The Wisdom of Solomon

Long ago the nation of Israel was ruled by a king named Solomon.  Solomon was a great king.  He was a great warrior that protected his country.  He made very good decisions.  We think of a wise person as being someone that makes good decisions.  Solomon was called a wise person because he made good decisions.

The story goes that one day two women came to him.  Both women clamed a baby as being their baby.  There was no way to tell which mother was telling the truth.  In order to make sure the real mother was given her baby Solomon came up with a simple test.  At first it seems to be very harsh and mean.  He held the baby in one hand and his sword in another. Very calmly he said he would cut the baby in half and give each woman half.  Of course this would have killed the baby.  One woman said to go ahead and she would be happy with half a child.  The other woman begged him to spare the baby and give it to the other woman.  She would just as soon give up her half and see the baby live rather than let the baby die.  Which woman do you think was the real mother of the baby?

We can see several lessons in this simple story.  The one I want you to think about today is the lesson of listening and watching.  Many times we learn a lot more by listening and watching than we do by talking.  God taught Solomon to be patient and listen – To see with his eyes and his heart - this is why he is considered to be wise.  It is not because of his superior powers, his mighty sword, or his intelligence.  It is because God had taught him to listen and observe.

When Solomon listened to the two women what do you think he heard?  Two women fighting and making false claims?  Did he hear the baby crying?  He listened to the two women.  He also watched how they reacted to his test.   I have a feeling the real mother was very easy to spot.  The test was just to confirm what he had heard and seen.

God wants us to listen and watch.  There is so much for us to see and hear in his creation.  We just need to slow down and he will show us so much.

Activities:

1)   Go outside at some point in the next day or two, sit down, and listen to what is going on.  Give it a few minutes.  Write in your notebook what you saw and heard.  Try this three different times.

2)   Next time you watch the TV or read a story see if you can find where the characters in the story listened or observed before doing something.  Also try this three times and write what you found in your notebook.

3)   Write a simple story, poem, or song about using your eyes to see and your ears to hear.  Be sure to put this in your notebook.

Bye from GrandPa Burkett and Sadie.  Thank you for listening.  God Bless.

Listen to GrandPa Burkett read The Creation on www.YouTube.com at http://youtu.be/8GL6onCZtmI

The Good Samaritan

Many times we learn by listening to stories.  We learn from stories on tv and movies, and Jesus Parables.  Stories are fun.  Stories give us something to think about. One of Jesus’s stories was about the Good Samaritan.

The Samaritans and the Jews did not like each other.  They would say unkind things to each other.  They would not help each other. They lived in the same towns but would not talk to each other.  Sound like anyone you know?  We all have certain people we do not like.  Sometimes we cannot remember the reason – we have just decided we do not like them.  God says we should learn to love everyone.

The story goes:

A Samaritan set off on a trip.  A bunch of bad people stopped him – took his money and hurt him.  They left him lying in the ditch beside the road.

Along came a well-known Man of God.  He saw the man lying there but did not want to help him.  He had important meetings to attend.  Helping the man would make him late.  He passed on by the hurt man.

Next along came a Deacon.  This was a man of God that worked in the church.  He hurried past the man.  He also did not want to get his clothes dirty or bloody.  He looked the other way.

The last man to pass the man in the ditch was a very poor man.  He only had enough to maybe buy himself dinner.  They would normally not even speak to each other.  This last man, the Samaritan, had a kind heart.  He saw the man was hurt.  He could just as easily walked by him and left him in the ditch.  He was not a great man or someone that worked in the church.  He was a stranger to the Samaritan.  He stopped; he made bandages of his clothes.  He gave the man water to drink.  He helped him to a local motel and paid for a room for him.  He gave to feed him.  He promised to come back and pay more if it was needed.

Which of the three showed love for this stranger?  The Man of God, the Deacon, or the Samaritan?  Jesus said we should be like the Samaritan.  Do not look at a person’s color or listen to their accent – be kind and loving to all of God’s people.  Learn to love those that do you wrong or may not love you.  Jesus tells us to do the same thing.  Love one another!

Activities:

1)   For the next three days I want you to do something nice for someone. At least one of those should be someone that has not been nice to you.  Remember to write in your notebook what you did and how you felt each time.

2)   Find three things that make you smile and share them with a friend.  This can be a picture, a funny story, a piece of your candy, or whatever you come up with.  Write what you did and how it made you feel to share in your notebook.

3)   Last I want you to read three stories – they can be fables, story tales, Bible stories, or whatever you want to read.  Then I want you to tell someone the stories.  Write in your note book the names of the stories and who you told them to.

Bye till next time.  God bless.

Listen to GrandPa Burkett read The Creation on www.YouTube.com at http://youtu.be/ICgfVXIzeEo

The Creation

A long, long time ago, before there was anything there was only God.  Can you imagine being somewhere and you are the only person there?  You are all by yourself.   There is nothing.  No playground, no friends, no animals, no family, nothing.  You are all alone.   God decided to do something about this problem.  He decided to make a universe.  Being God – time did not matter, you see there were no clocks or calendars.  So ……

On the first day, God said, "Let there be light ." God called the light day, and the darkness was called night.  That was the first day and the first night.  I can just imagine that God smiled.

On the next day, God made the sky.  Wow what a neat sight.  He could see forever and ever.  This was a big place God made.

On the third day, God divided the land from the waters and created flowers, trees, and grass and oh yes weeds too. 

On day four, God made the sun, moon, and stars.  God placed them in the heavens.  Some were placed next to each other, some circled others, and some were just spaced out.

On the fifth day, God made the birds and fish.  Some were colored with bright colors and some were given colors to help them hide.  Some were big and some very small.

On the sixth day, God made all the animals.  God then looked around and decided that there needed to be caretakers for this beautiful world and universe.  God made first man and then God made the first woman.  He named the man Adam, and Adam named his wife, Eve.  God made them to be like God.

On the last day of this week, God took a rest. God looked at all that was made.  God smiled.  God was happy with what was made.

Activities:

1)      Name 3 animals that make you smile.  Can you draw or find a picture of them?

2)      Learn the name and place of 3 stars and show your best friend.

3)      Lay outside and find three clouds that remind you of something good.  Tell someone what you see.

Listen to GrandPa Burkett read The Creation on www.YouTube.com  at http://youtu.be/JRjHTTbtfjA