Merida Jingle
Bells: The Elf on the Shelf that teachers little ones about Jesus
Let
me begin by saying I love Christmas. Actually, I love all things Christmas. The
songs, the decorations, the happiness children get, and the TRUE meaning of
Christmas, Jesus. (I will get to the Jesus part in just a minute). So, when the
Elf on the Shelf first came out I loved it and couldn’t wait until I had a
child so I could do the cool things with the elf. When you have kids your
perspective changes slightly. When I had my first child I started looking up
creative and fun things to do with our future elf. The more things I saw, the
more I disliked the elf. My mind works differently than most but all I thought
was this just seems like a lot more work for moms and dads to do. They have to
think ahead of time what to do each day and think about what materials they
will use. They also have to set it up and clean it up every single day. I also
didn’t like how the elf was there to encourage the children to be good, yet it
was destroying the house and making huge messes. I kept thinking it was sending
mixed signals to children. Like parents were saying, “Hey kids this elf that is
rolling the bathroom and acting crazy and bad is here from the North Pole to
make sure you behave.” I also knew my child would take one look at that and
think well the elf can do it, then so can I. I wanted so badly to still use the
elf and I was determined to use the elf in a positive way so I came up with an
elf that teaches children about Jesus!! So, I started the elf that teaches
Jesus last year and posted some ideas on social media and got a lot of positive
feedback. I had some other moms ask me to write a blog and share my ideas, so
here they are below. Each day the elf brought a note with her and had a bible
verse also written on it.
1.
Nativity
Scene
·
I
brought my elf out the day after Thanksgiving because my husband insists that
we cannot put our tree up until then. I decided to put the elf out with the elf
on the shelf book, the nativity scene, and a note from the elf.
·
The note had a message for my child that told
her to read the book first. The book tells you to name the elf and remember not
to touch it because it will lose its magical powers. After she named the elf,
the note told her that the elf came with the nativity scene because it was the
true meaning of Christmas. It told her to turn in her children’s bible and read
the real Christmas story.
·
Bible
Verse: Luke 2
2.
Light
of the World:
·
On
this day I had the elf wrapped around a flashlight that was cut on and shinning
on the elf.
·
Note:
Hi again! What did you think of the REAL Christmas story? Isn’t it great? If
God hadn’t sent His son, Jesus, to earth to be born in a stable, then we wouldn’t
have a reason to celebrate Christmas. See my GIANT flashlight? I borrowed it to
remind you to be the “light” of the world like Jesus tells us to be. That means
we should always be nice and kind to everyone.
·
Bible verse: Matthew 5:14 written on it.
3.
Always
With You:
·
On
this day I had the elf hanging from the rearview mirror. My lovely little
monster thought that the elf could only see her at home, so I put the elf in
the vehicle so she would know that it could see her everywhere like Jesus sees
us everywhere.
·
Note:
Hey there! Today I decided to ride around with you in your vehicle. I wanted to
remind you that I can see you everywhere, just like Jesus does. So remember be
good all the time because Jesus is always with you and sees everything you do.
·
Bible
Verse: 1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that
God’s Spirit dwells in you?”
4.
Don’t
hang with the wrong people:
·
On
this day I got dental floss and tied it from a hook and attached the elf to it
so that the elf was hanging.
·
Note:
Today I am just hanging around because it is so much fun. One of my friends
told me I should try this. Santa did not like it because it made a mess. He
told me that I should remember Proverbs 13:20. It says that we should be
careful who we hang out with because it can lead us to do bad things.
·
Bible
Verse: Proverbs 13:20 “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of
fools suffers harm.”
5.
God’s
bigger and better plans:
·
My
lovely little monster had a toy airplane that was too small for the elf to fit
in. I put the elf beside the airplane to show that the elf was massive compared
to the plane. I wanted to show the little ones that we may have plans but Jesus
has bigger and better plans for us than we could have ever even imagined.
·
Hey
guys! Today started off not so great. I went to airplane pilot school because I
have always dreamed of being a pilot. As you can see, it didn’t work out so
well because I was just a little too big for the plane! Santa saw how sad I was
and reminded me of the bible verse Jeremiah 29:11. That verse tells us that our
plans aren’t the best, only God’s plans are the best!
·
Bible
Verse: Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a
future.”
6.
Agree
to disagree:
·
I
had two elves on this day so that moms with more than one little one could
incorporate getting along with brothers and sisters. One was an Ole Miss fan
sitting with a Colonel Reb and one was a Mississippi State fan that was with a
cowbell. I wanted to teach little ones that even though we don’t cheer for the
same teams, we still have to be kind to one another. We should agree to disagree.
·
Today
my sister came with me. She is an Ole Miss fan, but I am a Mississippi State
fan. She thinks her team is better than my team but I think my team is better.
Santa saw us arguing and reminded us that Jesus wants us to get along with
everyone and be respectful of others. He told us that Jesus wants us not to say
mean things to one another.
·
Bible
Verse: Matthew 12:31 “And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be
forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”
7.
God
loves ALL animals:
·
I
had the elf sitting with various different toy animals.
·
Note:
Hey Kiddos! Today I am hanging out with all these different types of animals. I
love all kinds of animals. Santa told me that Jesus loves all animals so we
should too. We should be nice to all animals because God made them and then saw
it was good. That means that He was happy with all the different animals He
made.
·
Verse:
Genesis 1:25 “God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock
according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground
according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.
8.
Cleaning
out the stinky:
·
I
had a diaper with melted chocolate on it and the elf sitting beside it. I
wanted to show the little ones that we are “stinky” on the inside, but then
when we ask Jesus to come into our hearts, He cleans out the “stinky.”
·
Someone
left this dirty diaper out and it stinks!!! I am going to have to throw it away
so it won’t stink up my whole house. Santa told me that we all have “stinky”
inside of us. The stinky is called sin. Santa said that when we ask Jesus to
come live in our hearts, He takes the stinky out!! Jesus loves us so much and
wants to live in our hearts. We only have to ask Him.
·
Bible
Verse: John 1:29 “The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said,
“Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
9.
Bubble
bath:
o
I
had the elf in a bowl with a bunch of tiny marshmallows. I wanted to teach the
little ones about baptism. I wanted them to realize that baptism isn’t just
about taking a splash in the water; it is about Jesus washing away our sins.
o
Note:
Hey my friends! Today I am just relaxing in this warm and cozy bubble bath. I
got really dirty today and needed to get clean so I decided to take a bubble
bath. Santa said that taking a bath and washing the dirty off of me is like
being baptized. When we are baptized, Jesus washes away all the dirty. The
dirty we have is sin.
o
Bible
Verse: 1 Peter 3:21 “ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you
also-not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience
toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”
10.
Feeding
Many:
§ I had the idea
to have the elf eating bread with other toys. I wanted the little ones to know
the story of how Jesus fed many with a little bit of bread. With this story I
wanted the little ones to understand that Jesus will always provide if we just
have faith.
§ Note: A bunch of
my friends came over today to surprise me. I was so excited. They told me they
were hungry but I didn’t have enough food. Santa came to the rescue and brought
us plenty of food. He told us about a story in the Bible about Jesus feeding a
lot of people with just a little bit of food. The people did not trust Jesus to
feed them because they didn’t have faith. Read the story with your mom or dad
in your bible!!
§ Bible Verse:
Matthew 14: 13-21
11.
Jesus
loves all the little children:
·
The
elf is beside a globe. I wanted the little ones to know that Jesus loves
children all over the world.
·
Note:
Hey there! Have you ever looked at how big the Earth is? It is really really
big. Jesus loves everyone, not just the people you see every day. He loves
children from different countries. He loves children that look different, talk
different, and wear different clothes than you do. He doesn’t care what you
look like. He only cares about how nice you are to others and that you love Him
as much as he loves you.
·
Bible
Verse: Matthew 19:14 “Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do
not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
12.
Praying:
·
The
elf is reading a book about prayers. I wanted the little ones to understand how
important it is for them to pray. The book gives examples of different things
to pray about. I wanted the little ones to understand also that we don’t just
pray before we eat or before bedtime. We should pray daily for many different
things.
·
Note:
I like reading so I borrowed your book. I hope you guys don’t mind. It is
really interesting. There are so many different kinds of prayers in this book.
I only pray at night but in this book there are prayers thanking Jesus for even
having a house. Santa said that we should pray for lots of different things
like: people who are sick,
·
Matthew
6:9 “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your
name.”
13.
Don’t
be scared:
·
On
this day I found my little ones toy snake. I had the elf sitting in front of
the snake with her hands over her face like she was scared of it. I wanted the
little ones to know that we should always follow God’s rules even if it means
that other people treat us badly. I
wanted to show the little ones that we should not be scared to do what God
tells us to do even if people intimidate us.
·
Note:
I was going through your toys again and I saw this scary snake!! I didn’t know
it was fake, that means not real. It looks so real!! Santa told me that I
shouldn’t be scared. He said it was reminded him of the Bible story of
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were three guys who did what they knew
God wanted to them do and not what the king told them to do. We should all be
like them and do what we know God wants us to do and not what others do that we
know is wrong.
·
Bible
Verse: Daniel 3
14.
Siblings
fighting: Olaf
§ I had two elves
on this day. I have two little ones so I wanted to incorporate getting along
with your siblings. As with many siblings, they all fight over toys. It doesn’t
matter who the toy belongs to. They will fight over it just for the sake of
fighting. I tied this together with Cain and Abel to show what happens when
siblings fight over petty things.
§ Note: My sister came with me today. We were
playing with your toys and she started playing with your Olaf toy. I wanted to
play with it when I saw her playing with it. I wasn’t nice and tried to jerk it
out of her hand and she hit me. We got in a really big fight and Santa came to
stop us. He told us that fighting mad Jesus sad. There is a story he wanted us
to read about two brothers fighting and the bad things that happened because
they were not nice to each other. It is the story of Cain and Abel. When we
fight, we get mad and it leads us to sin. Sinning is bad. We should be kind to
our siblings even if they aren’t being kind. So ask your mom or dad to read
this bible story to you and help you know what happens.
§ Bible Verse: Genesis 4; Jeremiah 17:9 “The
heart if deceitful about all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”
15.
God’s
money, not mine:
·
This
day I had the elf with some DVDs. I wanted my little ones to understand that
the money we make, or earn, isn’t really our money to keep. I want them to get
into the habit of tithing to the church as soon as they get money. I did not
want them to get money and spend it all on things before they even tithe.
·
Note:
I lost a tooth yesterday so last night the tooth fairy brought me a bunch of
money. This morning I went to the store and bought a bunch of fun DVDs. I don’t
have any money left but I do have all these cool new DVDs. Santa said that I
shouldn’t have spent all my money on these DVDs. He said that in the Bible it
says we are supposed to give a portion of our money to Jesus. That is called
Tithing.
·
Bible
Verses: Deuteronomy 26:12 “When you have finished setting aside a tenth of all
your produce in the third year, the year of the tithe, you shall give it to the
Levite, the foreigner, the fatherless and the widow, so that they may eat in
your towns and be satisfied.”
16.
Church!!
·
I
had this church for decoration in my house. I decided to put the elves inside
to show that the elves attend church. I wanted my little ones to understand
that going to church is really important and it is a commandment.
·
Note:
Today is Sunday so we are going to church. Did you know that Jesus tells us in
the Bible that we should go to church? It is the 4th commandment. A
commandment is a rule that Jesus gives us to live by. Jesus gave us 10
commandments in all. Santa told me that commandments are really important and
we should go to church even if we don’t feel like going.
·
Bible
Verse: Exodus 20:8-10
17.
Obeying
Parents!
·
If
you have a little one, you will definitely appreciate this idea! It is about
obeying parents!! I think at any age little ones will try parents and not obey
them. I wanted to remind my little ones that are important to obey our elders
and more importantly Jesus. I incorporated this idea with the Bible story Jonah
and the Whale.
·
Note:
I have noticed that sometimes when your mommy and daddy tell you not to do
something, you do it anyways. That is not nice. We are supposed to obey our
parents. Obey means to do what someone says. There was a guy in the Bible who
didn’t mind Jesus and it made Jesus not happy, so he taught Jonah a lesson. You
might know it the story. It is Jonah and the Whale. Have your mom or dad read
it you so you can find out what happens when Jonah tells Jesus no!
·
Bible
Verse: Read the entire book of Jonah.
18.
Peter
walking on water:
·
I
wanted my little ones to always focus on God in anything, even bad times. I thought
about the story of Peter walking on water. I found a baking dish and put some
water with blue food coloring in it and a toy man sinking in it. (You could get
blue jello and put it in a clear container and have a toy man on top of the
jello and another toy man sinking in the jello.)
·
Note:
I was in your kitchen and I saw this toy swimming in the water. He isn’t a very
good swimmer when he isn’t paying attention to what he is doing and focusing on
other things. Santa told me it is like the story of Peter walking on water.
Jesus tells Peter to walk on water and at first Peter does, but then Peter
looks away from Him and Peter starts sinking. Peter was more worried about what
was going on around him than focusing on Jesus. When we are having a bad day, we
should not turn away from Jesus. We should always focus on Him to get us
through bad days and hard times. He will always be there for us if we only keep
our eyes on Him.
·
Bible
Verse: Matthew 14: 28-30
19.
Joyful
noise:
·
My
little ones love music and songs. They love to sing along to many different songs.
I wanted to remind them that it is okay to sing along to songs even if we don’t
know the words or if there are people around. I had the elf sitting with a
tambourine to make it look like the elf is playing it.
·
Note:
I found your tambourine and decided to play it. I hope you don’t mind. I have
been playing Jesus Loves Me on it. That is my favorite song! Jesus says that
when we sing songs about Jesus it makes Jesus happy. We should always be happy
to sing for the Lord anywhere and everywhere. We shouldn’t worry about who is
listening to us or if we don’t sing as good as others do. Jesus doesn’t care
about those things as long as we sing to Him.
·
Bible
Verse: Psalm 98:4 “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth: make a
loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”
20.
Apple
boats:
·
I
reused the water from a previous day and cut an apple in half and cored it. I
put a toothpick in it with a triangle flag to make it look like a boat. I
related this to when Jesus called James and John to be disciples. He called
them when they were fishing. I want to remind the little ones that everyone’s
calling from God is to be “fishers” of men.
·
Note:
I am back in your kitchen today and I saw this boat. There were men fishing in
it early this morning. Did you know that two of Jesus’ followers were
fishermen? John and James, who were brothers, were fishing one day when Jesus
called them to follow Him. Jesus also wants us to follow Him. He wants everyone
to be “fishers” of men. That means he wants everyone to tell everybody they
know about how great and awesome Jesus is so that they will know Jesus too. We
shouldn’t be scared of other people and what they might think. We should only
be worried if they know Jesus or not.
·
Bible
Verse: Luke 5:10-11 “and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s
partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish
for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and
followed him.”
21.
Armor
of God:
·
I
wanted my little ones to remember to pray to God when they first wake up in the mornings because of how important it
is. If we pray as soon as we wake up, then it is like we have put on the armor
of God and he will fight away the devil and his schemes.
·
Note:
Today has been an interesting day already!! I was minding my own business when
some of the mean toys tried to come over here to me and beat me up!! I was
scared, but the good toys came to my rescue and helped protect me from the bad
toys. Santa said that is how it is when we pray in the morning. When we pray as
soon as we wake up, it is like having good guys defend us and make sure the
devil doesn’t try and trick us to do bad things. So if we don’t want the devil
to trick us, then we should pray every single morning as soon as we wake up.
·
Bible
Verse: Ephesians 6:11 “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your
stand against the devil’s schemes.”
22.
Daniel
and the Lion:
·
I
had the elf reading out of my little ones children’s bible. I like my little
ones knowing various Bible stories so I had the elf reading about Daniel and
the Lion. I want them to be excited to read their Bible and dig into God’s
word.
·
Note:
Santa noticed that I don’t read my Bible very much and he told me it is
important that I do. I thought the Bible was boring but my mom bought me one
that is for kids. I saw this story about a guy named Daniel who was put in a
den with some scary lions. Jesus saved Daniel because he believed in Him. I
can’t stop reading and find out what else happens in the Bible. What is your
favorite Bible story?
·
Bible
Verse: Daniel 6
23.
Being
kind to others:
·
This
day I had both elves out again. I wanted to remind my little ones to be kind to
others. I had the elves situated so that one was consoling the other one. I
wanted my little ones to be the kind of person who is always there for those
who need comforting like Jesus is for us.
·
Note:
My sister came with me today. I have been feeling sad and lonely during the day
without my family. She is a great sister because he listens to me when I cry
and comforts me. She is always there for me. I should be more like her and be
there for other people when they are sad and comfort them. That’s what Jesus
does for us. He always comforts us as long as we ask Him too.
·
Bible
Verse: 2 Corinthians 1:4 “who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may
be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which
we ourselves are comforted by God.”
24.
Rose:
·
I
had both elves out again on this day. One with a fully bloomed rose and one
with a dead rose. I wanted my little ones to realize that if we have Jesus in
our hearts, then we are like the rose that is fully in bloom, but if we don’t
then we are like the rose that is dead.
·
Note:
My sister and I saw some flowers and picked some. One is really pretty and red.
It is a rose. The other flower is dead and ugly. Santa said it is like people
who have Jesus in their hearts. If they have Jesus in their hearts, they are
beautiful on the inside like my rose. If they don’t have Jesus in their hearts,
then they look like my sister’s dead flower. I have Jesus in my heart so am
like my rose. One day you will make a really important decision about letting
Jesus into our hearts and I pray you will make the right decision.
·
Bible
Verse: 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation
has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”
25.
David
and Goliath:
·
I
borrowed a big and ugly toy man from my mother in law. I put it in front of the
elf like the toy is intimidating the elf. I tied this in with David and
Goliath. I wanted my little ones to remember not to be scared of anyone that
looks scary, or is bigger or meaner than them. If we have Jesus on our side
then he will protect us always.
·
Note:
This big scary man has been really mean to all the other toys. He does look
scary and really mean, but I am not scared of him. I just asked Jesus to be
with me and I told him to stop being mean to all my toy friends. That scary toy
wasn’t so mean anymore after that. Jesus gave me strength to defeat that mean
man so he won’t be scary to the other toys anymore. I remember reading the
story about a guy in the Bible named David and how God was with him. Go read it
and find out what happens to him and what Jesus does to protect him.
·
Bible
Verse: 1 Samuel 17
26.
Healing
and Band aids:
·
On
this day I put band aids on the elf. I wanted my little ones to know that Jesus
heals us not only on the outside but the inside as well. He is like a big band
aid.
·
Note:
On my way back to the North Pole last night, I landed wrong and got a little
hurt. Santa took me the elf doctor and he put some band aids on to make me all
better. Santa told me that Jesus heals all the people who are hurt if we just
let Him. He loves us so much and wants to make us all better. He is like this
band aid is to my boo boos, He makes them all better.
·
Bible
Verse: Psalms 147:3 “ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
27.
Apple:
·
I
wanted the little ones to know that just because someone or something looks
great and amazing, doesn’t mean that they or it is on the inside. I used some
apples that I knew were bad on the inside, but were rotten on the inside to
show that looks can be deceiving.
·
Note:
I found some apples in your house today. They looked so delicious and shiny and
tasty. I couldn’t wait to eat them all up. I got a big surprise when I cut them
open. They were rotten on the inside. I couldn’t even tell they were bad on the
inside by looking at the outside. I was so sad because I was so hungry. Santa
told me that I need
·
Bible
Verse: Matthew 7:16-20 “By their fruit you will recognize the. Do people pick
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears
good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear good fruit.
Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
28.
No
other gods.
·
I
drew an old school T.V. on a piece of black foam with some painter pens. I love
watching Christmas movies and I am bad to sit down to watch a bunch of them and
then not realize how much time has passed and how much of the day I have
wasted. I know that sometimes it would be so easy to stay home all snuggled in
the bed and watch movies and go to church. I wanted to remind my little ones
that it is a commandment to go to church so we must go and please God.
·
Note:
Today I missed church. I was started watching some Christmas movies and before
I realized it, it was already lunch time. Santa told me that it was really bad
for me to not go to church. Remember when we talked about commandments another
day? Well there is a commandment that tells us not to have any other gods besides
Jesus. Santa said that because I watched so much T.V. that it was like it was
my god and not Jesus. I was so sad but Santa said it would be okay if I didn’t
do it again.
·
Bible
Verse: Exodus 23
