Weekly Inspiration
Home is the place where boys and girls first learn how to limit their wishes, abide by rules, and consider the rights and needs of others.
~Sidonie Gruenberg
Family Closeness
Game:
Piggy
A family member takes a turn rolling a die and may continue to do so for as long as they wish, adding up their score as they go along. The aim is to be the first to reach fifty. A player continues to throw the die and add their score until they choose to stop for that round or they throw a one on the die. If a player stops before they roll a one they get to keep their score and add it to the next round. A throw of one cancels their score for the round and ends their turn.
Sharing:
Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.
- Would you prefer to be a fish or a bird?
- What food would you be happy to eat every day?
- What is something you like about your sister or brother? (or a best friend)
With your family read: John 12.20-24
Questions for Discussion:
- What do you think Jesus meant when he said it was time to be glorified?
- What did Jesus say happens when a seed falls to the ground and dies?
- What good things come from Jesus death and resurrection?
This is a difficult reading for children to understand. It tells us about how Jesus in giving up his life enables us to have life. This is what he is speaking of in talking about the kernel of wheat. The one seed dies but many more plants get life because of it. Many people gain life and freedom because of what Jesus does on the cross.
Journey through the Bible
Journey through the Bible will provide five readings each week you can use in order to get a good overview of the full sweep of the story of God and His people. There are a variety of ways you might use these readings. As a parent you might read them to get a better understanding of how the divine drama unfolds. You could read them to your children and discuss them. Some are longer than others and might need to be broken up. It is important that you read them first as some readings you may feel need to be read in a children’s version of the Bible.
Matthew 3.13-17 The baptism of Jesus
Matthew 4.1-11 The temptation of Jesus
Matthew 5.1 -12 The Beatitudes
Matthew 5.13-26 The Sermon on the Mount
Matthew 5.38-48 Love your enemies
Prayer and Celebration
Prayers to use in Lent
These prayers may be used as part of a meal time pattern of prayer or
at other times.
Jesus our helper, our healer and friend,
As we journey through Lent, help us to
see you more clearly
love you more dearly
and follow you more nearly,
day by day. Amen.
~Taken from the Prayer of St Richard of Chichester
As we journey with Jesus to Easter, let his teachings be in our heads
and our thinking, our feet and our walking, our hands and our
serving, our hearts and our loving:
Blessed are the poor in spirit
response: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn:
response: For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek:
response: For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for what is right:
response: For they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful:
response: For mercy shall be shown to them.
at other times.
Jesus our helper, our healer and friend,
As we journey through Lent, help us to
see you more clearly
love you more dearly
and follow you more nearly,
day by day. Amen.
~Taken from the Prayer of St Richard of Chichester
As we journey with Jesus to Easter, let his teachings be in our heads
and our thinking, our feet and our walking, our hands and our
serving, our hearts and our loving:
Blessed are the poor in spirit
response: For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn:
response: For they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek:
response: For they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger
and thirst for what is right:
response: For they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful:
response: For mercy shall be shown to them.
Service
Family Time
What is service? One way of understanding service
is this: it is the bestowal of power.
What does Jesus do when he serves (loves,
leads)? Jesus gives power to others – the lost, the least, the dead, the broken,
the outcast, the sick.
Why serve? Because we want to mimic Jesus; because
life finds its fulfilment in giving (H. Nouwen).
What are you doing when serving? Giving power
to the other!
Make it the work of your household to find ways
to give power to others. This does not simply mean doing things for others. In
fact, this can often be a way of reducing their power. Check this out. Try
giving attention to others; try listening really carefully. Watch what happens.
This is one of the simplest and yet most profound ways of giving power to
another: listen to them carefully. Practice this in your home this week. (We
will build on this over the coming weeks.)
Contributed by Richard Browning
Contributed by Richard Browning
Family Time
Crayon "Stained Glass" Cross
Cut out two identical cross shapes from wax paper. Scrape crayons with a blunt knife to create shavings of different colours. Spread the crayons on one of the pieces of waxed paper in the pattern you want. Place the second wax paper cross on top of the first with the shavings in between. Use a warm iron to press the two pieces of wax paper together. Hang them up to somewhere that all the family can see.
(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning
(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning
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