Children are like kites
You spend years
trying to get them off the ground.
You run with them
until you are both breathless. They crash ... they hit the roof ... you patch,
comfort and assure them that someday they will fly.
Finally, they are
airborne.
They need more
string, and you keep letting it out.
They tug, and with
each twist of the twine, there is sadness that goes with joy.
The kite becomes
more distant, and you know it won't be long before that beautiful creature will
snap the lifeline that binds you together and will soar as meant to soar ...
free and alone.
Only then do you know that you have done your job.
Family
Closeness
Game:
Alphabet
Soup Game
Grab a packet of alphabet soup. With your family
find the letters to spell out the Lord’s Prayer together, or the names of the
four gospels. Alternatively have a race to spell your names or some other
words. This game works best when the alphabet soup has been soaked in water.
Messy but fun.
Sharing:
These
questions are to stimulate a sense of openness, sharing and discovery about
your family. The key is to listen!!
What is your favourite time of the day? What makes
it special? Do you have a favourite place to be during the day? Why do you like
it? What is your favourite place in the whole world to be? What makes it
special?
Have you ever wondered how lead is put inside a
pencil? How do you think it is done? Do you really care? What ordinary things
have you ever wondered about?
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?
Write down these sentence starters and put them in a
bowl. Pick one out each night and ask your family members to complete the
sentence.
- If I could ask God any question it would be...
- I often wonder if God…
- If God could say something to me it would be?
Story
With your family
read John 9.1-41
(for a way of explaining/talking about this
reading with children look at http://www.sermons4kids.com/to-god-be-glory.html
- What did the disciples think caused the man’s blindness?
- What did Jesus put on the man’s eyes before he was healed?
- Why did the Pharisee’s find it so hard to believe the man was healed?
- What do you think Jesus meant when he said “I am the light of the world?”
Discuss with
your family what was interesting about the story or what made you think. What
did the story tell us about Jesus? Try using some “ I wonders” that emerge from
the story.(I wonder how the blind man felt when he was healed? I wonder what he
thought about the Pharisees questions? I
wonder what it would be like to see for the first time?)
For 51 years Bob Edens was
blind. He couldn't see a thing. His world was a black hall of sounds and
smells. He felt his way through five decades of darkness. And then, he could
see. A skilled surgeon performed a complicated operation and, for the first
time, Bob Edens had sight. He found it overwhelming. "I never would have
dreamed that yellow is so...yellow," he exclaimed. "I don't have the
words. I am amazed by yellow. But red is my favorite color. I just can't
believe red. I can see the shape of the moon--and I like nothing better than
seeing a jet plane flying across the sky leaving a vapor trail. And of course,
sunrises and sunsets. And at night I look at the stars in the sky and the
flashing light. You could never know how wonderful everything is." (Max
Lucado. God came near)
Prayer
and Celebration
We are now in
the Season of Lent, the forty days preceding Easter Day. This is traditionally
a time of repentance (saying sorry and turning from sin). The resources for
prayer and celebration for the next six weeks will focus on ways your family
might “celebrate” well this season. Lent is a
good time to focus on God’s care and provision and on our dependence on him,
but also on saying sorry.
Prayer
Pot
Cards are made, and on them are the names of people and things
that are really important to the family.
It may just be photos of family members; it may include particular
projects or things that have a focus in the family, for example a certain
missionary, or World Vision child, or a major event coming up, or particular
people who are in need of special prayers. These cards are placed in a special
bowl or pot. On any one night, three
cards are taken out and used as prompts for conversation or prayer. Children
who are learning to pray might be given sentence starters like:
- Lord Jesus, thank you for...
- Creator God, please help...
- Heavenly Father, in your hands we place...
http://www.abmission.org/lent
Service
One of the profoundest ways
that we might share our love of Christ and our love of life with others is not
through words but through our loving actions. Here are some suggestions for
your family to share with those who live around you.
Invite another
family who you are friendly with to church followed by a BBQ.
Bake something
for your neighbours – maybe biscuits or a cake. (Do you know your neighbours?
Where I live I have had six sets of neighbours on one side in the space of five
years.)
When you see
people moving in why not invite them over for some food or take a cake or
biscuits over to them or some cold drinks.
If you know of an elderly or chronically ill person who is having
difficulty with their garden why not get your family to adopt them. That is,
regularly as a family go and mow the grass, weed, clean up and maybe plant some
flowers.
Family
Time
Cook
a Meal Together
This week why not get your children to help you cook
a meal or something special like a cake or biscuits. It could be as simple as
putting the toppings on a pizza or mixing something in a bowl. With older
children why not get them to help you make something more complex. Make it a
fun time, put some music on and don’t worry too much about mess. Enjoy eating
whatever it is you cooked together.
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