Search Me & Know My Heart - Psalm 139:1-6

The Psalms offer such hope and comfort in our relationship with God. Often, David cried out to God as a sinner in need of repentance and acceptance, and just as often, he expresses the deeply felt peace God granted him in those moments of despair. Later in this Psalm, David says, "For you created my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made!" Wow. This is one of my favorites - the realization that before I ever existed, God knew me - he knew the plans for my being, and he created me carefully, respectfully, wonderfully.
The beginning of this Psalm, that which the kids are studying this week, paints a similar picture - that no matter what I am doing, thinking, saying - both good and bad - God KNOWS me. He is "acquainted with all my ways". This can be both disconcerting and encouraging. It reminds me both of how much I need God's forgiveness and how much he loves me and is willing to give me that gift.
As you discuss this week, consider:

• What does "discern" mean? What does it mean that God will "discern my thoughts from afar"?
• What does "acquainted" mean? What does it mean that God is "acquainted with all my ways"?
• What does it mean when David says "you hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me"?
• How does this passage touch your heart and life today?

What To Expect Next Week...

• 
  Psalm 139:1-6 Due Thursday
• Vocab Unit 14 Due Wednesday
• More Story Writing
• Lyric Poetry
• Flower Dissection
• Seed growth observations
• Run for the Hills - Friday

Ask Your Child About...

• What is a disciple?
• Talent Show
• Adventure Story
• New Literature Novel
• Comic Dialogue
• Lima Beans
• Grain Seeds

Explanation of the Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:18-23

The sower? God! The seeds? The Word of God! The soil? The people of the world!

As you discuss, think about these things...

• Which soil are you?
• Do you recognize some of these situations in the lives of people you know?
• What can we do as God's people - the good soil?

What to Expect This Week...

• Talent Show - Wednesday Afternoon
• Matthew 13:18-23 Due Thursday
• Continued Adventure Story Brainstorming
• Begin writing Adventure Stories
• Vocab Unit 13 Quizzes
• Lima Bean and Flower dissections

Ask Your Child About...

• Run for the Hills Kick-off Assembly
• Adventure Stories
• Comic Dialogue
• Monsoons
• Transpiration, Photosynthesis, Aerobic Cellular Respiration

What To Expect Next Week...

• Book Orders Due Monday
• Creative Writing
• Beginning the Adventure Unit
• Matthew 13:1-9 Due Thursday
• Test in Math on Chapter 6
• Geometric Construction - bring a compass and protractor

Ask Your Child About...

• ITBS
• Creative Writing Warm Up
• Reader’s Theater with Buddies
• What do the xylem and stomata do for a plant?
• Water stress

The Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:1-9

Our next memory passage is a parable. A parable is a simple story used to teach a moral or spiritual lesson. Jesus used parables on a regular basis to help connect the BIG IDEAS of heaven and God's grace to the simple daily tasks that these people knew so well.
The Parable of the Sower likely reached a lot of people because agriculture was a huge part of the people's daily life. And interestingly, there were so many people gathered that Jesus got in a boat and preached from there while the crowds stood on the beach.
This story talks about seeds that fell on four different types of land. As you discuss, try to consider what those four different situations might be a metaphor for when it comes to God, heaven, and faith. And remember - it's okay if you don't come up with the answers! Jesus always explains his parables, and we'll be looking at the explanation next week.

What To Expect Next Week...

• ITBS
• Your child can bring…
• Hard Candy
• Book to Read
• Water Bottle
• Creative Writing Warm Up
• Plant leaf investigation
• Effects of overuse of natural resources

Ask Your Child About...

• The Potter & the Clay
• Partner Fiction Stories
• The new bulletin board
• How’s your literature circle going?
• How did the celery drink?
• Aral Sea

The Steadfast Love of the Lord is From Everlasting to Everlasting - Psalm 103:15-22

One of my favorite songs from my camp counselor days has a few lines that say "Blessed be the Lord, our God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting!" This song reminds us that God is everlasting - he is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end - and because he has always been, his love has always been as well. What a blessing to know that before time began, God loved me and you and all y'all - and he still does today, and he will continue to love us forever! His love is, indeed, "from everlasting to everlasting", and it is, indeed, "steadfast" - never wavering, always solid and secure. What an amazing love!

Some things to think about as you discuss this week:

• Verses 15-16 use a simile to compare people with grass and flowers. How does David draw this connection? 
• Looking at verses 17-18, why is that connection significant to us as God's people?
• What does verse 19 tell us about the nature of God?
• How do these verses impact your faith?

The Potter and the Clay

Today, our devotion covered one of my favorite images in the Bible - the idea that God is the potter and we are the clay. It's a beautiful realization that we are God's works of art, molded and created by him, intentionally formed with all the details, gifts, and talents that he destined for us. I shared these two videos with the students, and I'm excited to share them here, too. Enjoy!

What You Can Expect Next Week...

• Curriculum Night Monday
• Looking at plant structures
• Persuasive Writing
• Studying the 2nd Article of the Apostle’s Creed
• Psalm 103:8-14 due Thursday
• Vocab Unit 12 quizzes Wednesday
• Asia Map Quiz - Friday

Ask Your Child About...

• What is the new memory passage?
• Science Quiz
• Celery - Did it drink the water?
• What is the object of the preposition?
• What is an ode?
• SW Asia