I’m the first to admit that Pinterest has become a slight addiction for me, even though I’m pretty sure I’m pronouncing it incorrectly (Pin-interest, Pin-trehst? After 6 years this should be obvious to me). There are days when I completely ignore it, but then on some random Saturday afternoon I go crazy pinning DIY ideas, kids activities, recipes and the like.
But you know what really gets me? That I have multiple boards for kids activities but that maybe one or two ideas from all of these boards have been completed. Some of the pins I haven’t looked at yet for a second time.
I think I’ve figured out why this is! Because I’m not a crafty mom. Not naturally, anyway. If someone asked me what you can do with a cardboard drink carrier, a used yogurt container and a piece of aluminum foil, I’d probably say “recycle them”.
But maybe there’s a part of me that wants to be that crafty mom. The one who has all her supplies at the ready {instead of planning a trip to Michaels that never happens}, who doesn’t care if her dining room floor is full of glitter {that stuff is so annoying to clean up!} and who takes joy in hands-on learning {I’m really trying to make this happen}.
So, what’s a girl to do? Give up entirely? Completely change who I am and become crafty mom extraordinaire? Somewhere in the middle is where I find myself wanting to be.
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It’s been on my heart these past few years to allow my kids the craftiness they deserve and to tie that in with learning more about the Lord. Awhile back I came across a book called “Truth in the Tinsel”, which author Amanda White {of Oh Amanda} calls “an Advent experience for little hands.”
Our family has loved incorporating these creative, straight-from-the-Bible activities and devotions into the Advent season for the last four years!
Truth in the Tinsel includes 24 days of Scripture readings, ornament crafts, talking points and other activity ideas for kids preschool through elementary age {but anyone can join in}. There are also fun printables and templates, so not-so-crafty mommas like myself don’t have to come up with ideas on their own ;) The book lays out exactly what to read, what materials you’ll need and how to do the craft that goes along with the reading for the day.
I’m going to go through this wonderful resource with my children again this year during the month of December! I’d like to invite you to join me!
What I love about Truth in the Tinsel is that it is so useful for the whole family! Whether you’re a new Christian or a seasoned believer, you’ll be blessed by preparing yourself for the most important part of the Christmas season–the birth of Jesus!
And you can do this study every year–by using one of the alternate craft schedules, you can pace yourself and slowly add to your ornament collection, while still using each day of the Scripture readings and Advent chain. Or if you’re ambitious you can do all the crafts!
As a family we’ll be doing each day’s Scripture reading {in our house it will be done as part of devotions}.
Here at The Purposeful Mom we’ll be completing one of the alternate schedules for the crafts, called “By Book of the Bible”. This schedule has the crafts that are grouped by passage of Scripture (Isaiah, Luke 1, etc). I chose this lighter option for the crafts because we all know December can get crazy busy!
Here’s an example of ornaments we’ve done in the past:
Other go-alongs you can purchase for Truth in the Tinsel:
Truth in the Tinsel in Spanish and also German!
Purchase your very own copy of Truth in the Tinsel.
If you have any questions, feel free to send me an email! You can reach me at thepurposefulmom {at} live {dot} com. I’m looking forward to having you join me in impressing the Advent story on our family’s hearts this Christmas season!
WANT TO SPEAK WITH GRACE TO YOUR KIDS INSTEAD OF YELLING?
