“What Really Happened at the Hagan House!” (Me card #6)
Posted by karlahagan on Jul 6, 2011 in A Language, A Plan, Blog, Me Cards | 0 comments
I think it is important for you to understand the simplicity and freedom that I hope for your family when you work through the Me cards. The “Getting Started” section on the poster that came with your Me cards is short and simple; use it, but I also want you to use whatever is going on in your home that week to explain the Me card too. This will be different for every family. The different ages and issues will determine that. I also want you to see that even as the mom who wrote the material, I still had different things happen once I actually put it in motion. On these “What Really Happened” blogs, you are going to see it all.
We have done the Me cards now 3 times in the life of our family. For Summer 2007 it was totally geared to 4 and 5 year olds. For Summer 2009, our kids were now 6 and 7, and, it was geared to what they were already playing or what was already fun for them – painting/drawing pictures, playing birthday party, doing a play, singing bingo, etc. In the summer of 2011, it was exciting to begin to ask some of the questions and do more cross-referencing in our Bibles. If I had had this material when the kids were infants, I would have just said the Me card statements and the verses over them and prayed the prayer over them. As Maya, Ada and Carson get older, we are looking forward to talking more about the questions. We will also do more cross-referencing and really get into the meat of the verse by researching other verses on this same idea or looking up some explanation of the core verse.
Enjoy the adventure! I hope you will find these Me card “What Really Happened” blogs entertaining and helpful!
Me Card #6 – I am already in heaven.
Summer 2007
1. We read the statement and the verse and then made up a chant. We just said over and over again to a beat – “He raised us up so that we can sit down.” This idea is crucial that Father God has raised us up to be with him through Jesus and his blood on the cross so that then we can sit down with them in the heavenly places. Amazing gift! So, we just walked about the house saying this chant together with some motions that we created too. It was certainly silly but memorable.
2. Then, we had them go and find something gold/yellow and bring back to the kitchen. So, they all went and found something and we told them that today we are going to talk about heaven, and that the color gold reminds us of the beauty we are going to see in heaven – the “streets of gold,” etc.
3. I got out the CEF Gospel Fuzzies and sang “The Gospel Fuzzy” song We then talked about heaven and what it is going to be like and what is there.
4. Then we twisted their brain a little bit and said that if we believe in Jesus, God has promised us life in heaven now, because heaven is more than a place, it is God’s presence, and we can have that right now. We then read The Wordless Book Visualized , the verse again and then prayed the prayer. There are many avenues to roam around this topic.
5. Last they wanted to do a play. So, we got the video out and did a short play. Our characters were God, Jesus, and then the people. We had God on one side of the room in heaven. Jesus is standing next to him. God then tells Jesus to go to earth and bring the people back with him, because God loves the people so much and wants to be with them. So, Jesus comes over to the other side of the room where the people are and invites them to come to heaven to live with he and God forever. So, the people agree and everyone walks over to God and heaven. Everyone hugs, and God is really glad to see everyone. Then, I stopped the play and said: “hold on a minute, but when you accept Jesus’ invitation, you don’t automatically go to heaven. You stay on earth. So, how can we be with God if we aren’t in heaven?” I reminded them that “heaven is God’s presence and that we can be with God even if we aren’t in heaven. We can pray, read his word, be with other believers, etc. Heaven is now; heaven is God’s presence.”
6. We ended the time with the chant again.
7. They also drew some pictures. Ada drew a picture of God with big muscles and herself. She was looking up to heaven and God came to her and helped her. Maya drew a picture of God and herself and then wrote heaven on the page. Very cool!
Summer 2009
1. We read the statement, verse and questions.
2. We did the chant again throughout the house. They remembered that and wanted to do it again. Pretty funny! We talked through the meaning of it one more time.
3. Then, they just wanted to paint pictures of the ideas! Maya drew this sweet picture of Father God on the top of the paper surrounded in the color yellow saying “You are already in heaven.” She then drew herself below him with hands raised saying, “YES!” There are flowers and hearts all over the picture as well. Carson drew a picture of the tomb and the gravestone rolled away. He and Jesus are standing side by side smiling and holding hands. Ada drew a very deep picture of a castle in the sky surrounded by clouds, then a cross below it and then the earth below the cross. They are all 3 touching. It is really cool!!! And of course star stamps all around the page!!
Summer 2011
1. We read the statement, verse and questions.
2. And they remembered the chant. Very cool!
3. They then went to painting. Ada drew pictures of the word – “heaven” and then one that said: “God + Me = smiley face! Maya painted/drew a picture of herself with the statement – “God is with me no matter where I go.” And Carson painted a cool picture that said: “Welcome to Heaven with 2 banners that said “Jesus and Us.”
4. We talked more about the reality of heaven is God with us. And we can begin to live in this eternal kingdom even now. I think I might have even read some Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard. He talks a lot about this in this book. Great read!
