Image Credit:  oo110 - CCO Public Domain Image - via Pixabay

This week in our Beth Moore Bible Study, we discussed the topic The Heart That Intercedes.  As a believer in Jesus, I’ve always known that He intercedes for us, but I never really thought about the truth that He lives to do so.

The Heart That Intercedes

Day 1 of The Heart That Intercedes:  We discussed the holy calling of the priesthood.  In Numbers chapter 8 and in Leviticus chapters 10, 21, and 22, we learn that God is extremely specific about the qualifications of the priesthood.  He was specific about the qualifications so that He will be sanctified among the sons of Israel.  If God’s instructions were not followed, the offender died.

"God never called us to naivete.  He called us to integrity . . . The biblical concept of integrity emphasized mature innocence, not childlike ignorance . . . Sanctification is not about long hair and abstinence.  It is about purity – purity maintained in the midst of an impure world . . . Maintaining purity in ministry is the result of nothing less than deliberate devotion.  For those really fulfilling their calling of evangelism and ministry, purity is neither easy nor accidental.  We must guard our minds and put on our armor.  A war rages out there.  And we are Satan’s favorite prisoners." – Beth Moore

Day 2 of The Heart That Intercedes:  This day’s topic was titled A Peculiar Priest.  On this day, we studied the duties of the priests.  Their job consisted of ministering in the sanctuary, teaching in the temple, offered intercession at the altar of incense, offered sacrifices for the people, and blessed the people.

Day 3 of The Heart That Intercedes:  This day’s topic was titled The Open Door.  We learned about why it was necessary for Christ to become flesh and fulfill His role as our Intercessor (High Priest).  Christ became flesh so that He would be merciful and faithful and to make propitiation for the sins of people – so He could help those who are tempted.

Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. – Hebrews 2:17-18 

Day 4 of The Heart That Intercedes:  This day’s topic was titled The Right Hand of God.  Today’s lesson dove deeper into the heart of Jesus, our Intercessor.  We learned that Jesus heals us from the ravages of sin by His scourging.  He predestined us to the conformation of his image.  He is always with us.  He blesses us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. – Ephesians 1:3 

Day 5 of The Heart That Intercedes:  This day’s lesson was titled Heaven, the Blessed Adoption Agency.  This lesson was precious because we read that we are his royal priesthood.  God made us for His own possession.  We are His adopted children.  We can personally call him “Father.”

You are not illegitimate, my beloved sister.  You have been planned and purposed.  Your Father has acknowledged you as His child.  – Beth Moore

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”  – Matthew 19:14

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I highly encourage you to complete the entire Bible study, A Woman’s Heart, God’s Dwelling Place by Beth Moore.  You can get your copy here!

Read all posts in this series here.

If you need the leadership kit, you can get that here.

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Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

*Note:  The watermark on all the photos in this post refers to my previous blog which was named Mom is Forever.  All my former blog contents have been moved to this blog, Abundant Family Living.

Flower Craft for Spring

Select a Flower Pot

Painted flower pots are pretty. They are great for gift giving and they make great indoor or outdoor decorations. First, choose the right flower pot. Where will the pot go? Inside? Which room? On a table or on the floor? Will you need a large pot? A small one? Will you need a clay pot or a plastic one? Decide where it will go and then pick just the right pot. If you are painting a flower pot to give as a gift, it won’t matter. The person receiving it will love it and will find the perfect place for it.

My little daycare children painted small clay flower pots to give as gifts to their mothers for Mother’s Day. We used coffee filters to create pretty spring colored flowers. Here is what we did and you can do it too.

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

Paint Your Pot

This project can be messy so make sure you (or in my case, the kids) wear old clothes. I allowed my preschoolers to paint their flower pots independently. I wanted it to be their work, not mine. If your kids have the skills, they can paint pretty pictures on their pots. They might paint flowers, butterflies, lady bugs, cars, trucks, tractors, grass, bugs, etc. Let them use their imaginations. If they don’t have the skills to paint pictures or emblems, it doesn’t matter. Let them free paint. My preschoolers chose to use solid colors. My only guideline was that they paint the whole pot. I wanted them to cover it up. Mostly, I wanted it to be their work. As a mother myself, I knew their mothers would appreciate it more if they did all the work.

The following pictures show you examples of their work.

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

Coffee Filter Flowers

While your flower pots are drying, you can work on the coffee filter flowers. This can be done a couple of different ways.

Allow the kids to color the coffee filters with regular markers. Then, let them spray on water with a spray bottle. The colors will bleed together. It is fun to watch and it looks pretty when it’s done. Too much water will make the colors run together too much, resulting in a black or brown coffee filter flower. Spay on just enough to make the colors bleed a little bit.

*Don’t use permanent Sharpie markers for this. The colors won’t run together. We tried it once before and learned the hard way.

Let the kids paint the coffee filters with watercolor paints. The colors bleed while they paint. Then, just let it dry. This is what we did.

We painted 6 coffee filters for each flower pot.

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

 Assemble the Flower Pots

While you are waiting on the coffee filter flowers to dry, you can assemble the flower pots. I purchased green Styrofoam balls from my local Michael’s store which were a perfect fit for our flower pots. I just stuck the Styrofoam balls into the pots and pressed down a little bit to make them a tight fit.

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

Secure the Flowers

We used wire wood picks to secure the coffee filter flowers into our pots. They have wire ties attached. I tied the coffee filters onto the stems with the wire. Another option is to use green pipe cleaners. You can twist one end of the pipe cleaner to secure the flower and then stick the other end into the Styrofoam ball. One more idea is to use real sticks. If you use sticks, you can secure the flowers to the stick using rubber bands or twistie ties. You can leave the sticks natural or let the kids paint them green.

The next photo demonstrates how I secured our coffee filter flowers. I grabbed the center of the coffee filter and folded it as shown. I placed the center at the wire end of the wooden stem and then twisted the wire around to secure the flower.

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

"Plant" Your Flowers

Now, you are ready to “plant” your flowers. Just stick the stems into the Styrofoam balls. Press them down in there. I had to sort of hammer some of ours so that all the flowers were even around the pot.

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

Finish Your Project

After we got all our stems secured into our Styrofoam balls, we fluffed all our flowers. Here is our finished product. The only thing I added after the following photo are the words “Happy Mother’s Day 2015” on each pot. You can paint on a sentiment but I was short on time so I just wrote it on with a permanent Sharpie marker. Of course, you don’t have to write anything at all or you can write something else entirely depending on the purpose of the gift such as “Happy Birthday” or “Just Because.”

My daughter made one of these for me years ago and I still have it. As long as it is kept out of the sunlight, it shouldn’t fade. It will be a pretty keepsake for years to come.

Image Credit:  Abundant Family Living

You might also like this cute coffee filter flower wall hanging craft.

Coffee Filter Wall Hanging Flower Craft

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Recently, HarperCollins Publishing sent me two books to review here on Mom Is Forever.  One of those books was If He Had Not Come by Nan F. Weeks.  We are getting ready to enter the spring season here but I was still excited to read this new Christmas book.  I received the book in ebook format.

If He Had Not Come by Nan F. Weeks

Illustrated by Charles Jaskiewicz

If He Had Not Come is a children’s Christmas book.  Traditional Christmas stories tell the story of the birth of Jesus, but this is a different kind of Christmas story.  If He Had Not Come encourages children to think about what life might be like today if Jesus had never been born.  Bobby, the little boy in the story, wakes up one morning, expecting to enjoy his usual family Christmas morning traditions.  Instead, everything is different.  There are no family traditions.  Businesses that are usually closed for Christmas are open.  There is no church and the New Testament is missing from his Bible!  When Bobby asks questions, nobody has even heard of Christmas.  How can this be?

The message of this story is well written.  Children who read this book will realize the true  meaning of Christmas and what life would be like if Jesus had not come to earth.  After the story, there is a section called Interactive Topics for Families and Sunday School Teachers.  There is a series of questions for families to discuss together.  Discussing the answers to the questions will deepen the meaning of the story and build a foundation for life application.  After the Interactive topics section, families will find a section titled Going Deeper.  Here families will find further topics for discussion along with numerous scripture references.  The next section is the Gospel Message.  In this section, readers are led through the path to salvation.

I found this book thought-provoking not only for children but also for adults.  It has the feel of an old-time classic story that children will want to read year after year.

Get your copy of  If He Had Not Come here.

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