No other gods

No other gods

No other gods is the four and centerpiece of the T.R.I.N.I.T.Y. prayer acronym (see earlier posts).
This is the time where we commit to only serving the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  We want to purge all other gods.  We want to throw them in the trash.  It may be my iPhone, pornography, a TV show, financial data, news, a person, my personality, or a thousand other things.  What in my life am I paying a lot of attention to?  My dogs look to me for their next move, always following me around waiting for me to act.  Am I that devoted to Christ, always yearning to see his next move and being in readiness to act with him.  What is it that is getting in the way?  This could be something bad or something not bad - it might even be something great, like the Bible!  Don't be afraid to ask God what is getting in the way of your relationship with Him.


Your idea:  make a list of the top ten idols historically in your life, and ask God to purge you from worshiping them, and if need be, destroy them.  Write your one idol on a piece of paper and burn the paper.  If it fits, burn the idol.  Please do not burn the idol if the idol is a person or an animal.

In Between

In Between

In Between in the third part of the T.R.I.N.I.T.Y. prayer acronym (see earlier posts).
This is the time where you are the In Between for someone and God.  You are the one standing in the gap, you are interceding for someone.  I always pray for my family, but it is encouraged to not only pray for "your four and no more" but for those you know need prayer, whether that be people going through divorce, experiencing death, being diagnosed with cancer, facing difficult decisions, etc.  We also follow Jesus' rule of praying for our enemies.  So we want to make sure the people who annoy us or frustrate us the most are at the top of our prayer lists.  I also think it is good to write down specific requests and also write the date, and the date that they are answered.  This is also the time to pray that God would soften the hearts of people who do not know Jesus Christ, that they would know him.

Your idea:  since Jesus called 12 disciples, write down on a piece of paper 12 people that you will commit to praying for daily, and pray for them, lifting them up to God, do not forget to have at least one of those 12 who is your chief enemy and who you do not like.

Real Life

Real Life

Real Life is the second part of the prayer acronym T.R.I.N.I.T.Y. (see previous posts).
Real Life means that there is nothing off limits in prayer.  Please feel free to come to God with things that seem too trivial or too weighty, because it is all intended to be brought to God in prayer.

For me real life includes my strained hamstring, my sin, my pride, the insulation in my house, my dogs, my family, my job, my feelings of inadequacy, my feelings of accomplishment, the weight of this world, the weight of my heart.

Our real lives must be brought with all their weight and triviality and mess to God in prayer.

So much of the lament Psalms of the Bible are great for Real Life prayer.

One of the most honest Psalms is Psalm 22 which Jesus quotes, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"  Psalm 88 is probably the saddest Psalm and yet refreshing in its honesty.   Not that all real life prayers have to be sad depressing prayers.  Some may be joyful.  Some may be confusing.  Some may be boring.  Real life can be all those.

Idea for you:  Read Psalm 22 and then talk to God about your life for 15 minutes.

Thank You

Thank you

This is the first part of the T.R.I.N.I.T.Y. .prayer acronym (see previous post).

We are instructed many times in the Bible to give thanks to God.  Since it is a TRINITY acronym I find myself thanking each member of the TRINITY.

Spotless Son, I thank You for your special sacrifice.

Faithful Father, I thank You for fashioning me and finding me.

Holy Spirit, thank you for making me alive and giving me power to live in the family of Heaven.

I thank God for what God has entrusted to me.

I thank God for breath and blood in my veins.

Psalm 107 is a great Psalm for Thanking God

 "Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!"  (Psalm 107:1)

Idea for you:  Read Psalm 107 and afterwards and during take 15 minutes in thanks to God today, thanking him for everything that you can think of.

T.R.I.N.I.T.Y. a new prayer acronym

My mother used the A.C.T.S. prayer acronym for her prayer times and I have always liked the A.C.T.S. acronym of Adoration (Adoring God) Confession (Confession of sin) Thanksgiving and Supplication (Asking of people and things), and I have also prayed through the Lord's prayer as a guide as well, which has been extremely helpful.  For a little over a year now I have been using an acronym that I developed through studying Richard Foster's book Prayer.  That book talked about different kinds of prayer, and I wanted those different kinds of prayer to be a part of my daily time with Jesus.  So I developed an Acronym which started out as C.H.R.I.S.T.P.O.L.E. and to be honest I cannot remember what those stand for although I have it written down somewhere, but the whole acronym seeing the reference in John 3 that just as Moses lifted up the snake on a pole so would Jesus be lifted up.  C.H.R.I.S.T.P.O.L.E. was too long and cumbersome for me, and so it was shortened to another acronym which has obvious meaning:  T.R.I.N.I.T.Y.  I write below what T.R.I.N.I.T.Y. stands for and in future posts I will write more on each one.

Thank You - thanking God for everything from breath to creation to the cross to my family
Real Life - I have permission to talk to God about anything, whether it be worries, anger, or a zit.
In Between - this is where I intercede for others, being the in between, standing in the gap
No other gods - this is where I tell God that He is my only God, not money, not family, not iPhone
Internal Exam - this is where I ask God to search my heart and I spend time listening
Take Me - this is where I offer myself fully to God each day, I give all of me
Yahweh's embrace - this is where I experience the love of God and sit in His presence.

Praying as Retirement

Retirement:

This is something that many people talk about how much money you are to have, but few talk about the purpose of retirement.  If a retired person does not have a purpose, what will that person do?
Here is an idea of a retirement purpose:  PRAYER.  What follows are some ideas about Praying as retirement that you can use and discard as you wish.
1.  Spend time listening for God's voice.
2.  You could set a time for listening, such as one minute for every year you are old.
3.  Go on a prayer walk every day praying for the people who live where you walk past.
4.  Go on a prayer walk and pray for other things.
5.  If you like variety like I do, have a prayer focus for every year, or even every month, such as wisdom, listening, patience, love, joy, endurance, purity, etc.
6.  Pray for different people each day of the week, for example, Sunday pray for your church body, Monday pray for your enemies, Tuesday pray for your friends, Wednesday pray for your President, Thursday pray for the famous people in the news who get into trouble, Friday pray for you town, Saturday pray for your siblings and their families.
7.  Do Yoga Prayer.  Do different Yoga positions and while in each position pray for a specific person.  Add a position and person each month.
8.  Do basketball prayer.  While shooting baskets talk to God.
9.  Pray while in the grocery store for the people who work at the grocery store, and pray for opportunities to share the Gospel with them.
10.  Pray through the newspaper.  After every article you read in the newspaper, pray for the people involved or effected by that article.

Mirrors

In reading some of Caesar Milan’s dog training (human training) books, I have been struck by this truth.  Our dogs are mirrors of us.  As I have pondered this, and even more piercing point struck my heart – our children are mirrors of us.  Why does my son or daughter get angry?  Manipulate?  Act overly excited?  Many times they have picked this up by imitating us.  They live with us.  They go on walks with us.  They eat with us.  If there is any fear in us, it will be in them.  If there is any resentment in us, it will be in them.  Children and dogs both seem to be like sponges that soak up whatever we are full of. 

With my dogs one thing I have yet to master is the walk.  Caesar tells me I must have calm-assertive energy.  Caesar tells me my dogs are mirroring me.  They lunge after the squirrel, they bark at the other dogs, and they freak out when people are on bicycles.  They are with their master, but they have decided there are other things in the world that distract them, that make them go on paths that the master is not going on.  The energy that they are soaking up in me must not be calm and assertive.  Maybe my energy is distracted energy.  What am I full of?  And if my dogs and my children mirror me, who am I to mirror? 

I imagine going on a walk with Jesus and looking always to Him and always focusing my energy on him, mirroring who He is.  I imagine not taking one step ahead of where he is going, but only walking the steps He steps, and stopping when He stops, always looking to Him.  And then I imagine myself distracted by other things, by other would be masters of my life, money, work, pleasure, sin, and things of this world.  I realize that unlike my dogs, the fault is not with the Master, but with me, the follower.  He is all the Master I will ever need.  I need nothing new or big or exciting.  I need to walk ever and only with my Master, mirroring Him with all that I am, for every moment of the rest of my life.

Idea:  Imagine walking with your Master, Jesus Christ, keeping pace with Him, never ahead, and never behind, mirroring the love and peace and hope and power that He has and is.  Looking to him the whole day even as a dog looks to its master.

the discipline of bowing down

i like to pray with a coffee cup in my hand, or while walking or running, but I have found that it often helps to bow down to the Lord and pray to Him.  I tell my dogs to sit, and they know I am the master because they obey me.  Sometimes I imagine God telling me to sit and obeying him like I would have my dogs obey me.  I feel I am a loving master to my dogs.  Jesus Christ is an even more loving master, for we come and kneel and bow and put our face at the feet of one whose feet were bowed down for us, for one who was treated worse than a dog for us, for he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.

a life expectancy quiz

a life expectancy quiz

Are you a human being?  Yes, give yourself 90 years  No, this quiz is not for you.

Are you a male? Yes, take off 10 years.  

How many cigarettes did you smoke yesterday?  Take off that many years.

Do you have diabetes?  Yes, take off 5 years.

Do you drink coffee? Yes or no – take away 1 year

Are any of your grandparents still alive?  Add one year for each living grandparent.

Are you a pessimist?  Take off 5 years.  Are you an optimist?  Add 1 year.

How many heart attacks have you had?  Take off 5 years for each heart attack

How many days a week do you exercise for 30 or more minutes?  Add that many years.

Do you work at a desk?  Yes, take away 3 years

Do you work in a kitchen?  Yes, take away one year.

Do you work hard manual labor?  Yes, add one year.

Are you good at math?  Yes, take away the number of years of the days left in this week times pi, including today.  No, take away 5 years.

What is your life expectancy?

Moses also does some obituary math in Psalm 90,

^NLT Psalm 90:1 Lord, through all the generations you have been our home!  ² Before the mountains were born, before you gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, you are God.  ³ You turn people back to dust, saying, "Return to dust, you mortals!"  ⁴ For you, a thousand years are as a passing day, as brief as a few night hours.  ⁵ You sweep people away like dreams that disappear. They are like grass that springs up in the morning.  ⁶ In the morning it blooms and flourishes, but by evening it is dry and withered.  ⁷ We wither beneath your anger; we are overwhelmed by your fury.  ⁸ You spread out our sins before you-- our secret sins-- and you see them all.  ⁹ We live our lives beneath your wrath, ending our years with a groan.  ¹⁰ Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.  ¹¹ Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.  ¹² Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.  ¹³ O LORD, come back to us! How long will you delay? Take pity on your servants!  ¹⁴ Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.  ¹⁵ Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery! Replace the evil years with good.  ¹⁶ Let us, your servants, see you work again; let our children see your glory.  ¹⁷ And may the Lord our God show us his approval and make our efforts successful. Yes, make our efforts successful!

“teach us to realize the brevity of life” (12)

In God’s eyes 1000 years are like a day, like a night watch(4).  A night was divided into four watches of  three hours each.  So 1000 years were like a day, or like 3 hours.

Enoch had a son named Methusaelh in the book of Genesis who lived for 969 years.  If Enoch would have asked God, how long will little baby Methusaleh life for?  God could have said, “to me, not quite a day, or not quite 3 hours.”

Moses(1), who lived 120 years, spoke of the common life of then, which is fairly the same as now, 70 to 80 years(10).  But what is that 70 to 80 years? Besides toil and trouble. . .

If 1000 years is like a day, or three hours, what is 70 or 80 years?

Here is my math:  70 years like 1 hour 40 minutes or like 12 minutes 40 seconds.

80 years like 1 hour 55 minutes or like 14 minutes 20 seconds.

The analogy of grass that sprouts in the morning only to wither in the evening(5-6) does not make sense to me because our grass is usually good for the whole year, but of course I did not spend my whole life in the African desert as Moses did.

So I ask myself, “what analogy would help us understand our fleeting life?”

What is something in our life that is short, less than 2 hours, or less than 15 minutes?

A cup of coffee.  How big is your coffee cup?

My life is, in the eyes of God, as lasting as a cup of coffee.  Personally I really enjoy my coffee, although I have had bad cups before, and yet it is gone so fast.  If you want to see your life the way God sees it, think of yourself drinking that one cup of coffee.  Maybe your cup is bigger than mine and you will live to 105, and so you get a 24 ounce cup of coffee, but it is still gone so fast.  Our life is so quick that, one moment, here we are, and the next moment God says, “Return to dust.”(3) And the cup is empty.

Our life is like a cup of coffee to God.

Moses asks God “Return, O Lord, how long?”(13)  But how can God return to us when we are to him like a cup of coffee?  God did end up answering this prayer of Moses.

God became a cup of coffee, a very small cup as Jesus died at 33 years old, so that he could take us beyond our little coffee cups into a much different kind of time, a time the Bible calls eternity.

So as you drink your coffee this morning, think of how short your life is in the eyes of God, and how God came into your coffee cup existence so that He could give you something more.

the myth of a Christian nation

America is not a Christian nation. . . .

not because the President supports abortion
not because the almost President is a Mormon which is a cult
not because of Roe v. Wade
not because the founders fathers were Freemasons which is a cult
not because Andrew Jackson killed as many Native Americans as he could
not because this country was built on enslaving the continent of Africa
not because this country was built on raping and pillaging Native Americans
not because they allow gay marriage
not because the ten commandments are not in city hall
not because there is no prayer in school
not because we have lots of guns, big ones, to kill everyone else
not because of MTV
not because of marijuana
not because of meth, bath salts, crack, and pills
not because of broken families and prisons

but because Jesus did not come to institute a "nationalistic" government
but because Jesus did not come to be king, president, or governor
but because Jesus did not come so that Harry Truman could blow up Hiroshima and Nagasaki
but because Jesus did not come for religious freedom in the sense of democracy
but because Jesus did not come for people to have a free market economy
but because Jesus did not come to be elevated on a throne
but because Jesus came to be crucified and to die
but because Jesus did not call his followers to overthrow Rome
but because Jesus called his followers to be something more than Rome,
and more than Spain, and more than England, and more than the United States,
and yes, even more than Israel
but because Jesus called his followers to follow him by taking up our own crosses and dying
but because there is no such thing as a "Christian" nation, because the very idea of
"nation" is that we are concerned about it, concerned about something besides joyfully following Jesus Christ into the face of death so that His face we see.

you may want to keep your idea of your Christian nation
I want to keep HIS idea of the Christian Church
let's follow His to our deaths

Jesus Resume

Many of you out there are tweaking or tweeting your resume, but I think we may want to write out a resume for Jesus to show us how badly we need him.  I have included the resume I wrote for Jesus.  I take the blame for all errors and give Jesus Christ the credit for all the truth.

Jesus of Nazareth, DDD	Objective
	The Doctor of Doctors in Divinity (quite a bit different than the degrees you all get since I have always had it, and no one can take it from me)  to give you all my very self which you must have if you want life – because I am life.  I offer you all a father-child relationship with my own Father.  We want to give you the Holy Spirit so that your life can be what it was meant to be.  Being in God’s family means loving the others in his family also and especially. Excel in what you need, which is someone who will pour out enough love you’re your life to wash away all the bad stuff.  I am also good at miracles, like healing the blind and raising the dead and multiplying food  thousands of times over.  But all that is really just to point out that I am who I am, which is the Son of God come to give you all life.  Backed by solid credentials (DDD) from my Father and equal strengths in creating things by speaking them, killing death and erasing wrongs with my blood.
	Work Experience
	Messiah BC/ADish - Eternity              Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond Born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontios Pilate, crucified, died, and was buried, descended into hell, and the third day I rose from the dead.  I asended into heaven and sit at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.  From there will I judge the living and the dead.  I made it possible for all who believe in me, who truly trust me, to have eternal life with my Father and I forever and ever.
	Eternal Son of God Before time - Eternity           Everywhere and then some Eternally begotten Son of God, through me all things were created.  If it exists I created it.  I not only created all things, but all things hold together in me.  I have a unified relationship with my Father – I and my Father are one.
	Education
	I am not a recipient of education besides what I receive from my Father, but I have educated many people both in my role as Eternal Son of God and as Messiah.  The main subject matters would be theology, philosophy, biology, accounting, and other areas that you all have not figured out yet.
	My Father’s College                Heaven Doctor of Doctors in Divinity
	Skills
	What I can Save you all from	Skill Level
	Sin	You all’s only option
	Death	You all’s only option
	Yourselves	You all’s only option
	Satan, Demons, Stongholds	You all’s only option
	All Spiritual Evil Forces	You all’s only option

Why the Resume?       To help you all realize that you need not only the skills that I have, but that you need me, and to help you all realize that I am the only one for the job of saving your life.

Praying over the rooms of your house

When we moved into our current house we began to do some basic remodeling such as pulling up the carpet that pets had peed on, knocking down walls and ceilings, and pulling up layers of vinyl tile on floors.  We felt like archaeologists digging through layers upon layers of lives.  So many different people had lived in our house, and our suspicion was that much of the activity that went on in our house was contrary to what Jesus Christ would want.  So we prayed over each room of our house, asking Jesus Christ to fill that room with himself, and for that room to be dedicated to him.  We took over that room for Jesus Christ.  When the US flag was stuck into the moon they claimed ownership of the moon even though the moon does not in any way belong to the US.  But that house does belong to Jesus Christ, and we were aligning with him that it was his.  Psalm 24:1 states, “The earth is the LORD’s, and the fullness thereof, the world, and all who live in it.”  We have done that in the rooms of our house, and also been a part of reclaiming what was rightfully God’s in other people’s houses or other buildings.  Don’t forget the closets, the basement, the attic, and other out of the way rooms – even the garage and the front porch.  I personally do not think this is a bad idea to do more than once. 

The Alphabet Prayer

This idea is one I must have got a long time ago when I was in high school or younger.  This is a group prayer of thanks to God.  The first person starts with the letter A and thanks God for something that starts with the letter A, like “artichokes” and why they want to thank God for artichokes, and then the next person takes B, and the next person C, and you keep going around in the circle this way so that each person gets quite a few letters to thank God with.  For instance in my family of six, if I started with A, then B,C,D,E,F would be taken by the others and I would thank God for something that starts with the letter G, like God.  Here are three things I like about this prayer.

1.        It is focused only on thanksgiving.

2.       The form is easily understood by beginners or old-timers.

3.       It helps kids learn the alphabet.

4.       It boosts creativity (so it’s four things I like).

You may be skeptical at this point, so I will help you by giving you an example from myself and how I am thankful to God for the birds he made, for even though I think it is best in groups, it can be done individually.

A – Anhinga                        N - Nuthatch

B – Bobolink                       O -Osprey

C – Cardinal                        P - Phoebe

D – Dove                             Q - Quail

E – Eagle                            R – Red-winged Blackbird

F – Flamingo                       S – Starling (I like them)

G – Goldfinch                      T – Tennessee Warbler

H – Hummingbird                U – Upland Sandpiper

I – Indigo Bunting                V - Vireo

J – Junco                           W - Waxwing

K – Kingfisher                     X – Xema sabini (Sabine’s Gull)

L – Loon                            Y – Yellow Warbler

M – Mockingbird                 Z – Zone-tailed Hawk

The Avengers and Spiritual Warfare

I took my oldest son to see the Avengers with Captain America, Ironman, the Hulk, etc., and thought it was an okay movie.  But the more I thought about the fighting, which it is a fighting movie, the more I thought about how the Avengers may say some interesting things about Spiritual Warfare.  So I have three thoughts on what the Avengers may say about Spiritual Warfare, and here they are.

1.        Your most treasured possession could be the entry point for the enemy.  In the movie this tesserect thing, I probably spelled it wrong, provided renewable energy and it was set to help the energy crisis, and it was also being used to create weapons, of defense of course.  What I rely on, love, trust, cherish – those will be the things that Satan would use to draw me away from God.  Things that may even be good he will use to twist and pervert and draw me away from the Maker of all good things.

2.       A united front is the best strategy.  In the movie the superheroes were fighting each other until they finally rallied together against the enemy.  The enemy’s strategy was to divide them.  As the Body of Christ, as we stand together in unity we find we are the strongest.  As the body of Christ is divided, Satan wins.  Oftentimes the battle simply consists of maintaining a united front. “Stand” (Paul in Ephesians). 

3.       Those fighting the war are often blamed.  At the end of the movie people want the Avengers to pay for all the bad that happened in the movie, even though the Avengers averted much more disaster.  When we enter into spiritual warfare there are some outside and inside the Body of Christ who would place blame on those entering into Spiritual Warfare.  “What are you doing ministering to child molesters?!?!”  “Why is everything a spiritual attack to you?  Let boys be boys!  That never hurt anything.”  “This is your fault that all of this stuff came to the surface!  It would have been better if it would have stayed buried and hidden.” 

Talking to the God you don't believe in

This was my mom's idea when she went to Ball State University.  She would go by a brooke where she lived and talk to the God she did not believe in.  She would say, "God, I don't believe in you.  But if you really are God, reveal yourself to me.  And if you are God that should not be hard for you."
She later met another college girl who revealed Jesus Christ to her, and so God answered her prayer.

I am so thankful that
1.  my mom was willing to pray to God even though she did not believe in Him.
2.  there was a Ball State student that reflected Jesus Christ in her life.

Both of those things had a big effect on my life (understatement).

Journaling

The first ever journal I got was from the man who discipled me when I was in high school.  He shared with me about his God-time, and how journaling was a big part of that time.  That was the beginnings of my journaling.  Then my mom sent me a journal while I was a counselor at a summer camp in Pennsylvania called Summer's Best Two Weeks.  She may have also sent a pen.  A fellow counselor and I started again the discipline of journaling, writing prayers, thoughts, conversations, yearnings with God.  Throughout the last 19 years of my life journaling has been a big part.  When I was disillusioned about the Christian University I was going to was not as Christian as I thought it should be, I journaled about it.  When I first saw my wife singing in a gospel choir I journaled about it.  When my mom died, and my whole life perspective shifted, I journaled about it.  When I would fail in the many ways that I fail, I would journal about it.  When my children began breathing air, I journaled about it.  When God told me to unite the body, I journaled about it.  When I lived among the Kuria, I journaled about it.  When I prayed for my son to be healed of his glaucoma, I journaled about it.
Journaling becomes a record of my life with God.
If you asked if you could read my journals I would give you the look if you asked if you could see me naked.
For me, and for many others journaling can be an instrument towards prayer, a tool to growth in prayer.  I also think it can be used by both beginners in prayer and masters in prayer.
It can also be something to teach kids about.
I am very grateful to the man who taught me to journal and to my mom who encouraged me to keep going.
They don't journal anymore. At least I don't think they do.  They communicate with Jesus Christ not with pen and ink, but face to face.  Someday I will see Him face to face too, but until then, I am going to journal.

If God doesn't show up, we fail

This is a Christian family idea from the Baker family in Mozambique.  Then depend on miracles, and on Jesus Christ to do them.  They live among the poor and see the desperate need for God to heal people.
How much do I need God?
Do I think I can go on with this day without much help?
Read about Heidi and Rolland Baker in the May 2012 issue of Christianity Today.
If God doesn't show up, will I fail?
I hope so.
http://www.irismin.org/home

http://www.christianitytoday.com/

Stations of the Cross

Many of you have already heard of the stations of the cross but I want to share them with you now.  First of all, there are the traditional stations of the cross, the biblical stations of the cross, and in my mind there could be the gospel of John stations of the cross, etc, etc.  The stations of the cross are for us to contemplate, to meditate on, to dwell on - Jesus path to suffering for us.  Setting our minds on Jesus suffering helps us to also pick up our cross to follow him.  I personally like the stations of the cross with pictures.  Here is the list of the traditional stations of the cross.

1. Jesus is condemned to death.
2. Jesus carries his cross
3. Jesus falls the first time
4. Jesus meets his mother
5. Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus to carry the cross
6. Veronica wipes the face of Jesus
7. Jesus falls the second time
8. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem
9. Jesus falls the third time
10. Jesus is stripped of his garments
11. Jesus is nailed to the cross
12. Jesus dies on the cross
13. Jesus is taken down from the cross
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.

    15.  Jesus rises from the dead.

The scriptural, or biblical, stations of the cross are as follows.

1. Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane,
2. Jesus is betrayed by Judas and arrested,
3. Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin
4. Jesus is denied by Peter
5. Jesus is judged by Pilate,
6. Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns,
7. Jesus takes up His cross,
8. Jesus is helped by Simon to carry His cross,
9. Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem,
10. Jesus is crucified,
11. Jesus promises His kingdom to the repentant thief,
12. Jesus entrusts Mary and John to each other,
13. Jesus dies on the cross,
14. Jesus is laid in the tomb.
15. Jesus rises from the dead.

Here are some samples of pictures you can use, of course children love to draw pictures, so your kids could draw out these stations of the cross to put up in your house or church.

Jesus receives his cross

Jesus falls downthe stations on postage stamps Jesus taken down from the cross

El Dia de la Batalla de Puebla

Rafael Moreno Valle is the governor of Puebla state in Mexico.  He probably knows what Cinco de Mayo signifies.  Or does he?  Maybe Ignacio did not even know what would come after the events of that day 150 years ago when the French lost even though they were outnumbered.  Why celebrate this day and not September 16?  Who knows?  Some people like to drink;  some people like to dress up;  some people like to sing "ayer por primero vez yo te conoci y me vida cambio cuando te recibi, en mi alma en mi corazon ev mi vida. . . . "  
Celebrate cinco de mayo today by. . . .
saying a prayer for Rafael Valle
saying a prayer for Mexico

instead of saying a prayer, talking to God about Mexico, about celebrations.

what will you do today?

The A.C.T.S. Prayer

Here is an idea you may have already heard.  This is a way to pray in four stages.  First come to God in Adoration - adoring him.  Second, come to God in Confession, confessing your sins to him, especially hidden ones.  Third, come to him in Thanksgiving, thanking him for who he is, for the blessings in your life.  Fourth, come to him in Supplication, asking him for help in various situations, praying for people you know are in need of help.  One great thing about this form of prayer is that it helps us realize that prayer is not just about asking God for things, like he is a vending machine, or that going to prayer is like going to Wal-Mart, "I am going to prayer, do you want anything?"
Adoration
Confession
Thanksgiving
Supplication