May We Have Enough to Share

• The Big Umbrella

• The Invisible Web

• Talk about being share-ers. What sorts of things do you like to share? Maybe you’d like to make and share a treat with a friend, or draw a picture for someone, or share a toy.

• Make a book of things you love and ways you can share (other ideas here)**

• Watch this video about kindness – is this missionary work?

• Watch this video about Paul and Silas in prison

**Reminder that younger kids are not developmentally ready to share and don’t need to be forced. Sometimes “taking turns” works better, and it may be helpful to tell younger children that it’s okay to claim things as their own. 

Poetry

Compiled by Caroline

The Mountain and The Squirrel

By Ralph Waldo Emerson

The mountain and the squirrel

Had a quarrel,

And the former called the latter

“Little prig.”

Bun replied,

“You are doubtless very big;

But all sorts of things and weather

Must be taken in together

To make up a year

And a sphere.

And I think it no disgrace

To occupy my place.

If I’m not so large as you,

You are not so small as I,

And not half so spry:

I’ll not deny you make

A very pretty squirrel track.

Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;

If I cannot carry forests on my back,

Neither can you crack a nut.”

This poem is an important reminder that we must share what we can. We do not all have the same abilities, talents, or inclinations, but we all have something to contribute. When we think about sharing the message of the Gospel, this is true as well. Maybe your child isn’t gifted with sharing God through words, but maybe they are gifted with sharing God through song. Maybe they are gifted with sharing God through noticing, or listening, or making yummy food. 

This week, I invite you to look for your children’s gifts and tell them what you see in them and how it could be used to share God with another person. 

Art

Compiled by Caroline

Let’s look at these two works of art side by side. What do you notice about the jailer in each work? What do you notice about Paul in each work? Which work feels more active and which feels more still? Where do your eyes go first? Which work do you like more and why? What does each work teach you about this story?

Music

Compiled by Caroline

This week I’ve chosen two songs by the wonderful Elizabeth Mitchell, who is one of my favorite musicians for children. The first song continues on our theme of sharing our light, and the second is a reminder to wish the best for others. When I read the story of Paul and Silas sharing their message with the Jailer, I feel the beauty in seeing the best in an unlikely person and wishing them all of the good things you can give them. Let’s wish others well this week, friends.