My Gift

(Christina Rossetti)

What can I give Him
Poor as I am;
If I were a shepherd,
I would give Him a lamb.
If I were a wise man,
I would do my part.
But what can I give Him?
I will give him my heart.

 First Communion

• Use the idea on page 64 of idea book Volume 3. Change the baby dedication part to the first communion. Use pictures with Godparents, Priest, etc.
• I just did one for my son using the baby idea on top of page 26 of the Volume 6 idea book. I used gold pen instead of pink to draw the squares and then put "First Communion" in gold letters in one of the boxes, in another square I used the wine glass from the wedding stickers for a chalice and a "dam" from one of the other wedding stickers (sorry don't know which one) and trimmed it a little to look like a wafer. The shading on the wafer looked just right - a little "toasted" around the edge. Then in another square I used the church and wrote the name of the church and city/state and date. In another square I used the Bible, tall candle, and dove from wedding stickers - all of the other squares had pictures. (Karen in MI)
• Use black pages, and Mrs. G's Paper Whispers Design lines. The lace would look wonderful as a border to a first communion photo!
  For DS 1, I did a two-page spread with gold letters. I used the church, bible, etc. from the wedding stickers, and the gold/silver cross from the Mrs. G's collection. (Countrymama)
• Many ideas for Christening and Baptism pages can be modified for first communion pages.

Christening and Baptism

• Put a favorite bible verse or a quote from one of the prayers that was said at the Baptism as the title of the page using ABC letter (if it is short) or write it with the callipen (if it is long).
• Put a longer quote around the edge of the page. Many churches have books of prayers for special situations and they will most likely be glad to let you copy what you want.
• Put the photos on the page in the shape of a cross and journal in the empty spaces. Or cut a large cross shape from PMP and use it to mat photos or to journal on. (Cut the strips to make the cross about 3" wide. The vertical strip should be about 12 inches long and the horizontal about 10 inches long. They look nice if they are cut with a deckle cutter. The photos matted on it look best cut in ovals or left in rectangles with the corners rounded).
• Cut a white bib or gown shape and write the prayer that is said at many Baptisms that refers to "clothing with a white garment".
• Decorate a cross die-cut with flower stickers or put various colors of paper behind the white stained glass window die-cut.
• Split a cross die-cut (or cross shape cut out of paper) in half both ways with deckle scissors. Spread apart slightly and write the title in the empty space.
• Children are sweet miracles
  sent by God above
  To fill the world with goodness
  and the blessings of his love
• A christening is the joyous beginning of a lifetime of loving and serving the Lord.
• Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever fresh and radiant possibility. (Kate Douglas Wiggins)
• Let the little children come to Me, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. (Luke 18:16)
• Whoever welcomes a child in My name, welcomes Me. (Luke 9:46-48)

another Baptism or Christening Poem

(John H. Gower)

We bring them Lord, in thankful hands,
And yielding them up to Thee;
Joyful that we ourselves are Thine,
Thine let our off-spring be.

My Baptism

Today I took a closer step
to be with Heavenly Father.
I humbly walked down five white steps
and into clean, clear water.
My loving Daddy took my hand
to help me stand up straight-
Just as he has through all my life
till now when I am eight.
My Daddy showed me what to do-
breathe deep and hold your nose-
And baptized me with priesthood power
and smiled when I arose.

Tomorrow I'll take another step
to be with Heavenly Father.
My Daddy, uncles, grandpas too,
will all around me gather.
They'll lay their hands upon my head,
bless me and say, "Amen".
Then the Holy Ghost will be my guide
if I but follow Him.

God Parents

You can substitute "Godfather", "Godparents", "Godson" or "Goddaughter" for "Godmother" in most of the quotes below.

• Each time the world needs an extra touch of love and gentle caring, God creates a Godmother.
• A Godchild is a special gift sent from heaven to love and cherish throughout eternity.
• A Godmother blesses a child with her enduring love.
• Godmother, given by God to guard my way and guide my steps.
• Godmother, given by God to share her time, her life, her love.
• Godmother - Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.(Proverbs 22:6)
• Godmothers are a special blessing from God.
• There is a special love for a Godmother, for she was chosen.
• To my Godchild: May blessings come from heaven above and fill your life with peace and love.

Children's Prayers

• Dear Father in heaven look down from above,
  Bless Mommy and Daddy and those who I love.
  May angels watch over my slumber and when,
  The morning is breaking, awake me again.
• Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
  Bless this bed that I lie one
  Four corners to my bed
  Four angels at my head
  Watch me as I sleep tonight
  Keep me safe till morning's light
• Now I lay me down to sleep,
  I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
  Angels watch me through the night
  And wake me with the morning light.
• God it great, God is good
  Let us thank him for our food.

A Child's Prayer

(John Banister Tabb)

Make me, dear Lord, polite and kind
To every one, I pray.
And may I ask you how you find
Yourself, dear Lord, today?

A Child's Grace

Thank you for the world so sweet
Thank you for the food we eat
Thank you for the birds that sing
Thank you God for everything.

A Child's Good Night

Dear Father hear and bless
they beasts and singing birds.
And guard with tenderness
small things that have no words.

A Child's ABC Prayer

(Lisa Summerour copyright 2002)

All little children should
Brush their teeth, and
Clean behind their ears.

Do their homework
Everyday and be
Faithful with their chores.

Generosity is rewarded -
How nice to give rather than receive
In time good things return to you -
Just try it and you will see.

Kind deeds don't go unnoticed, so
Lend a helping hand.
May you spread your smile
Near and far - and show joy to all the land.

Open your heart up "Oh, so wide!"
Pouring out love each day.
Quite surely you will feel love to, when it
Returns to head your way.

Some days there will be sunshine,
Thunder and lighting will happen too. But,
Underneath God's great umbrella a
Victory waits for you.

We are all His little children, made
eXactly as we should be
You have all you need to
Zoom along - and be the best you that you can be!

Prayer of Thanksgiving

(Ralph Waldo Emerson)

(Note: the second and third verses of this are often used alone)

Humor

• One little boy in Sunday School looked at a picture of the early Christian martyrs being fed to the lions. "Gee, look at that poor little lion in the back. He won't get any."
• A certain little girl, when asked her name, would reply, "I'm Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter."
  Her mother told her this was wrong, she must say, "I'm Jane Sugarbrown."
  The Vicar spoke to her in Sunday School, and said, "Aren't you Mr. Sugarbrown's daughter?"
  She replied, "I thought I was, but mother says I'm not."
• A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service, "And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"
  One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
• A mother was preparing pancakes for her sons, Kevin, 5, and Ryan, 3.
  The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake. Their mother saw the opportunity for a moral lesson. "If Jesus were sitting here, He would say, 'Let my brother have the first pancake. I can wait.'
  "Kevin turned to his younger brother and said, "Ryan, you be Jesus!"
• A mother took her three-year-old daughter to church for the first time.
  The church lights were lowered, and then the choir came down the aisle, carrying lighted candles. All was quiet until the little one started to sing in a loud voice, "Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you..."
• A four-year-old Catholic boy was playing with a four-year-old Protestant girl in a children's pool in the backyard. They splashed each other, got very wet and decided to take their wet clothes off. The little boy looked at the little girl and said, "So that's the difference between Catholics and Protestants."
•  (Oscar Wilde) A little girl sitting in church with her father suddenly felt ill. "Daddy," she whispered, "I have to throw up." Her father told her to hurry to the restroom in the parish hall.
  Less than two minutes later, the child was back. "I didn't even have to leave the church," she explained brightly. "There's a little box by the door that says, 'For the sick.'"
• While teaching Sunday school, I asked one little girl if she knew the story of Adam and Eve. "First God created Adam," she said, "then He looked at him and said, 'I think I can do better.' So He created girls." (Herm Albright)
• A school play is being planned to re-enact the Nativity. The boy chosen as the innkeeper is reluctant because he doesn't want to turn Mary and Joseph away. Finally, he agrees to take the role. On the day of the play, standing on the stage, he graciously greets Mary and Joseph at the door of the inn and says, "Sorry, there's no room for you - but come in and have a beer, anyway."
• Nine-year-old Joey, was asked by his mother what he had learned in Sunday school. "Well, Mom, our teacher told us how God sent Moses behind enemy lines on a rescue mission to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. When he got to the Red Sea, he had his engineers build a pontoon bridge, and all the people walked across safely. Then he used his walkie - talkie to radio headquarters for reinforcements. They sent bombers to blow up the bridge and all the Israelites were saved."
  "Now, Joey, is that really what your teacher taught you?" his mother asked.
  "Well, no, Mom. But if I told it the way the teacher did, you'd never believe it!"
• Grandpa and granddaughter were sitting talking when she asked, "Did God make you, Grandpa?"
  "Yes, God made me," the grandfather answered.
  A few minutes later, the little girl asked him, "Did God make me, too?"
  "Yes, He did," the older man answered.
  For a few minutes, the little girl seemed to be studying her grandpa, as well as her own reflection in the mirror, while her grandfather wondered what was running through her mind. At last she spoke up.
  "You know, Grandpa," she said, "God's doing a lot better job lately."
• A child came home from Sunday school and told his mother that he had learned a new song about a cross-eyed bear named "Gladly."
  It took his mother awhile before she realized that the hymn was really "Gladly, The Cross I'd Bear."