Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home."
- C.S.Lewis
We are now in the season of Advent, a time that is focussed on waiting with anticipation. We wait with anticipation for the return of Christ, we relive in our own lives the expectation of the birth of Christ and his birth in our own heart everyday. We wait with anticipation for the kingdom of God to be fulfilled on earth. Over the these four weeks the material will be shaped around four themes that are relevant to this time: promise, waiting, journey and gift.
In addition to the weekly resources have a look at
the special Advent page for some ideas
and resources on how to celebrate the season well in your home.
In addition to the weekly resources have a look at the special
Advent page for some ideas and resources
on how to celebrate the season well in your home.
Family
Closeness
Game:
Alphabet
Car Game
Since the theme this week is journey here is a game you can play next
time you are in the car. It is a simple game that requires players to find all
the letters of the alphabet in order on car number plates. A letter on a number
plate can only be claimed by one player, the first to call it out. Multiple
letters on the one number plate can be claimed and by different players.
Whoever gets to z first is the winner. Find some more travel games for the car
at the bottom of the blog.
Sharing:
Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.
What are the best and worst things about long journeys?
What is your favourite thing to do on a journey?
Where is your favourite place to journey to?
Story
With your family
read Matthew 11.2-11
(for a way of
explaining/talking about this reading with children look at
Questions for
Discussion:
Who was it that
John’s disciples were waiting for?
What evidence
did Jesus give that he was the one?
How did John
prepare the way for Jesus?
Prayer
and Celebration
A prayer for
Advent
We thank you,
Lord God, for the prophets and leaders who looked forward to the coming of
Jesus the Saviour.
We thank you for
those who prepared the way for him, like John the Baptist.
We thank you for
the angels you sent with the message about Jesus.
and we thank you
for Mary, who believed the message and was willing to do your will.
we thank you
most of all for Jesus, who was born to save us.
In this Advent
time, when we get ready for Christmas, help us to hear your message, to be
excited that you want to be with us, and help us to an tto be part of your plan
for this world you care so much about.
Amen.
http://www.lunt.org.uk/resources/pages/liturgy/prayers_school.htm
Service
Here
are some more Advent Service Ideas
Get
a group together to sing at a nursing home.
Go
through your cupboard and give some clothes to a charity.
Encourage your children to think of what
toys they have that are still in good condition that they might give to a
charity.
With your
family choose a way to give a gift to a needy family. This may be best done
through a registered charity or church. If you can make food donations take
your children shopping to buy the food so they can actually see what it is they
are giving. Some charities have schemes where people give gift-wrapped presents
for children from needy families.
Family
Time
Are trips in
the car a nightmare? Why not turn them into a family adventure. Here are a few
ideas.
Semi Search
All you need is a sheet of paper to keep
score, one person to be scorekeeper and a writing utensil. Each player chooses
a colour. Each player's name and chosen colour is then written down on the
score card by the score keeper, who will announce when there is a winner. Each
player announces each semitrailer on the road that is his chosen colour. One
mark, or point, is given for each semi the person identifies as his colour. The
game can be played until one person reaches a certain number of points. Most
people play Semi Search until one person reaches 50 points, but a longer game
can be played for older children.
Traveling Bingo
Bingo
cards will need to be made prior to the trip, but only take a few minutes to
make. Be sure to make several sets to allow for more then one game of Car Bingo
to be played, especially if travelling a long distance. To make the Bingo
cards, draw five columns of five boxes centered on the paper. You can use
coloured or white paper, whichever is more convenient. Over the top of each
column, one letter per column, print the letters B-I-N-G-O. Next, draw or place
stickers of various items that may be encountered along the trip. Some popular
suggestions are cows, tractors, umbrellas, dogs, horses, sheep, barns, lawn
furniture, radio or television towers, different colours and types of cars
(such as a red truck or blue station wagon), police cars, ambulances or fire
trucks. You want the children, and/or adults, playing to have to search for the
objects. Each player is given one card and a writing utensil to mark their
boxes. When an object on the card is identified, an "X" is marked on
the box for the object. When a person completes a row (up, down, across or
diagonal), he wins. The game can be played until one person wins two games, or
if fewer people are playing, the first to win three out of five.
The State Game
To prepare to play the State Game takes a
little more effort than the other car games. However, if travelling a long
distance, especially across country, the effort is well worth it. To play the
State Game, make a list of all the Australian states on a sheet of paper. Make as
many copies of this list as may be needed while travelling. Each player is
given one list of the states and one writing utensil. The object is to find as
many different states on the license plates of other vehicles as possible. The
game can be played once or again played until one person wins two games. Be
sure to make plenty of copies of the state lists, as this game becomes popular
fairly quickly. \
Find more family car games at:
Guess
Mobile
Name
a guess master -- the person who poses a guessing challenge. He or she could
ask passengers to guess the color of the next passing car, or how long before
you get to the next town. Or, with three clues, what it is that someone else
sees.
Car
Scavenger Hunt
Hand
your kids a pack of index cards and ask them to write or draw pictures of 50
things they might see on a trip. Keep the cards for scavenger hunts when
players vie to match what they see with the cards.
(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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