A spiritual guide for a semester featuring 8 devotionals based on the book *Aunt Olga's Windmill* by author Jennifer Rees
The book can be ordered and purchased at bookstores or through various websites, such as CLV.
8 Devotional Topics
CHAPTER: AUNT OLGA
Title and Topic:
Chocolate Cookies for Breakfast?
Karen and David’s parents are in a car accident. Since they’re now on their own, Aunt Olga takes them in. The children will spend their summer vacation with their aunt at her windmill.
Provisional Main Message, Bible Verses Related to the Story:
- God is always with us, no matter where we are, Matthew 28:11
- God knows you, Psalm 139:1–5
- You are important to God, Isaiah 43:1 ff. -> Parable of the 100 Sheep
- We can pray to God anywhere
- Give thanks to God (Matthew 6:5 ff)
CHAPTER: DAVID AND CAROLINE DISAPPEAR
Title and Theme:
As if swallowed up by the earth!
When Karen and Aunt Olga return from shopping, David has disappeared from the park bench. During the search, a girl steals Karen’s doll. Aunt Olga prays. David spots her and runs after her. He falls into a pond, and a man helps him out.
Main Message, Bible Verses Related to the Story:
- With God, you can talk about anything, anywhere—Psalm 50:15
- God answers prayers
- God helps (directly or through other people)
Possible Activities
Scavenger hunt, scavenger hunt
CHAPTER: “YES,” “NO,” OR “WAIT”
Title and Topic:
"Yes," "No," or "Wait"
David prays for a superhero and is sad because he doesn’t get one. Aunt Olga says: “I wanted to go on vacation by myself, but the lawn mower wouldn’t start, even though I prayed. Then the lawn mower started, but I couldn’t find my glasses. Then I got the call from the hospital. If God had done everything the way I wanted, she wouldn’t be with me now.”
Main message, Bible verses related to the story:
- God doesn’t always give us what we want
- God sometimes answers our prayers differently than we want, John 5:14–15
- God has good intentions, even when it doesn’t seem that way
- God’s plans are sometimes different from ours, Isaiah 55
- God knows what we need, Matthew 6:7
- Comparison: red = no
yellow = wait
green = yes
Possible activities
"Yes, No, or Wait" à la 1, 2, or 3
CHAPTER: THE AWARD-WINNING OLD BOOT
Title and Topic:
Bad Luck Day?
Aunt Olga tells and acts out Bible stories with the children because they don’t know any.
They enter a flower-picking contest. After a few “unlucky” moments, they even win first prize!
Main Message, Bible Verses Related to the Story:
- God can turn bad things into good
- Knowing all the things God has already done -> God is powerful (Biblical stories)
Possible activities
- Put on a play, act out a story
- Organize a contest
- Picking flowers
CHAPTER: THE SKYDIVER AND THE CHOCOLATE CAKE
Title and Theme:
Above the Clouds
It’s Aunt Olga’s birthday. The children bake her a cake. (Aunt Olga has to clean up afterward.) During their picnic in the meadow, they watch the skydivers. They barely manage to get into the car before a skydiver lands on the cake. As compensation, they’re allowed to go on a flight with them.
Main Message, Bible Passages Related to the Story:
- Bringing Joy to Others (Matthew 5:38–42)
Possible activities
- Bake a chocolate cake :-) hmmmm
CHAPTER: SHIPWRECK AND A LOST HAT
Title and Theme:
Shipwreck!
Aunt Olga is reading the Bible; Karen asks her why and gets a good answer. Later, they go rowing on the canal. David’s homemade boat gets rammed; he tries to save it and falls into the water. Aunt Olga loses her purse. After praying, a diver comes and finds everything.
Main Message, Bible Verses Related to the Story:
- God speaks to people through the Bible
- God can help (-> Trust in God)
Possible Activities
- Build boats, float them on the lake (it’s cold!)
CHAPTER: COUNT RABENSTEIN’S LOST JEWEL
Title and Theme:
I’m speechless!
A tour of Count Rabenstein’s castle. He’s very unfriendly, but after David finds a long-lost brooch in the pond, he becomes quite nice. He gives the children gifts, especially because Karen had admitted to stealing feathers.
Main Message, Bible Verses Related to the Story:
- Honesty is the best policy
- God does not want us to steal, Exodus 20:15
- God has given us a conscience so that we can tell what is right and wrong
Possible activities
- Find an object in mud or flour
CHAPTER: THE LAST ADVENTURE
Title and Theme:
Darn it all!
Aunt Olga breaks her leg while rushing to the farmer’s, because a sheep has gotten caught in the barbed wire. At the hospital, the children feel abandoned. Karen is praying when suddenly her parents arrive. They tell her that they now want to live with God, too.
Main Message, Bible Verses Related to the Story:
- God answers prayers, 1 John 5:14–15
- God wants to have a relationship with everyone (to be God’s child), John 1:12
- God knows what we need! Matthew 6:7
References
- Contents: AmeisliRomanshorn, 2007
- Cover image:Front cover of the book "Aunt Olga's Windmill"
More About the Book
Detailed information about the book from theexcerpt:
Original title: “Auntie Maud’s Windmill,” published by Harper Collins
London, United Kingdom
Copyright © 1983 by Jennifer Rees
Translated from the English by Renate Mauerhofer
ISBN 3-87982-106-2 (Bibellesebund)
ISBN 3-89397-557-8 (CLV)
11th edition, 2006
© German-language edition: Bibellesebund, Marienheide 1984
All rights reserved
Cover: Stefanie Wilmer
Illustrations: Lena Franke
Printing and binding: Ebner & Spiegel, Ulm
