BJU Press Blog

Carolynn

Carolynn

About Carolynn

For several years Carolynn was part of the BJU Press web team. In her free time, she can often be found curled up with a good story or hanging out with her family. Read more posts by Carolynn.

Easter Word-Art Cross

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text from Romans 5:12, Isaiah 53:6, Romans 3:23, Romans 3:10, John 3:16, Isaiah 53:7, Mark 15:37-38, Romans 5:6, Romans 5:8, John 3:17, 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 2 Corinthians 5:15, 2 Corinthians 5:21

This Easter, I wanted to share a printable with you that would be different from the normal Easter activities/crafts. With a little help, I  created this word-art cross. The words come directly from the Bible, telling the true story of our sin, our need of a Savior, God’s loving provision, and Christ’s sacrifice that allows us to stand righteous before God.

Most of the passages are probably familiar, but in case they aren’t, I’ve also included the Scripture references. You can view the PDF version by selecting the image. Please print it out, read the verses, and remember this action of God’s love.

I hope this word-art cross is a blessing to you and your children. May you have a blessed Easter remembering Him.

Fun with Snowflakes

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Make a Snowflake with snow falling

One of my favorite things about winter is snow. But living in the South means that I don’t often get the opportunity to enjoy any snow. Thankfully, I can still enjoy some of the beauty of snow by making my own snowflakes.

Do you remember making paper snowflakes? Growing up, I used to make or find a square piece of paper that I would fold into a tiny triangle. Then I would cut a pattern into it, unfold it, and . . . instant snowflake! But instead of going with just the traditional square piece of paper this time, I thought it would be fun to make snowflakes out of a couple other shapes too—a circle and a hexagon.

You can see the shapes I used for my snowflakes by clicking on one of the links below. The first document has just the shapes (square, circle, and hexagon), while the second document has the shapes with the initial fold/crease line shown.

Documents
  1. Snowflake shapes
  2. Snowflake shapes with fold line
Materials needed
  • Paper (construction paper, regular paper, scrap paper, or any other kind of paper you have around)
  • Scissors
Instructions
  1. Cut out one (or more) of the shapes.
  2. Fold the shape in half.
    • Square—Fold the opposite corners together so you have a big triangle.
    • Circle—Fold in half so that you have a half-circle.
    • Hexagon—Fold in half so that two corners meet. You should have an odd-looking triangle with two distinct points and the third “point” looking like the side of a square.
  3. Keep folding the corners together until you have a small triangle-shaped piece of paper
    • The square and circle should be easy after the initial fold. The square takes on a triangle shape after the first fold and the circle will resemble a slice of pizza.
    • The hexagon is a little harder. After the initial fold, fold again so that the two distinct points meet. You’ll still have a triangle with two distinct points and one odd-shaped “point.” Fold so that the odd-shaped point and the distinct point (opposite it) meet. By then your triangle should be small enough.
  4. Cut a pattern into the edges of the triangle shape.
  5. Unfold your triangle and see what you created.

Making snowflakes is fun and (relatively) easy. Try making snowflakes out of all three shapes to see how different each one looks. I hope you enjoy making snowflakes as much I did!

 

September Puzzle Worksheet

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Do you enjoy puzzles? I love them! Crossword, 3-D, sudoku—they’re all fun to do. So when the blog team decided that we wanted to share an activity with our readers this month, I decided to create a decoder puzzle. With some help, I have come up with a fun worksheet that I think you and your kids will enjoy.

Populus tremula, autumn leaf
Populus tremula by Moralist/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain

This autumn-themed puzzle has five clues and a partially-filled out key (at the bottom of the page). Using the clues and letters shown in the key, your kids should be able to decode the item being described in each clue.

As a bonus, you’ll see some space at the bottom of the worksheet for a word unscramble. Certain letters from the items above have boxes around them. Using those letters and the given clue, your kids should be able to discover something special that happens every September.

If you want to make the puzzle doable for younger children, the answer sheet has all the answers and letters filled in for you. So you can decide to give more letters to your kids or even create new clues to share with them that will help them decode the answer.

Decoder worksheet

Decoder worksheet answers

I hope you enjoy it. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please put those in the comments section below.

Happy Friday!

PS: Check out our blog next month for another fun activity you can do with your kids.

Where to Start When Choosing a Major

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This month we’re focusing on college planning. We will be posting some helpful information and links that you can share with high school seniors. They have a busy school year ahead, and we want to help as much as possible. Check out today’s tips on how to choose a college major and then check back each week in September for more college planning posts!

image of a girl with the left side of her dressed like a business person and the right side of her dressed like an artist.

Choosing a major. For some students, it’s one of the hardest decisions they’ll ever make. So many options are available, and they all sound interesting. (How do you pick just one?) It was hard for me—I switched majors twice before my sophomore year of college.

Some college students aren’t like that. They know what they want and stick with it. But there are others who, like me, aren’t sure what to do with the gifts the Lord has given them. If you are struggling with making this big decision, here are a few questions to help you think through and narrow down the options.

What do you like?

It seems like a no-brainer, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out how what you like to do could be a career. For now, focus on your interests; you can consider related careers later. Also, it might help you to write down your different hobbies so that you can refer to them later. And don’t worry if something sounds silly or weird. This is strictly a brainstorming exercise, so don’t edit your list before you create it.

A few brainstorming prompts

  • Favorite activities/hobbies (including jobs/volunteering)
  • Favorite thing to study/do in school
  • A desire that God has placed on your heart
  • Times when you feel like you’ve accomplished something that you’re proud of

What do you see?

Is there something that you could see yourself doing? It might be something that you daydream about. Or when asked what you’d like to do, this certain image pops into your head. What is it?

What do others see?

It’s helpful to ask others for their advice. They see us in a different light . . . from a different angle, so to speak. Ask people that you respect or look up to. Find out what they see as your strengths and weaknesses. Some of the responses may confirm an ability or interest that you already knew about; others may be surprising revelations.

Don’t be discouraged. It can be hard for some of us to speak our dreams aloud. We may feel that something sounds silly or impossible to accomplish, so we don’t voice that dream. But we should. God made each of us for a purpose, and that dream of yours may be exactly what He wants you to do. Talk with people you trust because you know they will listen and give you good advice. Tell them your impossible dream. Even if you’re not ready for that, then at least write it down and share it with God—He’ll give you the best advice.

What advice would you give to a young person who is deciding on a major?

Motivated by His Love

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I was a teenager when God taught me an important lesson about love. It was convicting and showed me an attitude that I’m not proud of. It was about showing love to the “unlovely.”

Now I don’t believe that anyone is truly unlovely—we’re all part of God’s creation and created in His image. But as a sinful human being, I found it easy to classify people as being unlovely. Whether in regards to their appearance, actions, or attitude, some people we know strike us  as being unlovely.

At the ripe old age of fourteen, I was recruited by my church to help out with the Wednesday night children’s program. It was there that I met two little girls that I’ll call Anna and Kelly.

image of the words motivated by his love

Anna was five years old and scared to be in the new class. I was standing where my group was supposed to be in the gym when Anna was deposited into my care. She held my hand for a while and seemed to need that extra attention. She was a sensitive soul, so for the two years I was a helper in her group, I looked out for her. The other kids were hardier and adjusted easily to change. But she was like a delicate flower that needed a little more looking after. And as much as she needed me to look out for her, that first night I definitely needed her.

I was scared and nervous about helping out in the program. As an only child, I hadn’t spent a lot of time around children. So being put in the role of helping to teach children about God was scary for me. I had no idea what I was doing. And even being entrusted with Anna was scary at first.

Enter Kelly. One of the years that Anna and I were in class together, Kelly was another child in our class. She was bolder than Anna and a bit messier too. Looking back on it, I wonder what her home life was like because she came to church dressed a little. . . untidy. For me, that was an adjustment because my clothes were always practically perfect when we went to church. In my teenage snobbishness, I decided that Kelly was unlovely.

That doesn’t mean that I was mean to her—I have a hard time being mean to anyone. But it meant that I had a hard time letting her get close to me. You know how kids are; they love their teachers. So they want to hug you and be right next to you whether or not you want your personal space invaded. It’s their way of showing affection.

I don’t remember exactly how it happened, but one night Kelly came to tell me goodbye for the evening. And God spoke to this foolish young person’s heart. He reminded me that even though it was easy for me to love Anna (who was cute as could be), Kelly needed me to love her too and that I was wrong to keep her at a distance just because I considered her unlovely.

And while that was several years ago—when it was still OK to hug a child who isn’t related to you—the lesson still applies even if an actual hug can’t be given. As fellow human beings, we should never consider another person unlovely. More importantly, as Christians, our duty (our privilege) is to show others God’s love. We may have a hard time loving someone, but that can never be our excuse for denying them His love—a love greater than our own, greater than our sin, and greater than the most painful death.

May you show His love to everyone who crosses your path today.

What has God been teaching you about His love?