We just had our family night tonight about idols in our lives. We based it off of this link from where I receive monthly e-mails.
First, we let the girls each take play doh and we told them to form it into something they love. (We talked about how people in the Bible would bow down to physical idols that they made.) Rilyn made a marker. Ella made/spelled out her name. 🙂
We then talked about loving things more then loving Jesus. For example, Rilyn has a hard time sharing markers with Ella particularly because Ella doesn’t take very good care of her own so they are generally dried out. And share the coveted ‘red marker’?!? That is the ‘holy grail’ of markers in my girls’ minds, and they never have enough red markers because they use them out so fast! So we talked about how when Rilyn doesn’t want to share her red marker with Ella it’s because she loves the marker more than Jesus. Ella loves playing computer games. Rilyn loves watching Full House (didn’t you just love that show?!?) We talked about when they choose to play computer games or watch TV rather than obey what mommy or daddy is telling them to do at the moment, (please wash your hands for dinner), they are loving the idol more than Jesus because Jesus tells us to obey our parents.
We then got out a ‘naked’ Mr. Potato Head and talked about more idols in our lives by using the parts of the potato head.
Mouth: Idol-candy.
Ears: Idol-praise from others, popularity, music.
Eyes: Idol-TV, computer games.
Hands(things we do): Idol-Sports, Education.
At the end, we made sure the girls understood that God wants us to enjoy good things, just not love these things more than Him. He wants Rilyn to use her gift of drawing. After all, He is the master artist! (And I’m sure it pleases Him that her favorite thing to draw is rainbows, one of the most beautiful things in all of His creation!)
We are also going through the ten commandments at dinner time, (here is the book we use during family dinners), so this lesson tied in very well!
Ella’s prayer to end family night: “Dear Jesus, I want to love you more than Strawberry Shortcake movies! Amen!”
Isaiah 44:6-7 The Lord Almighty: I am the first and I am the last; apart from me there is no God. Who then is like me?
the paquettes 