Michaelmas - The Armor of God Slays the Dragon Within

picture courtesy of Answers VBS

Yesterday we began commemorating Michaelmas by focusing on the Armor of God during our homeschool lessons.  Our main reference is from Ephesians 6:10-17

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

This video "I'm a Soldier in the Army of God" was a big hit with the boys.





Today, in keeping with our tradition, we read Margaret Hodges "St. George and the Dragon" and went on to talk about the armor of God, using the knights armor to illustrate the point.

 

Then the boys colored and labeled their own armor of God.

  I also touched on the archangel Michael, for whom the festival is named. I am still searching for a way to explain Michael fighting the dragon in Revelation and just what that means for us today in the here-and-now.  To keep it simple, yet meaningful, I explained that we all have our own "dragons" in our life to slay. Then we each picked something that we can improve upon in our life and then what aspect of the armor of God we could use to make the change.

We will work over the next few weeks at holding each other accountable toward our introspective self improvement that comes naturally as we pull in from the world around us.  It is seen throughout nature.  Here in central Pennsylvania, nature has offered her best, the harvest is coming in.  After a radiant burst of color, the leaves will fall, the sky will turn gray and a time of dormant introspection will begin in preparation of the spring season when all will be made new.  As in years past, we will look to God and His natural wonders to guide while we center our lives and our family looking forward to another season of growth.