Children don’t matter much. At least that’s what our societal attitudes seem to communicate. Consider:

•750,000 children are homeless in the United States.¹

•One out of every four pregnancies ends in an abortion.²

•One of every six children in the U. S. will be physically abused before reaching adulthood.³

•And, according to Christian researcher George Barna, young children spend more time with caregivers other than their parents, because their parents spend more time at work.⁴

Fortunately, God is not swayed by cultural attitudes. Children are important to God. Use the weekly devotional ideas that follow to share that message with your own kids this month.

1. Remember that love is often spelled t-i-m-e. Designate a portion of each day to simply be available to your children—leave your work at the office, put down the newspaper, turn off the TV. When you make time for your kids, your actions say, "My child, you are important, valued, and cherished."

2. Remember that you also are a child in God’s eyes. When you need to pray, remember your heavenly Father welcomes you with loving arms. When you need to feel special, remember your Father thinks you’re more special than life itself. And when you remember your Father’s feelings for you, his child, remember your Father has those same feelings for the children he’s given you.

Use this cooking craft to remind your children they’re God’s wonderful creations.

With your children, cook a batch of oversized, rolled cookies (such as gingerbread or sugar cookies). Then bring out edible decorations like licorice whips, chocolate chips, M&M’s, and other fun cake & cookie accents.

Using a can of frosting for "glue," challenge your children to create "self-portraits" on their cookies. For example, a redheaded child might use candy corn for hair. Another child might use M&M’s for eyes, licorice whips to form a mouth and glasses, and sprinkled candies for eyebrows. Encourage children to be creative and to have fun.

When children are finished, admire everyone’s creations. Then read aloud Psalm 139:13-16 and remind kids that God has created something more wonderful than we can imagine—themselves! Finish by allowing everyone to eat their cookie self-portraits.

For extra fun, read about God’s special creative abilities described in The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado (Word Kids!, 1994), and in Colors Come from God...Just Like Me! by Carolyn A. Forché (Abingdon, 1995).

Use this game to help your children learn they’re always special to God.

Rearrange your living room (or another room in your house) into an obstacle course. For instance, you might send the path of the obstacle course winding around a couch, under a table, over a row of shoes, behind a curtain and so on. Place an empty chair at the end of the course.

Have children take turns making their way through the course and to the chair (you can time them if you want!). Then rearrange the course and have kids run it again—backward! Let kids try as many variations (such as blindfolded, on one leg, and so on) as they want.

Then read aloud the story of Jesus welcoming the children found in Mark 10:13-16. Remind kids that Jesus thinks they’re special, and that they never have to go through an obstacle course to reach him. Then clear a path straight to the chair. As a family, walk down that path, sit in and around the chair, and offer a prayer to Jesus, thanking him for thinking your kids are worth special treatment.

For extra fun, help your children feel special by reading aloud Just in Case You Ever Wonder by Max Lucado (Word Kids!, 1992), and I’d Choose You by John Trent (Word Kids!, 1994).

After the story, read aloud Matthew 18:10, reminding your children that God has placed unseen angels all around to watch over and protect them—even when they sleep!

For extra fun, read Counting on Angels by Brenda Ward (Word Kids!, 1996) with your preschool kids, and view the video Guideposts Junction: Angels, Angels (Sparrow, 1995) with your school-aged children.

Use this project to show your kids God uses children to do great things.

Read aloud the story in John 6:5-13, pointing out that Jesus used a child to feed more than 5,000 people. Then challenge your children to be used by God this week. Designate each day of the coming week as a "Make-A-Difference Day"— a day in which your kids will use simple things (like a boy’s lunch!) to make a difference in the lives of people around them.

If your family needs help brainstorming creative make-a-difference opportunities, suggest ideas such as: Wash a teacher’s car; Take a flower to a grandparent; Bake cookies for a neighbor; Walk a friend’s dog; Make a balloon bouquet for a children’s church leader; and Send thank-you cards to city workers like police officers, firefighters, or mail carriers.

At the end of your week, gather in prayer, thanking God that he can use children to do great things!

For extra fun, read aloud Loaves and Fishes by Helen Caswell (Abingdon, 1993), and use the toys, Bible Greats Action Figures (Rainfall Educational Toys, 1996), to playfully recreate stories from Scripture in which people were used by God to make a difference.