Firm Foundation with Ma and Pa: Recent Episodes
Ma and Pa
Firm Foundation with Ma and Pa is a Bible story podcast. All stories come directly from the Bible. Christian principles and concepts for every day living are woven throughout each exciting story to introduce young listeners to the Word of God.
Nicodemus is wise enough to come to Jesus for answers to his question. Even like the apostles, he is confused and takes Jesus and his figurative comparisons as literal and misses the understanding of Jesus statement about being born again.
I think Nicodemus got it, eventually. He didn't stop following Christ and ended up bringing the traditional Jewish spices to help in the burial of Jesus. He was right there helping in the end.
I cannot find the quote but I have read one authors opinion on Nicodemus. It is not how you enter the door that matters, it is how you leave it. Figuratively speaking, of course!
The Great Physician, Jesus heals! How deep is that sentence? As Jesus is in the beginning stages of his ministry on earth, he begins to heal many people. Excited, thankful, amazed at what Jesus has done for them, they tell their neighbors, friends and families and soon Jesus has an entire town of people waiting at the door to heal them. Oh, and he also drives out demons!
Another Summer short for the kiddos to think about. Jesus chases the merchants out of the temple and tells them that he can destroy the temple and raise it up in just three short days. They don't realized Jesus is talking about his own body, but Jesus can tell what is on their hearts and does not entrust himself to them. Several concepts in this lesson that are introductory concepts for children. It is exciting to see how aspects of Jesus are revealed even in short little stories from the scripture. I pray to God before telling each story and try not to let my fear of leaving something out get in the way of telling the story. But all of these concepts, stories and scriptures need so much more than just a short podcast. We all need follow up, teaching, instruction, praying and other visuals to help us absorb and use all this wonderful information. One can never know enough about God.
This Summer Short (a genius idea for a crazy busy grandma during summer) discusses Jesus performing his first miracle. Urged on by his mother, Jesus turns water into wine. Miraculous! Not just any wine, but a wine that tastes better then what they had been drinking. His work on earth has begun.
Included in this podcast are thoughts about working for Jesus in all that you do.
Did you know that we are to pray continually? What better time to start that practice than when you are young. This podcast is a brief introduction lesson on prayer for the young ones that encourages turning their thoughts towards God and prayer, multiple times per day. There is so much on prayer in the bible, I guess we will take it one lesson at a time.
This short podcast is just an introduction to all of the wonderful parables, miracles and the life of Christ. There are so many stories to tell. The 4 gospels tell it all so beautifully, I pray that I can convey the beauty of the message with these podcasts.
Jesus was tempted in the wilderness by the devil. Temptation is just fork in the road a place to stop and take stock of what is happening and choose which path to go down.
Easy stuff right? Until you are tempted!
Ma tells a childhood story about falling into temptation and the lake.
What a deep and meaningful story. The older I get the more meaning these words have in my life. Such a lesson can only be from God. It is timeless story that means more each time it is read or told . As a person grows so does the meaning and the depth of this story. Pt 4 in this series of Abraham and Sarah waiting for the child that will fulfill a covenant of descendants to numerous to count.
Romans 11:34
Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
How unsearchable his judgments,
and his paths beyond tracing out!
The words of this song by Amy Grant just keep going through my mind.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age you're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.
Through your love and through the ram,
You saved the son of abraham;
Through the power of your hand,
Turned the sea into dry land.
To the outcast on her knees,
You were the God who really sees,
And by your might,
You set your children free.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonia,
Age to age you're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
We will praise and lift you high,
El shaddai.
Through the years you've made it clear,
That the time of christ was near,
Though the people couldn't see
What messiah ought to be.
Though your word contained the plan,
They just could not understand
Your most awesome work was done
Through the frailty of your son.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age you're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
I will praise yo 'till I die,
El shaddai.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
El-elyon na adonai,
Age to age you're still the same,
By the power of the name.
El shaddai, el shaddai,
Erkamka na adonai,
I will praise you 'till I die.
El shaddai.
As the story unfolds, God changes Abrams name to Abraham and Sarai to Sarah, which is part of the plan, but boy I mess it up a lot. Prize to whomever can come up with the correct number of times I actually say the wrong name for Abram/Abraham. God now requires circumcision for all of the males in Abraham's current household and for the descendants to come as a sign that they are part of the covenant, This is a very important part of the story and deserves much more teaching than one can do in a brief bible story. Also, as with most subjects like this, I truly respect that each household will teach as they see fit. So again it is just touched on tastefully and briefly as part of the story. Also as Sodom and Gomorrah are destroyed I am careful to leave all of the issues of that time up to parents discretion as to how the topics should be taught. AKA (kid friendly material)
I hope you all enjoy this as much as I am enjoying telling the stories. Prayers for all!
Things get a little rough around the edges in this story, however Ma handles the issues with care. This podcast is suitable for children. Sarai comes up with a plan to have her maidservant Hagar help carry out the blessings of her husband's lineage. This wasn't at all what the Lord intended and He sends and angel to earth to help straighten out the mess they have made. God is so patient with Abram, Sarai and Hagar....guiding them on the path to carry out the plans he has for Abram. God goes over and around the help he gets from everyone trying to work things out their own way. This story gives me hope as well as confidence that God can help me when I get in the way and mess up his plans.
Abram is such a man of God, known for his faith, for the majority of his life he simply did whatever God told him to do. This story is a long one and with such an important message cannot be told in one sitting. So I will break it up into a few podcasts.
Whenever I think of Abram (Abraham) I am taken back to an evening long ago when Bethany was little while sitting at the table she asked "Are we all children of Abraham?" To which her brother Jon answered "Nope we are all dump trucks!" (Random questions!!) I think they were 5 and 4 at the time. LOL!!
But, YES, Yes we are all children of Abraham, we are seeds, heirs and part of a beautiful promise made to Abram.
So.....the story unfolds.
I had a little help with this story from Isaiah and Macy, our two oldest grandchildren. They are such a blessing, as are all children and grandchildren.
This is our first attempt at telling a story together, please be patient with the editing, Editing is a lot of work. Kudos to those that chose editing as a full time profession. Meanwhile, granny, ma, me am learning editing on the fly. (is that a hip word?) 3 separate and distinct, voice modulations to play with. (oy vey!!) I had no idea!! 5 hours later...
The message is clear though! God wants all to come to repentance... Extra care is given to the one sheep, coin, son who has lost their way. If you are the one the Shepherd leaves to bring home, what an honor! If you are the other 99 sheep in the pasture, pray for the Shepherd.
When I think back to stories when I was in bible class many many years ago, I had forgotten that some of the stories were told in parables. Even though they aren't actual events as they unfold type of stories, they sure do follow common events that happen in our lives. Which is perhaps, why my brain categorized this parable as an actual event. When I went back to read it again, I was like ,”oooh yeah, the parables!” There are over 30 parables in the gospels and I am so excited to tell them. Little life lessons, life lessons for the littles (our children and grandchildren) as well as reminders for us not so ahem, littles.
For such a short story in the bible it sure does hold a lot of treasure. Respect is a characteristic we want all of our children to be aware of. As this story is told it is evident that not only is there love and kindness shown, but the mutual respect they have for each other runs deep. For me as a mother, mother in law and grandmother there are so many relatable moments in this story. I pray that this story touches your hearts and your children's hearts. I cannot give it the depth that the bible gives this story, so I hope you take some quiet time and read it from the bible.
For February we will talk a lot about love. It seems appropriate. Focusing on several types of love and introducing concepts of love to children. I thought Noah's ark was one of my favorites, but today this one seems really amazing as well. I have enjoyed the story telling journey so much.! This story, although a tidbit in the entire scheme of the living word of God, packs a lot of power. For the entire story here are the verses where you can read it in it's entirety.
Matthew chapter 3
Mark 1:1-12
Luke 3:1-23
John 1:1-34
Our Savior is born in a stable as there is no room in the inn. The shepherds of the field and the magi seek to find the newborn king and come to worship him. King Harod who has a jealous fit orders all the male children under two put to death. God keeps his son Jesus and his earthly parents safe through this both glorious and scary time.
The bible says in Genesis 6:5-6 The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. It was time for world wide system reboot. God gave us the rainbow as a sign that he would never flood the earth again. In this story told for children we discuss the flood with emphasis on doing things things the way God wants us to. The rainbow as a promise or covenant given to us from God, is also discussed so children will know that a rainbow is direct sign from God.
God saw Cain's heart and knew what he was thinking before he killed his brother Abel. God warned him that sin was crouching at the door, ready to devour him yet he must master it. This Christian and Godly concept is told through this story that will encourage children to think about doing the right thing and being a master over sin.
God causes Adam to go into a deep sleep. Eve, the first woman is made from Adam's rib. Together they eat from the one tree God told them not to. Life is going to change for Adam and Eve as they will no longer be allowed to live in the Garden. Super Snakey, sounding serpent character is the tempter in this story. Parents please listen to the podcast before you have your children listen to it, to make sure it is appropriate for your child.
Before there was light, before there was day. God existed. He created the world in just 6 short days. Children will have to help out and use a bit of imagination as this great story is told.