Eight-year-old Ethan tore open the birthday gift as fast as he could. He couldn’t wait to see what was inside! But when the wrapping paper came off and he saw an “educational” toy instead of the Star Wars Lego set he’d hoped for, his shoulders slumped. It wasn’t what he wanted.
I can’t help but think that’s what kids do when they compare themselves to others. When they say or think, “I wish I were funnier like him.” “I wish I were smarter like her.” “I wish I didn’t cry so easily.” Basically they’re saying, I wish I were a little less like me and more like someone else.
God created each person special (that includes you too, Mom, by the way), NOT to be like someone else. God poured attention and detail into creating your son or daughter. God handpicked the gifts he or she has. They are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14). Use this devotional to drive home that point.
God poured attention and detail into creating you.
He handpicked the gifts you have.
God made you special!
What does God say about you in this verse?
How you made me is amazing and wonderful.
I praise you for that.
What you have done is wonderful.
I know that very well.
Psalm 139:14
What’s one thing you like about yourself?
What makes you special?
Think about the day you were born. What about how you were formed is incredible?
Honey Brownies
(Parents: You can use ingredients from any recipe for this devotional, but I happen to love these honey brownies from Nature Nate’s. The gluten-free honey cake is another option.)
- Hide the ingredients around the house or yard. To make them easier to find, tag each one with brightly colored sticker.
- On your go, have kids search for the ingredients.
- Highlight different ingredients using the talking points below.
- Use the devotional below to hide God’s Word in your kids’ hearts.
- After brownies are baked, cut brownies into different shapes using a cookie cutter
Uniquely You!!
Say…
Each ingredient for making our _________ (brownies, etc.) is unique and does something special. Here are some examples:
You only use a small amount of BAKING POWDER or baking soda, but without it cakes and muffins wouldn’t be puffy and fluffy.
Most ______ (brownies, etc.) need a lot of FLOUR. Without it, you’d have chocolate soup instead of chocolate brownies. It would run through your fork, drip onto your chin and plop onto your lap.
Real BUTTER comes from the cream in the milk of animals like cows and goats. Butter makes baked good tender and easier to chew.
COCOA comes from a cocoa bean. The bean is roasted and ground up and the fat from the chocolate liquor that comes out is made into a fine powder.
Inside every eggshell is a treasure chest of good stuff like vitamins and minerals. An EGG makes pudding thick and makes meatballs stick together so they don’t fall apart.
SALT makes everything taste better. It makes ketchup taste more ketchupy; it makes chocolate tastes more chocolatey. Everything would taste boring without salt.
HONEY makes even something sour sweet! Add honey to lemon juice and you have lemonade. Sweets and treats at Christmas and Thanksgiving are made with honey, or sugar.
Ridiculous!
Imagine how silly it would be if the chocolate said to the butter. “You can’t have brownies without chocolate, so I’m more important than you.” Or if the flour and the honey said to the baking powder, “Well, people like us best because they use a lot of us and only a little of you.
Ridiculous!! You need all ingredients to make brownies. They’re each important. God is so big, so awesome, so absolutely amazing that He needs all of us put together to show others what he’s like. He created you to be you and do what you do best, not to try and be like someone else.
You are special because God made you.
© Carol Garborg 2021
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