El Roi

There is a name for God, El Roi, which means "the God who sees me."

It's only mentioned once in the Bible by a women named Hagar.

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her:
“You are the God who sees me” for she said, “I have now seen the One who sees me."

{Genesis 16:13} 

I've been really studying this name of God out and the more I search, the more in awe of God I am. He sees me.... that's powerful. I wanted to use something simple to show my kids that the Lord is constantly watching them... that He always sees them- not to evoke fear of messing up, but to build confidence in a Creator who loves.

We took some painters tape  and made a road on the ground. Then we took all of the stuff we had around the house and made a little city (bridges from our train table, picnic table from our dollhouse, Animals from our jungle, etc). It was so much fun finding stuff to put in our city... we had a zoo, a construction site, a Monster Truck show... all sorts of stuff. After we were playing for awhile, I had the kids get up on the couch and look down at the city. 

Do you see everything?

Do you know what's going on?

They came to the conclusion that since they were big and because they made the city themselves, they knew everything that was happening. I loved the tie in with our Heavenly Father! Such a successful hands-on Bible story... one that challenged me as well! 

The kids LOVE playing with our city and there are even talks of adding a hospital, a castle and a real-live ant farm! Here are some links to some more awesome ideas for your El Roi playtime.... here, here and here

Or you could make it super easy on yourself and get this.

If you are nervous about the inside... just use chalk outside on a nice day.

What We Believe

As we go through the Who Is God series the next couple of months, a book that would be amazing to read with your kids at home is:

 Who Is God and Can I Really Know Him? Biblical Worldview of God and Truth

By: Johny Hay and David Webb

 

The back cover describes this book as a family inclusive study of biblical worldview introducing young children ages 6-14 to the basic truths of the Christian faith.

Another (Free) Resource is the website dg4kids.com (Discover God for Kids). They have family ways to discover, teach and review the different attributes of God at home. The family adventures include: 

	Activities … Family Night Fun!
	Bible Times … Exploring God's Word together!
	Influencing Others … Making a difference!
	Drawing/Drama … Express who God is creatively!
	Experience … Capture the teachable moments!

 

Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it. 

Proverbs 22:6

What does God look like?

Today was the start of our Who is God series. We did an opener that I thought would be a great activity and conversational starter to do at home with kids. 

Start by having your kids take turns drawing on a big art easel what they picture God looking like. Here are some of our results....

 

Then read what the Bible says about the appearance of God.....

1 Timothy 6:16 No one has ever seen God

John 4:24 God is spirit

Gen 1:27 We are created in God’s image

Numbers 14:14 God appeared as a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire at night 

Matthew 3:16-17 The trinity - Father God's voice, Jesus in human form being baptized, and the Holy Spirit as a dove

Exodus 3 - God spoke to Moses through a burning bush 

John 1:18  No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known.

In these 2 passages, we get an interesting picture of God....

Ezekiel 1:26-28 Above the expanse over their heads was what looked like a throne of sapphire, and high above on the throne was a figure like that of a man. I saw that from what appeared to be his waist up he looked like glowing metal, as if full of fire, and that from there down he looked like fire; and brilliant light surrounded him. Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.
Revelation 1:14-16 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Try it at home and see what your kids picture God as and why. It can serve as a great opportunity to discuss who God really is and all that HE is to us!