Hand Down the Faith with Mystery Bags - Handprint Prayer Reminders

If you have been reading my posts here on Grandmas with Heart blog and facebook pages, it does not take long to realize I care very much about handing down a heritage of faith to the three sweet rascals with whom God has blessed my life – otherwise known as my three grandsons! It also does not take long to see I am intentional about praying for them. I know God hears, listens to and answers my prayers; it is the most powerful thing I am able to do for my grandsons - and for my grown children as well. So, when I found the following idea on Pinterest, I knew it was something I would try for sure and something which would make an excellent Mystery Bag project.

First of all, let me share with you something my oldest grandson said to me when he was just four years old. He walked up to me one day when he was at my house, and as seriously and as matter-of-fact as you can imagine, he said; “When people get old, they get holes in their brains.” Then, with his brown eyes twinkling and a big smile on his sweet face he said; “This is why you forget things, grandma!” I did mention my grandsons are little rascals, didn’t I?! Well, at least he is a very sweet rascal, because he followed this very “rascally” thing to say to his grandma with a hug!

Well, it is true, I do forget things sometimes. We all do. God knew this about us (not necessarily the part about the holes in our brains) and this is the very reason why in Numbers 15 He told His people to wear tassels on the bottom of their robes. It was not to make a fashion statement. It was for a specific purpose – to help them remember God. Each time they saw the fringe, they were able to be reminded of God and how they belonged to Him and they needed to obey His commands.

I appreciate reminders – it is why I wear a necklace with photos of my grandsons. Each time I see or touch it, I am reminded to pray for them - and my grown children. Along with providing me an opportunity to show others how sweet my three rascals are (I am a grandma, after all!) it is a reminder for me. And the idea I found on Pinterest follows this idea. What is the idea?

It is an idea for making paper handprints of your grandchildren’s hands – no matter their age.  For this project you will need . . . 

How Do We Hand Down a Heritage of Faith? Serve God & Do Not be Distracted by the World!

I have been writing for the past few days about how we are part of God's plan to hand down a heritage of faith to our grandchildren; and we need to focus upon doing so. Today as I finish looking at Deuteronomy 6, I want to think about what it means when it tells us to - 

Fear the Lord  your God, serve him only.

Yesterday I talked about how the people of Israel had trouble with remembering all the things God did for them; how He saved them, led them and provided for them. Over and over they forgot. I said; "We tend to do the same. We think the things we have are because of what we have done instead of remembering all we have are blessings from the hand of God. We forget God's goodness, but He says to be careful we do not forget. He wants us to remember and we need to remember. It is an important part of handing down a heritage of faith, because if we do not remember God and His many blessings, our grandchildren are unlikely to do so. When this happens, we slip into sin." 

We so easily become distracted by the things in this world. We lose focus of what is truly most important and think things like earning more money, taking bigger and better vacations, owning a bigger and newer home, driving new cars, etc. are important, when in truth, none of these things matter. Not really. If we end up with all these things, but fail to hand down a heritage of faith to our grandchildren will we say, "Oh well. I had a great car, house and big bank account!"? No. Nothing, please allow me to repeat, NOTHING is more important than handing down a heritage of faith to our grandchildren.

If we are serious about handing down a heritage of faith, we have to stay focused on what is really important; so we do not become distracted by this world. We need to remember Who we serve. We are able to do this in the following ways . . .

The Wisdom of Grandparents

Grandparents and wisdom; the two often go together. One of the ways Grandparents share their wisdom is through a favorite "sayings" they tend to use with their grandchildren. There is a reason old sayings, such as these, are handed down from one generation to the next - they tend to be wise sayings. 

God's Salvation is for ALL Generations

If you have grown children and/or grandchildren who do not yet walk with God, take heart this morning from what God says in Isaiah 51:8. He promises His righteousness lasts forever and His salvation is available for ALL generations.

A Strong "God Confidence"

Show your "God confidence" and tell your grandchildren how you hope in God and how He has answered your prayers. Then, help them keep an account of how God answers their own prayers - big and small - so they are able to see for themselves how "God comes through", "set their hope in Him" and have a strong "God confidence" of their own. This is what "handing down the faith" looks like. 

How Do We Hand Down a Heritage of Faith? Pay Attention & Remember Our Blessings are from God!

We have been looking at how we are part of God's plan to hand down a heritage of faith to our grandchildren, and we need to focus on doing so. Today I want to think about what it means when Deuteronomy 6 tells us to - 

• Be careful you do not forget the Lord.

Apparently the people of Israel had trouble with remembering all the things God did for them; how He saved them, led them and provided for them. Over and over they forgot. We tend to do the same. We think the things we have are because of our own efforts instead of remembering all we have are blessings from the hand of God. We forget God's goodness, but He says to be careful we do not forget. He wants us to remember and we need to remember. It is an important part of handing down a heritage of faith, because if we do not remember God and His many blessings, our grandchildren  are unlikely to do so. When this happens, we slip into sin. 

Psalms 78 and Judges 2 tell us how this happened with God's people over and over. They received blessings from God, parents and grandparents thanked God. Then, they forgot to tell their children and grandchildren and they accepted the culture of the nations around them, slipped away from God and into sin. Bad things happened, they turned back to God, thanked Him for His blessings, then forgot, didn't tell their children and grandchildren and it all happened over and over again.

If we are serious about handing down a heritage of faith, we have to remember our blessings come from God and teach this to our children and grandchildren, so they are able to do the same. We may do this in the following ways . . . 

Encourage Your Grandchildren With - Way to Go!

A couple days ago I wrote about encouraging our grandchildren and said; "Since the world around our grandchildren is very apt to leave them questioning their value and we know God values them tremendously, I thought it might be nice to share some of my favorites from this list (from the NIV Mom's Devotional Bible list of ways to praise children) over the coming days and months." Today I am happy to share with you another of my favorites -