Faithful Families Resources October 14 2012

Weekly Inspiration

We do not develop habits of genuine love automatically. We learn by watching effective role models – most specifically by observing how our parents express love for each other day in and day out.  ~ Josh McDowell

Family Closeness

Game:

Speed Charades

Everyone writes down four words on four separate pieces of paper (or parents write down four words for everyone). The words can be anything that your family members think they can act out in a charade. Don’t tell anyone what you have written down. Put all the pieces of paper into a hat or bowl and mix them up. Whoever goes first draws out four random words. They then have sixty seconds to act each of the words out so that the rest of the family can guess them.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

Opposite Sharing

Brooklyn Lindsey in Opposite Day presents the idea of talking in opposites as a way of helping young people share. In essence this means answering a question the opposite of what you really think.

Using opposites, get your family member to tell you in a few sentences what they really think and feel about:

• Going to the dentist
• Eating food they don’t like.
• Helping other people 

Story:

With your family read Mark 10.35-45

(for a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at http://www.sermons4kids.com/to_be_like_jesus.htm

Questions for Discussion:

• What did James and John ask of Jesus?
• According to Jesus what must you do to be great?
• How do you feel about the idea of being a servant or slave to others? What do you think Jesus meant? 

Prayer and Celebration

Squeezy Prayer

One way to pray is to use "squeezy prayers" Everyone holds hands in a circle. An adult will begin the prayer. When they have finished they  squeeze the persons hand next to them to show it is there turn. They  may pray out loud, or silently, or may squeeze on to the next person.  When the squeeze has reached the starting person they may say another

closing prayer or just: Amen.

Here are suggestions for ways of using the squeezy prayer:

• Using a squeezy prayer ask God for something that is needed in the world…like peace,or understanding or for help in a particular problem in the world.
• Using a squeezy prayer say thank you for a good friend or friends. Say them by name and even say something you like about them. 
• Using a squeezy prayer say thank you for something that you are good at. A gift God has given you.

Family Time

Beach

Take your family to the beach. Have a picnic together and take some toys such as a Frisbee and ball to play with. Look at the ocean together and imagine how big God is. Build sandcastles, go for a swim and enjoy one another's company.

(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