While lighting a candle to remind you of God’s Presence, have someone read the candle prayer.
Read Jeremiah 29:1-19
Consider the art and poem below. You can read more about the author and artist here.
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front
Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that won’t compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion — put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didn’t go.
Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
by Wendell Berry
As one person reads the final blessing, let it be something you all offer and receive from one another as the candle is blown out.
This fall CapKids will be learning all about the Psalms in a series called “Make a Joyful Noise”. Click here to download the guide for this week or scroll down.
This week we are looking at a song that’s all about God being a God of lament. When we use the word “lament,” we are saying that God is comfortable with our sadness. God is comfortable with our big feelings. We can be angry, mad, or sad with God; God is present in all of it.
Read Psalm 13 or read a book from the list below……
How long will you forget about me God?
How long will you feel far away?
How long will my thoughts make me feel far from you?
Speak clearly to me God.
Answer me, I feel like I don’t know where you are.
God, I trust in your unfailing love,
My heart loves you forever.
I will sing your praise God,
You have been so good to me.
From Psalms for Young Children
Sometimes, when I’m very sad,
I worry that you will
forget about me, God.
But then I remember that
You love me always.
So I will sing and be happy!
God is a God of lament. God is comfortable with our sadness. God is comfortable with you repeatedly feeling sad about the same things or new things. God is present regardless if things go well or things go poorly. How does it feel to know that God is comfortable with your sadness? (Allow kiddos space to answer) Do you feel comfortable with being sad? (Allow kiddos space to answer) When you feel sad, what’s something that helps you feel better? (Allow kiddos space to answer) There’s this quote in a kids’ book that says “You can’t go over it, you can’t go under it, you have to go through it.“ Sadness is like that. It’s not something we can go over or under, sometimes we just have to go through it. When we feel sad, God is present with us in our sadness.
1. I wonder why God sometimes feels close and sometimes feels far away?
2. I wonder if God feels sad sometimes?
We have included a video of Mikaila reading this book “Feeling Boo”, by Alex Boniello and April Lavalle, which not only covers the theme of sad feelings, but also is about two ghosts, which is perfectly timed for Halloween next week.
In this story, Ollie wakes up feeling “boo” and his best friend Ellie tries everything to cheer him up. Ellie tries so many things, but nothing works. That is until Ollie asks her to just be present and sit with him. This is a great illustration of what coming to God with difficult feelings could look like.
Make a Ghost Decoration for Halloween:
Make your own Sad Ghost decoration inspired by “Feeling Boo“. Some options are making ghosts from cheese cloth, tissue paper, or painting them. The internet has lots of great tutorials to try. Don’t forget to include different expressions for the Ghosts.
Prayer Activity:
Create a worry box for your family. A practice could be when we are having a difficult feeling, maybe we are scared, sad or angry about something we have experienced, we can write it down or have a parent write it and then feed the paper to the monster on the worry box. You could pull the papers out after a month and pray through the notes in the box, and then discard them or destroy them as an act of releasing those big feelings and worries to God. It’s important to be able to articulate and share the difficult moments as much as the joyful ones, a great way to model this for our kids and participate alongside them.
Looking for some music to enjoy with your kids? Check out this curated playlist that Janine and Mikaila have put together. Each week they’ll be adding more songs to the list.
