Read the Bible

Matthew 27:45-66
Mark 15:33-47
Luke 23:44-56
John 19:25-42

Describe Jesus’ death?
Who was with Him?
Why do you think Joseph buried Jesus’ body?
What would  you have thought about everything if you were a bystander?

Drive it Home

Here are the Seven “Last Words” or Phrases of Jesus

1.      “Father, forgive them” (Luke 23:34)
2.      “This day you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43)
3.      “Woman, behold your son” (John 19:26-27)
4.      “My God, My God, why have You forsake Me?” (Mark 15:34)
5.      “I thirst” (John 19:28)
6.      “It is finished” (John 19:30)
7.      “Father, into Your hands I commit My Spirit” (Luke 23: 46)

Each person write down their last seven phrases and share them with one another. What would you want to communicate and take care of before you die?

Read Bible

Matthew 26:57-27:50
Mark 14:53-15:37
Luke 22:54-23:46
John 18:12-19:30

Summarize the entire story….there is a ton of reading today.
Name all the things that Jesus endured as part of the punishment you deserve.
What does His betrayal, arrest, beating, mocking, agony, and death show us about the holiness of God?

Driving it Home

Have your devotion time at 3 pm, the time that the Bible says Jesus was died.
Everybody writes down their sins on pieces of paper. Papers are nailed to a wooden cross.

Read Bible

Exodus 12:1-36
Matthew 26:17-29
Mark 14:12-31
John 13
I Corinthians 11:23-25

Who celebrated the Passover together?
What preparations were made?
Jesus did the job that the lowest servant would do by washing their feet. Then He gave a new commandment to love one another as He loves us. How are these 2 things related?
How can you wash feet?
How is communion a memorial to the Lord?
How does communion help us to remember Jesus’ Death & Resurrection?

Drive it Home

Read about the Passover Feast and how it is fulfilled by Jesus. See the section in Celebrate Easter that explains the Passover and celebrate a Christian Seder Meal.

Celebrate Communion: Bread representing the Body and Wine representing the Blood of Jesus.

Get feet really dirty by playing outside; then wash one another’s feet. Yuck!

Publix has a great booklet, Passover Haggadah written in Hebrew and English.

Read the Bible

Matthew 26:3-5
Mark 14:1-2, 10-11
Luke 22:1-2
John 11:45-57

What plot were the Jewish leaders hatching?
What problem did they have with their plot?
How did Judas help the plot?

Driving it Home

Make a “plot” of some kind as a family. It might be to trick another family into joining you for dinner. Or send someone on a treasure hunt with several clues that are hard to find.

Read the Bible

Matthew 21:12-17
Mark 11:15-19
Luke 19:45-48

Why was Jesus angry?
Why were the chief priests, teachers of the law and other Jewish leaders angry?
Who had righteous anger?
What things exist in the church of the twenty-first century that grieve the heart of God?

Driving it Home

Pull out the refrigerator, stove, washing machine and dryer. Clean behind them together as a family. Why is there so much dirt and muck back there? How is this cleaning project similar to what Jesus had to do?

Read the Bible
Matthew 21:1-11
Mark 11:1-11
Luke 19:28-44
John 12:12-19

What does Jesus ride into Jerusalem? 
Why do you think riding a donkey is so important?
How do the crowds worship Jesus?  What do they say?  What do they do?
What does it mean to “come in the Name of the Lord?”
Hosanna is a cry of praise and adoration that literally means “Help!” or “Please save!”  Why are the people crying out, “Hosanna!”?

Driving it Home

Enjoy a family parade around the house or neighborhood. You might want to invite another family to join you.

Or dress up and act out the triumphal entry as a family. We loved using towels as head coverings!

Read in the Bible

• Matthew 26:6-13
  
• Mark 14:3-9
• John 12:1-9

What did Mary do to honor Jesus at this dinner?
Why did Jesus consider it a “beautiful thing?”
Why did Judas pretend to care about the poor? What would he have done with the sale of the perfume?
What is the place of extravagance in worship?
How can we be extravagant in our personal and corporate worship?

Driving it Home

Gather perfumed lotions from the corners of the house. Every family member gets a luxurious foot rub. What is special about receiving a foot rub? What is awkward about giving one, especially to someone you don’t know very well?

Or look at pictures of extravagance in worship: cathedrals, art work, banners, dances, and ceremonies created to honor Jesus 

Is there anything more fun than celebrating holidays? Christmas stockings, Easter baskets, and Valentine hearts filled with chocolate all bring a smile to my face and my heart. Life is good when there's a holiday to celebrate. God, of course, is the inventor of holidays, or holy days. What holidays did God establish for the nation of Israel? I can't think of a more enjoyable Bible study to dig into.

Grapevine Studies' Biblical Feasts and Holy Days by Diana Wiebe is a thirteen week study for your home school Bible class. Written for teens, this study would be enjoyed by younger and older folks too. We have college students, high school students, and middle school students in our home. All liked this Grapevine study on the Biblical holidays. We received a teachers manual and student worktexts to review.

Before I tell you about this delightful Bible study curriculum, let me tell you about Grapevine Studies. I love their mission. In fact, let me just quote it from the teacher's edition. "Our mission at Grapevine Studies is to provide believers with a method and curricula to study the Bible, using a timeline, stick figures, words, symbols, and colors to teach chronological lessons." What a great idea! Combining the intellectual (timelines, chronological studies) with the more emotional (stick figures, symbols). The result is that both the left and right sides of the brain are engaged, but more importantly, I think, is that both the heart and mind are engaged in these studies.

Each of their Bible studies start with a timeline as the framework for the entire study. Bible passages, characters, and events are understood within the big picture. Being a "big picture person" myself, I immediately latched on to this teaching method! Each day, your student reads a passage and then does some "stick figuring." Stick figuring is a method of note taking using stick figures, colors, charts, words, and symbols. It is definitely more fun than normal note taking. The lesson ends with a memory verse.

The teacher's edition of Biblical Feast and Holy Days was very helpful for me to teach this material. I did need to use a dry erase board, dry erase markers in several different colors, a Bible concordance, and a Bible dictionary. I am already familiar with using these Bible reference tools, but if you are not, they are relatively simple to pick up and use. All the children needed was their workbook, Bibles, and colored pencils.

Carrot Cake

• 2 Cups Flour
• 2 Cups Sugar
• 2 tsp. Baking Soda
• 4 Large Eggs
• 1 1/2 Cups Oil
• 2 tsp. Salt
• 2 tsp. Cinnamon
• 3 Cups Grated Carrots

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 3 round cake pans.

Mix dry ingredients together, then add oil and stir well. Add carrots, each egg one at a time, and mix well. Divide and pour into 3 round cake pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1 Box XXX Sugar
• 1 (8 oz.) Package Cream Cheese
• 1 Stick Butter, melted
• 2 tsp. Vanilla
• 1 Cup Coconut
• 1 Cup Pecans

    Melt butter and add sugar; beat until smooth. Add softened cream cheese and beat again until smooth. Mix in vanilla. Frost cake on tops, bottoms, and sides, putting cake all together. Sprinkle cake with coconut and pecans.

Who is St. Patrick? Isn't he an Irish priest? Is he a leprechaun? Is he a legend or a real person?

St. Patrick is an English missionary and Apostle to the nation of Ireland. He was captured by Irish pirates as a young boy. St. Patrick is a Christian hero that your children will enjoy learning about.

In a day where our heroes are robots, terminators, or men lacking integrity, it is so good to learn about a true hero, brave in every situation.

Kidnapped!

Patrick was born in English during Roman times. Patrick was enjoying life in a Roman colony seaside village. His father was a priest in the Celtic church, but Patrick did not want to serve God like his parents did. It took a disaster to bring him to the Lord.

One day, Irish pirates stormed Patrick's seaside village and killed many of the inhabitants. At the young age of fourteen, he was kidnapped, taken as a slave to Ireland, and worked as a shepherd. Ireland was a land of pagans and Druids who worshiped idols. Patrick was very homesick.

During his captivity, he remembered his parent's faith in God and surrendered his life to Jesus as Lord and Savior. He grew closer to the Lord during these years and did his best to be a shining light for His Messiah.

Called to the Irish

One night, God spoke to Patrick in a dream to go to the coast so he could leave Ireland. Patrick waited on the Lord for the right timing. Finally, an opportunity came for Patrick to make his escape, so he made his way to a port city where he caught a ship bound for freedom. Sailors, who took pity on him, smuggled him aboard the ship sailing for England. He was reunited with his family, to his great joy!

During this time of happiness to be home again, Patrick had another dream. In this dream, the people of Ireland were begging him to come back to Ireland. His heart was moved with compassion for those poor Irishmen and women who would die in their sins. A burden to share the Gospel with the Irish began to beat in his heart.

So, he began his preparation for the priesthood and his call as a missionary to Ireland. Patrick spent almost twenty years in preparation. 

Ministry in Ireland

_ The stores are filled with hearts, chocolate, and roses in every shade of pink and red imaginable. As a lover of pink, chocolate and roses, this just may be my favorite time of year to shop! It's St. Valentine’s Day! Yes, St. Valentine's Day--I know that sounds a little odd to your ears. When I was a little girl, that's what we called it. But in recent years, as all holidays are secularized and materialized more and more, St. Valentine's Day became Valentine's Day. 

Why Do We Celebrate?

Who was St. Valentine and why do we celebrate love on the day we've set aside to remember him?  Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome during the reign of Emperor Claudius. He was known for his kindness and selfless love. He was arrested for his faith and imprisoned, but managed to send and receive letters from his friends and fellow Christian Emperor Claudius tried to convert him to Roman paganism to spare his life, but Valentine shared the Gospel with the emperor instead. Before he was martyred for his faith in Jesus, he healed the eyes of his jailor's blind daughter.  

Love is In the Air

_  In the Late Middle Ages, when courtly love and romance became the rage throughout Europe, St. Valentine's Day became associated with love and romance. Both romantic love and Christian martyrdom are things to celebrate. St.  Valentine stands in the "great cloud of witnesses," in Hebrews 12, cheering us on!  St. Valentine's Day can be celebrated in either direction, or both directions. We can celebrate the romantic love we share with our sweethearts or we can remember those who have given their lives for the Gospel of Christ.

If we are celebrating St. Valentine's Day with our sweetie, there are many options. Men, you, of course, can buy your special lady a dozen long-stemmed roses and a big box of Godiva chocolate. We can go out to a lovely dinner and gaze into each other's eyes. But, of course, those things cost money. So, what are some inexpensive ways to celebrate the romance you share with your husband? Here are some things Mike and I have done:

Welcome to a brand new year! As I have been digging into God's Word the past few weeks, I have been bombarded with passages on light. Let's start 2012 off with some encouragement from the Bible about light for our home schools.

Jesus is the Light

"I am the Light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life," (John 8:12 NIV).

Jesus is the light of the world. In Him, there is no darkness, no hiding, no deception. He is full of mercy and truth. His light in our lives changes everything.


Light for Homeschooling

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you," (Isaiah 60:1 NIV).

In the Bible, light represents truth and holiness. The Bible reveals truth to us for all of life, including homeschooling. The Holy Spirit is busy at work within us, purifying us and making us holy like Jesus. The more we are like Jesus, the better we will be at teaching our little ones to follow Him and apply Scripture to all of life.

Walk in the Light

It is time to celebrate! We celebrate because we are loved! We celebrate because God is good! We celebrate because we are safe in His love! Let's celebrate with the Lord and His Word so that we can bring in the New Year with style!

Another year is over and a new one is about to begin. The world has its way of celebrating this transition, but God has a better way! No matter what has happened this past year, God has been faithful to you! Even if you don't believe that right now...it's true!

Jesus is our Promise Keeper! He has protected you this past year from untold tragedy, misfortune, and peril. We look at all that has happened, but so often we don't think about what might have happened. Maybe you lost your house this past year, a terrible thing, but you still have your family. Maybe you lost a loved one this year, but you are not here in the world alone. Imagine the destruction that could have come your way that the Lord prevented.

If we could only see with spirit eyes the battle all around us: angels protecting our health, lives, loved ones, possessions and honor. We can only see what God allows to make us stronger in Him, not all that He keeps the enemy from inflicting. I encourage you to enter 2012 with worship, prayer, and God's Word. Why not gather together on New Year's Eve with other believers who are serious about the things of God. Seek His face together as the New Year starts. Forget the ball dropping in Times Square! How about worship instead!

Right now our church meets on Saturday nights because we share a building with another church. So, our usual Saturday night celebration will be followed by a party. Then, as the hour approaches, we will gather together to worship and pray. We will welcome 2012 with Jesus in the center of our celebration.

Looking for a simple craft? I got this idea from my friend, Sheri's blog and website, SheriGraham.com. (Please check out her website for lots of holiday fun!)

You simply need some graham cracker squares, sugar cones, canned frosting, and candy to decorate. We frosted the graham cracker and placed the sugar cone upside down on the graham cracker. Next, we frosted the graham cracker with green frosting. Candy of all kinds (gum drops, M&Ms, Skittle) were our "ornaments."

"Is this going to take long?" Katie Beth asked for the fifth time that day.

"We'll take the pictures as soon as possible," I replied tersely.

"And why are we wearing pink? We did pink in 2005," Julianna interrupted.

"Can you help me with my tie? Jimmy handed me a tie that was now too small for his ten-year-old neck. Trying to remember....I think he got it when he was eight.

"Is Daddy ready?" Shine reached for my mascara, thinking I wouldn't notice. I did, but didn't say anything.

That was last year's annual family Christmas photo--more stressful than a hurricane; less stressful than a war zone. Wait a minute...maybe as stressful as a war zone.

There have been moments in those annual photo shoots that lives were in danger. Ah, our character is revealed to one another and our photographer as we take the picture ONE MORE TIME because someone's eyes were closed. It is no small miracle to take a good picture with seven or more people in it! And, of course, I have to admit that I contribute greatly to the tension. I am so picky about what everyone wears, not just colors, but shades of colors, where they stand, and how they smile.

The End Result

But the end result is always so lovely. There are friends who write me notes in October reminding me that they are looking forward to our Christmas photo. They must know that I am tempted, sometimes, to skip it this year.

We take between 20 and 50 shots to get one good shot for the Christmas card. It is so discouraging for everyone to find the "perfect picture" of themselves, only to have the photo unacceptable because of someone else.

_  ½ Cup Butter, softened

½ Cup Honey

1 tsp Grated Orange Peel

1 tsp Vanilla

Dash Salt

1 tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Allspice

½ tsp Nutmeg

Dash Ground Cloves

1 Cup Pecans, finely chopped

1 Cup Dates, chopped

1 Cup Candied Cherries

½ Golden Raisins

½ Candied Pineapple

2 Cups Fine Graham Cracker Crumbs

              In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and honey until light and fluffy.  Add orange peel, salt, vanilla, and spices; mix thoroughly.  Add fruits and nuts; stir in.  Add graham cracker crumbs.  Let stand for 3-4 hours so flavors can blend.  Shape into small balls.  Store in tightly covered container in refrigerator, separating layers with waxed paper.

Christmas is here and it's time to go Christmas shopping. Yes, our intention was to be finished by now and have the presents neatly wrapped, but, even if we've begun to shop, there are still people on our lists.

We often do a unit study in December and take lots of Christmas field trips. Part of our Christmas homeschooling is making gifts. We have made wreaths, ornaments, quick breads, cookies, and, even, perfume. All the gifts we made for folks fall on the subject of homemaking or art. You can teach sewing, serging, quilting, cross-stitching, baking cooking, canning, and handwriting during the gift-making process.

Gifts to Give to Neighbors, Friends, & Extended Families