Old Testament

A Blessing: Comfort

Posted on October 19, 2011October 18, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

A painting of a shepherd with a rescued sheep.

Psalm 23 can be offered as a source of support for so many of our daily situations. It’s a multi-purpose tool!

Consider just a few possible uses:

Child stressed out about a test? Suggest she think about being led to calm waters.
Mom in need of revived energy? Psalm 23 reminds us that God always offers restoration.
Child fearful of what lurks in the closet? Emphasize that God is our shepherd; his trusty shepherd’s crook makes us feel secure.
Dad worried about the finances? Our cup overflows.

Here’s another way to present Psalm 23: Use it to bless your kids.

Say your child’s name and the words from Psalm 23 that are applicable to your child at any particular moment. For example:

May the Lord comfort you and lead you beside still waters.

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
Shepherd painting by Harold Copping, a photo offered for free use at Bible Picture Gallery.

A Blessing: Restored

Posted on October 12, 2011October 11, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction. Psalm 23:3, The Message

A second chance,
A breath of fresh air,
Revived energy,
Mended strength,
A restored soul.

Remind your child with a blessing that tells that God does all of that for us.

Say your child’s name and…

May the Lord renew your strength and your soul.

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
A beach scene by Leland Francisco, who licensed this photo on Flickr under

Psalm 23 – Should it be memorized?

Posted on October 11, 2011August 27, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

Did you learn Psalm 23 as a child? I don’t remember how old I was when I learned it; I might have been a teenager. All I know is that it sure is hard for me to learn Bible verses at my age! I wish I’d learned a lot more of them when I had masterly memorizing skills.

Should our kids be encouraged to learn Bible verses?

A multiplication facts practice tool In today’s educational settings is memorization still taught? Why should we memorize a Bible verse, let alone a whole chapter’s worth; we can just look it up on our ipod/ipad/smart phone, right?

In a dire moment would you take the time to look it up?

The key is to have readily accessible the words that can steel us in times of trouble. The only way to do that is to put God’s word into long-term-readily-available-brain-storage, often known as “learning it by heart.” (Call it memorization if you must, but maybe not in front of your kids.)

Hints for memory work with kids:

Repeat it. Have your child work on a memory task for only 5 minutes at a time. Repeat every day, always reviewing what was learned in the past before adding something new.
Tie it. Tie your memory work to a certain event—while waiting for dinner, or while in the car.
Write it. Ask your child to make a set of flash cards for reviewing verses. If you have a kinesthetic learner (one for whom learning takes place by doing a physical activity as opposed to listening) repeatedly writing out of a verse may be helpful.
Type it. If you let your child use phone apps here’s a great one: The Bible Memory App for Kids. I use the adult version. I’m up to 30 verses memorized! (Hmmm, maybe my memory skills aren’t as bad as I thought!
Sing it. Make up a tune or use a well-known tune.
Draw it. Encourage children to draw pictures that represent a verse.
Dramatize it. Enact being a shepherd or walking through a dark valley or an overflowing cup. I can see it!
Game it. Write out the verses on slips of paper then cut the slips in half. Play a matching game to see who can fit two strips together.

What other ideas do you have?

Photo credits:
Multiplication by jma.work licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Sheep Sketch by Jennie L.C. who had originally licensed this photo on Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
App screen shot from BibleMemory.com.

Comparing us to sheep?

Posted on October 6, 2011October 26, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

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Have you ever been compared to a sheep? Not very appealing is it? Yet that is what the 23rd Psalm does – we are sheep and God is our shepherd.

How quaint, you say. But that is the Old Testament. Not very applicable to us today. Sheep indeed!

Okay. So most of us don’t encounter sheep everyday. But what if we embark on a study of the meaning of Psalm 23? Come along for the journey! Ask questions by leaving a comment below. Let’s do this together.

Posts in this series so far…

Should we ask kids to memorize Psalm 23?
Psalm 23 is like a breath of fresh air; revived energy – a restored soul!
A source of support for many daily situations – comfort.
A guide for family discussion.
Personalizing Psalm 23.

Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Sheep by Steenbergs, who licensed this photo on Flickr under

Looking for a study of Psalm 23?

Posted on September 29, 2011November 18, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

Our 1st – 6th graders at FUMC in Ann Arbor, MI) do Sunday school in a novel way via what is called the Workshop Rotation Model. They learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops that each teach the story from a different learning style. Here are the workshops we used when we studied Psalm 23. (You can see which Bible story we are currently covering here.)

A Shepherd leads his flock to still waters

Since we have studied this story a couple of times — we repeat stories every six or so years — there are multiple descriptions for some workshops. Where available, I’ve linked to the lessons we used. They live on in perpetuity at the website for all things Rotation: Rotation.org.

Check out this Bible passage on-line here. And peruse a growing list of opportunities to foster faith learning at home using this story.

In the Art Workshop students discussed the word pictures found in Psalm 23 and used watercolors to paint a visual image of the psalm. Link to the lesson.
In the Cooking Workshop students will learn about sheep and shepherds, focusing on Psalm 23:1. Design sheep-shaped sugar cookies. Will kids be able to recognize their sheep?
In the Games Workshop (2011) students participated in two games. First a relay race called “Follow me to the Lord’s House.” Then Pictionary to work on learning Psalm 23.
In the Games Workshop (2017) students participated in a Psalm 23 Olympic obstacle course.
In the Newsroom Workshop students will create and videotape a news broadcast on a portion of Psalm 23 (verses 4-6). Link to the lesson.
In the Puppets Workshop students will use puppets to act out using Psalm 23 as comfort in a time of trouble. In this workshop the focus is on verse 4.
In the Storytelling Workshop students will learn about sheep and the tough job of a shepherd, from a storyteller dressed as a Bible times shepherd. They will play a True/False quiz game involving herding “sheep.”
In the Video-Making Workshop students created background and characters with Legos and other materials, and then created a video of a Psalm 23-like story, using their created scenes.

If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI.

Photo credits:
One of a set of photographs of a shepherd life, illustrating the Twenty Third Psalm,
created by the Photo Dept. of the American Colony (Jerusalem), circa 1900 to 1920. Access the original in black and white via Library of Congress, in the Public Domain. A colorized version via Waiting for the Word at Flickr.
Any other photos are copyright, from my archives.

A blessing: suited for God’s sheepfold

Posted on August 24, 2011July 3, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

If you’ve hung around this blog you’ll know that blessing your kids is a big thing for me. I want to help you to do this! What can you say as the words of the blessing? You can use scripture! And since we are studying Psalm 100, why not use verse 3.

the words of Psalm 100:3 with a photo of sheep

There is assurance in these words.

^^that they have a place with God. Hearing these words reminds your child that they are welcomed into a special relationship with God.

Use similar wording — feel free to improvise. Say your child’s name and…
May you know that the Lord is God! He made you. You belong to him.

Bless your child. Place them under God’s loving care.

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits:
Created by moi from a photo on Flickr by Randy Robertson, who licensed this photo under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).

The password is thank you

Posted on August 22, 2011July 2, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

Is this Bible verse talking about the doors to church?

A church door

Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.
Psalm 100:4

Time Out. Talk about… A speech bubble
Ask that question at the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.)

It happens that this month at Sunday’s Cool Rotation, we are studying Psalm 100. As we dig into this psalm with the kids, our primary focus is to explore what this tells us about how to worship God. After all, the Old Testament book of Psalms is a collection of poems, prayers, and hymns that were used in the worship services of the ancient Israelites.

When we reflect on “worship” we immediately think of what we do once a week on Saturday or on Sunday – opening up those gates (okay, the doors) and coming to church. We are commanded to worship God with loud, vocal praise.

Time Out. Talk about… A speech bubble Is worship restricted to just during a weekly “worship service”?

What if we consider those “gates” referred to above as “doors” to each new day of life? How does that change your outlook on worship?

If worship — expressing our love and our devotion to God — can take place at any time and in any place, then the teachings of Psalm 100 can be applied, not just once a week, but to daily life!

Time Out. Talk about… A speech bubble
What instruction does Psalm 100 impart to our day-to-day routine? Take a look at how the The Message paraphrases Verse 4 of Psalm 100:

Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.

Do you know what this means? We are to approach our days with gratitude!

The password to wondrous joy is given to us: put into practice saying thanks!

A couple of years ago I started the habit of noticing and noting things for which I am thankful; gifts from God. I got started after reading the thoughts of Ann Voskamp…

I find it helpful to keep a list.

Yes, it’s a numbered list. I’m working my way to 1,000, but I probably won’t stop there. Sometimes my list keeping is sporadic. But I always come back to realizing its benefits: it’s not enough to just think good thoughts, it takes feelings of true gratitude – seeing it all as gifts – in good times and in bad.

Some recent entries in my gratitude list…

711. A husband who gets groceries.
728. Having something to do while I’m waiting.
735. A son’s smile when I give him a blessing.
743. A job (in her field!) for my daughter.
746. Wild, free-for-the-picking flowers to bring in for the table.
748. An out-of-the-blue: “I’m coming over to help.”
760. Having a mess to clean-up.
789. Tears at saying good-bye.
798. Sheets flapping on the clothes line.
811. Reflecting on a weekend with wonderful women surrounding me as I stepped outside my comfort zone, multiple times!

What about you? Have you considered starting a list of thousands (and thousands) of gifts?

Photo credits:
Church doors by Jimmy Harris, who licensed this photo on Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Button from A Holy Experience.
Rest of photos from my archives.

Worship = work?

Posted on August 19, 2011July 2, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

6th grade preps to serve Connections

A quick quiz… Ask this at your family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.)

Looking at the above photo, What do the following two Bible verses have in common?

Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Psalm 100:2

And…

Six days you shall labor and do all your work. Exodus 20:9

Ahh?
Joyful worship is what you do after your 6-day work week is up??

Not what I had in mind.

Okay, so I asked a toughie. This is something that I didn’t know! (Probably because it involves being acquainted with Hebrew.)

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. The Hebrew word used for “worship” in Psalm 100:2 (abad) is also the same word translated as “labor” in the verse from Exodus. The word abad also means to serve. It appears that the ancient Israelites did not always differentiate between worship, and work or service – the word means the same thing!

The Cool Disciples have been studying Psalm 100. You may recall that one of our workshops in this Rotation is to serve as groundskeepers for the downtown church. Kids are learning that worship and work are synonymous. (And I know for a fact that they experienced joy in their serving!)

We might think of the word worship as what happens for an hour once a week, but in reality this word worship includes what we may do at any time – experience joy in serving the Lord. According to the psalmist, this joy is to be expressed with gladness and thanksgiving.

Kids work on creating school kits

If worship is actually the way we should live… if it involves serving others… what can you do together as a family in service/worship?

Here are some suggestions that our church is involved in:

L.O.V.E. Thy Neighbor: Help make sandwich lunches for the homeless. Friday nights from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Read more about the program here.
Help out with CAN projects: The Community Action Network (CAN), is a non-profit community organization serving families living in low income Ann Arbor. CAN advocates for these families with their schools, community service providers, and government agencies. They provide educational and life skills programs for children and teens, and supportive housing services for families. During Vacation Bible school we have in the past contributed boxes of cereal.
FiSH FRI: A Third Friday Mission Event. Not a Fish Fry! Our kind of FiSH Fri(day) will be all about filling needs in our community, each third Friday of the month during the school year.
Meals Ministry. Making meals for stressed families – maybe they’ve had a new baby! Involve your kids in planning a meal, shopping and preparation and delivery. I still remember a church member who brought us a meal after I was in the hospital. She very patiently unloaded our supper and her two small children and brought them to the door to deliver the meal. What a great lesson her kids learned that day – service!