“What Really Happened at the Hagan House!” (Me card #1)
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 #1 – I am accepted.
Summer 2007
1. Ron and I drew 3 pictures, one for each child of a situation that had happened that week that did not go so well. For Carson, we drew a picture of 3 baseball symbols because that week, Carson did not choose to perform very well at tball practice. He didn’t follow Coach Ron’s instructions and was a bit lazy. For Ada, we drew a picture of a bed, because she had a hard time making good choices when it was time for bed, throwing fits, etc. For Maya, we drew a picture of a baby seat, because she and Ron had had a situation with a baby seat she had just received. She was forcing her way wanting Ron to do something with it, and in his frustration he broke a piece off of it. She brought it in to me and told me that she didn’t want the seat anymore. When we got to the bottom of the deal, she didn’t feel free to love the seat, because it caused Ron such frustration.
2. We hung these pictures around the kitchen, and then when it was time to start, we called them into the room and told them to go on a scavenger hunt and find their picture hanging somewhere in the kitchen.
3. They found their picture and then we told them that we were going to talk about these pictures in church today. So, we read the phrase – I am accepted and had them repeat the phrase to us.
4. We read the verse and had them repeat the verse.
5. We defined the word accepted. And then drew their attention to the pictures. We said to each of them that we and Father God love them and nothing that they do is going to change this love. Our love and Father God’s love is not dependent on their performance. So, Carson, we all love you whether you perform on the baseball field or not. We want you to make good choices, and we expect that of you, but it doesn’t change our love for you. Ada, we love you and no matter what choice you make at bedtime, it doesn’t change that. You may have consequences related to your choices, but we still love you and accept you. Maya, you are free to love the seat. We got frustrated with it, and we are sorry. But just because we have a difficult time with it, you don’t have to get rid of it. We accept you, and we accept the things you love even if they are different from what we love.
6. We had a great time sharing and talking about these situations and recreating the situation several times. We then prayed the prayer over them and reminded them of the phrase and verse.
7. We hung all of the pictures on the family board.
Summer 2009
1. We read the statement and the verse and had some discussion on the questions.
2. They had some words this year on their feelings of acceptance and lack of acceptance from situations in their classes at school – a time on the playground when someone wouldn’t play with them, a seat that wasn’t saved for them at lunch but someone else, etc. For their stories of acceptance, they talked about hugs from Daddy when he comes home from work or when they see me when I pick them up from school – little moments of eye to eye contact when Ron and I have to chance to communicate – “you are important and worthy of our excitement and attention.” I love it though don’t always notice it in the midst. This is a great reminder for me. It was good to just give time and space for their stories and feelings of acceptance.
3. Last, they each wrote out the verse and then cut it apart word by word. Then, they put the verse back in order and said the whole verse. Then each one would turn over 2 words at a time and say the verse again with two of the words now not showing. We kept turning over words until the entire verse was turned over, and they were then saying it by memory.
4. We put their verse pieces in their treasure envelopes. It would have also been fun to have them tape their verse pieces in order on a piece of paper so that they could see it all back together.
5. All of this was then put on the family board.
Summer 2011
1. We looked at old pictures, talked about the hula hoop game from a party we had just planned that weekend, and found the verse and read it.
2. They all made a new picture of the verse, and we all worked on memorizing the verse.
3. Then, we talked about the meaning of the word “accept.” In soccer, it is like letting the ball come in to you. Or it could be asking someone to come and sit with you. Inviting, taking it in or the position of a wide receiver are all definitions that were thrown out. For the question about not being accepted, the kids answered, “lonely, abandoned, big girls at school not being nice.”
4. We then studied the meaning of the verse a bit more. For the phrase – “just as he has accepted us,” that is translated “came and took hold of us.” So, each person role-played with Ron. We said a struggle that they are walking through and then added to that struggle, but Father promises to “come and take hold of us.” So, Ron would walk up to each child and wrap his arms around them and then say: “I promise to always come and take hold of you.” It was a great visual for them that in any situation, Father God promises to do just that. So, in our week, we asked them to remember this visual when they feel attacked.
5. We ended our time in prayer.
