by Brandon Beck

On September 7, 2023, on this site, Pam Tinsley offered wise words on the theme of conversation with God in her entry “Listen, Believe, Act.”

Our children need to see us having God conversations; they learn by imitating us, and we need to actively participate with them in reflection, wonder, and activity as they creatively and playfully develop their own way of conversing with God based on seeing ours.

On the internet, we find many ideas for Jesus crafts; these crosses made out of tumbling tower pieces (one example for how to make these) make for great co-created crafts between adults and kids in the process of forming kids who listen, believe, and act in conversation through listening and responding to God.

As we select our blocks for this cross, we can talk about how people are all made in the image of God. I wonder how we can tell that you and I are the same? How are you the same as people at school? How are you the same as God? I wonder how we know God Loves Everyone? How did you know which 10 blocks to pick?

As we pick the paint colors for our blocks, we extend the listening and responding to differences in God’s world. I wonder how God picks colors for skin? Why does God start to make us different from each other? Are we really different from each other in God’s eyes? How do we learn to see each other the way God sees us?

When we glue the pieces together, we read all of 1 Corinthians 12, half to one verse for each block, perhaps from The International Children’s Bible. It’s important to take time to listen and respond during each section – to be mindful and present with each block before attaching it to another and to remember that each of us is both individual and part of the whole body. I wonder which God-part I am? I wonder what it means if I try to be many gifts instead of just the one I’m given? What if I don’t know?

When the cross is complete, we show that we listened by responding in prayer: “Thank you, God, for helping me learn to listen and respond to your wisdom. Wow, God, you gave us Jesus in the symbol of the cross to remind us that You love us so we can love each other. Amen.’”

*For more learning fun, make more crosses to give as gifts!