faithful families: October 2015

Sunday, October 25, 2015

Faithful Families Resources October 25 2015

The family circle is the supreme conductor of Christianity.

~ Henry Drummond

Family Closeness

Game:

Table Olympics – Part 2

Bean Racing

Give each family member a straw, a cup and ten dried chick peas. The aim of the game is be the fastest to transport you chick peas around the table and into your cup. This is done by picking up the chick pea on the end of the straw using suction, carrying it around the table still attached to the straw and not using hands to hold the chick pea and dropping it into the cup in front of your place. Each person does this with their ten chickpeas while another family member times them. Whoever is the fastest gets the gold. If a chickpea is dropped mid journey it must be sucked onto the straw before continueing.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

This week ask your family members:

What movie or book character would you like to be like?
When they answer ask them – what is it about that person that they want to be like?
Don’t let your family get away with an easy or silly answer, dig deep to find the truth.

Story

With your family read Mark 12.28-34

(for a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at http://www.sermons4kids.com/rules_to_live_by.htm

Questions for Discussion:

What do you think it looks like to love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength?
What kinds of things might someone doing this do?
Why do you think Jesus said this is the most important commandment?
How do you love your neighbour as yourself?

Prayer and Celebration

'Fishing for Prayer' Net

This is something your family can use to pray for one other or for people you know. Get or make a fishing net and stick one end on the wall. Make and cut out little paper fish for your family to write things down they want prayer for. Stick them onto the net so other family members can read them and pray. One way to use this would be to take a fish away when you are going to pray for the thing on it. Alternatively the fish could be left up for a week and then cleared on a particular day when your family prays for all those things.

Family Time

15 Minute Fun Busrt

Make a commitment to spend at least 15 minutes a day doing an activity your children choose. Too often the busyness of life means we end up not doing anything special with our children. Make the commitment to your children and put them in charge of deciding what to do. Make it a priority in your day.

(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

Sunday, October 18, 2015

Faithful Families Resources October 18 2015

Each day of our lives we make deposits in the memory banks of our children.

~ Chuck Swindoll

Family Closeness

Game:

Table Olympics – Part 1

Spoon Balancing

I am always amazed when I watch the gymnasts balancing on the beam or catapulting across the mat. In this Olympic event get your family members to balance tea spoons on their fingers or nose. See who can balance a spoon for the longest or while moving their hand around in complicated patterns. See if your family can come up with any gymnastic like hand and spoon tricks.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

In this week’s family sharing time try to come up with a motto for your family. Your motto can act like a family mission statement helping you to stay focussed on what is important. It could be something that your family aspires to be like or do, “We help one another” , or it could be a description of your most important values, “Honesty, Love, Service” or some aspect of what you as a family need to work on for example: “Love More”. Don’t rush you motto, spend some nights talking it out over the family dinner table. When you have come up with something you all love and agree on print it up on some nice paper and have it framed so it is in a place you can all see and be reminded of.

Story

With your family read Mark 10.46-52

(for a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at http://www.sermons4kids.com/i_want_to_see_jesus.htm

Questions for Discussion:

Why do you think people told blind Bartimaeus to be quiet?
Why do you think he ignored the people?
What did Jesus do for him?
How would you describe Bartimeaus?

Prayer and Celebration

Balloon Prayer

There are two ways you might use this idea to pray. Both involve writing words in permanent marker on a balloon. The first way involves your family writing one or two words naming the things or people they wish to pray for at different places over the balloon. When you have finished doing this toss the balloon around the dinner table. The words that your hands touch or a near to when you catch the balloon are the things that person must pray about. The second way uses the same method but instead of things to pray for write down different types of prayer like: praise, thanksgiving, asking, confession, waiting. Whatever your hands land on that is the type of prayer your family must do – this probably works best if everyone takes turns at each individual type of prayer.

Service

One really interesting way to get your family involved in service is to go on a volunteering holiday. By doing this your family can go somewhere different, meet new people and get involved in making a difference in the world. Organisations such ashttp://www.volunteerholiday.com.au arrange and oversee the trips and provide guides and other necessary information.

Family Time

Music Night

Have a music evening together where you take turns at picking songs and listening to them. Family members share with one another, what they like about a particular song and how it makes them feel. To take it a step further get everyone up an dancing to the different songs. Remind you family that although they may not like all the music it is good to learn to appreciate other family members tastes.

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Faithful Families Resources October 11 2015

We do not develop habits of genuine love automatically. We learn by watching effective role models – most specifically by observing how our parents express love for each other day in and day out.

~ Josh McDowell

Family Closeness

Game:

Speed Charades

Everyone writes down four words on four separate pieces of paper. The words can be anything that your family members think they can act out in a charade. Don’t tell anyone what you have written down. Put all the pieces of paper into a hat or bowl and mix them up. Whoever goes first draws out four random words. They then have sixty seconds to act each of the words out so that the rest of the family can guess them.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

Opposite Sharing

Brooklyn Lindsey in Opposite Day presents the idea of talking in opposites as a way of helping young people share. In essence this means answering a question the opposite of what you really think.

Using opposites, get your family member to tell you in a few sentences what they really think and feel about:

Going to the dentist
Eating food they don’t like.
Helping other people

Story

With your family read Mark 10.35-45

(for a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at http://www.sermons4kids.com/to_be_like_jesus.htm

Questions for Discussion:

What did James and John ask of Jesus?
According to Jesus what must you do to be great?
How do you feel about the idea of being a servant or slave to others? What do you thnk Jesus meant?

Prayer and Celebration

Squeezy Prayer

One way to pray is to use "squeezy prayers" Everyone holds hands in a circle. An adult will begin the prayer. When they have finished they squeeze the persons hand next to them to show it is there turn. They may pray out loud, or silently, or may squeeze on to the next person. When the squeeze has reached the starting person they may say another

closing prayer or just: Amen.

Here are suggestions for ways of using the squeezy prayer:

Using a squeezy prayer ask God for something that is needed in the world…like peace,or understanding or for help in a particular problem in the world.
Using a squeezy prayer say thank you for a good friend or friends. Say them by name and even say something you like about them.
Using a squeezy prayer say thank you for something that you are good at. A gift God has given you.

Family Time

Beach

Take your family to the beach. Have a picnic together and take some toys such as a Frisbee and ball to play with. Look at the ocean together and imagine how big God is.

Sunday, October 4, 2015

Faithful Families Resources October 4 2015

There’s nothing that makes you more insane than family. Or more happy. Or more exasperated. Or more… secure.”

– Jim Butcher

Family Closeness

Game:

Air Guitar Contest

This game is just for funny and bit of family silliness. Put on some music and have family members take turns to pretend they are playing the instruments. Don’t restrict it to the usual genres of music you play. Mix it up. See what new types of music you can listen to.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

What is your favourite word right now? What do you like about it? When have you used it recently?
If you could spend your time doing only one activity, what would that activity be? Why?
If you could learn how to do something new next week, what would you choose? Why?

Story

With your family read Mark 10.17-31

Questions for Discussion:

Why do you think the man couldn’t give up his wealth to follow Jesus?
Why do you think Jesus said it is hard for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of heaven?
What things are impossible for people but possible for God?

Prayer and Celebration

Praying in Colour

Praying in Color is a different way of engaging your children in prayer. All you need is some paper, a pen, colored markers or colored pencils or colored gel pens and table or clipboard or book to put your paper on. Check out the official website: prayingincolor.com

Family Time

Sock Puppets

Find some old socks and decorate them with material and buttons and whatever else you can find. Use them to put on a show. You could even video tape it.