November Overview

Nursery and FirstLook

God made you, and He will take care of you. Could there be anything more comforting than that? Knowing that the Creator of the universe made little old me, and that He wants to take care of me. Wow! How amazing! That's what we're teaching our preschoolers this month. We want them to know that God made them, and that He cares about them - each and every one of them.

We want our preschoolers to finish this month knowing without a doubt that "My God will meet all your needs," (Philippians 4:19, NIrV). We want them to know that God cares about them even more than the birds of the air or the flowers of the field. We want them to know that He will provide for them when they are hungry and thirsty. He will provide people to care for them. God has a plan for their lives and will always, always, be there for them.

KidQuest and The Challenge

Whatever your personal feelings about bugs, all these creepy crawly creatures point to something remarkable: how much we DON'T know about them. Their total numbers, where the undiscovered ones live, what their role is in life. But what we DO know about them, even if that knowledge could fit on a speck on the freckle behind the knee of the very back leg of a centipede, underscores the marvelous diversity of creation and the fantastic imagination of their Creator. In short, knowledge of bugs, or anything God created, helps us better understand HIM.

In the same way, knowledge of OTHERS helps us better understand ourselves. Ever heard a five-year-old compare and contrast himself with a friend? "You like to make worms with the play dough, and I like to run over them with the car." A fifth-grade girl may want to wear lip gloss like her best friend, but she'll secretly note with satisfaction that it looks better on herself. Again, knowledge of others helps us better understand ourselves.

So, come November, we'll be talking about uniqueness in KidQuest (which is learning more about others so you can know more about yourself) and the fact that God made each of us unique. On purpose! By looking for the gifts and talents of other people, a kid can begin to appreciate everyone's importance in God's story, including his own. He can learn that it's okay, even good, to be different and that God made him with a unique blend of talents, abilities, and gifts for a reason. The same God who took the time to design each and every one of those 10 quintillion insects, in all their glorious variety, made each of us. That is truly remarkable.

Here're some things we think are important for kids to understand about themselves, about others, and about God's purpose for them when it comes to uniqueness:

November 3 and 7 -- God made everybody different. What is it that makes you stand out? God can use those differences to change lives, yours and others'. Deborah is an impressive case in point (Judges 4:1-24).

November 10 and 14 -- God made everybody a somebody. Most everybody has felt like a nobody at some point. Gideon sure did. But God had some big plans for Gideon (Judges 6:11--7:22).

November 17 and 21 -- God can use anybody to share His message, even a locust-eating man who lived in the wilds of the Judean desert. Who listens to you? What are your words and actions "telling" others about God? (Matthew 3:1-6)

We think this is going to be a great opportunity to help kids get to know themselves and others, and even more importantly, their heavenly Father and some of the things He may have planned for them.

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Genesis 1:31, NIV).