Using Creativity to Instill Faith in your Kids: The Prayer Board

I've got a super fun project to share today that gives you a chance to use your creativity to build your kids' faith.

Adam is an editor now for Group Publishing, which means he and I have been digging into the phenomenal curriculum this company puts out. I've done some freelancing where I've been writing curriculum for churches, but it's the take-home activities I'm loving dreaming up.

As I work on these different ideas, I find myself thinking "Wow, we should do that with our kids."

So this weekend, we did.

I'm extremely visual when it comes to learning, and recently I went back in my journal with a highlighter and highlighted all the answered prayers going back to months before our move. There were SO many. I started thinking this would be a great way to build our kids' faith. To create a display board where we pin our prayer requests and then a separate section where they could move the requests once they've been answered.

I started with this:

...which, let's face it, isn't doing anyone a bit of good.

I cleared it off and tucked away all the awesome little mementos...

Then I turned to the brains of the operation for their input.

I cut strips of paper and asked them to write down any prayer requests they had. And then, any answered prayers they could think of.

Once that was done, I started with this hoity toity, frilly scrapbooking paper and then realized I thought it was really pretty, but it didn't reflect our family...certainly not my kids...so we put that aside and went with something more cheerful. Ethan and Sophia each got to pick one piece for the background and then they had to agree on the other two pieces.

I did the cutting...

...and the dorky posing that shows just how desperately I need to find someone local to cut (and color) my hair. Ouch. It hurts to look at this.

(And for those of you who saw me on Friday, I may or may not be wearing the exact same clothes I was wearing then.)

We laid the pages out on the board and that's when I discovered my haphazard methods of measurement weren't exactly the best idea...I had this gap in the center.

See?

Happy accident, if you ask me.

Turns out, a nice strip of striped paper in the center made the perfect separation.

Pause for mustache picture.

Can you see the chocolate milk mustache? Or is it "moustache?" I never know. But while we're on the subject...are mustaches (moustaches, pronounced "moo-stashes") coming back in style? I don't claim to be fashionable and I need to know. The whole concept confuses me. Like a furry animal over the top lip. Just no.

Unless you're Tom Selleck. Then you can do whatever you want.

Anyway. Back to the Prayer Board.

The great thing for cheapie mommies like me is that when you're working on a cork board, you can staple it instead of parting with your precious (and expensive) adhesive!

So, staple it all on there, a nice border in the center to separate your requests from your praises.

(I know this picture feels "off". I get vertigo looking at it. Sophia was camera happy so she took most of these, but seriously, I couldn't figure out which way this one went!)

Anyway. Next, we laid all of the requests out on the board. Not including mine and Adam's because we haven't done ours yet... Oh, and I added some 3-D K & Company sticker flowers onto two of the edges. I really think it needs more "pop" in general, but this is a good start.

So, then we took a bunch of these fun Girl's Paperie stickers and outlined the board and I added the words "Prayers and Praises" right at the top.

I also printed out two "titles" to help differentiate the top and the bottom.

The top says "We're asking God for..." and the bottom says "We're thanking God for..." (Now that I think about it, I should probably flip those around. I'd like to teach them to be thankful first. So if you make this, do that, ok? and make your titles bigger because you're kids don't understand "small handwriting," and their requests will overpower your title. Just sayin'.)

Then we re-hung it.

While I did the cutting and stapling, this really was the kids' project, and my hope is that as these prayers are answered, one by one, we can move them to the other side of the board and they'll have a visual way to see that God does listen to them. To all of us.

And he answers every prayer...in his time.

*Don't forget you've still got a couple days to enter the giveaway in this post. You could win a spot in Christy's art journaling class!

10 Comments

I love this idea. thanks for the inspiration...gonna get one of these started for my kids ASAP! LOVE IT!

Posted by: Michelle McVaney | March 27, 2011 at 10:48 PM

Hi, I'm new to your blog by way of Christy Tomlinson.

I love your prayer board. I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about your prayer journal? I've been noticing that my prayer life is really lacking these days and think a focused method of praying like this could really help.

Posted by: Jaimie | March 28, 2011 at 09:24 AM

Great idea!!! I think I'll divide my board vertically (with the board still being horizontal) and put the thanks on the left and the asks on the right. I may hot glue a little decorated pocket or can to the board for prayer slips and pens.

Posted by: Rhonda H | March 28, 2011 at 09:52 AM

I love that idea Rhonda! Actually, I wouldve much preferred to do ours vertically but the board was already hanging horizontally, so I kept itthatway to make it easier later.

I love the pocket idea!! :) Will you send me a picture if you do make it??

To: courtneycrops@msn.com

Posted by: Courtney Walsh | March 28, 2011 at 09:54 AM

Jaimie,

Thank you so much for stopping by! (And commenting! :) ) My prayer journal is really basic. I started it because its too loud here and I cant really lock myself away with the kids needing me, so I go to the most quiet place I can find and write everything Im thinking...stuff Im thankful for, often I make lists of things I am believing for. Itshelped me in so many ways. I recordverses that speak to me or bits from my devotional that speak to me. But going back and looking through it was the most amazing part of it...because SO much of what I was sure would never work itself out has turned out okay...andnow Ive got a record of the way God has answered me!

Its sooo not fancy, just a small-ish spiral notebook!! It definitely helps me focus! :)

Posted by: Courtney Walsh | March 28, 2011 at 09:59 AM