Weekly Inspiration
[God] gives your children a mind that will receive impressions like moist clay. He gives them a disposition at the starting-point of life to believe what you tell them, and to take for granted what you advise them, and to trust your word rather than a stranger’s. He gives you, in short, a golden opportunity of doing them good. See that you do not neglect such an opportunity. Once you let it slip, it is gone forever.
~J. C. Ryle
Family Closeness
Game:
Sleeping Lions
This game could be played at the dinner table or on the floor. One family member is up and they are the hunter. Everyone else must either put their hands and heads down on the table and not move or lie completely still on the floor. The hunter must try to make the sleeping lions move by making them laugh. The hunter is not allowed to touch the sleeping lion. Once a lion has been woken they then join the hunter to try to wake the others.
Sharing:
Which of the following do you think would be best, and why?
- Dinner with everyone at the table and the TV on with your favourite program.
- Dinner in which everybody took what they wanted from the fridge and no one had the same thing.
- Dinner with the whole family together and no TV on.
Story
With your family read: Luke 11.1-13 (On Prayer)
(for a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at http://www.sermons4kids.com/knock_knock.htm
Questions for Discussion:
- What are some of the things the prayer Jesus taught suggests we should pray for?
- What do you think of the story about the friend who asks for bread at midnight?
- Do you think we need to pester God to hear our prayers?
- Do you think God would ever give you something bad if you prayed for good things?
Prayer and Celebration
Praying for another Family
Help to expand your family’s prayer world by praying for another family in your neighbourhood or church. Maybe you could do a kind of prayer swap. Find a family, it may be like yours or not, it doesn't matter, and ask them if you could pray for each other. Find out each week what they would like prayer for and pray for those things around the dinner table. Tell them what things your family would like pray for. Alternatively adopt some prayer grandparents. Again your family can pray for them and they can pray for you. This is a good way to help your children think about others and understand their life while engaging in the ministry of prayer.
Service
Be the change (pun intended)
Get a large jar and throughout the year toss any spare change your family has in it. At the end of the year or when the jar is full cash it in at the bank and choose a charity to give the money too. It may not be a huge amount but having the jar in a visible place will help your family remember that they have a goal and a charity to support. Your children could also be encouraged to place some of their pocket money in the jar each week.
Family Activity
Make a Time Capsule
Taken from www.realsimple.com
“Preserving your artifacts is a fun way to celebrate your family now and later—just don’t bury the collection. “When it’s unearthed, if ever, it’s usually a soggy mess,” says Paul Stephen Hudson, a cofounder of the Atlanta-based International Time Capsule Society. Pile everything into an archival box, then stow it away in a cool, dark place. Include the big stuff (artwork, school reports, notes to your future selves) and the little (movie stubs, a printout of a Facebook page, a toy with its batteries removed so they don’t corrode). Items that won’t stand the test of time: delicate clothing, food, or tapes and discs that will be outdated by technology. Add a silica-gel pack (which comes with new shoes) to absorb moisture, and set a date for the big reveal in 25 years.”
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