E is for Evangelism ~ Operation Christmas Child

National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child starts on Monday.  Not sure what Operation Christmas Child is?  It's an arm of Samaritan's Purse.


From the Samaritan's Purse website:

Mission Statement

Samaritan’s Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world. Since 1970, Samaritan’s Purse has helped meet needs of people who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease, and famine with the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. The organization serves the church worldwide to promote the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They provide assistance to people in need around the world.  By responding to natural disaster sites, war torn environments, and more, they are able to share the Good News to hurting men, women, and children.  They help people rebuild, give medical care, work with wounded US veterans and their spouses, train people to care for animals and plants to provide food and a livelihood to individuals and their neighbors, greatly improving their quality of life.  And really, that's just a small sample of the many things Samaritan's Purse does.

Operation Christmas Child is a ministry that reaches kids ages 2-14 around the world.  With the gift of a shoebox, the door is opened for the eternal gift of the gospel.  Children receive a gift, prayerfully and lovingly packed by other children, families, and churches.  Items packed generally include school supplies (paper, pencils, crayons, coloring books), hygiene items (soap, washcloths, tooth brushes), clothing (a shirt, socks, underpants, shoes), and toys (a slinky, whistle, cards, dolls, soccer ball with pump).

We've packed shoeboxes almost every year since the bigger littles were baby punks.  It's part of what we do each fall now and I think they would be pretty disappointed if they didn't get to choose toys and games to include in each box.  We go through our stash of small toys, tools, games, and gadgets and pack items in each box very intentionally.

Some items are more expensive than others, but there are often sales on most items you might want.  I never imagined I could afford soccer balls and pumps for boxes, but I found a sale last year for $2.50 for real soccer balls.  Then I shopped around for inexpensive, but sturdy, ball pumps.  I've purchased small fleece blankets (originally $5, on sale for $2.50 or less) and with some creative folding, rolling, and packing, they are easy to fit in a shoebox without displacing other important items.  Sometimes, a great toy assortment or small stuffed animals become reasonably priced.  I don't get "cheap" toys, but rather items at a good price.  I figure, if my punks would break a toy in ten minutes, a lot of other punks would break the toy in ten minutes.  There's no fun in broken toys.

It's just as much fun to pack for older children as it is for the littles.  I like getting to put a bit more thought into what a 13 year old might be interested in as opposed to a six year old.  I've included small tool kits for boys and crochet hooks and yarn for girls.  Somewhere, on the great wide interwebs, once upon a time, I found crochet instructions with NO WORDS, so no language barrier.  In just pictures, girls can learn to crochet basic items.  The source of that document is no longer on the internet, but it has me thinking of other things that can be taught in photos.


We make purchases year round.  It makes it a lot easier to pack more boxes without a big expense all at once.  I don't follow the Samaritan's Purse shopping schedule; I just purchase whatever I see on sale (shoes, clothes, toys, and school supplies) at the end of the season, then add washcloths, soap, and toothbrushes.  This year, I had so many little girls' shoes, and shirts for both boys and girls I was able to pass them on to a church to include in their boxes.   I had thought about keeping some for next year, when I heard the Slugs & Bugs Sing the Bible version of Matthew 6:19-21 and Luke 3:11 decided to get them sent out this year.  I know I'll find more bargains for next fall.



Another great feature of the Operation Christmas Child ministry is that we can track our shoeboxes.  By paying the reasonable shipping fee online, we can print labels for our boxes which can be scanned and we are emailed the country of the box's final destination.  Some years, all of our boxes go to the same country and other years we've had boxes head to as many as four different countries.  Only once have we not found out where our box went and we learned it went to a "hard to reach" area.  This means the final destination can't be revealed for safety reasons.  I imagine that may be one of the places of greatest need for the gospel message.

Check out Samaritan's Purse to see what happens to a shoebox as it travels from your home to a child in need somewhere in the world.





Find drop off locations and times for your area.

#ipackedashoebox

Let The Little Children Come #2 ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

Today, I want to tell you about some evangelism tools for sharing the gospel with children.  Let the Little Children Come has a Gospel Tracts and Evangelism Tools Sampler Pack that I really think you're going to like.  Let the Little Children Come is not affiliated with any specific church.  You can see their Statement of Faith on the website.

Like the Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box Tract I reviewed last month, these tools can each be purchased separately and come in packs of either ten or twenty.  Just check out the fun sampler pack and choose a favorite to share with your audience.  I ended up sending the pumpkin boxes, filled with candy, to the community soup kitchen along with some yummy cookies made by our co-op kids.

Most of the individual tract packs come with one leader's instruction sheet for the whole kit.  This sheet explains how to use the tract, what to say to the child, and lists verses for references.  There's also often an example prayer for children to pray to accept God's gift of Salvation through Jesus Christ.  As with the pumpkin tract boxes, I found the messages to be full of love and not fear.  Some of the tracts, like the Wordless Bracelet Kit, come with a small instruction card in each bracelet kit.  Some of these tracts also are available in Spanish.

Several types of tracts are included in this child evangelism tract sampler.

Three Animated Tracts.  These nifty booklet tracts have several pictures that feature sections made up of vertical lines.  They include an acetate sheet that alternates clear and black vertical stripes.  When the acetate is laid over the picture and moved left or right the picture becomes clear and appears to move. 

"It's like a little movie!"  ~ Xav

• The True Story of Christmas - Features six illustrated pages, five of which use the acetate overlay.  The last page shares the gospel, including an example prayer.
• Where's Everybody Going? - Six pages which use the acetate overlay and a page inviting readers to spend "forever and ever" with God.
• John 3:16 - Four acetate overlay illustrations and the gospel message.

Two FlipAbouts.  I love these things.  Once I figured out *how* they work!  These little cards are so fun to play with.

• John 3:16 - Tells John 3:16 in four pictures.
• Gospel Buttons - Shares the gospel in a similar way as the other "wordless" products, using just gold, black, red, and green pictures.

Two Pop-up Tracts.

• The Lost Easter Egg - The hunt for a missing Easter egg leads to the parable of the Lost Sheep.
• The Most Amazing House - All about Christ's sacrifice and the amazing home that is being built in Heaven.

Two Bracelets.

• Wordless Bracelet Kit - Children create their own wordless bracelet with the black string and black, red. white, green, and yellow beads.
• Salvation Bracelet - This is one of those popular, rubbery bracelets, divided into the Wordless colors.

And a mini Wordless Book.

The Wordless items all start with Heaven, but we've always ended with Heaven.  There was a bit of resistance with those, so when we made the Wordless Bracelet Kit, we put the yellow bead at the end.  All the items in the Gospel Tracts and Evangelism Tools Sampler Pack are well made and I think will hold up to quite a bit of use.  I'm not sure, but I imagine the FlipAbouts won't last as long as some of the others, simply because of the continuous folding that will be happening once you've figured out how to flip it.  They are by far my favorite tools now that I've figured out exactly how they work.  Once I get started, I just keep flipping and flipping and...  The punks' favorites are the animated tracts.  They're pretty neat.  Xav also loves the bracelets.  He is almost always wearing some rubber bracelet or wristband.  He also loves crafting, so the Wordless Bracelet Kit is a must for kids who enjoy assembling things.

Each of these evangelism tools draws children in with a fun experience and allows them to hear the gospel message.  They then take these home with them where they share the fun and the message with their families and friends.  The more times they share the gospel, the more they are exposed to it themselves.







I think the best part about the Let the Little Children Come website is that you can go to the page of any of these tools and see so much about it before you decide to purchase one.   Each one includes descriptions and usage instructions.  Some of the information even shows a video of how the tracts work or are assembled.


Check out this resources page for more neat evangelism ideas that you can use today! 

Find Let the Little Children Come on Facebook. 

Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box Tract ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

If you or your church are looking for child evangelism tools, I am definitely recommending Let the Little Children Come.  Today, I'm just writing about one item they have available, but I have an assortment of children's tracts to help you share the beautiful salvation message.  I'll be telling you more about the others another day.  For now, I'm sharing this adorable little pumpkin halloween tract candy holder.

The Is There Anything Better Than Candy? Box-Tract comes in a set of 20 pumpkin shaped boxes.  They are made of sturdy, glossy cardstock imprinted with a pumpkin design on the one side and a gospel message of salvation on the flip side.  You simply and easily punch out the template.  The pumpkin is made by folding in the six individual "petals."  Two of them have little stems on the end that hold the entire thing together.

I appreciated that this halloween tract is not frightening.  I don't mean frightening because it's halloween related, I mean frightening in the fire and brimstone kind of way.  Does that tactic ever work?  I just can't imagine Jesus wanting children coming to him only because they are terrified.

These little pumpkins are about 2x3 inches when closed, so there are plenty of small treats that will fit in them.  I managed to try out a few candies here.  Some things that fit:

• funsize/bitesize candy bars (I tried an individual peanut butter cup and a tiny pack of three whoppers.)
• a few hard or chewy candies (I had zotz, sweetarts, laffy taffy, pack of two starburst, and they all fit.)
• licorice (With some coiling, I got two individual twizzlers in the pumpkin.)
• a lollipop (My caveat with this, the stick was a bit long and I tore the last petal when I closed it up.  I bet a safety pop with no stick would work well.)
• Candy corn and other small candy (which would need to be bagged up to keep them inside the pumpkin).
• Pumpkin Spice tea bags!  (Trust me on this.  Have a MOPS group at your church?  Do you host a "tea and testimony" or similar get together?  Moms would take these home and show these to their children while sipping a lovely cup of tea.)

There are many uses for these little pumpkins.  There are the obvious Trick or Treaters, Trunk or Treaters, and harvest festival attendees.  I thought about giving these to the students in my co-op class about Native Americans, when we discuss harvesting at Thanksgiving.  But every year, I half-heartedly consider reverse trick or treating at a local nursing home.  That's where the trick or treaters dress up and deliver treats to the residents.  Our co-op is having it's second annual service day in the middle of October and one of the things we did last year was prepare music for them and "do the chatting."  That would be another great option.

A few other ideas for handing these out could include opening them with your Sunday school class or youth group, handing them out with the youth group, scavenger hunts (which the Dad is very good at organizing), table favors for harvest dinners, or as a gift at a reading of The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs. There are so many ways these versatile little boxes can be used.

I wish they could be folded in a way that enabled unfolding the "petals" in order.  By that, I mean the first you unhook would be #1, the second #2, and so on.  Numbers 1 and 4 are across from each other on the open template and have the stems, so they need to be closed first.  The only problem I see with the numerical opening order is that the numbers on the open segments could not circle round the template 1-6.  But I think being able to *read the message in order* as the pumpkin is opened would make more of an impact.

By the way, the answer to the question "Is there anything better than candy?" is YES!  "It's being God's friend."  This tract *sweetly* explains God's love, Christ's sacrifice, and how to accept this special gift of salvation.

Next month, I'll be telling you a bit about some other child evangelism products available from Let the Little Children Come.

Find Let the Little Children Come on Facebook.
  

Lamplighter Ministries' Book Bindery ~ Field Trip Friday

I know!  I haven't even told you about our Steamtown trip yet!  But I really want to share this wonderful unplanned guided tour we experienced in Mount Morris, NY.  I didn't even know this was a thing until I saw this post on The Facebook.

The book bindery is smack dab in the middle between two sets of grandparents.  The folks at Lamplighter very graciously arranged to give us the guided tour within just a couple hours of contacting them.  We headed to the guild house and were met by Oscar, a very kind and patient young man, which is a huge plus with these three punks.  I don't know if you remember, but The Crew reviewed The Secret Bridge earlier this year.  As we walked in the front door, we saw a shelf of hundreds of Lamplighter volumes, and there was The Secret Bridge.  Merrick heard me mention it to Oscar and he shouted, "I didn't know you had a secret bridge!"  Well, there wasn't a real secret bridge, but little did we know, we were going to find out about another "secret."

{Click on any of these pictures to enlarge them!}

We headed toward the back of the lovely old "home" and passed an office where President Mark Hamby sat chatting with a couple of other employees.  Everyone was all smiles and so kind to greet us!  Back a bit farther, we met Peter, the marketing guy.  He and I had a nice chat about The Crew, The Secret Bridge, it's sister book (The Secret Cove), and reading books because our kids want to hear them.  :)  The punks were very curious, but were able to keep their bodies under control.

Next we headed back into shipping where Sarah was busy packaging up books.  Here were more books on shelves.

Then, just as it started to rain, we headed to the old church across the yard.  This is where all the action was.  I admit, I was surprised how small the room was, but it held so much!  Several large pieces of equipment, a few books in various stages of completion, and three lovely, friendly girls working busily.

I'm afraid I've forgotten the name of the girl who walked us through each phase of the book binding process.  First, she showed us the uncut book pages.  Four copies of the same page on each sheet and each book was separated by a yellow sheet of paper.  It was a HUGE stack.  The book title was actually *not* in the catalog we picked up while we were there.  Hmmm....
(ETA: It *is* on the website, though.)

Next we looked at the guillotine which chopped those stacks into four individual books.

We saw how the pages are glued together after being cut.  The machine that applied the glue was so fast I couldn't get a clear picture!

The empty covers were neat to see.  We folded one to see how it would work and noticed it was blank!  There were blue, red, and purple covers in the bindery that day.

The books are stamped for each color, so this was stamped once for black and once for the gold foil.  The spine and the front are done separately.

then the books are laid over the vertical piece in the photo below, coated with a glue, and placed inside the covers.

That's basically it, but it was quite fascinating to watch.  Especially since about half a dozen books in various stages of completion were in the room.

Now we know how the books are made with love and care, but there was more.  We stepped into a hallway and Oscar tried to ask a few questions, but the fans were pretty loud.  I wish we could have finished the conversation there, because once we moved on, it was a lot harder to keep their attention!

First, we walk in and see this amazing sanctuary.  "With books.  Scads of books!  Mountains of books!  Forests of books!  Cascades!"  So beautiful and wonderful.  While I'm agog at all the books, Merrick was quizzing Oscar about the pew kneelers!  We chatted with Oscar some more and I pointed out the gorgeous pipe organ.

That's when he showed us the secret.

Inside this organ, there is a recording studio!  Podcasts are recorded there.  Oscar "interviewed" the punks about their breakfast and told them, if they had been recording a podcast right then, there would be notes on the center table telling them important things like the nutritional information about their cereal and any other things they might need during the show.

Then we got to shop the sanctuary!  It really was overwhelming.  I'd heard of some of the stories available, but there were so many that were unfamiliar.  I was sure a couple of boys would choose Trusty the Train books, and they did!  I selected Teddy's Button on audio so we could listen in the car on the way back to Vermont.  Then I made the wise decision that I needed more help making the rest of my decisions!  Oscar asked some great questions to get a feel for what I was looking for and made some excellent suggestions.  Then it was just Xavier who hadn't chosen a book yet.  He told Oscar he wanted a book for BOYS, that was exciting, and in which no one died.

So, we made our selections and brought them back to Sarah in shipping who rang us up and sent us on our way.  It was a wonderful way to spend part of an afternoon.

Thank you so much, Lamplighter Ministries, Oscar, and everyone else at the book bindery.  You may have an intern from this house in your house someday!

"Scads of books!  Mountains of books!  Forests of books!  Cascades!"

~ Cogsworth and Lumiere ~

Summer Has Officially Begun

It always seems like the busiest week we have every year is the first week after public school gets out.  Summer is starting and there are summer things to do.  This year was no exception.  It rained a lot this week.  Probably at least a bit every. single. day.  sigh...

Public school didn't officially end until noon time on Tuesday this week, I'm guessing because of snow days.  Because of this, Xav did not have PE on Tuesday like usual.  Instead, he was invited to participate in field day with the whole school.  He was even given a mascot T-shirt in school colors, just like everyone else.

Monday night is also the night our first VBS of the summer began.  Yep, the first VBS is in the evening.  There are lessons for ages 2-adult.  So, while I was sorely tempted to nap in the car every night (because exhaustion), I stayed for Bible study.  Some other Friday School families were present, too, so it was nice to visit in our off time.  I also met a few other very sweet ladies.  The theme was Over the Moat: Drawbridge to the King and the study was about King David. 

Since school was in session for two days, gymnastics camp was only three mornings.  The charge this year was higher, the time and number of days shorter, but I still felt it was reasonable.  Honestly, the first time it was $10/kid/session (NOT *day*) and I thought that was crazy cheap, so I'm not complaining.  I do wish it had been all week though.  Xav and Merrick absolutely love it!  Mal chose not to participate this year again.  He didn't change his mind mid-way through, like he did last year.  When it didn't rain, Xav, Mal, and I walked and went to the playground while Merrick was in his lesson.  When it was Xav's turn, I took Merrick and Mal home because his session was longer than Merrick's.

Wednesday or Thursday afternoon (because we're kind of kooky), we went to a resort where we have a Daycation pass.  We spent a few hours getting familiar with the layout and at one of the pool areas.  Caught a shuttle bus, which Merrick and Mal thought was amazing.  We'll be going up again this week and probably head to one of the other pool areas, since they are all different.  We don't just have access to the pools.  There is hiking, a game zone, and a ton of events we can participate in, oh, and lagoons.  Because we want to be sure to get our money's worth out of this pass, I want to get up there fairly often.  I've told the punks we are switching to school in the morning.  It won't be easy for any of us, as we're all creatures of habit, but you gotta do what you gotta do.

So, that wasn't nearly enough to do and we didn't need any rest on Saturday.  So, our week finished out with a VBS closing carnival (and banana splits) on Saturday and the rain stayed away the entire time.  I picked up Greek food from the lady at the Farmer's Market for lunch.  Then we headed to a new (2nd year) Renn Faire.  We didn't stay long.  Then it was off to our favorite cider mill for our first visit of the year.  No, they weren't pressing, since it's summer, but they have samples and we bought cider and cider donuts.  Outside we were surprised by the most adorable little bunny litter.  I saw seven babies around the picnic tables and gazebo.  The most intriguing part was their appearance.  They didn't look like wild rabbits.  There were two albinos and five in various shades of tan or brown.  I have *never* seen wild rabbits like that.  I have myself convinced they were from an escaped pet.

This young lady worked a while to get close enough to pet this cutie.  She said it was the highlight of her whole day.

R is for Repentant

One day, one terrible day, I was angry at one of the kids.  I think I may have actually been angry at the world that day.  I was trying to get them to do the bedtime things that need doing and one poor soul was in the living room.  I had him pick up something he didn't get out and he did, cheerfully for him.  I thanked him, I really did.  I was trying to be appreciative.  Then I asked him to do one other related thing.  He ignored me and went to "take care of" something else that didn't need taking care of.  So I stopped him and redirected him to what I wanted done.  One thing leads to another.  He is doing this mindless fluttering around thing he does when he is stressed and I am snapping.  Suddenly, my husband is yelling.  At *me*.

Yeah.  Low moment.  And now I'm "explaining" myself and my frustration.  And he is explaining louder.  We rarely argue.  It was so unusual, that said child split at the first chance.  As soon as bedtime was finished, I went and got in the shower.  Now, the shower is *my* place.  It's where I unwind.  I clean my spirit in there.  If I feel like crying, that's where I let it out.  I talk to God and no one is interrupting us with ridiculous demands.

But...  This time was different.  I was angry.  I was angry that my kids couldn't follow simple instructions.  I was angry that my husband didn't understand (and I maybe felt he might be a bit hypocritical).  I was angry at myself for feeling so angry.  I didn't cry.  I just didn't want to cry.  I talked to God.  I told Him I just didn't feel sorry.  I told Him my anger and pride were getting in the way of me being sorry.  I told Him I wanted to be sorry, I just didn't feel like it right then.  I knew my pride was hurting me.

As I turned off the water, I suddenly felt better.  It was like my pride and anger had surrendered to the King.  I knew I sometimes I am demanding.  I knew sometimes said child has a hard time listening or focusing or whatever the deal is.  I knew my husband is human.  Just like me.  We are all doing the best we can (most of the time).  There was nothing wrong with lovingly pointing my flaw out to me, I just couldn't listen right then.

I just couldn't listen right then.

How many times do I keep on harping when the kids have stopped hearing me?

My pride was in the way.

I could not let go and be remorseful because my pride was in the way.

I surrendered.

I was sorry and I cried and I repented.  And I know my Father forgave me.


2 Cor 7:9-10
⁹ yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. ¹⁰ Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

This post is part of Blogging Through the Alphabet with Annette and Amanda.  I'm late posting R, but I think it's a good message and I really needed to click "Publish" and get it up there.  Thanks for reading.

Drive Thru History® The Gospels ~ A Homeschool Crew Review

If you're familiar with Drive Thru History® courses (Ancient History, American History, or The Holy Land), I think you will really enjoy Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels”.  I had to laugh, when the day the DVDs arrived, Xav started the first disc.  He watched the intro for a moment and said, "Drive Thru History?  Where's his MINI Cooper?"  I have no idea if Dave Stotts drives a MINI in Ancient History.  I guess I don't pay attention to the "important" stuff.  I did note, however, that for this round Dave is apparently driving a 40 year old Land Rover.  You're welcome.  (Well, I'll be.  I just looked up a mini and found a review on Car and Driver for the Mini Cooper S that looks identical.)


Dave Stotts and Drive Thru History® make learning about the past more fun.  Seriously.  I have active boys.  They love the visual action, the quick and concise way Dave presents the information, and the neat graphics that appear on the screen with Stotts.  He even interacts with some of the "holograms," as my boys call them.  You are exposed to various texts, images, and pieces of art through these graphics.  History isn't  just about the dates, but also the action.  The punks love to hear or see the true stories that are connected.  It's a much richer history than the timeline, though that is also very important.

When I watched the trailer, I was so choked up.  I cry my eyes out every time I see a depiction of what my savior did for me.  I am so deeply humbled by that.  You can see the trailer and cry your eyes out, too.  You're welcome for that as well.

The Gospels: The Extraordinary Life of Jesus of Nazareth is a three DVD set with a hardcover booklet/case.  Each of the 18 episodes is nearly 30 minutes long and is broken down more into chapters.  The entire set explores the life and times of Jesus, using the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, as well as outside historical information about the lives of rulers and the people at that time.

Disc 1 of the series begins with a quick and historical look at the time, people, and locations covered in the Gospel accounts and the importance of genealogies.  Jesus' birth and the beginning of his ministry is also covered here.

Disc 2 contains Jesus' miracles, The Sermon on the Mount, and His travels with the apostles.

In disc 3, Dave Stotts talks about Jesus' arrival in Jerusalem, His trial, crucifixion, and resurrection.

I'm including a lot of photos this time, because the photography and cinematography are amazing.  Hope you don't mind!


There is a lot of really interesting extra-Biblical information that I think really expands on what the Bible tells us about Christ and the times he lived in.  For instance, in episode 4 we learn about King Herod and his Herodium, one of several of his palaces.  I knew very little about him beyond the Biblical account.  It's mind boggling to me what the wealthy rulers did to show their superiority over other people.

First, Herod had one mountain moved to the top of another mountain.  By hand.  Not his hand, of course.  Herod Antipas, who ruled during Jesus' ministry, had a large bath house with three temperatures in the various pools.  Herod's actual *pool* - in the middle of the desert - held nearly 3,000,000 (that's Million!) gallons of water.  In the desert.  Like his father, he had little regard for the lives of the people.  Whereas, Herod the Great ordered the murder of all sons under the age of two in an attempt to kill the King of the Jews, Antipas murdered John the Baptist as well as a number of prominent men, even family members, to keep his rule secure.





Not knowing how the crucifixion would be portrayed, I chose to watch episode 16, The Crucifixion of Jesus, without the boys.  I think the most dramatic portrayal of the crucifixion they have seen is from What's in the Bible?.

I've seen many graphic portrayals of the suffering of Christ, but rarely in drama is the entire process explained.  Drive Thru History® used art and some live action while explaining what crucifixion does to the human body.  At first, I thought how God must feel about his children who devise ways to torment their brothers and sisters.  My heart was breaking.  When Dave told of Christ on the cross crying, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?!"  I lost it.  I just wept, that gut wrenching, cleansing weeping.  I am telling you this because I want you to know how incredibly moving this was.  This scene was not melodramatic.  It was just deeply moving.

sigh...  OK.  Take a minute if you need it...

The DVD set comes with a book built into the case.  Each video has a four page spread devoted solely to it.

• Title page, which lists a quote.  Most are Bible verses, but there are also quotes from the likes of Mother Teresa, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Harry Truman.
• Summary page with a short synopsis of the content.
• Five discussion questions and a list of the related Biblical readings.
• The Side Road which offers interesting tidbits about minted coins, the Garden of Gethsemane, and Passover, among other subjects.  This page also highlights art or photos from The Gospels episodes.

Following these four pages, another artwork or photograph from the series is featured as a two page spread.


Dave Stotts is often humorous, but never irreverent.  The videos can be many things, but are never boring.  This would make a nice homeschool curriculum or Sunday school or small group study.  One episode each week and the corresponding discussion questions and Bible reading, make an enjoyable and doable study for the target audience of middle school and up, but all ages will really enjoy this exciting look at Biblical history.  It would be an excellent choice for a Lenten study.

At the time of this writing, the first episode is available on the Drive Thru History® – “The Gospels” page.  Just click on the word "here" on that page.  No code is necessary. 

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