A wink of his eye and a twist of his head
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
Philippians 4:6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Looking upon Santa Clause, our narrator feels at ease and isn’t the least bit worried about what is happening. He knows Santa will take good care of his family.
We have the promises of our Lord and Savior we can trust, and he is trustworthy! Amen!
These verses promise us we don’t have to worry. Ever. About anything. Is that easy? No, ma’am, it is not.
I tend towards worry and have worked hard to trust God and recognize that my worry is sinful and not productive.
This verse goes beyond telling us not to worry, and it gives us a prescription and a promise. How very helpful! Thank you, Lord!
We can present our requests to God with a posture of prayer and a heart of thanksgiving! He wants these petitions as it helps our relationship with him grow and deepen.
I especially like the attitude of thanksgiving, which causes us to think back on our blessings and all the times God has shown up for us. (Have you ever wondered how many times he has interceded in our lives that we don’t even realize?)
When we follow the prescription God gives us, we have a promise that our hearts and minds are guarded with the peace of God. This peace is so unbelievable it surpasses what we can comprehend, challenging our ideas of what kind of peace is possible.
Peace of mind, which encompasses our cognitive processes and peace in our heart, that very tender thing that produces big feelings and sensations and is so easily broken, are both protected by God when we take everything to him in prayer and leave the worry behind.
Isn’t it wonderful to know we too have nothing to dread when we rest in the shadow of the Lord’s wings!
Psalm 17:8
Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
SURPRISE PRESENT
Dove of Peace craft!
Today let’s create a dove of peace from a basic white paper plate, and at the bottom a couple of beautiful songs about peace for Christmas!
Here is the simple template to draw and cut out.
Click here for printable version of praying hands and scale down to size to fit the dove.
Your shape should be big enough to write a few words about what you are taking to the Lord in prayer and thanksgiving.
I reduced the image to 50% and it was the perfect size. I ran eight copies, cut them out, and glued all on one page to create my master copy. (This is the low tech version for those that don’t have a fancy printer.)
The hands can be cut out precisely or roughly (for younger kids) and the project will turn out well.
Help your child brainstorm things they are worrying about or dreading. Write one on each hand as in the photo above.
Hang the shapes with string, yarn, or ribbon, taping them on the backside of the wings.
Pray each day about these things and trust God for overflowing peace!
You can hang your dove on a wall, like a mobile from the ceiling, or put him on the Christmas tree if your tree is big enough!