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Family Bible Time

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley Featured

It’s Christmas Contest Time!

Posted on November 27, 2023

The Colley House Christmas Contest is now! With a nod to the new HOPE series for families and congregations, we want to include children in the contest this year. You can win the entire HOPE set for Bible learning. There are two simple ways to enter. (Just pick one option and go with it! Here’s how:

1. Post a short video of your kids using the HOPE set in your family Bible time or in your kids’ class at church. We’d love to see how they are learning! Post to The Colley House Facebook page.

OR

2. Send an email to byhcontest@gmail.com describing your best and most effective Family Bible Time tip. This can be a “keeping kids’ attention” tip or an original song or an idea for a game. It can really be anything you have found effective in getting truth in kids. Feel free to include a photo, but it’s not required. 

All entries must be posted or submitted by December 5th at 11:00 pm. CST. 

The winning entry will receive the entire 5 item HOPE set just in time for gift-giving! You can see that here: https://thecolleyhouse.org/store#!/That-We-May-Have-Hope-5-Product-Bundle/p/605880179/category=0.

That bundle is a $60.00 value (but it’s really invaluable)! 

Have fun with this! (We have the most creative followers in the world!) 1…2…3…Go!

 

 

(photo credit:<a href=https://www.pngall.com/christmas-png/download/58831 target=”_blank”>Christmas Gift PNG Free Download</a>)

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Exciting New Additions to the HOPE Set for Kids!

Posted on November 24, 2023

The HOPE series just got better and just in time for holiday gift-giving! Moms and grandmas are telling me that the HOPE series for Family Bible time (and for Bible classes for kids) is accomplishing what it was meant to do. Kids are learning facts about Bible characters faster than parents thought possible and they are acquiring application skills that will help them to grow into faithful Christians. That’s THE goal for all Christian parents. The full name of this tangible and foundational gift for kids is “That We May Have Hope.” In that name is the purpose of the set. This HOPE series is born of Family Bible time at the Colley house. It’s already been tried at their house and it’s put an awful lot of Scripture in Maggie and Ellis.

Now, the application part of these character studies just got even better. Rebekah Colley has developed the “Virtues and Vices Pack,” a card set that teaches virtues and vices that are associated with each of the 52 characters in the yearlong study. They are beautiful, but most importantly they are conversation starters that launch your family Bible time into teachable minutes of the day, helping your kids to make early decisions about spirituality, faith, ethics and character. Using the Bible characters of the HOPE series, these colorful and durable card sets can be used for additional memorization, spiritual discussions, or even to launch a unit study on topics like honesty, humility, selfishness or greed. Here’s a couple  of sample cards:

In addition, Rebekah has also made the ever-popular classic matching game from the characters your kids are studying. Your object may be to simply take turns trying to find the matching pairs of cards. But I’d suggest having your child answer a question about the character he’s matched prior to putting the matched cards in his pile. You might even want your children to name four facts about the character before taking the matched set from the playing surface. Here’s the matching game:

 

Do you know a family who needs the Family Bible Time jump-start that the HOPE series can give? My grandchildren have circled lots of items in the Amazon catalog already this year, but there is nothing they can receive this year from Amazon that could bless their lives even a fraction as much as this soul-shaping tool. My grandchildren (the ones who don’t already have it) are getting the HOPE set for Christmas this year. They thrive on competition and I can think of a whole bunch of ways they can “win” using these tools for Family game time.

So now there are five—Five HOPE tools: There’s (1) a family study guide, (2) a set of “flash” cards that elicit memorization of four facts about each character, (3) a timeline that places the characters in their historical perspectives, (4) a set of virtues and vices cards, and (5) a matching game using the characters from the HOPE series.

Each item is priced separately here: www.thecolleyhouse.org/store, but for the holidays, we’re bundling the set for a limited-time price of $60.00. This is not the only way, of course, to put the Word in little hearts. But, it’s one grandmother-approved way! Be watching for the annual Colley House Holiday Contest, too, and you can win the entire set for the little people you love!

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

This Family Bible Curriculum!…Can’t Wait!

Posted on July 17, 2023

Release date:: August 19, 2023  at 1:45 pm. First sales will be at Polishing the Pulpit on that date!

I’ve had a hard time keeping this to myself till production time, but it’s finally time to roll this out!. This is the most exciting thing I’ve seen in a while for congregational or family Bible study.  “That we may have HOPE,” authored by Caleb and Rebekah Colley and illustrated by Julia Tesh, is a tried and true method of synchronizing your congregation’s Bible study with your own family Bible times at home. I know your congregation could benefit from this year-long study. But I am most excited about the knowledge and faith it can put in the hearts of the children in your little family at home.

But it’s both. It’s for churches and families! In fact, it’s even a great year-long homeschool curriculum for all preschool and  elementary ages.

It’s a book!…that will carry you through 52 character studies of the Scriptures. At the end of the year your family will be able to tell the stories of major Bible heroes and villains and how to emulate the positive and eliminate the negative spiritual characteristics of each person. This material is sound, practical and convicting. If you’re using the book at home, there’s a flexible schedule for incorporating the material into your Bible time on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In a year, your children will know the stories of 52 important Bible characters and four important facts to remember about each of them. The book is spiral bound, sturdy, and chock-full of the Word. Caleb Colley authored the study book.

But it’s also a memorization flash card system that will allow even the youngest of Bible learners to know the accounts of these 52 characters. The cards come on a binder ring that makes them easy for kids of all ages to carry. This also facilitates easily flipping though the characters at Bible time each night. The cards are both sturdy and beautiful. These memorization cards are authored by Rebekah Colley and illustrated by Julia Tesh.

sample front

sample back

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, it’s also a timeline. This is my favorite part. Each of the 52 Bible characters is placed on a sturdy hang-able timeline (that also lays flat on your table or desk), so that your children can easily see exactly where these heroes and villains fit into the Bible’s chronology and how their lives coincide with well-known Biblical events. Assembled by Rebekah and illustrated by Julia, this tool will help your children see the “big picture” of how each person fits into the story of redemption that is the centerpiece and purpose of divine revelation.

You can complete the study using the book only. But using  all three resources together is something that I cannot wait to do at our house. (I’m thinking, we may have a black cape that we wear when we’re studying a villain and a white one when we’re studying the heroes.)  I just think our grandchildren will be able to conceptualize these accounts more deeply as they use the tools of story-telling, memorization and chronological placement all at once. I can’t wait!

Here’s what Caleb says about how the idea is used in the local church:

“Here is how I have administered the Bible learning initiative: On the first Sunday of every year, I announce to the congregation the theme of the new year’s study. On one occasion I introduced the Bible Characters Study with a sermon on the value of studying Bible characters. Material is distributed to the congregation.

Then, I periodically preach on topics related to the particular week’s study. For example, on the week when the congregation was studying “Cain,” I preached about Cain and Abel. At the end of the year, every family or member has reviewed a 52 week study of Bible characters and has a handbook. I anticipate publishing other studies we have done, including a chronological study of the life of Christ, a study of the biblical doctrine of prayer, etc. I have found that many members of the church welcome the structure of the study and appreciate having the completed book at the end of the year. While this book is just a springboard to one’s own pursuit of Biblical knowledge (2 Peter 1:5-9; 3:18), nonetheless, it is a tool to prompt and deepen that pursuit.”

I hope there are elders who decide to feed the flock using this material. These churches will be blessed. But, even if you are just using it in your own home, exclusively, the growing faith in your home will be well worth your family’s efforts. Nothing is more important than planting the Word in tender hearts! You can see the products now and you can purchase them on or after August 22, 2023.

That We May Have Hope Book

That We May Have Hope Memorization Cards

That We May Have Hope Timeline

That We May Have Hope Discount Bundle

Have I mentioned that I can’t wait? I can’t wait to talk to moms who are watching these seeds of faith in hearts at home.

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Kidsing… Second Generation

Posted on June 13, 2022

I was searching youtube this morning for something that, frankly, is not nearly as positive as this. Sometimes the things you have to focus on are demanding, but draining. In the process, I came across this. I do not even know where this church is, but I know their little people have benefitted if they have been doing the KIDSING cards.  Every little heart that’s ingesting the Word is more fully prepared for the devil’s onslaught. The devil’s onslaught is certain in America, if the Lord lets the world stand for another generation. In fact, any astute Bible student is necessarily shocked by his no-holds-barred attack on the Word and morality as we try to find our way through what many are calling the post-Christian era. Our children will encounter the wolves who are subtly trying to convince them that any passage they read can be understood in so many varying ways, that the Bible is rendered meaningless in any contextually practical way. But worse, the most deviant forms of sin are now not only “out there” for the finding, but they are being crammed down the throats (and into the world-views) of students in government-mandated places meant for learning and development. Our schools are, in many instances, simply indoctrination camps–places in which parents are no longer even allowed access to the classroom even for the briefest of visits. Prayer, persistence and intervention for your children are necessary if you are going to keep the devil at bay. He wants your children.

But this is what I found while searching this morning. From experience, I know that it can be a strong foundational block in a house (life) well-lived for heaven. Take a look at this random site that I saw this morning. Let me know if I can help you in Family Bible Time, in your congregation’s pew-packers time, in your one-on-one time with children or grandchildren in the car, or around your dinner table. We can put the Word in them when they rise up, when they lie down, when they walk by the way and when they sit in our homes (Deuteronomy 6). Every little capsule of immunization “serum” that we give our children from the Word is a dose of preparation for the onslaught. This is not alarm-ism. It’s simply the strong message the devil has heralded in our country.

(There’s never a charge for your use of any Kidsing materials.)

https://www.mainstchurchofchristonline.com/kidsing.html

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Joseph’s Brothers…Over and Over

Posted on July 8, 2021

A few nights back while the grandkids were visiting, we did a fun family Bible time that involved watching, in intervals throughout the day, an old Shirley Temple movie called “The Little Colonel”. Set in the immediate post-antebellum South, and produced in the 1930s, I’m sure it wasn’t politically correct. But it gave us a good chance to discuss several topics that are very politically and morally infused, right now in our country. 

At night, we discussed several scenes from the movie, and then I would ask the question “Who can you think of, in the Bible, who did this, like the grandfather in the movie?”…or…”Can you remember a time, in the Word, where somebody lied because he was selfish, like the bad guys in the movie?“ If you came up with a good answer, you got to throw the velcro ball at the target for points and a prize for the winner. 

SO, first there was a person in the movie who did not treat the brown people in the movie with respect. “Who, in the Bible, can you think of who treated some person badly because he thought that person was just not as good or important as he was? Maybe you can even think of someone who was treated badly as a slave…” 

Ezra’s response was “Joseph’s brothers…they sold him as a slave. They didn’t care at all about what was going to happen to him. They were selfish.” He got to throw the ball. I think Colleyanna said that the Prodigal Son was like that. She got a throw, too.

We moved on. There was someone in the movie who had a very bad temper. “Can you think of someone in the Bible who showed a very bad temper?”

Again, Ezra said, “Joseph’s brothers got very mad at him because they were so jealous and they threw him in the pit!” He was right. Genesis 37:4 says they could not even speak peaceably with him. 

Colleyanna’s answers are harder for me to remember because they were not quite so repetitive, but I think here she commented about how angry Peter was when he shouted “I do not even know the man!”

Next, in our movie, there were some swindlers who blasted gold into a piece of rock, showed it to an unsuspecting “customer” and took him to the cleaners. He paid a lot of money for land that had no gold at all.  “Do you remember anyone in the Bible who tricked someone into thinking something was true?” https://thecolleyhouse.org/?p=14964&preview=true

“Oh yes.” By now Ezra had a big grin on his face. “Joseph’s brothers showed Jacob the coat with the blood to make him think something that wasn’t true.” More points on the board once again. Colleyanna remembered about how Potiphar’s wife showed Potiphar a coat and lied to him about the good servant Joseph. Sometimes we had to get her started and then she’d tell us the story.

Next, I reminded the kids about the lady in the movie who, even though she was begged, refused to come to the aid of a desperate fellow human being, simply because of the race of the one who needed help. In this case, it was a brown person who refused to rescue a white neighbor. I asked them if they knew of anyone in the Bible who refused to help someone. “Joseph’s brothers could have helped Joseph and they could have helped their daddy, but,…no. They just let them suffer.” I think Colleyanna thought about the man who built the bigger barns from Luke 12 or the priest and the Levite, who passed by on the other side, in the parable of the good Samaritan from Luke 10. Ezra was pretty proud of his lazy little self. They threw the ball  at the bullseye again.

Finally, the grandfather in our story softened his heart. He changed his mind. “Who can you think of who softened his heart in the end and repented?” Well, first Ezra had to clarify that the grandfather just MOSTLY softened his heart. “There was still one spot of ‘badness’ in there,” (which was true, the be exactly precise)….”But,” with great pomp he answered “Joseph’s brothers, of course. When they went to Egypt, they repented, except for one or two little bad spots.” He was right again and, by this time, we were all laughing because he had perceived pretty much the whole movie as being a biblical allegory of the last half of Genesis. (Colleyanna said “Jonah”, at this point, I think. He did repent near the end of the story.)

Parents, please don’t let your kids grow up without a great familiarity with the details of Joseph’s Genesis story. There are just so many wonderful life lessons there. There’s sin and redemption, there’s theft and restitution, there’s integrity and reward…there’s just so much that you can apply throughout their active days and in their childish attitudes (and in mine). There’s just so much. If you need help for Joseph and Family Bible time, there’s a guide that starts here: https://thecolleyhouse.org/family-ties-in-the-social-distance. (Then just follow the blog.)

And have a lot of fun if you have opposite-personality grandkids. Colleyanna’s so random. Ezra is so “one-track.” Once on a track, he can’t let it go. Hope he’s that way on the big, big track that matters. And I hope he keeps laughing a lot on the way. 

And, by the way, they were both more on-target with answers than with that little velcro ball, but they LOVED throwing it in the house! I liked it, too. In fact, I’d  like to freeze these precious days somehow. But I know there’s an even better day ahead…a very long one where time WILL be frozen.

Bless Your Heart by Cindy Colley

Ellis Can Be a Frog…

Posted on June 21, 2021

“Let’s re-enact Pharaoh and the plagues,” said two-year-old Maggie at Family Bible Time. “Ellis can be one of the plagues,” she excitedly added. “He can be a frog.” (Ellis is her baby brother.)

I’m thinking she was probably going to be Moses or Pharaoh (…besides being the re-enactment director.)

Sometimes I can adapt that mentality in the family of God. Let me do whatever is big and showy and accolade-worthy and you can do whatever it is that’s a little more menial or messy. Maybe you could even do what might get you swatted or stepped on.

To be truthful, Maggie has the purest and most tender heart of anyone I know. (Once I pretended I wanted to go first in a game I was playing with her and she said “Sure. You can go first.” Her mama winked and said “We’ve really been working on how we always want to put others before ourselves.” Mammy was a great and helpful example there!)

Maggie’s got it. (After all, there really aren’t too many speaking parts in the Pharaoh saga that Ellis could do.) But sometimes I don’t get this right. Sometimes I probably would do well to go back and read the book of James and highlight statements like these:

Let the lowly brother glory in his exaltation…

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom.

For where there is…self-seeking, there is confusion and every evil thing.

But the wisdom that is from above is…gentle, willing to yield.

God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

I’m going to pray today, as I start this week, that I’ll be constantly conscious of ways I can hide behind the cross and glorify the risen Savior through meekness toward His family.

And maybe they can back up one night soon and “re-enact” the basket in the Nile part of the story. Now there’s a starring role for Ellis!