In her book, Quinn Says Goodbye, Christie Thomas utilizes endearing characters and solid biblical principles to tackle a difficult subject: loss. Quinn, a young owl, nurses an injured firefly, Blink. However, when her new friend leaves, Quinn grapples with “the whys.” Children will relate to Quinn’s range of emotions, from the joy of making a friend to the sadness of losing him.
Thomas’s story illustrates that loss is hard, which flows nicely into a discussion about heaven…where there will be no sadness or crying or pain. “There will be no goodbyes in heaven” is the “big idea” of the children’s ministry lesson plan I created, using Quinn Says Goodbye and Revelation 21:3-4. The plan below is in jpeg format, but you can find the PDF, with clickable links, here. The link for the adorable firefly “video attention getter” can be found within the PDF version, or here.
Optional Follow-Up Activities
1. Create a Glowing Firefly – I found the idea, instructions, and materials list for this flameless tealight firefly here. However, I added another set of legs (my educator-self could not bear an insect with only four…) and I used heavy scrapbook paper to create four wings.
2. Draw an owl. The directed steps for drawing an owl are below, or you may access the PDF here.
3. Sing about heaven. If you don’t already have a song about heaven in your repertoire, this upbeat version of Soon and Very Soon has motions, as well as “no more crying there” and “no more worry there” verses that correlate with the lesson.
If you would like to read more about Quinn, explore Quinn’s Promise Rock or check out Christie’s website at christiethomaswriter.com .
