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This little package arrived in the mail a few weeks ago. It is a devotional puzzle called He is Risen from Pieces of the Promise which features the entire Resurrection story. We cracked it open and pieced together the story-to-end-all-stories during our Morning Time together in order to prepare our hearts for IT IS FINISHED!
The Set-up
Initially, all the pieces came jumbled in a bag. In order to have them ready for use, I enlisted the help of my middle sons. We sat around the table together separating the pieces into piles. Each piece had a number stamped on the back of it indicating which portion of the puzzle it went with and which devotional day it was to be used.
Once the pieces were all separated into piles, I placed the piles into small zipper bags, organized all of these in numerical order, and then laid the bags inside the original puzzle box...placing Day 16 on the bottom of the stack and working my way up to Day 1. On top of all this, I put the devotional booklet that came with the kit.
Once the pieces were all separated into piles, I placed the piles into small zipper bags, organized all of these in numerical order, and then laid the bags inside the original puzzle box...placing Day 16 on the bottom of the stack and working my way up to Day 1. On top of all this, I put the devotional booklet that came with the kit.
Completing the puzzle
For sixteen days, we slowly pieced together the story of redemption...
I placed a small card table at one end of our living room where we typically do our Morning Time together and set a project board on top of the table in order to have a movable work space. I set all of our regular loop resources aside (to be revisited after the sixteen days) and dropped the puzzle box in their place inside our morning time basket.
Each morning, after we sang our monthly hymn, practiced our memory verses, and read a few pages from our current manners book, I opened the puzzle box. I took out the day's bag of pieces along with the devotional booklet. Opening the fold-out devotional booklet, I quickly found the day's short devotional and Scripture verses. I assigned one of my four older children to find the suggested Scripture passage in the Bible and encouraged him/her to read it aloud to the group.
The passages were short, usually three to five verses, but were well-chosen to give a clear look at one portion of the Easter story. After the verses were shared, I read the devotional paragraph and asked the one or two conversation-starter questions.
We talked briefly about what we had learned from the verses and devotional, and then I passed out the 10 to 15 puzzle pieces that made up that day's section of the story. The kids worked together to build the puzzle section-by-section. (Puzzles have always been quite puzzling to me. So, I was thankful for the cheat-sheet picture provided on the backside of the devotional booklet. My kids, on the other hand, worked that puzzle over like a boss. Clearly the puzzle genes in our family come from The Hubs. But, I digress...)
What I liked about Pieces of the Promise
Pieces of the Promise is Momma-friendly
In my desire to elevate the second-half of Christ's story for my children, I don't want to add any unnecessary hustle to my life. I, too, need to enter the Easter season in a posture of peace. I don't want to be running around in a muppet-like frenzy trying to create rest for everyone else's days while adding CRAZY to mine. I feel like I've found a just-add-water-and-stir kind of tradition that will add to our celebration, not detract from it.
Pieces of the Promise is age appropriate
The puzzles are designed for family use. The devotions are intentionally short (around 5-10 minutes) but point to very specific sections of the Resurrection story. Over the course of sixteen days the entire story was pieced together in a way that even my four-year-old could understand.
Pieces of the Promise is multi-sensory
We've always loved reading from our favorite Easter book each year and will continue to do so because it has become such a much-loved family treasure. However, it will be so nice to also include a Scripture-driven resource that incorporates DOING. Each year we use He is Risen, my kids will get to put together the entire Easter story section-by-section. In the end, they will create a colorful illustration of the entire plan of salvation. They will hear the story. They will see the story. They will make the story.
Now what?
We've tucked our He is Risen puzzle away along with so many other holiday family favorites. We'll continue to bring it out each year as we look towards Easter. It will help us make memories together and mark the season well. But most importantly, it will draw our hearts towards the cross. It will remind us that neither the cradle nor the grave could contain His glory.
Christmas is only half of the story. Pieces of the Promise will help me to share the rest of it.
More about Pieces of the Promise
Pieces of the Promise puzzles include the following:
Individual puzzles retail for $20 or can be bundled together at a discounted rate of $55 for all three.
The completed puzzle is 18 inches by 24 inches in size and consists of 16 smaller puzzles each representing one of the daily readings found in the devotional booklet.
For more thoughts on celebrating Easter
*I was given a complete set of He is Risen from Pieces of the Promise in exchange for a thorough review. I also received monetary compensation for my time spent in reviewing the product. All opinions expressed were true and completely my own. I am not responsible if your experiences vary.
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