Tuesday

The Wooden EverEarth Noah's Ark Toy for Young Children - Review


We will share the
  • Unboxing
  • Views & Features of the Ark
  • Animals
  • Our Opinion
  • The reaction of our grandson






UNBOXING

The Ark was double boxed and padded with polystyrene and extra cardboard boxes






It was all a tight fit so this gave us great confidence for an unharmed Ark.


We then saw that the smaller boxes contained the animals wrapped in polystyrene bags.
 




As we had thought, the Ark was in perfect condition when we eventually got it maneuvered out of the box which we had to tear partly.



VIEWS & FEATURES

The two sides were almost identical

Side 1





Side 2




The main difference was the top was closer to one end than the other.  

At the end with more space the top of the Ark had two swing opening doors.






Both sides of the Ark could be opened & part of the roof lifted off.





Plenty of room inside the bottom of the Ark for the animals and a set of steps went from the top to the bottom.

Investigating these features let us see and feel the movement and thickness of the wood.



ANIMALS


As we unwrapped the animals they were placed on and entering the Ark





and around the Ark





OUR OPINION


We were very impressed with the sturdy frame and the simple decor to the outside of this wooden Ark.

The inside was not forgotten when it came to detail as it featured a step/ramp and segregated area in the main section of the Ark; the top area had the opening down to the lower section and room for some of the animals too.


The outer side doors were a large part of each side and were attached at the top with strong string/cord which were very apt for a boat.



The finish of the wood left us with no doubt that this was a gift that would not be easily broken or damaged which is very important when it is for a young boy who is eager to investigate everything.



The Reaction of our Grandson


For his first birthday Matthew had received a piano (by Melissa & Doug) and the keys had been excitedly played or should we say banged.

On seeing this, his second birthday gift, Matthew just launched in to explore it and did not speak to any of us for quite some time.


Matthew takes a good look around and into the top of the Ark






Matthew discovers the openings on each side of the Ark



Matthew discovers the roof comes off



Matthew is intrigued with the rope for opening the sides of the Everearth Ark



Every bit of the Ark was opened, closed, turned around and every animal examined carefully, matched up with its pair and allotted a position outside and then inside it's home.


Matthew was happy to share the Ark with his duplo as well as the animals








The final thing was:

  Testing how it was to be moved.


Matthew slides the Everearth Ark across the floor headed for the hallway



This 2 year old was very happy with his gift because not only was it strong and could take the care (abuse) of a boisterous 2 year old but it also left enough room for different arrangements of play and for imagination which led to a lot of talk then about what the animals were going to do and where exactly they would reside.

Nanny and Grandpa were very happy that on being pushed across the wooden floor the Everearth Ark did not leave any marks!!!



NOTE

The only thing I felt was disappointing was the fact that Noah and his wife and family where not part of the toy (or at least the husband and wife).



The Everearth Ark is very expensive but we know without a doubt that this Ark is of extremely good quality and will survive the adventures with Matthew and his little sister Ruby when she is older and any other grandchildren we may have.


I have not been compensated for this review - it is just my opinion of the gift we got for out first grandson.



Sunday

Reading Through The Bible - 2 JOHN








Some Books of the bible are very short and some are very long but this one is the 
  • shortest of them all by no. of verses
  • joint shortest of them all by no. of chapters (5 books all have only 1)
  • second shortest of them all by no. of words
you can find these comparisons in  The 10 Shortest Books


In fact it only takes 2 mins to read it according to Crossway and their lovely barchart









2nd JOHN  -  NEW TESTAMENT  -  EPISTLE

24th book of the NT 
63rd book of the Bible



It starts with a greeting that is different from most other epistles.
  in 2 John ch.1 v 1 we read

"The elder unto the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth; and not I only, but also all they that have known the truth;"


and quickly takes us to the assurance that this is about truth in the following verse 

"For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever."





What is it?

The Book of 2 JOHN is one of the EPISTLES in the New Testament which means it is a Letter.



How Long is it?

It only has 1 chapter.



When was it Written?

It was written between 95 & 90 AD



Who Wrote it?

John the beloved disciple of Jesus

The name of the letter tells us the writer.
Other letters in the bible are named to show who the recipients of the letters were specifically intended to be but these were letters written by John son of Zebedee and brother of James.
One of the three disciples who Jesus often took with him apart from the others. 



Who was it Written to?

At first glance it would look as if it was a letter written to a specific person "the elect lady" and greeting sent at the end by "the chosen lady" however there are 3 trains of thought about this

  1. the whole church
  2. a specific assembly (church)
  3. a lady

 and I think I go with number 2.





What is it normally well-known for?

Truth & Love are widely quoted and even appear as quickly as the Greeting in verse 3 







continuing to emphasis Love in verse 6





The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"A very brief letter about walking in truth, love and obedience."  


Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"This short, one-chapter book offers great encouragement to walk in the light and love one another even when it is hard"  

 


Why was it Written? 

It was written to encourage and remind the believers not to forget the truth in the doctrine of Christ, the love they should have for one another and to keep the commands of Jesus.

Remembering as stated above that Truth and Love are even presented straight away in the greeting.




The Overview Bible  tells us the following

"He’d told them about truth, love, and obedience—now he writes to tell them what to do about it.

In Second John, the elder (2 Jn 1) briefly explains the relationship between the three:

  • Love and truth. ........ When two parties know the truth, love comes naturally.
  • Truth and obedience. ..... When you know the truth, obedience comes naturally.
  • Obedience and love. ..... A sure sign of obedience to God is love for His church, and a sure sign of love is obedience to God.

He then warns that ........ They should beware of teachers who do not acknowledge Jesus’ human life and who deviate from the things He taught (2 Jn 8–9). Such people are dangerous: the church shouldn’t side with them, shouldn’t invite them in, and shouldn’t participate in their actions (2 Jn 10–11)."  


Teach Sunday School  tells us the following

"1 John was written to combat false teaching ..... in 2 John he is addressing the same issue but not in as much detail."  




Which other books of the Bible is this linked to? 

John wrote three epistles of which this is the second which follows 1st John and is followed by 3rd John  

other books would be


  • The Gospel of John (also written by John)
  • Revelation (also written by John)
  • Jude (also only one chapter long)
  • Philemon (also only one chapter long)
  • Obadiah (also only one chapter long)






  • How does it end?


    With the desire to come and visit in person instead of writing another letter in verse 12

    "Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink: but I trust to come unto you, and speak face to face, that our joy may be full."



    and another greeting in verse 13 

    "The children of thy elect sister greet thee. Amen."





    The Overview Bible  gives us this


    Quick outline of 2 John

    1. Walk in truth (1–4)
    2. Love others and obey God (5–6)
    3. Beware false teachers (7–11)
    4. Look forward to a visit (12–13)










    OTHER BOOKS OF THE BIBLE ARE ADDED REGULARLY AND AN UPDATED LIST CAN BE FOUND AT OUR READING THE BIBLE PAGE 













    Wednesday

    1 John 3 v 1 - Memorizing The Bible


    I could never do it!

              Do what?

    Memorize a chapter of one of the Books of the Bible!

              Yeah that's not so easy,  BUT  you can learn a verse of the Bible.






    Let's look at a verse from one of the shortest books of the New Testament.

    Many people think they could never manage to memorize a whole Psalm or a whole chapter of Scripture.

    It is a rather daunting challenge especially if you have never learned any scripture before.

    So we are not even going to tackle all of 1 John chapter 3 but we will take on the first verse of that chapter.


    "Behold, what manner of love 
    the Father hath bestowed upon us, 
    that we should be called 
    the sons of God"



    So in memorizing this verse we will look at 4 things:
    • Memorising Tips
    • A Graphic Video of 1 John 3 v 1
    • A Music Video of 1 John 3 v 1
    • Some Freebies to help you.







    Memorising Tips
    If you read the Top 10 Ways to Learn Scripture you will see that I give 10 tips to help in this process but we don't have to use all 10 of them on each verse - just the ones that suit best with the verse.


    For 1 John 3 v 1 I'm going to advise using tips 1, 2, 7, 8, 9, 10



    1.  Read the verse often, every day, multiple times in the day.

    Leave a bookmark in your bible and every time you go past it grab the bible and open at the verse etc.  (you will pick up other ideas later in this post).

    Reading and repeating somethings over and over is the natural way to get it into your head.

    With this verse it is obvious to think of it in two parts


    "Behold, what manner of love 
    the Father hath bestowed upon us, 

       & 

    that we should be called 
    the sons of God"





    2.  Write out the verse several times.

    Why?  Because he action of  WRITING  helps us learn anything.

    The first 2 lines above can be written on one line of a page and the last 2 lines on the next line.

    So you are writing it in two halves just as reading it in the two halves as in no.1 above 




    7.  Understand the meaning of the verse.

    We will never memorize anything properly without having understood the meaning of it and knowing the meaning helps us remember the order of the parts of the verses.

    In the verse we have the recognition of God's great love so much that He calls us sons.

    The first part of the verse tells us how God has settled or gifted His Love upon us  

    Then the second part is acknowledging how we know God has done this.










    8.  Make it easy to see the verse clearly and regularly each day.


    In no.1 above I mentioned your bible and a bookmark

    but

    we cannot have our Bible at hand every moment of the day so if you feel you need frequent readings of the verse like pop-up reminders then do the following:

    Get a post-it pad and write the verse out clearly on it then tear off the post-it and stick it on
    • the mirror you will use first thing each morning and last thing each night
    • the front cover of your Bible
    • the front cover of the book you are currently reading
    • the door of the fridge
    • the inside of the door of the cupboard where you go to get your favourite mug for that cup of coffee








    9.  Make or use Bible Verse Graphics 

    The picture of 1 John 3 v 1 near the start of this post is an example of a Bible Verse Graphic.
    A picture with the words written on it clearly.

    By making these yourself you will learn as you create them.

    or

    by using ones made for you that you keep close to hand like these I created below





    I also post a bible verse graphic every morning on my
    so if you want to be encouraged by a verse each day or have a graphic you can Share to your timeline or Save in Facebook then click through to my Facebook Page and be sure to like and follow the page to see those graphics in your feed each day.

    or

    by watching very, very short graphic videos like this one I created






    or Colouring Pages

    While colouring in a Bible Verse Page you will be spending time around the words and this also helps to learn the verse.


    or Word Search Puzzles

    While working on a puzzle you will be spending time around the words and this also helps to learn the verse.

    Head over to  Free Word Search Puzzle for 1 John 3 v 1  to download this free printable available in A4 and Letter Size




    or Phone Screensavers / Wallpaper

    What better use of your phone - to keep that verse in front of you each time you go to check your messages.

    For this you will need it to be a suitable portrait shape and size so most of the normal verse graphics you see will not suit.


    I have a few verses made out for screen savers & you can download them from



    and finally my favourite way 
    but it is not always possible to use this method


    10.  Sing it.

    It is well known that in singing a song you can easily learn the words of the song.

    Fred & I have made several short videos of songs/choruses to help you memorize certain verses and you can watch the one for 1 John 3 v 1 below 





     


    I've also prepared a playlist of Short Songs to memorize Scripture on YouTube:



    Some Freebies to help you.

    Don't forget that many of my posts on the blog have bible verse graphics and I have some of these available as free downloads in my


    also that's where you will find the phone screen savers for some verses.








    SEE OTHER POSTS about 1 John below: