Weekly Inspiration
“What can you do to promote world peace?
Go home and love your family.”
― Mother Teresa
Family Closeness
Game:
I never
Going around
the table, family members must say something they have never done, that they
think other members may have done. For example – I have never been on a plane. Anyone
around the table who has done that thing must put a finger up. The next person
might say: i have never eaten anchovies. Again whoever has eaten anchovies must
put a finger up. The one who is last to have a finger still down is the winner.
One important rule is that it must have been possible for the person not to
have done that thing. For example a ten year old can’t say: I have never driven
a car.
Sharing:
Questions for
stimulating discussion in your family.
Finish
these sentences:
- I’m grateful to my friends because . . .
- I feel good when . . .
- I feel small when . . .
Story
With your family read: John 15.9-17
Questions
for Discussion:
- What is one thing you remember from this passage?
- What do you key think is the message of this passage?
- How do you think you would feel if Jesus said these things to you?
Prayer and Celebration
The prayer Jesus taught is a great model for how we might
pray and how we might teach our children to do so. Each week we will look at a line of the Lord’s prayer
and discover what we can learn about prayer from it.
Save
us from the time of trial
and
deliver us from evil.
These
lines in the Lord’s prayer are a call to God to give us the strength we need in
testing times and when confronted by evil and temptation. It is easy for us to try and rely on our own
strength when things are tough but God is our strength and our shield and we
should call on him when we are in need.
Discuss
with your family some of the ways that they might be tested and tempted?
Discuss
how they might want God to help them in these times?
Take
some time to name and pray for some of the things your family is struggling
with at the moment.
Service
As a family or in your church think about how you
might bless the lives of those who live around you. Reflect on those people in
your local area, who may be your neighbours or go to church with you, who serve
in the community. Examples might be teachers or police officers, charity or
emergency workers. Think of ways that you might let them know they are valued.
This could include small things like making a thank you card together as a
family or making a biscuit or cake for them to take to work to share. How often
do we stop to thank those who look after us every day, who take risks for us or
do jobs that really aren’t that pleasant? Acting in this way builds habits of
thankfulness and empathy in ourselves and our children.
Family
Time
Bonus Family Activity
Having a
family night is a fantastic and fun way to focus on your family growing
together. What is a family night? It is simply putting aside one evening a week
or a month or whatever regular interval suits you to do something together that
everyone will enjoy. Make
sure the dates
you pick are in your diaries and give them the first priority – try to plan
well ahead. Give each member a turn to plan the program for the evening. Make
it a rule that there is to be no complaining or fidgeting and that everyone is
to cooperate and
participate.
This is especially important for the younger children whose self esteem may be
damaged by older children's comments.Don't forget to talk about the purpose of
the family night. Two key purposes could be 1. To have fun together. (Family
night should be the most anticipated night of the week) 2. To worship the Lord
together. This is an opportunity for parents to model Christian devotion to
their children. (The Big Book of Family Fun. Gwen Ellis.)
Here are some
ideas for fun family nights. All of these take a little planning and resource
gathering…but if your family has fun and grows together it will be well worth
it.
Celebration
Night
Throw a party
for your family or for a particular special day. Decorate the room, eat special
food, play some games and generally do what you do when you have a party.
Outing Night
Go on a
special adventure with your family to somewhere different than the local
shopping centre.
Project Night
Provide
materials for the family to make a project – art, drama or anything that comes
to mind. Making puppets is one idea.
(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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