Weekly Inspiration
This, remember, is the first step in religion which a child
is able to take. Long before he can read, you can teach him to kneel by his
mother's side, and repeat the simple words of prayer and praise which she puts
in his mouth.
~J. C. Ryle
Family Closeness
Game:
Apple Ahead
Family members must play this
game in pairs. Each pair has to hold an apple between their foreheads. Other
family members then give instructions like: walk to the lounge room, or jump
three times or get an orange from the fridge. The pair must drop the apple as
they carry out each task.
Sharing:
Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.
Sharing questions serve many purposes but basically they are about
stimulating discussion so that you can listen to what is happening in your
family’s life. It is also about getting to know your family better, connecting
with them, discovering and exploring them. How often is it that we think we
know our wife or husband or children or brother or sister…yet there is so much
to still discover? Listening and being listened to is a profound experience for
people of any age.
Sharing may be as long as you like but should not be
an interrogation. You may not need any questions to have a great listening
conversation with your family but do encourage everyone to participate,
especially the youngest. Here are some ideas to get you going:
If you could choose one day in your life to live
over again what day would it be? Was it a good day or a bad day? Would you do
anything differently? What is the best day you have ever had? Why did you like
it so much? What activity do you like doing most in your week?
What is the best
gift you have ever received? Who gave it to you? What was it for? Why did you
like it so much?
Can you
remember a time when you were impatient while waiting for something? What was
it? Why was waiting so hard? What do you hate waiting for? What is something
you can do that makes waiting not so bad?
Story
With your family read: Luke 14.25-33
(for a way of explaining/talking about this
reading with children look at http://www.sermons4kids.com/count_the_cost.html
Questions for
Discussion:
- Do you think Jesus is saying we should hate out family?
- What should people do if their family doesn't like them following Jesus?
- What do you think Jesus means by taking up your cross?
- What things can get in the way of us fully following Jesus?
Prayer and Celebration
Counting your blessings
Take your family outside on clear night or
even better take them out into the country to look up the stars. Spend some
time thinking of all the good things God has given you in your life. Nothing is
really too small to give thanks for. Just like the stars at first you might
only see a few but as you get accustomed to it you will see more and more
things that you want to thank God for.
Family Activity
Go star watching
Linking with this weeks prayer activity why not by a
star chart and take your family outside on a nice clear night to look at the
stars and watch how the night sky changes over and hour or so. You could do
this lying on a blanket in your backyard or take everyone for a drive to a
place where there is less light pollution so you can really see the stars. If
you live in Australia teach your children how to find south using the Southern
Cross. You can learn how to do this here.
(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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