Eleanor’s desk was littered with notes, dates, pieces from her journal and sketches. She stepped back to survey her work. Two notes stood out by themselves: Yahweh’s Book and Azrael. It was as if she were looking at a puzzle; a puzzle with countless missing pieces and only a handful of the edge pieces. She had bits of information, but certainly not enough to make sense of. The question was, did she have enough information to begin her quest.
Yahweh’s Book – love for the people of the kingdom
Azriel – Was this dragon good or bad? Where is he today? The people trusted him.
Knowledge – a thorn, a trap. Locked away to protect the people.
Teachers?
Children? Grandma said the world was once filled with them.
All the old people, like Grandma Beaulah, live far away.
A Hidden vault – stories from the past, truth???
“I am the way, the t” (this was written on a torn piece of paper)
Loss of purpose
Joy???
She also had an old map of the kingdom. Grandma said she didn’t know what was new or missing. She had kept it buried in a pocket of an apron from her childhood, as her mom said it might be important one day and should be kept safe. There were also little bits of stories, written out on slips of paper; stories Grandma had shared over the years about the past. She kept talking about JOY and how much they had loved life and being together. Fun. These things didn’t connect to her world, but she could imagine it when Grandma Beaulah told her stories.
There were so many missing pieces.
Eleanor was standing on her chair looking down at her desk; hoping a different vantage point would bring some understanding. As she sighed, she was startled by a noise behind her. Grandma Beaulah stood behind her, with tears streaming down her face. She pressed an old key into Eleanor’s hand and sat on the edge of her bed. She began to tell a story.
Family Connection
Read John 14:6. Why do you think this one verse might have been written down and saved?
Grandma Beulah gives Eleanor a key. What do you think it might signify? Read Revelation 1:18 and Isaiah 22:22. Do these verses give
any insight into this key and into this story? Discuss as a family.
What do you think about all the clues Eleanor laid out? Are there any pieces of the story, any puzzle pieces, you think you might understand? (I would LOVE to hear any ideas you have! It could make it into the story.)
We are talking in FBA how God alone gets to tell us who we are. Discuss why that might be. Read Genesis 1:27, Psalm 139:14, and Ephesians 2:10. Who or what else will try and tell us who we are? It’s important that we know who is against us – John 10:10, Ephesians 6:12 – and who is for us. His lens should become the one we view our entire world through. Share with your kids any life decisions
keeping Him at the helm (or the ones in which you ignored him and got led astray). Let them learn from your stories.
Possible verses to memorize: Ps 139:14, Eph 2:10, John 10:10, Eph 6:12
Journal Ideas:
Use the cards I sent home. Talk through the stories. We are talking about each of these stories in regards to identity. These were men and women who may have doubted what God called them or had the “world” tell them who they were. In the end, each had to make decisions to follow God, no matter what those around them said; believe God’s plans and trust Him, even when it looked as if everything was against them; believe what God said they were and learned to trust Him in the process. Use storybook Bibles to help understand any of these men and woman’s stories. Each person has to make their own decisions. Read Matthew 12:30.
Write Matthew 12:30 in your journal. Write or draw what you think this means. Ask God to show you a truth He wants you to know from this. Write that down.
Take a character from one of the cards and spend a few days learning about his/her life (ask God if there is a character, in particular, that He wants you to spend time with this week; ask Him to highlight that card). Ask your parents to help you find their stories in different books you have or find small videos about them (I personally love Superbook and you can find their videos on YouTube).
Spend time this week writing or drawing in your journal about this character. What can you learn from his/her life? Is there a truth God wants to highlight to you? Write a key verse from their life in your journal.
