What's in a Parent?

I'm very excited to have another young adult giving a "faith at home" testimony! Let me introduce you to Mackenzie, a senior in college. A self-identified "PK", he shares how the faith of his parents has impacted the young man he has become.

What’s In a Parent?

“What’s in a parent?” That’s a question I’ve been pondering as I have grown and matured for the last few years now, transitioning out of my collegiate career and into a new time of life that will—Lord-willing—allow me to become a parent to my own little ones someday. Being raised by parents who honor the Lord in what they say and do has shown me not only the irreplaceable value of having a supportive Christian environment at home but also the incredible importance of living that faith out on my own two feet. Let me elaborate a little more on this.

Being a ‘PK’—a pastor’s kid, a.k.a. ‘one of those kids’—naturally came with its own sets of pressures and challenges. This seemed to be compounded by the fact that I grew up in a small town where the rules of life teach that reputation is everything. To make for more of a gushy story, I attended a Christian school my whole educational career—K-12 and college! With all that said, I’m completely aware of the overall response many will think when reading these last few sentences: what a poor, sheltered life. It wasn’t until the last half of my time in high school, however, that I began to understand the immense blessing that God had undeservedly poured out on my life in the form of godly parents and a God-honoring upbringing. You may call it sheltered, but I call it a gift from the Lord. Here’s why…

First, experiencing ‘faith at home’ has enabled me to see two examples of how the Christian life should be lived: in humility, service, and love (no, my parents did not pay me to say this). I can’t stress enough the incredible importance of having at least one close godly figure in one’s life that can act as an encouragement, an example, and a sharpening agent to walk through this sanctifying spiritual journey with. To have not one but two of these figures in my life has been a tremendous benefit to my spiritual growth, especially through awkward and uncertain times, e.g. late elementary and junior high. Second, ‘faith at home’ has allowed for a spiritual foundation that I have been able to launch from as I entered into the college years. I think of those times when I was small, and my dad would lift me up onto his shoulders. I’d feel so adventurous and brave! This picture is similar to what I’m trying to convey here: the spiritual foundation laid by my parents who prayerfully lived godly lives in the midst of my maturation into adulthood has enabled me—in a sense—to use their shoulders as a foundation for me to launch from as I jumped into the great unknown called ‘college and beyond.’ Last, knowing that the Lord has blessed me with a home environment that has been especially inducing to my own walk with the Lord leaves me feeling graciously humbled as I recognize that it has not been an independent effort to establish my own spiritual life. Of course, salvation is an individual decision, but we were not meant to live the Christian life on our own.

Knowing God has so graciously ordained my life to be filled with godly examples such as my parents has forced me to see that He alone is the reason that I am alive in Him, walking in His grace, and pressing on toward the goal. So what’s in a parent? I suppose the only way to fully answer that question is to wholeheartedly continue to follow our heavenly Parent, our Father.

Practicing Failure

Check out James 1:2, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds..." James goes on to point out that it's important to let these trials take full effect so we can be "mature and complete, not lacking anything." Bottom line? Tough times are actually good for us! I know, I know...that's not EVER something you consider while you're going THROUGH a tough time, but looking back, you can often see how God has made you a stronger person, how He has polished your character, how He has made you more like Him.

Now let's talk about the children growing up in today's world. Are they given opportunities to "face trials of many kinds"? Are they given chances to fail and learn from those failures? Or are they presented with a "cushy" no-fail, everyone's-a-winner kind of environment to grow up in?  Saturday Night Live has a pretty poignant skit called "You Can Do Anything" that spoofs the trend in society to pamper kids, really to their detriment. Take a couple of minutes to check it out...does any of it resonate with you?

How about some cold, hard facts? Everyone is NOT a winner in life. Sometimes you fail. Sometimes you come in second. Sometimes you don't even get recognized.  And sometimes you NOT good at something. That's life! This generation has been dubbed "Generation iY" because they have been trained by the adults in their life that the world revolves around them. That they ARE winners and can do anything!

Now please hear me on this...I'm certainly not saying that words of encouragement are a bad thing. But those encouraging words need to be GENUINE. I love receiving encouragement, but I also know when someone's just saying empty words to flatter me.

Kids need to learn that failure is OK, it's a part of life, and ultimately, you can learn a lot from it.  So how do you handle failure and "trials" in your kids' lives? Do you give them opportunities to "practice" failure and teach them through that process?

A Faith at Home Testimony

At our church "faith at home" is a primary focus in our children's and youth ministries. We seek ways as a church to partner with parents so that the gospel is a part of daily living, not just a "Sunday only" kind of pursuit. Over the upcoming weeks, I'll be featuring some guest blog posts from young adults who have grown up with "faith at home" as a reality and how that has impacted them as they embark into adulthood.

The first guest blogger is Victoria Lee, who is in her final year of college. Parents, Sunday school teachers, and youth workers...be encouraged by what she says!

Growing up in a Christian household, I never really understood the blessing that was given to me. Going to church, saying prayers with my family, listening to the Christian radio in the car - that was all just “normal”. As I've gotten older, I have seen how rare my growing up experience was. Living a life centered around Christianity wasn't optional. I remember “asking Jesus into my heart” during Sunday School when I was about 4 years old.

Although I had church and Christian parents surrounding me my entire life, I did not get serious about making faith my own until it was time for me to graduate high school and go on to college. Don’t get me wrong! I did the youth group thing and went to all of the youth rallies in high school. I loved them! I was very active in church and always liked to volunteer but that was about the extent of my faith. I never had a very deep relationship with God.
As I entered into my college years, I decided to go to a Christian university. Contrary to what most people think, Christian universities have issues with alcohol, drugs, and parties just like secular schools. It is just more hidden and not as “in your face”. My parents raised me to know that those lifestyles were wrong. I knew that if I didn't get serious about trying to grow a personal relationship with God, I would be easily swayed. Luckily for me, the university I attend is very big on nurturing students' spiritual lives. Through weekly convocation times (chapel services three times a week), prayer groups on Tuesday nights (a chance to meet with a small group of girls for Bible study and prayer) and church attendance, I've been able to get a lot more serious about wanting to live a Christian lifestyle. I've come to realize that attending church isn't enough. A relationship with God is all that matters and it is something you need to work for.

Let’s pause a second. I don’t want you all to think I am this perfect Christian college girl. I’m not. I've made bad choices and willingly followed the wrong crowd in college. Even at the times when I have knowingly made the wrong choice, I've always felt that conviction inside. The values my parents raised me with are always going to be a part of me.
So, parents, don’t give up on your kids. Teach your children the Bible starting at a young age. Tell them what is right and wrong. Never stop praying for them.  I’m sure that most parents are familiar with Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) which says, “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” I have experienced this verse to be true in my own life and although I've never really expressed it, I am so very blessed to have been raised in a Christian home.

On behalf of all the young adults who were raised with faith at home (and all the kids who don’t understand the blessing they have yet), thank you to all of the mommies and daddies. Thank you to church families, Sunday school teachers and youth group leaders. All of the time you spent on your knees and in the Word for us does not go in vain. Your lives are making an impact for Christ every single day. Even though most of us will probably never express it verbally, we are so blessed by the Christian influence that has been placed in our lives. We love you!

The Ratings Game

It's probably safe to say that under many Christmas trees this year will be gifts of video games. Parents, are you aware of the ratings system that is placed on each game that is created?  You can visit this site, the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), to get a complete description of what each rating means and determine if the games your child has requested are appropriate for their age and maturity.

As a reminder, these ratings are put in place by a non-Christian culture, so if a video game is rated "T" for teen or "M" for mature, keep in mind that's a secular view point. As a Christian parent, you may have stricter standards for what you will allow your child to ingest.  Two Christian-run sites you may find helpful as you make informed decisions about what you will purchase are Guide2Games and PluggedIn. They have game reviews and details, by Christians for Christians.

In light of the recent tragedy in Newtown, CT, violence is a very real part of the world we live in, and I'm a firm believer in making sure that we're not perpetuating that violence in our children through the video games they play.

A Parent's Prayer Program

I've been cleaning out old files over the past few weeks in anticipation of our March move into a new church building, and I've been uncovering all sorts of treasures! I'd like to share one of them with you in this post. It's called "A Parent's Prayer Program", and it was written by Bob Hostetler for Focus on the Family back in February of 2000, designed with one prayer a day for a month. Even though it's nearly 13 years old, the truths of praying scripture over your children is timeless! As we move one step closer to a new year, a prayer program like this may be something you'll consider implementing as you raise your children in the knowledge of Christ.

1. Salvation—Lord, let salvation spring up within my children, that they may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory.(Isaiah 45:8, 2 Timothy 2:10)

2. Growth in grace—I pray that they may “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)

3. Love—Grant, Lord, that my children may learn to live a life of love through the Spirit who dwells in them. (Ephesians 5:2, Galatians 5:22)

4. Honesty and integrity—May integrity and honesty be their virtue and their protection. (Psalm 25:21)

5. Self-control—Father, help my children not to be like many others around them, but let them be “alert and self-controlled” in all they do. (1 Thessalonians 5:6)

6. A love for God’s word—May my children grow to find Your Word “more precious than gold, than much pure gold; [and] sweeter than honey, than honey form the comb.” (Psalm 19:10)

7. Justice—God, help my children to love justice as You do and to “act justly” in all they do. (Psalm 11:7, Micah 6:8)

8. Mercy—May my children always “be merciful, as [their] Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36)

9. Respect (for self, others, authority)—Father, grant that my children may “show proper respect to everyone,” as Your Word commands. (1 Peter 2:17)

10. Strong, biblical self-esteem—Help my children develop a strong self-esteem that is rooted in the realization that they are “God’s worksmanship, created in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:10)

11. Faithfulness—“Let love and faithfulness never leave [my children],” but bind these twin virtues around their necks and write them on the tablet of their hearts. (Proverbs 3:3)

12. A passion for God—Lord, please instill in my children a soul with craving for You, a heart that clings passionately to You. (Psalm 63:8)

13. Responsibility—Grant that my children may learn responsibility “for each one should carry his own load.” (Galatians 6:5)

14. Kindness—Lord, may my children “always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

15. Generosity—Grant that my children may “be generous and willing to share [and so] lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age.” (1 Timothy 6:18-19)

16. Peace, peaceability—Father, let my children “make every effort to do what leads to peace.” (Romans 14:19)

17. Hope—May the God of hope grant that my children may overflow with hope and hopefulness by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13)

18. Perseverance—Lord, teach my children perseverance in all they do, and help them especially to “run with perseverance the race marked out for [them].” (Hebrews 12:1)

19. Humility—Lord, please cultivate in my children the ability to “show true humility toward all.” (Titus 3:2)

20. Compassion—Lord, please clothe my children with the virtue of compassion. (Colossians 3:12)

21. Prayerfulness—Grant, Lord, that my children’s lives may be marked by prayerfulness, that they may learn to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:18)

22. Contentment—Father, teach my children “the secret of being content in any and every situation…through him who gives them strength.” (Philippians 4:12-13)

23. Faith—I pray that faith will find root and grow in my children’s hearts, that by faith they may gain what has been promised to them. (Like 17:5-6, Hebrews 11:1-40)

24. A servant heart—Lord, please help my children develop servant hearts, that they may serve wholeheartedly “as if [they] were serving the Lord, not men.” (Ephesians 6:7)

25. Purity—“Create in [them] a pure heart, O God,” and let their purity of heart be shown in their actions. (Psalm 51:10)

26. A willingness and ability to work hard—Teach my children, Lord, to value work and to work hard at everything they do, “as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)

27. Self-discipline—Father, I pray that my children may develop self-discipline, that they may acquire “a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right and just and fair.” (Proverbs 1:3)

28. A heart for missions—Lord, please help my children to develop a heart for missions, a desire to see your glory declared among the nations, your marvelous deeds among all peoples. (Psalm 96:3)

29. Joy—May my children be filled “with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Thessalonians 1:6)

30. Courage—May my children always “be strong and courageous” in their character and in their actions. (Deuteronomy 31:6)

Cool Gifts for Your Kids

Christmas is coming, and you might still have some shopping to do! I'd love to give you some suggestions of really cool Bibles and devotionals for your kiddos.

Preschoolers will enjoy the Read and Share Bible and its bright pictures and simple stories. It's a great way to introduce children to some of the more well-known accounts from the Bible.

For younger kids, check out the Adventure Bible. It's geared for elementary students, and has a lot of fun "extras" inside that kids will be drawn to.

I love the God and Me Devotions for Girls and the Gotta Have God Devotions for Boys. These books are fun just to look at! I also like the fact that they're broken into three age categories: 2-5, 6-9, and 10-12. So your child will get to interact with scripture in a way that makes it relevant for their age and some of the things they're facing in life.

If you've got kids who enjoy comic books and that kind of artwork, the Action Bible and the Action Bible Devotional will be right up their alley! The narrative in these books is rooted in scripture, and the pictures are colorful and captivating. I recently handed a copy to a junior high boy, and his eyes widened as he looked through the pages, and he pronounced it "cool".  :-)

Along similar lines is the Manga Bible. If you've got kids who are interested in all things Asian and Manga, this will definitely appeal to them!

Finally, you have GOT to check out the What's in the Bible DVD series. This is like the Muppets meet the Veggie Tales. It's created by Phil Vischer (the creative mind behind Veggie Tales), and it takes learning about the Bible to a whole new level. (If you sign up for their newsletter, you'll receive all sorts of great sales and deals throughout the year!)

Fun Ways to Bring Faith Home

Recently, I was given the opportunity to review Timothy Smith's book 52 Creative Family Time Experiences: Fun Ways to Bring Faith Home. I found it to be a great resource for families who are seeking ways to be intentional about passing their Christian faith to their children. Throughout the book, there are 52 ways that parents can create experiences right at home that set the stage for faith discussions. A portion of these 52 experiences focus on milestones and holidays, which are wonderful opportunities to make faith very real and practical to your children. Some of these activities include "Only One Thing Is Needed", "Heroes at Home", "Our Family Brand".

Check out this excerpt from Smith's book:

"According to The Shema, as parents we should impress God's Word on our hearts first: 'Get them inside of you, and then get them inside of your children.' We can't impress on our child's heart something we don't have on our own."

Throughout this book, parents will have opportunities to get God's word inside of them as they in turn get those words inside of their children. Each activity comes with a scripture passage that is shared and discussed. You'll also be given instructions for an object lesson/activity that uses simple household items or items easily found at your local store.

Bottom line, if you're a family who is seeking ways to be more intentional in making faith real, interactive, and authentic in your home, then you'll really enjoy Timothy Smith's book!  You can find it on Amazon.com for purchase.

The new year would be a great time to start a new tradition of a weekly family time, and this book is an excellent resource to guide you in that journey!

Zombies!

Unless you live under a rock, you probably know that zombies are quite the rage these days. People have actual written-out plans for a pending "zombie apocalypse". There is a fascination with these "undead" that continues to amaze me. According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of a zombie is as follows: the supernatural power that according to voodoo belief may enter into and reanimate a dead body; a will-less and speechless human in the West Indies capable only of automatic movement who is held to have died and been supernaturally reanimated.

You'll often hear them referred to as "the walking dead". In fact, in 2010 a wildly popular show called The Walking Dead appeared on television, and this past October it premiered for its third season. According to Entertainment Weekly,

"[The 2012] premiere will probably be remembered as the hour that set a record for zombie killing. How many was that? Seventy? Eighty? After last season’s fan complaint of too much farm chatting and not enough zombie killing, the third season premiere’s orgy of kill-shots surely satisfied fan blood lust."

Can I be honest, that last sentence really really really concerns me. Not necessarily because our culture has this kind of thought toward what is considered entertainment, but because there are a LOT in the Church who are ingesting this show as a regular part of their viewing diet. Recently I wrote a post called "Time to Diet?" that challenges us as Christ followers to have different standards than the world when it comes to what we are "feeding on" via our eyes and our ears.

Even the creators of the show are looking for ways to push the boundaries of what is acceptable on television. I came across an interview on a site aptly called bloody-disgusting.com where The Walking Dead creator Frank Darabont and executive producer Gale Ann Hurd were asked a number of questions about their show. This statement left me chilled to the bone:

"When we were cutting the show together I remember turning to Gale going ‘wow look, we killed a seven-year-old in the first scene. It is kind of our mission statement, isn’t it? It kind of like really sets the tone. It clues the audience in, ‘if you don’t dig this kind of stuff, you really should just tune out now. But if you do think this is intriguing, then stick around’, you know?"

Their "mission statement" revolves around pride in killing a seven-year-old? I don't "dig this kind of stuff", so you can be assured that I won't be tuning in anytime soon.

Psalm 101:3--"I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar."

Philippians 4:8--"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever ispure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." 

Time to Diet?

If we look at Daniel's life as described in Daniel 1 in the Bible, we see a devout young man who has decided that the "king's delicacies" (food and wine) were not something with which he should defile himself. Instead, he asked for a diet of vegetables and water! I was pondering this and that led me to think about the "diet" of those of us in the Church. Now, I'm not talking about the food diet (though that could probably be addressed considering our love of potlucks!)  :-)  What I'm talking about is our "brain diet"...what things are we consuming, via our eyes and ears, that affect our thoughts, our spirit?

All  you have to do is Google something like "the effect of music on our brain", and you'll find myriad studies and articles that show brain scans and charts and graphs...all pointing to the fact that you are indeed affected by what you hear. Do a search for the effect of what you watch, and you'll find similar results. The bottom line is that we ARE influenced by things like television shows, music, YouTube videos, video games, the Internet, etc. etc. etc.!

Back to the diet analogy...what is it that you're habitually feeding on? What about your kids? The Psalmist in Psalm 101:3 says, "I will refuse to look at anything vile and vulgar." How much vileness and vulgarity is acceptable in the media we consume? How does a constant diet of vile and vulgar things affect our relationship with the Lord? I've often shared with young people that anything we allow to infiltrate our sight and our hearing should pass the "Philippians Filter" found in Philippians 4:8:

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things." (emphasis mine)

Notice those last four words, "think about such things." What you're consuming will affect what you're thinking about. The more true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy things are, the better our thoughts will be. This won't just happen with a snap of the fingers...it has to be something we are committed to. Look at Daniel again, "But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank."  He RESOLVED. Other translations say "he determined", "he made up his mind", "he purposed in his heart". He was intentional in making the Lord his aim. For him, there was no other option.

So, how's your diet?

Keeping Jesus Central at Christmas

Only 26 sleeps until Christmas!  Is the anticipation already building in your home? Are the stockings hung by the chimney with care? Are the halls all decked? Kids tend to have a lot of extra "energy" this time of year, don't they?  :-) "Anticipation" is a word easily associated with Christmas! As we anticipate the arrival of December 25, it's wonderful to have reminders around us that focus on anticipating celebrating the arrival of Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us...the TRUE reason we celebrate in such a large way during this season!  

As you may have realized by now, Ann Voskamp is one of my favorite authors and blog writers. And I want to share a recent post from her with a link to a wonderful (and free!) resource that may very well become a tradition in your family. It's called a "Jesse Tree", and it's a wonderfully symbolic way of focusing on the true meaning of Christmas on a daily basis. Check out this blog post to find a free downloadable booklet that contains daily devotions for your family along with ornaments that can be printed out (in color or black and white so your kids can color them), mounted, and hung on your tree. (Some families even make a special tree just for their Jesse Tree ornaments.)

This is another great opportunity to live out God's command in Deuteronomy 6: "Impress them [God's commandments] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Gift Giving

We have just celebrated Thanksgiving, a special day set aside to especially be thankful for all that God has given us, to count our blessings, to recognize afresh the many ways that we are blessed each and every day. And then there was Black Friday...the day that many seem to have forgotten about the blessings they were so thankful for just a few hours ago as they push and claw to get the best deal on "stuff". A cashier at our local department store commented that Black Friday in their store was actually "nasty" a few times when they were first opening.

So what's my point? How do we teach our children that Thanksgiving is a lifestyle? How do we teach them not to get caught up in the trappings of this culture that says we're entitled to what we want, when we want it?  I think the best and most effective answer is to make sure that WE are modeling that behavior ourselves. The old saying goes, "More is caught than taught."  As the Christmas holiday approaches, how do you help bring balance in your family between gift giving and gift receiving? How do you teach your children that it's important to think of others during a season that encourages kids to think mostly of themselves and their own desires? 

Give the gift of a warm blanket!

If you're interested in making some changes this Christmas, consider checking out the Samaritan's Purse website. They give you loads of options of ways that you and your family can give gifts to people in impoverished countries. For example, there is currently an urgent need for blankets to keep people warm. For $6, your family can help make that happen. For $70, you can provide a family with a dairy animal. There are also many opportunities locally...the Salvation Army "bell ringers", Angel Trees, Adopt-A-Block, church ministries, etc. 

I'd love your feedback to some of the questions I've posed above! What does this time of year look like in your home? 

With or without God?

Today, I received information from a friend about a website "out there" called "Kids without God". It's tagline is, "Welcome to Kids Without God, a site for the millions of young people around the world who have embraced science, rejected superstition, and are dedicated to being Good Without A God!"  Does that frighten you in the least? How are you arming your children to survive in a world that would love to rip their faith to shreds? How are you arming YOURSELF so you can arm your children?

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 contains some answers:

“Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One.  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart.  Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and let them be a symbol on your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

God's words need to be a part of our daily comings and goings. Our relationship with Him needs to be authentic, and our kids need to witness that. What we have needs to be impressed upon them, repeated to them. Then, when they are faced with the humanist philosophies of this world (like the ones found on the Kids without God site), they will be better equipped to stand firm in their faith.

Living the Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving week! The time of year we are especially mindful of all the many reasons we have to be thankful. I was challenged in church this morning to consider what I'm thankful for that doesn't fall into the "stuff" category...think "spiritual blessings". Those should be my first and foremost reasons for giving thanks, but they don't tend to be my default thanksgiving mode. I want to change that...I want to Jesus to be my portion, my all in all, the main reason for my thanks.

I've recently been struck by Paul's words in Colossians 4:2, "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving." Did you catch that word "vigilant"? Vigilant means watchful, alert, awake. My prayers should be alert with thanksgiving, watchful for where my thanks can be turned to God...neat picture isn't it? 

A couple of years ago, I read Ann Voskamp's book 1,000 Gifts, and it changed the way I look at giving thanks. As a result of her book, I started my own "1,000 Gifts" thanksgiving journal...carrying it with me and jotting down "gifts" that I noticed from God throughout my day. I started living the thanksgiving, and it was GOOD! My eyes were less focused on ME and more focused on HIM...I decreased, and He increased. I am purposing to get back into that routine again, because it was truly transformational for me.

So why do I tell you all this? As parents, care givers, anyone with an influence in the lives of young people, seek opportunities to help them turn their eyes to the Lord and off of themselves. We are in a culture saturated with slogans, media, and music that encourages and practically celebrates narcissism...look at me! We need to continually train ourselves to look at the Lord.

One way we're doing that is through our Sunday school classes. Each month, we will be helping support the orphan girls who will be housed in Strong Tower Orphanage in Caracol, Haiti. It's a privilege and joy to partner to build this orphanage and now to have the opportunity to provide basic living necessities for the girls who will call it their home. A great way to weekly turn our kids' attention to others and to remind them that the world is bigger than what they see in the mirror!

Information Overload

We live in a time unlike any other experienced in all of history. In mere seconds, news can travel from one corner of the world to the other via any variety of social media. We literally have the ability to contact people at our fingertips...any time of the day or night. Take a look at this statistic...as of March 2012, there were 644,275,754 active websites on the Internet, and that was an increase of over 30 million from the previous month. (Netcraft) Ironically, if you do a Google search for "information overload" there are over 8.5 million results to peruse! There is absolutely no shortage of information.  However, there IS a shortage of discernment when it comes to dealing with all of this information.

Some wisdom from Ecclesiastes 12:12--"But beyond these, my son, be warned: there is no end to the making of many books, and much study wearies the body." Would it be safe to say, in our current century that "there is no end to the making of many websites, and information overload wearies the body"?  I used to teach 7th grade, and part of our year included writing a research paper. As the years passed and the Internet was a larger tool in the classroom, my students didn't have a lack of information to use for their papers, and they were very savvy at searching it out online. I realized that my role was shifting more into teaching them how to find GOOD information, teaching them that just because it's on the Internet does not mean that it's true. The Amplified version of Ecclesiastes 12:12 amused me--"...Of making many books there is no end [so do not believe everything you read]..."

So what's a parent or a grandparent or a teacher or a youth worker to do? First, make sure you're having regular conversations with the children and students in your life about their media consumption...what are they viewing? What are they listening to? What pages are they "members" of? Secondly, make sure that you are teaching your child to be discerning. Jesus gave the charge in Matthew 10:16 to be wise as serpents but harmless as doves. 

Have you seen posts on places like Facebook that have a ring of propaganda or untruth to them? They usually involve some kind of "scam" that Facebook is supposedly running or something political in nature. And people repost them and repost them and repost them, assuming that they're fact. Quite often, they're not. A website I've used often to check the validity of these sorts of websites is www.Snopes.com. They have almost every urban legend known to man, they give the history of it, and they will let you know whether or not the information presented is fact or fiction.

Bottom line? We can't control the quantity or quality of the information that is "out there", but we CAN control our responses to it.

FIRST GIVEAWAY!

I have a Family Reading Bible that I would love to get into the hands of someone! To enter, simply leave a comment on this post about how you incorporate Bible reading into your daily lives. Giveaway will end on Friday, November 16th, at which time a random winner will be selected from among the comments. (Must  have a US address to qualify.)

Teaching Kids to Pray

This past week, I cleaned out my filing cabinet, and I came across all sorts of goodies that I have accumulated over the years, and one I'd like to share with you looks at teaching kids to pray and go beyond just the rote before-meals grace. Those are great places to begin teaching kids to pray, but the earlier we can teach them that prayer is talking with God about what's going on in our lives, presenting our requests to Him, adoring Him, and listening to Him, the better! Enjoy this article, "Teaching Kids to Pray" by Maurcia Delean Houck.

Practical ways to "bring kids to their knees!"


Prayer habits that last a lifetime are most often formed in childhood. That's why it's so critical to teach young children how to pray. As with most spiritual disciplines, prayer is caught more than it's taught. As teachers model meaningful prayer lives, kids will learn how they, too, can talk to their Creator.

Here are the basics of teaching children how to pray.

Help children talk to God. Everyone--especially children--would find sitting down to prayer easier if we could find a way to forget our notions of "correct prayer methods" and just start talking. To do this, avoid focusing on form in prayer. Rather, model for your children and easy, comfortable way to simply talk to God as you'd talk to a friend. Urge children to talk to God just as they'd talk to anyone else. They can tell God about their day, express their fears, and even be a little mad if they want to.

There's nothing too big-or too small-for God. It's true; God can help us face the hardest moments in our lives. God is also there to share in our smaller moments, too. He wants to know how our day went. He enjoys hearing that the rainbow we saw early in the morning made us smile, and that the bully on the playground scares us.

Anything is okay to talk to God about. Don't discourage a child from including a song from The Little Mermaid in her prayer. Let her thank God for her favorite movie and share what's in her heart.

Making prayers relevant to children's lives enables them to grow in prayer. Because kids have a strong tendency to view the world in terms of me, my, and mine, capitalize on this very normal stage of development by focusing prayer on kids' everyday concerns. For example, many adults make the mistake of asking young children to pray for church missionaries. Chances are kids don't understand what they're actually asking God for. As a result, God becomes more remote.

A better idea would be to focus kids' prayer requests on asking God to heal Damon's chickenpox, giving thanks for Jasmine's new puppy, or asking for help for Alex, who may find it difficult to sit through class quietly.

God listens to ALL prayers. God is always there, willing and eager to listen to what we have to say. But kids aren't always so sure; sometimes they need proof. So give it to them. The best way to help children realize that God truly listens is to point out answered prayers. Did you ask for the quick recovery of Andi's cold? When she's feeling better, thank God for answering your prayers.

Help children understand that God may answer prayers in several ways. God may answer exactly as children requested. Bug God may also answer in a different way, wait to answer, or say no. Help children see these as answers to prayer also.

The right place is any place. The Bible describes a variety of ways to pray: kneeling, standing, lifting hands, and even lying on a bed. Encourage children to pray whenever-and wherever-they want to. Even if it means a quick "Please make Janie all right" on the playground when a friend is hit with a ball.

Prayer is never inappropriate. Especially when it comes straight from the heart. In the end, that's all you really need to teach children to help them communicate with our God who's always listening.

Proverbs for Parents

Recently, I was inspired to look through the book of Proverbs at instances where it appears that a parent is speaking to his child, and I discovered some really great advice! God's design for parents to be the primary "faith trainer" in their child's life is quite evident in these passages. Enjoy this brief journey through Proverbs with me.

Proverbs 1:8-10--"Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction and do not forsake your mother’s teaching. They are a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck. My son, if sinful men entice you, do not give in to them."

Proverbs 4:1-6, 10-15, 20-27--"Listen, my sons, to a father’s instruction; pay attention and gain understanding. I give you sound learning, so do not forsake my teaching. For I too was a son to my father, still tender, and cherished by my mother. Then he taught me, and he said to me, 'Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live. Get wisdom, get understanding; do not forget my words or turn away from them. Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you.'"

"Listen, my son, accept what I say,  and the years of your life will be many. I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run, you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. Do not set foot on the path of the wicked or walk in the way of evildoers. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn from it and go on your way."

"My son, pay attention to what I say; turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; for they are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body. Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead;  fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil."

Proverbs 19:27--"Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge."

Proverbs 23:19-28--"Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path: Do not join those who drink too much wine or gorge themselves on meat, for drunkards and gluttons become poor, and drowsiness clothes them in rags."

"Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old. Buy the truth and do not sell it—wisdom, instruction and insight as well. The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him. May your father and mother rejoice; may she who gave you birth be joyful!"

 

"My son, give me your heart and let your eyes delight in my ways, for an adulterous woman is a deep pit, and a wayward wife is a narrow well. Like a bandit she lies in wait and multiplies the unfaithful among men."

 

Pray, Pray, PRAY!

I am extremely impressed by the brilliance of a blog post that Beth Moore posted this past Monday, the day before the election. She challenged everyone to write a prayer for our future (at that point, unknown) President. The prayers that people responded with were beautiful, heart-felt, and scripture-filled. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read Beth's post and the prayers that follow it in the comments. And then I encourage you to pray those same kinds of prayers...for our President, for all of the leaders who were recently elected, and for our nation.

Click on the link below to go to the blog post:

Say It Today, Pray It Tomorrow

Also consider how you might incorporate this into the prayers you pray as a family. Are you teaching your child from an early age to pray prayers that aren't always focused on "self" but point to "others"? I am more convinced than I ever have been before that prayer is foundational to anything we as Christ-followers hope to achieve in this life. So, Pray, Pray, PRAY!

Adolescents to Adults

In our church, we have adopted the Legacy Milestone Model, introduced to me first by Brian Haynes at the D6 Conference in 2009. The premise of this model is to provide an intentional way of celebrating milestones in the life of a child from birth through the final milestone, "Life in Christ." (You can explore lots more great things about the Legacy Milestone Model by clicking on this link.) One of the milestones, about midway through this process is called "Rite of Passage", similar to the Jewish bar/bat mitzvah, which celebrates the transition from childhood to adulthood at the age of 13. 

This year at the D6 Conference, I was blessed to hear Tim Elmore speak on how their family has celebrated this milestone in their daughter's life. When she turned 13, she got to choose six women she looked up to (and who her parents approved of) to be "one-day mentors" sometime during the next year. These women arranged a full day away with Tim's daughter (some took her along to their work place, others arranged things like shopping, spa days, etc.), and during that day they were asked to share one life message that their daughter would benefit from knowing. Tim said that this year-long process had a profound effect on their daughter. At the end of the year, the daughter and all six of the mentors gathered for a nice dinner with the family, and each one came with a letter of blessing that they read to the daughter. To wrap up their time, they gathered around the daughter and each one prayed for her.

Is that not an amazing experience for an adolescent to be launched into the things of adulthood? What a great way to surround your child with strong Christian influences and to model for them what an adult Christ-follower looks like. God has placed us all on this journey together, and it is certainly a privilege to be able to mentor the next generation and challenge them to be all that God has intended for them to be!

Tell me...how does YOUR family celebrate milestones?

Masterpiece or Paint-by-number?

I love Paul's words in Ephesians 2:10, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Check out the same verse in the Amplified version (it's got some really great nuances that flesh out the meaning), "For we are God’s [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, [born anew] that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]."

That word "workmanship" is poiéma in the original Greek...where we get the word poetry. We are God's workmanship, His handiwork, His masterpiece. When an master artist sets out to create a new piece of artwork, he doesn't make carbon copies of previous masterpieces. A master artist would not succumb to mass producing "paint-by-number" artwork where every piece he creates is exactly the same, using exactly the same colors, exactly the same perspective, etc. How about a definition of "masterpiece"?

1. A work of outstanding artistry, skill, or workmanship.
2. An artist's or craftsman's best piece of work.

Sounds like a lot of originality at work there, doesn't it? Ponder the fact that God created each of us as a masterpiece, His handiwork. So let me ask you a question...why do we sometimes insist that the people around us be more like a paint-by-number? And that paint-by-number needs to be "colored" according to their standards. In my own life, I've experienced people telling me that I need to do a certain thing or act a certain way in order to be considered "spiritual". Can I just tell you, it took me a number of years to get to the point of realizing that God created me to be me. Not you. Not the lady down the street. Not the guy in the next pew. Me. And that's OK. I remind myself that God looks at my heart, not my outward appearance. (1 Samuel 16:7).

So are you embracing being God's handiwork? Are you encouraging those around you...your children, your friends, your family...to discover just who God has called them to be, the paths He has prepared for them to walk?

 There's a great book called Sacred Pathways that explores this idea in greater depth. If you're interested in learning more about how to CELEBRATE the different ways that God created you and those around you to worship Him, check it out!

Click here to find Sacred Pathways on Amazon.com.

From All-Star to Average

I appreciate the things that Scott Linscott took the time to talk about in his blog post called "Your kid’s an All Star? Wow! Someday he’ll be average like the rest of us." While it was written a little over two years ago, I find that the topics he addresses are still "alive and well" today.  Take a few minutes to read it, and let me know your thoughts and whether the things he talks about are happening in your family.

Click on this link to navigate to Scott Linscott's blog post:  Your Kid's An All-Star?

October Is for Individuality!

During the month of October, our Sunday school kiddos have been learning about the life of Timothy and the great example he sets as a young believer. The "bottom  line" for the month is that each one of us has been created to be an individual, with individual gifts given by God to use for His purposes. Check out our verse of the month and our theme of the month...

Who Are YOU Becoming?

Over the past six months to a year, God has been teaching me a lot about abiding in Him and areas that I am really needing to become better at. About a month ago, I was blessed to be able to attend the D6 Conference in Frisco, TX, which looks at ways the church and family can partner together to disciple the next generation. The theme of the entire conference was "Abide in Christ", and I came away with some wonderful nuggets that have been challenging me and changing the way I think and the way I "do life".

Pete Wilson, the founder of Cross Point Community Church in Nashville, TN, was the first speaker, and his words continue to echo in my mind. He challenged us with this statement, "What matters most in life is not what you accomplish but who you are becoming." WOW! In a culture that "rates" you based on all that you accomplish, this goes right up the proverbial nose of said culture! He also used Jesus' own words from Matthew 16:26, "What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?" This is causing me to ask myself frequently, "Who am I becoming?" My goal is for the answer to be, "More like Christ," and that requires a daily, intentional plan to ABIDE in Christ (John 15) and to make sure that I'm not stuffing my life with activities and tasks that distract me from the goal. Am I a busy person? Yes, generally I am. But I am learning that abiding needs to take place first. Period. It's really about priorities.

Now I need to step on a few toes out there. Can I be blunt? Young people are too busy. Their days are packed to the gills with school, homework, jobs, and every extra curricular activity known to man. They are stressed out, lacking sleep, and running on empty most days. This is "normal", but should it be? As a full-time staff person in a church, I see youth missing church because of job conflicts or sporting events. Youth and church events tend to be the first things that get axed in favor of other pursuits. Can I be blunt again? This bothers me. Not because I desire to have huge numbers of people at events, but because I see skewed priorities. Too often, God is an after thought or at the bottom of the list of priorities. To paraphrase Jesus, what good is it if I have a great list of accomplishments and have accumulated lots of money to buy the stuff I want if I am in danger of losing my own soul? Sobering thought, isn't it?

Bottom line for me is again the words of Jesus, "If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5) Abiding in Christ needs to be our first priority each day...seeking His will and His instructions for what we put our hands to each day.  

Who am I becoming? Who are YOU becoming? Who is your CHILD becoming? 

"Shoots 'n Roots"...What's in a Name?

The first post in this blog is dedicated to the "why" behind adding yet another blog to a virtual world that is replete with more postings that you can count. I check out a lot of these blogs, articles, websites, and so on, but I have yet to find one that is dedicated to the average-sized church called to reach the people in rural areas of the United States and Canada. So here we go!  My goal with this blog is to chronicle some of the ways that we "do church" and disciple the next generation in a small northern Maine town of about 6,000 people.

Why "Shoots 'n Roots"? I'm glad you asked! Check out Jeremiah 17:7-8...

"But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along a riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by the heat or worried by long months of drought. Their leaves stay green, and they never stop producing fruit." 

In the many years that I have been involved working with children, youth, and their parents, I continue to see that parents who are intentional about discipleship in their homes raise children who have an authentic relationship with the Lord...their "roots" have grown deep into fertile soil, and their "shoots" have been nourished with God's word and the living water of Jesus. They have grown into these "trees" that Jeremiah talks about...producing fruit and able to weather whatever conditions life throws at them.

I look forward to this journey and to meeting many along the way!