Guest Post: If You Don't Teach Them, Who Will?

I'm thrilled to introduce you to my sweet friend Becky and her blog "Renovating this Life" where she chronicles her life as a mom and all the adventures that brings along with it! In her most recent post, she takes a look at the challenge and the responsibility Christ-following parents have to instruct their children in the ways of the Lord and raise them to know Him and to love Him. I KNOW you'll enjoy visiting her blog!

The Junior High Factor

Junior High Students Rock!

I have over a decade of experience working with junior high students, and they continue to be my favorite age group to work with. They are a fascinating bundle of weird, maturity, silliness and seriousness...and I love them! :-)  For some reason, God has allowed my own junior high years to be indelibly marked in my mind, and I can easily bring back the memories and feelings of those years. Some of those memories are great, and others I would rather relegate to a world far, far away!

One thing that continues to bubble up in many formal and informal studies is that by the time a young person reaches those junior high years, WHO they are is pretty well established when it comes to their fundamental character. The Barna Group did a study a few years ago and discovered that over half of Christians will make a decision for Christ by the time they're 13. Once they get past the age of 18, the chances decrease. Now, I would never limit the capacity for the Holy Spirit to transform someone just because the statistics declare otherwise, but I think it's significant to note the importance of reaching children with the gospel...an authentic and understandable gospel...as early as possible, and demonstrating how to live that out in the world around them.

In my experience with junior high students, I found that there was an "uncanny" ability to predict the course that a student would take as they grew and became more independent based on who they were in 7th and 8th grade. Who they were in junior high became amplified as they grew and graduated and became a part of the "real world." Students who were pursuing Jesus in junior high are still close to Him and living for Him today. Students who were "playacting" the part of Christian in junior high saw no need to continue that charade as they grew older. And students who overtly thumbed their noses at all things Christ-centered continued on that path that has led to many difficult and challenging life situations.

Of the hundreds of students I've observed over the past decade, there have been a few who were far from the Lord in junior high and came into a relationship with Him in their older years. But those have been more the exception than the rule.

What's the bottom line? Parents, pastors, teachers, Sunday school leaders, youth leaders--you have a huge job and an awesome opportunity to shape the life of children, each with an eternal soul. I'm impassioned with giving children experiences early in their life that show them the importance of Who Jesus is, how much He loves them, and what a blast it is to live for Him! It's also a huge privilege to be an ambassador for Christ to young people who don't yet know Jesus. It's never too late to turn to Him!

meBible App Review

With this post, I am excited to tell you about a really cool Bible app available as a free download for the iPad. The meBible Ultimate Research Bible app will totally change how you interact with scripture, and it even has some really great features that make you excited in new ways about digging into the Bible.  Here are just a few reasons why I think you will enjoy checking it out...

1. It has a terrific interface that allows you to "split" the screen, with the Bible on the top pane and your notes and/or Internet browser on the bottom pane. This makes it really easy and fun to find things like pictures and resources online and link them directly to a text that you may be studying.

2. There are loads of features that you can add once you have downloaded the app...things like commentaries, a Greek/Hebrew lexicon, Topical Bibles, and fun themes. Each of these items makes meBible more personalized and makes it feel more like "you."

3. And my favorite reason that meBible is so cool is because it was developed by my very own husband! Many hours of coding and thinking and praying have gone into putting this app in a category all its own. (And I'm not just saying that! If I wasn't married to the meBible creator, I still would count it as my favorite Bible app!) :-)

But don't just take my word for it, check out a recent review on iTunes:

"I'd give this 10 STARS if I could!  I just opened this Bible app for the first time & already love it. Firstly, because it's completely FREE.  Secondly, I love all the options - highlighting, adding my own notes, bookmarking. Thirdly & most important to me, are all the free foreign language translations.  Overall, I will use this app every day for hours & I'm very pleased with it. It looks great, the setup is user friendly, & I'm sure I'll get plenty of use out of the additional tools once I figure them out."

You can go to iTunes and download it for yourself and give it a spin:  https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mebible-ultimate-research/id476441818?mt=8 

You can also check meBible's website for loads of great information:  http://mebible.info/ 

meBible connects the ancient truths of scripture with the modern amenities of the Internet right at our fingertips. Try it, I bet you'll like it!

Pass the Faith

Perhaps one of the saddest phrases in the Bible is found in Judges 2:10. "And there arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD..." This is referring to the people of Israel who had an "on again, off again" type of relationship with the Lord, and it had apparently gotten to the point where one generation had completely died off, and the next generation did not know the Lord. Does that grieve you like it does me?

Those who know me know that I'm impassioned about making sure that the next generation DOES know the Lord, and you know whose responsibility that is? Yep, my generation's. Your generation's. Generational discipleship is how God designed for His commands and His character to be passed along. What a privilege we have to carry the message of God and of His Son to the children of today, so that they in turn will grow up to know the Lord and to pass along His message to the next generation.

You know something I realized? We're all influencing the next generation. The question then is HOW are we influencing? As Christ followers, are we encouraging the young people of today to live a life sold out for Jesus? Or are we teaching them how to succeed at being a mediocre Christian with no sacrifice and no pain? Are we teaching them that Jesus is worth EVERYTHING to follow? Or are we teaching them to hold onto the things of this life as more precious than anything Jesus could offer? Are we making disciples? Tough questions, aren't they?  Here's one more...

When our generation has died, will the next generation know the Lord?

Quiet Down!

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16)

Take a few seconds and let that sink in...

Isn't that a beautiful thought? This "withdrawing" was a habit of Jesus, something He did often, by Himself. Jesus is our model. So I have to ask myself...do I often withdraw to lonely places and pray? If Jesus found this to be a beneficial discipline in His life, I need to do the same. There's power in the solitude...when it's just you and the Lord. You can hear Him, you can sense His nearness, He helps make sense of all that's going on in your heart and mind and life.

Recently I came across this quote from Jim Elliot that has had me pondering: "I think the devil has made it his business to monopolize on three elements: noise, hurry, and crowds. Satan is quite aware of the power of silence." The world around us celebrates noise, hurry, and crowds...be more, do more, fill every spare minute! Jesus models something different. Instead of constant busyness and noise and crowds, what would it look like if you and I made withdrawing to lonely places and praying a part of our regular routine? Wouldn't our time in the crowds be much more effective? Wouldn't we be keener at hearing His voice through the noise? In the hurry, wouldn't we slow down to practice His presence?

What's this got to do with children's ministry or youth ministry or parenting?  EVERYTHING! God commanded adults to love Him, to know His commands, and impress them on our children. (Deuteronomy 6) In order to know God, I have to spend time with Him, I have to get to know Him, I have to learn to recognize His voice. I can't give away what I don't have.

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.

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!

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.

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.

"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!