Little Keepers at Home
A little over a year ago, a friend of mine told me about a
group she had found online called Keepers of the Faith. We both have girls, and we had talked about
how we just weren’t really comfortable allowing them to be part of Girl Scouts,
but that we loved the idea of a “club” where they could get together with
friends, do projects, etc. We also had
discussed ways to keep our girls involved with each other and to grow in faith
and knowledge of God. She directed me
to this website: keepersofthefaith.com
and asked me what I thought.
In a nutshell, the basic premise of this group is similar to Girl Scouts,
but with a Biblical focus. The girls can
earn “badges” for achievements they accomplish individually as a group. All of the badges are designed to train the
girls to fulfill the role God has established for all women; to be keepers at
home. We stress frequently to them that
their role as keepers at home is nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed
about. It is a difficult, rewarding, and
blessed role to have in service to God!
We encourage them to be thankful for God’s wisdom in allowing them to
serve in these ways.
Each “club” of Little Keepers is autonomous. The company makes the books, badges, and
various materials available for purchase, but there is no central governing
authority dictating when, how, or if you cover certain tasks. As a result, we do not have to worry about
false doctrine or teachings permeating our lessons or activities. We set the tone for the sessions based on scriptural
teachings.
The more my friend and I discussed it, the more we could see
this idea being made a reality with our girls and their friends. So, we typed up a proposal and took it to our
elders for consideration. After some
discussion, the elders agreed to allow the girls to meet on Wednesday nights to
fellowship, work towards badges, and, most importantly, to learn more about
God. Each meeting includes a meal, a
devotion or application of God’s word, and a project or activity. We have been meeting now for over a year,
and it has strengthened our girls in ways we didn’t realize could happen so
quickly. It has been a work in progress,
but even people outside our small group of girls and moms have commented on the
difference they have seen among the girls who attend. We work together during our meetings on
various tasks and projects, and every 4-6 months we have a “pinning” for our
girls. We average 10-12 girls at each
meeting, and their current ages range from 6-13. We are getting ready to welcome a new group
of girls, some of whom are 3 and 4 years old, and we look forward to watching them grow
and change alongside our current club members.
Some of our projects from the year include:
- Bible reading – Jonah, Ephesians, and Daniel are some of the books they’ve read
- Bible Memory work – including model prayer, obedience verses, books of the Bible, kindness verses, love verses
- Weekly devotions about our roles as girls/women in God’s kingdom
- Painting self-portraits with watercolor
- Painting favorite Bible stories with watercolor
- Decoupaging trivets for our widows’ brunch
- Decoupaging lap desks
- Learning to bake cinnamon rolls (from scratch!!)
- Learning to decorate cupcakes
- Visiting the nursing home and delivering hand-made crafts the girls made
- Singing Christmas songs at the nursing home
- Preparing, decorating for, and sponsoring a dinner for the elders and their wives
- Scrapbooking
- Rubber stamping
- Painting trivets for home
- Card-making
- Grandparents’ Day gifts
- Family trees
- Allowing the girls to lead songs and prayer among other girls
- Manners and Etiquette training
Our girls have learned to work as a team towards common
goals. They are learning to be good
friends to one another and to share in fun experiences together. More importantly, they are developing the skills
to serve God in the roles He has assigned them. They are also learning to be comfortable praying and singing in an all-girls setting, which will hopefully aid them later when they become teachers of children and/or women. The moms have also grown closer together as we share in the joys and struggles of parenting. I am so thankful for the opportunity to be
part of this group, and I pray that God will continue to bless the efforts of
the moms and children involved!
