.JPG)
The soul is healed by being with children.(Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
This
week, prior to Pentecost, we remember and celebrate the ascension of Jesus.
This is a really great time to reflect on what it means to have Jesus authority
on earth delegated to us. As disciples we are the hands and feet of Jesus in
the kingdom. If we are serious about being faithful with our family, then role
modelling this will be a priority. Your children will discover who they are and
whose they are by looking at the everyday things you do. Christianity is a
faith which is mediated through everyday things, such as bread, wine, water,
light and through the everyday activities of serving, growing, sharing and
celebrating.
I wonder what your children might learn about
being a disciples from watching you? How do you take seriously the call of
Jesus to be a witness; to proclaim repentance and forgiveness, to go and make
disciples?
Here
are some resources, that you might be faithful with your family. We cannot make
our children have faith, we can only be faithful with them.
Family
Closeness
Game:
Using
the alphabet letters, choose words that start with that letter, like the list
given below, and act it out. Allow them to make up more as you go to add to the
choices.
A = alligator (alligator crawl), around, airplane scale
B = bounce, bend, bear walk
C = cat arch, catch, crawl, crab walk
D = lame dog, dance, duck walk, dribble
E = elephant walk, egg roll
F = freeze, fall, frown, frog jump
G = giggle, gallop, giant steps
H = hop, hiccup, headstand
I = inchworm
J = jump, juggle
K = kick
L = log roll, leap
M = march, mop, mule kick
N = nod, neck rolls
O = Octopus (2 players stand back-to-back and walk sideways, waving their arms
and legs), on, off, over
P = point, paint, pose
Q = quiver, quiet
R = run, rake, roll
S = skip, sit, sweep, smile, seal crawl, stretch
T = tiptoe, throw, tripod, tuck, type
U = upside down, under
V = vault (leap frog), vacuum
W = walk, wiggle, wink
X = flex, wax, mix
Y = yawn, yell
Z = zigzag, zip, zzzzzzzzzz
(GameCentralStation.com)
Sharing:
- Have you ever been asked to do something and then had the person who asked you to do the job hang around and watch you the whole time.
- Have you ever had someone ask you to do a job and then before you could do it they went ahead and did it anyway. How did you feel?
- Would you rather never play or never win?
- Would you rather be able to fly or breathe under water?
- What things do you volunteer to do that helps others?
- What might you volunteer to do this week to help others?
Story
With
your family read Acts 1.6-11: Jesus Ascends
Questions for Discussion:
- What did Jesus says the disciples would receive when the Holy Spirit came?
- What job where the disciples given by Jesus?
- Why do you think the disciples stood looking for so long after Jesus ascended?
- How do you think the disciples felt about Jesus leaving them?
The
King’s Banquet
There was once king who invited his subjects to a royal banquet. The
king told each guest to bring a flask of wine, explaining that all the flasks
would be poured into one large wine vat, from which the banquets beverages
would be drawn. One of the king’s subjects thought, “What will my small flask
of wine mean? Instead of bringing wine, I will bring a flask of water. When my
flask of water is added to all the wine, it will blend right in, and no one
will know the difference.?” On the night of the banquet, all the king’s
subjects assembled around the food-laden tables. The king welcomed his guests,
and then summoned his servants to serve the wine from the one large vat. The
glasses were all filled – with water. For every one of the king’s subjects had
brought water, not wine, reasoning that one little flask of water would blend
right in with all the wine, and no one would know the difference.
At
the ascension, the message Jesus gave us was: “its over to you guys now.” Jesus
has placed into our hands the responsibility of working in the kingdom of God.
We are now expected to be active participants in growing and building the
kingdom. Of course the promised helper, the Holy Spirit is with us with gifts
and power for the job. We however have been handed the authority to do the work
of Jesus on earth.
Prayer
and Celebration
Balloon Prayers
A really great way to pray with your family
this week might be to use some balloons. Get enough balloons for a week or a
couple of days. Write or draw your prayers on pieces of paper and place them in
balloons, blow the balloons up and tie them somewhere in your house. Each day
might have different themes: I thank God for things he has done for me. I thank
God for things he has made. I ask God for help for others. I ask God for help
for myself. I say sorry to God.
Service
Here are some
service ideas that are focused on older people in your community:
- Adopt a grandfriend and regularly visit them with your family.
- Have your children make a penfriend in a nursing home.
- Find activities your family might be able to do in a nursing home such as an arts project.
- If you have a friendly pet such as a dog or cat see if you can take it to a local nursing home or home of an elderly person.
Family
Time
Paper
Doll Activities
For
each family member draw an outline of a person on a separate large piece of
paper. (If you have large enough paper, lie down on it and trace around your
body.)Each person adds drawings, words and/or magazine pictures to
tell about him or herself. As family members work, comment, "As a child of
God, you are special! The drawings, words, pictures on your outline show some
of the ways God has made you special."
(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.)
Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning
No comments:
Post a Comment