By Rev. Doug Forbes

Crafts can be great learning tools and young people love to make them.  One craft that my children enjoy making are windsocks.

To make Windsocks of Faith you need various colors of 12 by 18 inch construction paper, colored crepe paper streamers, string, a stapler, a single hole punch, glue sticks, glitter, crayons, markers, clear contact paper and colorful stickers.

Begin your project by laying your construction paper lengthwise and having the children write, “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”  Write Hebrews 11:1A under the Bible quotation.  This should be in the center of the paper about six-inches square.  Then have them draw pictures around the verse that remind them of God.  Each child can add glitter and stickers according to taste.  Leave one inch on the right hand side undecorated for your overlap.

Cover the outside of the construction paper with clear contact paper to strengthen it, and roll construction paper lengthwise into a tube overlapping one inch, and put three staples at the top and bottom.  Add 20 inch streamers by stapling them to the bottom 2 inches up the inside of the tube an equal distance from each other.  Take your hole punch and punch two holes in the top of your windsock one inch down on opposite sides.  Take an 18 inch piece of string and tie an end to each hole.

To make an outdoor windsock, substitute pieces of white sheeting for construction paper and colored sheets for your streamers.  Sew in a circle of bailing wire at the top and bottom of your windsock to help it keep its shape.   Sew your seams, and use indelible markers for all your decorating.  Punch four holes one inch down from the top of your windsock.  Take two pieces of 18 inch string and tie an end to each hole.

Tie a string end to each hole.  Gather the tops of the strings together and tie a third 18-inch string at the top.  Use your loose end to tie your windsock to a tree, house or garage.

The children have drawn pictures of things that remind them of God.  Tell them that every time they see their windsock blow, it will remind them to have faith in God.  We can’t see the wind, but we can see and feel the effects of it.  We can’t see God, but we can feel His love and see the effects of His presence in our lives each day if we try.