From A to Z: God's Word for My Family By Kathy Schultheis "Look, Mark, that's you holding an apple! And that's the ambulance when I went on my field trip to the fire station," says Seth as he looks at the A page of our ABC book. And, quickly turning to the next page, "Here's me with my Baptism candle and you with your birthday balloon!" I love scrapbooking and so over two years ago, I made a gift for my two sons, not only to help them learn their ABC's but also to help them learn God's Word. Sitting beside them, I ask, "Do you boys see these words?" We look at the verses written on top of the A and B pages, As for God, His way is perfect (Psalm 18:30) and Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved (Acts 16:31). Some days I really want them to read the H page, Honor your father and your mother (Deuteronomy 5:16), or the O page, Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right (Ephesians 6:1), but I always want them to see God's love as we discuss the E page, Every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17) or the N page, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). This book was easy and fun for me to create. I started each page with a paper strip down the side as a border, and I placed a large die cut letter (A-Z) at the top. I then wrote a Bible verse that started with the respective letter and arranged photos of our family and friends to correspond with the letter. To emphasize the letter, I used a sticker letter to begin the captions under the photos and also to start the first word of the Bible verse. Since I had so many photos to include, I made a special title page with one-inch square photos surrounding the title, "Our ABC Book." I love listening to my boys as they pore over their very own ABC book! Mark looks at the photos as Seth comments on each one, and then Seth reads the captions for his younger brother. "Oh, Mark, do you remember that?" Then they laugh! "Here I'm kissing you." (Giggles) -The K page. "That's when you turned one." - The O page. "This says eXtra-special kids." - You need to be creative for the X page. What a joy to see my boys poring over this album that not only helps them remember special family times but also helps share God's Word! If you would like to make a book like this for your children or grandchildren, an easy way to get started is to look at your current photos and see which letter of the alphabet they could fit - remembering for example that the photo of your little one with Nana could go on the N page for "Nana", the G page for "grandparents", or even the L page for "love". Again, your kids will love your creativity, and you can even stage a few shots if you're desperate! And they certainly won't mind another trip to the zoo to shoot a great photo of them with the zebras! [If you would like to make a similar album for your children or grandchildren, scroll down for the Bible passages and word suggestions.] Kathy Schultheis is a mother of three (Mark, Seth and baby Rebecca pictured above) and wife of Pastor Martin Schultheis of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Maryland. Bible Verses for the ABC Book A As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. [Psalm 18: 30] B Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. [Acts 16:31] C Commit your way to the Lord. [Psalm 37:5] D Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. [Psalm 96:3] E Every good and perfect gift is from above. [James 1:17] F For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. [John 3:16] G Glory to God in the highest. [Luke 2:14] H Honor your father and your mother. [Deuteronomy 5:16] I I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart, I will glorify your name forever. [Psalm 86:12] J Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me." [Matthew 19:14] K Know that the Lord if God. It is he who made us, and we are his. [Psalm 100:3] L Love is patient, love is kind. [1 Corinthians 13:4] M My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. [Psalm 121:2] N Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. [Hebrews 13:5] O Obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. [Ephesians 6:1] P Praise be to the Lord ... who made heaven and earth! [Luke 1:68] Q Quiet words of the wise are more to be heeded than the shouts of a ruler of fools. [Ecclesiastes 9:17] R Rejoice in the Lord always. [Philippians 4:4] S Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord all the earth. [Psalm 96:1] T Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. [Psalm 143:10] U Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it. [Proverbs 16:22] V Victory rests with the Lord. [Proverbs 21:31] W Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. [Psalm 100:2] X eXalt the Lord our God and worship his footstool. [Psalm 99:5] Y You have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. [Psalm 71:5] Z Then I looked and there before me was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion. [Revelation 14:1] ABC Book Word List A apple, airplane, arm, alligator, angel, award, automobile, acrobat, ark, aunt, animal, ant, ambulance B birthday, bubble, bat, balloon, bike, bicycle, butterfly, beach, banana, bug, book, basketball, brother, baseball, Baptism, Baptism candle, bath C crayon, computer, cat, cowboy, clown, castle, children, child, camera, cow, candle, cookie, color, cross, church, Christmas, Christ, cartoons, cousins, cake D dad, daddy, dinosaur, dream, duck, dancing, donkey, doctor, dragonfly, doughnut, dot, diploma, door, dolphin, dog, dentist E elephant, exercise, egg, energy, eagle, exciting, emergency, eat, eating, Easter, Easter eggs, Easter basket, entertaining, electric, easy, eel F family, fireworks, fire engine, flag, friends, French fries, funny, frog, football, fruit, fantastic, food, father, favorite, fun, feet G grandparents, great grandparents, great, green, God, grapes, gingerbread, girl, garden, go, giraffe, globe, gift, goldfish, giggle H house, home, happy, hippopotamus, hen, hockey, heaven, horse, holiday, helmet, heart, horn, hammer, hot, haircut, hug I ice cream, instrument, igloo, inch, inchworm, imagination, inside, ice skating, ice, iguana, invention, important, icing, in J J ­ jungle, jacket, jelly, jack-o-lantern, juice, jump, jaguar, jet, January, jazz, jar, job, jokes, Jesus, joy, jeep K kiss, kite, kindergarten, key, kangaroo, king, kitchen, knowledge, kettle, kids, koala, kitten, knock-knock L lollipop, library, lion, lunch, lamp, lemonade, look, lobster, listen, lamb, love, lady, lady bug, leaf, leaves, ladder, little, laugh, llama M mom, mommy, mother, me, mailbox, man, movie, milk, muffin, music, macaroni, medicine, map, moon, marvelous, mitten, motorcycle N night, nighttime, neighbor, name, nickel, nice, noodle, nut, noisy, noise, nurse, nap, number, nephew, north, necklace O ocean, oatmeal, outstanding, open, orange, octopus, outside, opposite, oval, ostrich, octagon, old, otter, one, oh no! P picnic, parents, paint, pancakes, present, popcorn, pencil, purple, party, pet, peanut, parachute, piano, pastor, professor, performance, people, pig, piglet, pumpkin, pool, play, piano Q quilt, queen, quick, quality, question, quarter, quiz, quintet, quail, quack, quotation, quill, quite, quiet R reading, rabbit, rain, rainbow, raisin, rocket, running, rooster, rope, rhinoceros, robot, rose, roller skate, ring, radio, running, S sunglasses, school, sailboat, shoe, smart, snowflake, snowman, snail, son, scissors, soccer, spider, silly, special, smell, scarecrow, spikes T toy, terrific, train, tooth, tractor, tree, turkey, tennis, table, truck, teacher, tugboat, talk, telephone, thank you, tuxedo, tunnel U umbrella, universe, upstairs, USA, unique, uniform, upside down, unusual, useful, utensils, underwater, under V violin, vacation, video, vacuum, vegetables, Veggie Tales, volcano, vitamins, violet, van, valentine, vase, valley, very W wagon, watermelon, worship, winter, world, wheelbarrow, wave, wonderful, whale, work, weekend, walrus, window, wet X x-ray, xylophone, "x marks the spot", "x-tra" special, "xoxoxox" ­ kisses & hugs, (x is in fox) Y yellow, yesterday, yummy, yarn, youth, yes, year, yam, yolk, yo-yo, yield, yell, yawn Z zoo, zipper, zigzag, zero, zip code, zinc, zebra, zodiac, zealous, zinnia, zip-a-dee-doo-dah! Other hints:      -Include the child's name as that letter      -Include numbers at the back