Saturday, May 16, 2009

Taking a trip

Greetings everyone.

I am about to take the trip of a life time. Traveling through Turkey, Greece and Italy following in the foot steps of Paul.

This is a dream trip that I have prepared for and agonized over. Excitement can go both ways when being anxious. Being anxious as looking forward to something like Christmas is exciting. But flip side of being anxious as say going on stage for the first time or singing the national anthem in from of millions can be hard on the system.

I been excited anxious for the last 10 months ... since July when I signed up to do this. I've been in a panic state of anxious for the last week. It's hard to cope with at times. One wonders if this person will manage to get on the plane. You see they are not my favorite way to travel.

I've had many talks with God about these feelings.

So for those reading this ... From May 17 to May 30, I would appreciate your prayers.

And I hope to have many new pictures and videos to show you when I get back.

In God's love,

Linda

Monday, April 6, 2009

Goodness. It's been almost a year and for that I apologize.

Lots of changes have come in the past year and Bible Study for Kids was pretty much put on hold. The needs of a parent and the need to take care of a home that had been empty for two years. It took a lot of time a effort of family and friends to put it back together.

If you check the site ... www.biblestudyforkids.com you will see a new link called Paul's Lecture Tour ... or go to www.biblestudyforkids.com/paulsmissiontour.htm for information about a trip to Turkey, Greece and Italy, in which I will be going.

This is a "dream come true" trip that I've been looking forward to and working towards since last August.

I will be joining 30 other folks on an extensive look at Paul's Missions in western Turkey, Greece and a final visit to Rome. We will have 14 days of bus and walking tour through the Ancient Churchs that Paul and other Apostles established. Locations that we will be visiting will be: Ephesus, Smyrna, Laodicea, Philadelphia, Sardis, Thyatira, Pergamum, Philippi, Thessalonica
Berea, Athens, Corinth, and Rome to name the main cities.

Mark Moore and Mark Scott of Ozark Christian College will be the two lecturers and hosts of this of this "Journey's of Paul" tour.

You can follow along by joining the "Know Your Bible" Mystery Tour Bible study and earn points for either the Corinthians or the Ephesians. Have some fun and do a study too.

If all goes well and good Internet access is to be had ... every effort will be made to have video clips and photos loaded to the site daily or as soon as I can.

Check it out.

God bless you.
Linda Shanks
www.biblestudyforkids.com

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Out of the loop.

Greetings my friends.

Wow, the last time I added to this blog was January. Where oh, where has all the time gone.

Well, Bible Study for Kids is like a baby. It takes lots and lots of time. But that is no excuse for not checking in more often. I am sorry and will do better.

One of the areas that I have been working on is NARRATING the Story Presentations and all the Scripture presentations. Getting caught up with them has taken much time, some were read over and over. But I do think they are a nice addition to the site and you can listen to them as often as you and the children would like.

www.biblestudyforkids.com/flashpresentationroom.htm is the page for accessing all of them. I've a friend lined up to do the male readings, but we just haven't found a block of time to do them. He will be a great reader.

I'm excited about the next Bible Study for Kids Presentation. It is all about Jesus and his life up to before he started his ministery. True there is a lot of mystery and unknowns about that time but exploring what it was like being a young boy in those times provides material for thought.

He was a baby, a human baby with all the needs and emotions a child can have. We are going to be giving these aspects some extra thought. What do you think he might have been like?

What would have his life been like? Our kids take so much for granted, but hopefully we can give them an idea of what his life with Joseph, Mary, and siblings James, Joseph, Simon, Jude, Salome, and Mary would have been all about and learning to be a carpenter.

We'll take a look and make some discoveries about growing up in Nazareth.

Good night and God Bless,
Linda

www.biblestudyforkids.com our home place.
If you haven't been to our Devotions site http://devotionalgemsbyjolene.blogspot.com you really should go there. Jolene has some excelent devotions for you to read.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

Top Ten Predictions for 2008

I recently recieved this in an e-mail and thought I'd pass it on.
I make no claims of authorship ... that is unknown.
It is Note-Worthy and worth sharing. - Linda

1. The Bible will still have the answers
2. Prayer will still work
3. The Holy Spirit will still move.
4. God will still inhabit the praises of His people.
5. There will still be God-anointed preaching.
6. There will still be singing of praise.
7. God will still pour out blessings upon His people.
8. There will still be room at the Cross.
9. Jesus will still love you.
10. Jesus will still save the lost.

Monday, December 17, 2007

Christmas is Coming

Greetings to all.

The years is almost over and Christmas time is here. It is my favorite time of the year. I love the music and the Christmas Programs, the shopping and the packages. Mine are less than stellarly wrapped but they get rattled more, because there are few bows to get squashed.

This year has been a little busier with the addition of putting together "THE NATIVITY" Powerful Points Presentation. I am pleased with the final product and think it will eventually be a yearly winner. You can get a sneek peek in the Christmas Card that is on the BSFK website.

Check out http://www.biblestudyforkids.com/AchristmasCard.htm to see a couple of the graphics used in the Presentation. It seemed a shame not to use them for other purposes when they fit so well.

I've rearrainged some of the Bible Study for Kids . com pages and have added a STORY BOOK Section and an on line Jigsaw Puzzle Room. Eventually these areas will be filled with stories from Jolene and or other interested parties and the puzzles are currently from the presentations, but could be from pictures sent to me from children who draw for BSFK.

We welcome suggestions and contributions of materials for others to use.

And with that I will say good night and will see you here again soon.

Linda

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

I fell into the Manger.






WoW!!!

It has been some time since I've posted a blog, but I can tell you I have been busy getting another POWERFUL POINTS BIBLICAL PRESENTATION ready for you to enjoy and teach.



THE NATIVITY has been launched with tender loving care.



This is our first New Testament Powerful Points Presentation. We wanted to start at the beginning in the respective sections of the Bible and when it happed that the first New Testament project would come together just before Christmas … it was my passion and total commitment to get it done in time for the holidays. It really was not planned that way. But I fell into the manger and I couldn't get out. I just could not get away from it. The illustrations just consumed me. The models in the above picture were part of our last years Christmas Program. Meet Michael, Kelsie and Paige.

Initially I wanted to do two Old Testament presentations and two New Testament presentations and … we will be able to do that. It has already been determined that the next presentation will feature a series of 4 stories about Jesus, starting with his youthful adventures in the temple. Right now we have titled it, “Jesus, Just Who is He, Anyway?”


THE NATIVITY would be a great way to introduce the Powerful Points Biblical Presentations to your child, or student(s) if you haven’t already done so.

If you or your children play games on your computer, this is a great way to tell or teach the story of Jesus’ birth. Most children have access to computers these days and some are more comfortable with them than adults are. However, you can read with them the Nativity Presentation, do some puzzles and color some pictures together and discuss what was happening to Joseph and Mary during a time that most likely started out to be just a simple trip to Bethlehem and turned into a nightmare for them. Staying in a stable would not have been their first choice for overnight accommodations.



The Teachers Comments Guide is full of history and truths about Christmas. I have to tell you, we learned a few things, after all these years of telling the Christmas Story, in just putting it together. We may be focusing on children, but adults may learn from this piece of the product, too. The Guide is especially written for the adult(s) teaching the story.

So many times we take what we see on the Christmas cards or in the live manger scenes as totally Biblical. That is not always the case. We do need to be sure that what we are teaching is from the Word of God. You just might be surprised at what you can learn, too.

Think about setting aside some time during the week before Christmas and share the story of Jesus birth with your children. Why not the whole family, for that matter? The Nativity is divided into 4 sections that can be told, read, studied as never before. Watch THE NATIVITY PRESENTATION in its entirety or in sections, as seems fit for your needs and time allowed. Share the information in the Teachers Guide and work together the pages of puzzles, word activities and coloring pages. Doing the materials is very flexible. You decide how much or little to present.

The most economical version is the DOWNLOAD version, but may not be the best option for those using “dial up” as the files are in zipped format and 5mg. for larger in size. If you are a “do it yourself” type of person, this is a great way to go. Just run the Flash Presentations from your computer and print what is needed.

The CDs are basically the same price with some shipping and handling added. There are no zipped files. The Flash and PDF files are in 9 file folders managing the Powerful Presentations or Educational Materials by title. It is recommended that you copy the files to your own computer, but they can be accessed from the CD.

The Binder is wonderful to hold and look at. It contains EVERYTHING presented in the
download and CD versions, except that it is printed for immediate use. Pop open the rings, copy the pages if you want to keep the originals as masters or put in the “Complete Product” CD and print in color as many as needed. Included are five extra disks with individual Powerful Points Presentations for individual use. They are the featured presentation and the 2 scripture versions of Luke and Matthew. Both come with graphics and without graphics for great Bible memorization sessions.

All in all we are very proud of our Powerful Points Biblical Presentations. However, THE NATIVITY has a special place in my heart and I loved working on it in all aspects because I love Christmas. I love telling the story my Jesus’ birth. My Jesus, your Jesus and how much He loves us.

Help tell the story. It may not have been as Joseph planned the trip … it was even better.

Linda

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Good morning from Iowa

Even though the calendar says it's still summer, the air has the feel and smell of fall. Perhaps not so surprising since fall is only a week away, but I'm not ready for this season of the year. I'm not ready for the frost advisory that has been posted for most of the state. Brrrrrr.

I much prefer the earlier days of the year when life is "springing" up around me in beautiful pastel colors and I know the warm days of summer are just ahead. I live in a location that truly has the four God given seasons. Winter and the bone chilling cold is not my favorite time of the year. But it does make me appreciate the other three .

As so many people around me have said, "Where did the summer go?" What did I do with those days? What did you do with those days. For me they were filled with family, friends, festivals and BSFK. Draw, draw and more for illustrations.

I am at a season of life where a good many of my friends are "retiring." Planning to rest and relax they say. As for me, I've embarked on this new adventure. I've been praying, planning, writing, illustrating, meeting new associates, reading mail from around the world and I'm grateful to be doing it every day. No retirement here. This mission will not retire. God's work is never done. I am committed. Some would say I need to be committed ... but that is from those who do not understand.

Jolene Griffith is our new "Featured Writer" for the website. She has so much enthusiasm and love for the Lord that it just spills out. She tells me she hasn't had this much fun in a long time. She is writing the "Devotional Gems" by Jolene blog for BSFK and I would invite you to get to know her better and read her devotions. You can find the link in the left sidebar on the home page of http://www.biblestudyforkids.com/ or http://devotionalgemsbyjolene.blogspot.com/ for the direct link.

She is also writing short Bible based fiction for children that will be offered for your on-line enjoyment and teaching experience. Two offerings in the works are a story about the Star of Bethlehem for Christmas and a series of lesson/stories about David and Jonathan called "Friends." The latter will at sometime be associated with a Powerful Points Presentation series about David but the details are still "on the drawing board." Pun intended. :-)

My short one line post just previous to this one was in regard to a very short demonstration about blogs for Dee Dorce of Dorce Ministries in Haiti. She was our missionary for Vacation Bible School and she and her family were staying with me. She was watching the first Powerful Points "Creation" Presentation on my laptop and I could tell she was doing some very serious thinking. She was trying to figure out how she could use it for the 160 children she would be teaching in the new school year. They truly walk in to school from out of the hills. She told me she had little in the way of curriculum. After some discussion and giving the situation to God overnight, we sat down at my office computer and she proceeded to translate "Creation" into the language the children could read instead of being read or translated for/to them. It was very exciting to see the words change into words that I could not read. I pick up the Bible she left behind unintentionally. It feels the same, but it isn't the same, and yet it is the same as it tells the same "Good News." I am humbled that what was put together in Clive, Iowa will be used in Haiti.

The next Powerful Points Presentation will be "The Nativity". We started our Old Testament series at the beginning and we do so with the New Testament. It's going to take some doing and we are about half way there, but it is our prayer that it will be ready in November. God willing and I believe that is the case, we will get it done for the Holy Day's (holiday) Season. Your prayers for good health and nimble fingers during this time for all concerned would be appreciated.

Goodness, I think I've made up for the shortness of the previous message.

You are in my prayers and God's blessings,
Linda