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Easter Newsletter from Jody
April 2011
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Happy Easter, Everyone!
This time of year has always been one of my favorites, both as a parent and as a teacher. I love teaching my children and students about what Jesus did for us on the cross out of His unbelievable love for His children!
This month's newsletter is devoted to helping you find new ways to teach your children and students about the importance of Easter. To help, I have include two free downloads.
I also wanted to follow-up with you about the Charm Course Facebook page that went up just this past week! The purpose of the page is to encourage girls to become C-7 young women. If you don't know what that means, check out the page! My friends Karen and Kristi are helping me make the C-7 Girls Facebook page a place where girls and women can discuss real issues they face and provide inspiration and encouragement for one another...so check it out! Finally, some exciting news from my work as The School Whisperer. My mission is to help schools start, structure, and sustain successful school models, and it is a joy to be seeing this become reality. Currently I am serving as an interim Head of School for Grace Academy of North Texas in the Prosper/Celina area. It opens this fall as a Christian, classical school for children in PreK through 8th grade. The school is consistent with everything I believe about education, and I am excited to make the journey with these wonderful founding families. Our informational meeting is Sunday, May 1 from 3:00-5:00 pm if you live in the area and are interested in learning more. I am also helping a number of other schools, ranging from 5-50 years old. Additionally, I still serve on the school board for St. Timothy Christian Academy, a school for children with learning differences in K-9th grade. We praise God for our wonderful new school home this year, complete with a beautiful chapel.
This week it has been a joy to work with the excellent IPEKA International Schools and also to begin translating my books into Indonesian and Chinese for the teachers in all their schools. It is exciting to partner with brothers and sisters around the globe who love the Lord and desire to teach His Word, even in countries where Christians are a minority. I am humbled, honored, and deeply blessed to be used by God to journey with these wonderful people. That is the heart, mission, and vision of the School Whisperer.
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Making Holy Week Baskets
|  Easter is the most important celebration of our faith; it is the very essence of what makes us Christian. Therefore, it is important that we find meaningful ways to celebrate its significance with our children in order to build a deeper level of understanding as they mature in their walk with the Lord.
When my children were young in the early 80s we began making "Holy Week Baskets" at home to celebrate Easter. We began to gather items that represented events from Holy Week. As we added each item, we would talk about it, look up the scriptures, and weave them together into the rich tapestry of Holy Week. I noticed how my children's interest and knowledge grew and deepened as they became engaged in this interactive learning process each year.
As head of school, we began to make Holy Week Baskets at school. Later as minister to children, we made them at church. My children became my "Happy Helpers," and during the month before Holy Week, we would gather the items, organize them, sort jelly beans by colors for the Jelly Bean Prayer, and prepare items so hundreds of children could create Holy Week Baskets. Sundays would find us taking around wagons over-flowing with items for little fingers to touch, and later teach others about the significance of what happened each day from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday.
To continue reading how to make the baskets and see a picture of the various parts, click here. |
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Teaching Our Children and Students how to Pray as We Honor the National Day of Prayer
|  Prayer is an adventure-a life-creating, life-changing journey into a closer relationship with God. Prayer is the main avenue God uses to change us and to guide our lives. Richard Foster says it well, "Prayer catapults us into the frontier of the spiritual life."
As Christians, we know the importance of prayer in our own lives. But are we using prayer as God intended it to be-the way to plug into His power in our lives? Corrie Ten Boom gives us a good word picture: "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire"?
The Heart of a Child
The heart of a child is tender to the teachings of God, and young children are eager to pray. Prayer becomes a spiritual security blanket when they learn to turn to God and trust in Him. Jesus is real to a child as they get to know Him as their friend first, and then their Savior.
Jesus Modeled Prayer
Jesus modeled prayer for us. Children need us to model prayer for them because that is how they learn best. Nothing is more effective than praying with and for your children each day.
In John 17 we see the progression in prayer that Jesus modeled. He prayed for Himself -- that He might bring honor and glory to the Father. Then He prayed for those closest to Him, the disciples. Finally, He prayed for all believers.
He taught us techniques of prayer with what we call The Lord's Prayer.
Partnership in Prayer
In the Bible, we read about a child, Samuel, who heard the voice of God. Yet he still needed the loving encouragement of Eli to guide him and teach him how to obey what he heard from God.
As parents and teachers, let us embrace the God-given partnership we have in training our children to be prayer warriors. It is more difficult today because as a culture we are immersed in activity and our senses are over-saturated.
How, then, can we hear the still, small voice of God? How can we train children to listen to the silence when we are bombarded in sound?
How Should We Pray
Set aside time each day in your home or classroom for prayer. Begin by simply being quiet, helping children become comfortable with silence, to begin reflecting upon the things of God, the person of Jesus, and the power of His Word.
You may want to give them a short Bible verse to reflect upon, or a quality of God, or something that Jesus said in His teachings. Or, you may want to sing a short hymn or song, and then ask the children to think about the words for a brief time of silence. Keep the time for silence to one or two minutes since the attention span of children is short.
In my book Cherishing and Challenging Your Children I share some specific techniques and examples. A simple one to teach children also serves as a reminder for adults. That is:
"Wiggle our thumbs and say something in praise to Jesus. This is our J."
"Wiggle your middle fingers for O for others and pray for others: family, friends, teachers, pastors, missionaries, etc."
"Finally we wiggle our little finger for Y and Y is for you. We pray for ourselves last." (That can be confusing for little ones, so you may have to explain the "y" is for "u" which is how they will hear it.)
There is JOY when you remember to put Jesus first, the needs of others next, and finally, yourself. I must confess that I have to remind myself of this simple method on a regular basis as my prayers begin to sound like a "To Do List for God." This system helps me to keep my priorities in focus.
Prayer Tree
To develop a deeper relationship with your class, I suggest making a PRAYER TREE. It develops during the school year as you watch it transform, reflecting prayers that are answered with God's sovereign "yes" or "no" at the bottom of the tree, and His "wait" remain on the tree branches. (Cherishing and Challenging Your Children, pages 159-160)
How Should We Pray for Our Children and Students
Of course, we should never forget the power of praying for our children and students. Teaching them can only go so far. Praying for them is a must.
Our hearts often feel burdened for the many things we want to pray for regarding our children and students. Years ago I made up a prayer card to guide me in my praying for my children and later made copies for the moms at school and church. It listed character qualities, scripture verses, and other items of daily concern that I had for them. I put the card in my Bible or prayer journal to remind me to pray every day. You may download this here.
Topics include:
- To have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ
- Protection from the evil one
- Christ-like character
- Love the Word
- Hearts of service
- Discernment in relationships
- To 'get caught' if they do something wrong so it doesn't form a habit pattern for life
- Determine to finish well
Prayer Requests
I have also had my older students write requests on 3x5 cards. I found that often they felt comfortable sharing such requests with me that they did not want known to the class. Not only did this help me know what to pray for, but it also strengthened my relationship with that student as well as gave them more confidence in sharing their burdens and believing in the power of prayer.
A Picture with a Prayer
Some parents and teacher struggle with knowing what to pray for our young ones. I've found that photographing each of my students and looking at it while I pray for them gives my prayers a greater depth and reality. There is something powerful about looking into their eyes that gives inspiration to my prayers!
Praying the Word for Our Children
Here are just a few of the many items we can pray for our children and students. There is great power in praying the Word and inserting the child's name.
For example, if you have a daughter who is struggling with gossip you may want to pray:
"I pray for _______ to know that without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down." Proverbs 26:20
If you have a child who is having trouble forgiving someone, you may want to paraphrase Ephesians 4:32 as you pray:
"I pray for _________________ to be kind and compassionate to others, forgiving______________, just as Christ God has forgiven him/her."
National Day of Prayer
One way to teach our students and children - as well as remind ourselves - how to pray beyond our own needs is to be involved with the National Day of Prayer, which is coming up on May 5, 2011. While every day should be a Day of Prayer for us, let us find special ways to honor this day in our home, work, church, and/or community. For more information on ways that you can be involved, visit the National Day of Prayer website.
May God bless your prayer life as you grow and deepen your walk in Him.
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Have a blessed Easter and a wonderful National Day of Prayer!
Sincerely,
Jody Capehart
The School Whisperer
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