Faithful Families Resources July 7 2013

 Weekly Inspiration

Train up your child with all tenderness, affection, and patience. I do not mean that you are to spoil him/her, but I do mean that you should let him see that you love him. Love should be the silver thread that runs through all your conduct. Kindness, gentleness, long-suffering, forbearance, patience, sympathy, a willingness to enter into childish troubles, a readiness to take part in childish joys — these are the cords by which a child may be led most easily — these are the clues you must follow if you would find the way to his/her heart.

~J.C Ryle

Family Closeness

Game:

When I hear…I think…

This game is about connecting words and ideas. Someone starts off by saying “I am thinking of…”  and then saying a word or object, for example “cat”. The next person says “When I hear ‘cat’ I think of” and then say the word or thing they connect with “cat” it might be “whiskers”. The next person then takes up the word whiskers. “When I hear “whiskers” I think of..” Keep going until you drive each other crazy. I wonder where you will end up?

Sharing:

Begin a habit of asking around your family: what is one thing you learnt today?  (A story is told of one family who were using this pattern whose children would look through the encyclopaedia before meal time to have something to bring, another family had to bring a new word to the dinner table and so would flip through the dictionary. (The Big Book of Family Fun. Gwen Ellis)

Story

With your family read:  Luke 10:25-37

Questions for Discussion:

• What does loving God with mind, heart, soul and strength look like?
• What might loving your neighbour look like?
• What do you think of the story of the good Samaritan?
• What might Jesus mean when he said: go and do likewise.

Prayer and Celebration

Last week the practice of building prayer into the routines of life was discussed. Here is another idea along the same line but from a slightly different angle. As children grow there are many habits we want them to learn, that we hope might become automatic in their life, such as washing hands before meal or brushing teeth. Years and years of doing these activities hopefully ingrain the habit for life. In the teaching of these habits is an opportunity to remember God and to prayer. When washing a toddler or young childs hand before a meal take the time to say a prayer out loud. This could be a memorised prayer or it could be a line of scripture like – Psalm 51.10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Service

• Collect toys for young children who are either hospitalised in foster care or in a crisis nursury
• Ask families to make may baskets and fill the baskets with candy and small toys
• Invite families to sort through their childrn's outgrown shoes and clothes
• Have families with young children draw pictures and make greeting cards for people in your congregations who are sick 

Family Activity

If your children’s grandparents or uncles or aunties live some way away (or even if they don’t) get them to record a story about their childhood on a tape recorder or to write it down, and post it to you. Your family can then listen to the story during family sharing time. Your children might like to record one of their own stories to post back to their grandparents. 

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning

Faithful Families Resources June 30 2013

Weekly Inspiration

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.

http://www.inspirationalstories.com/5/553.html

Family Closeness

Game:

Drop It

This game is played in pairs with two family members facing each other. One holds an object in each hand outstretched at shoulder level and the suddenly drops one of the objects. The other person has to catch it before it touches the ground.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

These questions are to stimulate a sense of openness, sharing and discovery about your family. The key is to listen!!

• What is the best thing and the worst thing that happened to you this week. 
• What is something that you might say thank you to God for this week? 

Ones for the adults particularly to share: 

• Where have you been aware of God’s presence in your life this week. 
• What “God moments” happened to you this week?

 Story

With your family read:  Luke 10:1-11

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

 Questions for Discussion:

• Why do you think Jesus sent people out in pairs?
• What is the harvest Jesus is talking about?
• What are the two different responses Jesus told the disciples they might expect?
• What message did Jesus want them to tell both groups no matter how they were treated?
• How do you think you would feel going out to tell people about Jesus? 

Prayer and Celebration

Make and Memorise

This week learn a prayer off by heart, together. Write or find a prayer that you can use with your family every night at mealtimes and family sharing times. Make it an activity that you do together. The prayer does not have to be complicated, but simple enough for everyone to remember. It might include some lines of thanks or praise or asking. Supplied here are a few prayers that you could start from or use. If your family does not know the Lord’s Prayer it would be a fantastic time to learn it together. (On the right hand side of this blog is a weekly verse of scripture which you might also like to get your family to memorise together.)

Dear God,

Thank you for your love and care.

Thank you for the food we share.

Help us show your love today.

In all we do and think and say.

In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.         

For food in a world where many walk in hunger;

For faith in a world where many walk in fear;

For friends in a world where many walk alone;

We give you thanks, O Lord. Amen.

(Source: Huron Hunger Fund, Anglican Church of Canada)

Service

One of the most basic ways to get your family involved in serving in the world is to sponsor a child. There are a range of organisations that provide the means for sponsoring children including:

World Vision - http://www.worldvision.com.au

Compassion - http://www.compassion.com.au

This provides a great opportunity to children to think about how other children in the world live. This can provide a focal point for be thankful for all they have and for helping through giving and prayer. Children if they are given pocket money should be encouraged to give a portion of it back to parents as their contribution to sponsoring the child.

Family Activity

The Bag that’s me. Create a paper bag collage out of newspaper or magazine cuttings. Paste on the outside of the paper bag any cuttings that symbolise how you appear on the outside. Put inside the paper bag any symbols that reveal who you are on the inside. Spend ten minutes tearing out things from a magazine – words, photographs, slogans – anything the reminds you of yourself. Then take about five minutes pasting your cuttings on the outside or inside of your paper bag. Share with your family what is on the outside and inside of your bag. Children can just use pictures of things that they like. (Youth Ministry Encyclopaedia. JBCE)

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning

Faithful Families Resources June 23 2013

Weekly Inspiration

There are few principles of human nature stronger than that of imitation. ~ Lord Palmerston

Family Closeness

Game: Card Flipping

For this game you will need a bucket or container and a pack of cards. Place the bucket about two meters away (or closer for young ones). Take turns to flip or throw cards into the bucket. See who can get the most cards in.

Sharing

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

Tell a story about your favourite holiday and what made it so great.

Story

With your family read:  Luke 9.51-62

(for a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at 

http://www.sermons4kids.com/making-excuses.html

 Questions for Discussion:

• What do you think about the disciple’s question of Jesus?
• What did Jesus do?
• What do you think it means to follow Jesus?
• What might you need to give up to follow Jesus? 

Prayer and Celebration

Weaving Prayer into Daily Life

Prayer and worship are not just activities, they are a whole of life response and orientation to God. There are many ways that we might encourage our families to weave prayer, thankfulness and worship into our daily patterns. One of the easiest ways to do this is to connect it to the activities that we have to do everyday, such as brushing our teeth or hair, going to the fridge for food, feeding our pets or leaving the house for work or school. Think of one of your daily routines that you would like to connect prayer to such as brushing your teeth. Attach a sticky not or label to your toothbrush with a word that will remind you to prayer for a specific thing. The same thing can be done with out routines. Make sure it is something that will catch your attention. When you see it, don’t stop the activity but pray in the midst of it ask God for help of give thanks for what God has given you, pray for a family member or someone in the world in need.

Service

 Service Project for Families with Elementary Age Children

 Have families cut out grocery coupons to give to a local foodbank

• Make gift baskets for a nearby nursing home or assisted facility for older adults
• Schedule a time for families to hold and rock babies in a hospital nursury
• Be welcoming attendants as a family at a shelter or drop in centre.
• Have families volunteer to stuff a church bulletin with a large mailing at your church.

 Family Activity

No electricity night

This is a great idea to help your family think about their dependence on electricity and also how they might be able to reduce their energy consumption to help the environment. It also might help you all to think about how many people live throughout the world.Have a night at home where you cannot use anything that requires electricity. This includes cooking the meal and lights and everything else. 

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning

Faithful Families Resources June 16 2013

Weekly Inspiration

We never know the love of a parent till we become parents ourselves.

~  Henry Ward Beecher

Family Closeness

Game

What are they thinking?

Pick a person that you can see – it could be someone in public or it could be an image of someone in a magazine or newspaper. Family members have to guess what they are thinking and how they are feeling. You could also talk about where you think they work, what their hobbies are and if they are happy.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family. 

• What is the best thing that happened to you this week? What was the worst?
• What unexpected thing happened to you this week?
• What is something new you learnt today or this week?

 Story

With your family read:  Luke 8.26-39

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

 Questions for Discussion:

• What surprises you about this story?
• Why were the people who looked after the pigs angry?
• What did the healed many want to do?
• What did Jesus tell him to do?
• What did he do?

 Prayer and Celebration

Paper Plane Prayer

Ask each person to write a simple prayer on a sheet of paper. Form each sheet into an plane and shoot it across the room after each prayer is read.

Family Activity

Paper Plane Fun

Spend the afternoon or evening making paper planes with your family. See who can make the most stylish plane and whose can go the furthest. Finish this activity with the Prayer and Celebration idea above.

Here are some links to ways of making paper planes:

http://www.10paperairplanes.com

http://www.funpaperairplanes.com

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning

Faithful Families Resources June 9 2013

Weekly Inspiration

This is all the inheritance I give to my dear family. The religion of Christ will give them one which will make them rich indeed.

~ Patrick Henry

Family Closeness

Game

Fortunately Unfortunately

This is a storytelling game that will get you thinking about how much worse and better things could possibly be. The first person comes up with an opening line. “Once upon a time I had a pet dog”. Person two adds another line with a turn for the worse plot twist: Unfortunately, my dog bit me. Person three takes the story on a turn for the better: “Fortunately, my dog had no teeth” Play with  the story and take it as far as you can. See how badly or happily it can end.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

Tell a story about something that happened at school today and another story that you made up about something that happened.  Family members have to guess which is which.

Story

With your family read:  Luke 7.36-8.3

(for a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at 

http://www.sermons4kids.com/uninvited_guest.htm

Questions for Discussion:

• What do you think about what the woman did for Jesus?
• Why was the Pharisee upset?
• Who treated Jesus with more love?
• Who do you think had more faith – the Pharisee or the woman?

Prayer and Celebration

Praying for the World

Using either a globe or a map or a list of countries, pick a place to pray for from around the world. You could use information gathered from the news or the internet to find out what to pray for. Another source of prayer information specifically designed for this is Operation World.  Operation World provides a brief profile of the country and lists some things that may be the focus of your prayer.

  

Family Activity

Crazy shopping night.

This is a strange idea but good for teaching your children about the use of money. Go to a shopping centre on a relatively quiet night and provide your children with a small amount of money, maybe four dollars. Their goal is to see how much they can buy using that amount 

of money.

  

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning

Faithful Families Resources May 26 2013

 Weekly Inspiration

"When correcting a child, the goal is to apply light, not heat." 

~Woodrow Wilson

Family Closeness

Game:

Tickle Toes

How much can you feel with your toes? Blindfold a family member. Tickle their bare toes using objects with different surfaces – soft, rough, smooth, mushy – whatever you can find. The blindfolded family member has to guess what it is that is touching them. Try to come up with some bizarre feeling objects to use.

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family.

My Perfect Room

If you could create a perfect room for yourself, what kind of room would it be? (Bedroom, Dining Room, Bathroom, Study, Play room) What would it look like inside? What things would you have inside it? Describe what you would like to do in this room? Encourage your family to use their imagination to describe it in as much detail as possible.(Icebreakers and Heartwarmers. Steve Sheely)

Story

With your family read:  Luke 7.1-10

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

 Questions for Discussion:

• What surprises you about this story?
• Why do you think the centurion changed his mind about Jesus coming to his house?
• What do you think about the centurions faith? 

Prayer and Celebration

Imagination Prayers

There are manys ways that engage the imagination of your family while praying for the needs of the world. Use this simple pattern below to begin. You might like to create new sentence starters to help your family pray for different things. Silence is a gift of God that is often pushed out in the busy and clutter of the modern world. Encourage your family to stop, be still and listen.

I wonder who God might want me to be a friend to or to care for?

Silence

I wonder what God might want me to do this week?

Silence

I wonder whether there is any limit to God’s love?

Silence

I wonder what kind of person God wants me to grow to be?

Silence

Thank you God for seeing the prayers we offer in our hearts and minds. 

Family Activity

Story Time

Ask a child to find a favourite book or story. Read the book together, then ask, “In this book, what could (main character) have thanked God for? When might he or she have needed God’s help? If (character) had talked to God, what might he or she have said?For younger children. Look at a picture book with your younger child. Talk with your child about the pictures using questions such as , “What do you see on this page that you are thankful to God for? What could the girl on this page tell God about?” 

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning

Faithful Families Resources May 12 2013

50 days after Easter, at Pentecost, the Christian Church is born. A wonderful gift is given from God, for it is the day when the disciples are given the power of the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament wind and fire were seen as signs to show that God was present. If you read the story in the book of Acts it talks about the Holy Spirit coming as ‘wind’ and ‘fire’. At Pentecost the gift of the Spirit filled the disciples with the energy and power to speak so that people from many nations could understand them. It was an event that changed the world. Before the Holy Spirit came to rest on the disciples, they were confused and fearful. They longed for the good old days when all they had to do was follow Jesus' lead. We too are invited to receive this wonderful gift which empowers us to use the gifts we are given from God and to grow in the fruits of the Spirit that make us more Christlike.

Pentecost is a special time, and special times need special attention. Here are some resources to help you be faithful with your family this Pentecost.

Weekly Inspiration

"Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain."

Psalm 127:1 (NIV)

Family Closeness

Game:

Stopwatch Games

With a stopwatch and a bit of imagination, your family can clock hours of crazy contests.

How long does it take to blow a perfect bubble after you put a new piece of gum in your mouth?

How long can you chew your food for before it disappears?

How many times can you click in a minute?

How long does it take to run around the house?

How many baskets can you shoot in 2 minutes?

Sharing:

Questions for stimulating discussion in your family. 

• What is the most exciting gift you have ever been given?
• What made it so great?
• What is the most exciting gift you have ever given? Why was it so great?
• What is something that you are good at? How do you use it to serve others?
• What godly characteristics do you find in yourself and in your family: Kindness, gentleness, compassion, patience, hospitality, humour, generosity, mercy, justice, faithfulness, self-control, loyalty, love, trustworthiness, truth telling, straight talking honesty, . . . .  . .
• Have you ever felt God’s presence in a special way? What happened? How did you feel?
• Who is someone you know who seems to be filled with Spirit? What are they like? 

Story

With your family read:  Acts 2.1-21

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

 Questions for Discussion:

• How did the Holy Spirit come upon the disciples? What happened?
• How do you think you would have felt if you had been there?
• What strange and special thing happened to the disciples because of the Holy Spirit?
• What was the purpose of the disciples ability to speak many languages? 

Prayer and Celebration

Use some Pentecost Symbols to at your table: Eg. Tongues of flame cut out of red paper. A dove as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Some prayers to use at your dinner table over the next couple of weeks:

Wind over the waters, wind over the sea.

Wind of creation:

 Respond: breathe life in me.

Wind on the mountains, wind tossing the tree.

Wind of the prophets:

Respond: breathe life in me.

Wind on the Jordan, wind on Galilee.

Wind at Golgotha:

Respond: breathe life in me. 

Wind full of Easter, wind of the free.

Wind of the gifted:

Respond: breathe life in me.

Holy Spirit, sent by the Father,

ignite in us your holy fire;

strengthen your children with the gift of faith,

revive your Church with the breath of love,

and renew the face of the earth,

through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen

May God’s Holy Spirit be in our life [place hand on heart]

May God’s Holy Spirit be in our world [sweep hand out in front]

May God’s Holy Spirit be love between us [hold hands]

Family Activity

Draw Attention to Yourself

Using any available materials, make large red or orange Pentecost symbols (paper tongues of fire, kites or windsocks, decorated balloons or pinwheels) to be displayed outdoors. On each symbol write three gifts of the Spirit you have been given to serve God. Make a collage of warm colours to remind your family of the story of Pentecost. Make up a dance using coloured streamers to portray the wind, fire and excitement of the disciples when they received the Holy Spirit. Make up a list of words to describe 'fire' and 'wind', and then use them to write a poem.

May God’s Holy Spirit fill you this Pentecost season. May you and your family grow in the Godly Characteristics, may you grow to be more Christlike. May the Spirit of renewal blow over you and your family.

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison & Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning