God Made Me: A Toddler Devotion from Psalm 139:14

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God made us. Isn’t that exciting. He made us for a purpose, for his purpose. Each of us unique, he crafted us. Yet in our culture and the media, so often we are given the message that we are not enough. We don’t measure up. The lists of things we could and should do is endless. As a survivor of anorexia, this theme hits really close to my heart and I continually pray that my girls will know they are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).

And I think this is a verse we, as moms, need to pray over ourselves as well as our children. It starts with us. Our thoughts become our actions and attitudes and that gets passed on to our children. We need to speak life over ourselves so that when we speak life over our children, they can believe our words. As you help your children play with this verse, I encourage you to meditate on it for yourself.

Who has God made you? That voice telling you you’re scary mom, or a mombie: that’s not truth. You are so much more, and the Lord wants to use you. He has purposes for you in this season that only you can do. Only YOU can mother YOUR children. God selected you for that. What are the giftings the Lord has placed inside of you (both motherhood related and not)? I know that life with babies is crazy, and doesn’t offer a lot of free time. But this week, if nap time runs like it should, I encourage you to put down the social media, turn off Netflix, and make a list of who you are. Write down those passions and goals. Write down those hidden talents that maybe have gone unused. Remind yourself that those beautiful babies are just a part of you. Take that list and thank God for it. Then submit it to him and ask him to use it. Ask him to show you where and how he wants to use you, or maybe already is using you. Our children are fearfully and wonderfully made, but so are we. Take some time to celebrate that, and then pour into you kiddos.

Here’s how we explored this verse:

Read: Psalm 139:14

“I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful!”

-Psalm 139:14

Ok, so our baby Bible does not actually have this verse in it. But while the girls played I would say the verse to them and we would listen to songs that sang the verse.

Dress Up

We played dress up this week, because it encouraged mirror play, and she could look at the wonderful creation God made her to be. I filled a box full of different hats and necklaces, and put it in front of a full-length mirror.

Vale didn’t really need the enticement of hats to get some good mirror play in. She’s kind of a clown when it comes to mirrors, but the hats did add to the fun.

Mirror Play

We got little baby involved in our mirror play fun by having her do tummy time in front of a mirror. This works on self-recognition and eye-tracking.

Naming Body Parts

For our toddler skill this week we worked on identifying body parts. This was pretty easy, because Vale is particularly interested in naming body parts. So we sang “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”

Spanish: “Cabeza, Hombros, Rodillas, Pies”

Edit: Another fun body-naming exercise we have played with Naomi (9 months) is “Where’s The Sticker.” Take a sticker and put it on your baby. Ask “where’s the sticker?” When they find it say “it’s on your (name body part: leg, knee, arm, etc.)”

This exercise works on self-awareness, fine-motor skills, and vocabulary. We also used it to work on crossing the midline, which is important for eye-tracking and establishing hand dominance.

Handprint Art

Everyone’s fingerprints are unique, so I decided to make some handprint/footprint art. I had seen a version of this cactus art on Pixy Pics, and loved it, because our living room has a bit of a cactus theme. I adapted the idea for my littles by using their feet (little babies do better printing with their feet and my toddler refused to get her fingers dirty). I used and inkpad to make the prints, instead of paint, because it cleans off easier with a wet wipe. Then I just used a fine point sharpie to make pricklies (is that what they’re called?) And a pink marker to make flowers. While we made the prints, I told my toddler that no one’s foot print is the same. God made us each special. She probably didn’t understand most of that, but I plan to frame these and hand them in the living room. I see them being a good conversation as she becomes an older toddler/preschooler.

We did this devotion the week of Vale’s second birthday, so our snack was birthday treats at her party. She loves sprinkles, so my sister made sprinkled cupcakes, and baby girl was thrilled. Plus we had all of her other favorite snacks as well.

Media

This week we watched the Veggie Tales “God Made You Special“. This episode shares stories about God making us special for his purposes.

We also listened to “I’m So Wonderfully Made” by the Donut Man.

We listened to a couple of Yancy songs as well: “The Butterfly Song” and “Si Te Sientes Muy Feliz” (English: If You’re Happy and You Know It.)

All the songs we listened to focus on the fact that God made us wonderfully and/or helping recognize our body parts.

We read our Highlights Hello “All About You” Issue, because it talks about body parts and how special we are.

Finally, we read “Donde Esta El Ombliguito” (Where’s the Belly Button) by Karen Katz. It’s a fun lift-the-flap book about body parts.

If you try this devotion, let me know! How did the activities work for your family? What have you done for your child’s birthday? Comment Below!