Good parents love their kids. Great parents build
their families.
Family
Closeness
Game
Buckerk
Everyone puts their hands on their eyes making fake
glasses with thumb and forefinger. Someone starts by moving their right hand out and
saying “buck” (like a chicken), the person to their right then does the same,
this continues around the circle until somebody moves both hands away from
their face at the same time and says “BUCKERK” (like a crazy chicken). The
person to their left then moves their left hand away from their face while
saying “buck” and the pattern continues. One hand in the direction and “buck” to continue
along, and two hands and “BUCKERK” to change the direction.
Sharing:
Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.
- What is the worst tasting food you have ever eaten?
- What food would you never eat? Why?
- What food do you think it is wrong to eat?
Story:
With
your family read Mark 7.1-8, 14- 23
(for
a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at
Questions
for Discussion:
- What were the disciples doing that upset the Pharisees?
- What did Jesus say about the Pharisees?
- What did Jesus says makes a person unclean? What they eat or what they do?
Prayer
and Celebration
Give
each family member a piece of paper and some pens or pencils for drawing.
Either in silence or with some quiet music on, invite your family to draw on
the paper, the people and things they want to pray for. This could include
drawing the outcome that you might desire for particular situations. As your
family draws encourage them to do so in silence so they may listen to what God
has to say to them. At the end of the allocated time encourage everyone to
share what they have drawn and what they are praying for.
Service
Family
volunteering allows parents, children and other family members to spend time together
while contributing to the community and causes they care about. It’s a great
way for
families to enjoy quality time with each other and introduce family members to
the benefits
of volunteering. Family volunteering can be a practical way to express
values to children and young people.
Volunteering
provides parents and other family members the opportunity to be a positive role
model by demonstrating how to be involved with the community, and how to make a difference
and enjoy it. People who volunteer when they are young are more likely to continue
to volunteer throughout their adult life.
Volunteering
in your family group can also improve communication among family members,
strengthen family bonds and be a lot of fun.
(excerpt
from Family Volunteering: Information for Families)
Family
Time
Picnic
at Home
If you have a back or frontyard pick a nice spot and
have a picnic at home. If it is raining move the picnic inside. Make sure you
do it just like a normal picnic with a blanket spread on the grass and food in
a basket. Play some outdoor games together.
(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
