Thanksgiving Meal Boxes

As a church one of our core values is foot washing, or service. And just as we strive to worship corporately through service, we also want to worship together as a family through service. One great opportunity we have is the preparation of Thanksgiving Meal Boxes. Providence Church is teaming with Frisco Family Services Center to provide low-income families, families in crisis, and senior citizens with these packages. All you need to do is purchase the items on the list, place them in a box, and bring the box to the church building on Sundays or to the church offices during the week. The deadline for dropping off your box is November 9th.

Now that I have given you the logistics, let me present a few ideas that you could use to involve your children in the process. Be sure to explain to them what you are doing and why. Let them know that one family will receive everything in the box that you choose for them. So on Thanksgiving Day they will be preparing and eating what you have chosen to give to them. Help them to pray for the family throughout the process.

• Read the list aloud as your children look through your pantry for items that you already have (make sure they haven't expired). Several things on the list you may already have such as canned fruit and vegetables, macaroni & cheese, or an extra bottle of mustard. Even children as young as 18 months could help in this way, finding food they know.


• Print out the kid-friendly list, and bring it as you and your children go to the grocery store to choose items for the family. Read over the list together so that they know what all the items are. Using the pictures, your child can help you find everything on the list (the optional items are not included in this list). This will help them be involved in the process and you may find that your preschooler or elementary child has more fun at the store than usual when they have a job to do. Give them a pen or crayon and they can even check off the items as you find them.


• Make a huge pile of all the items on the list you have found or purchased. Get your list and call out the items as you pack them into a box. Very young children can help find things, and older children will be practicing spacial reasoning and logic skills as they try to fit everything into the box and not crush anything in the process.


• Get your family together and make a Thanksgiving card from your family to theirs. Preschoolers can dictate kind words, older children can write their own thought, budding artists can draw pictures of turkeys and potatoes, babies can even add their own scribbling. Have each child sign their first name to the card. Let the family know you will be praying for them.


• Pray for the family that will receive your box. Help your children remember to pray as you gather and shop, as you check and pack, and as you deliver the box to the church (by November 9th). Remember to pray for that family on Thanksgiving Day. And thank God that He has blessed your family so that you can help another family.

Follow-up: Joseph - The Promise Continues

Story: God takes care of Joseph

Fundamental Truth: God is Good

Making it Real: Lots of bad things happened to Joseph. First, he was sold into slavery by his own family. Then his owner didn’t believe him and threw him into prison. Then, the men he helped in prison forgot to help him get out too. What can we learn from Joseph’s life?
Joseph’s life was not easy, but we see how God used so much bad for good. He didn’t allow Joseph’s brothers to kill him. The man who took him as a slave treated him well, until he put him in prison. The prison guards put him in charge of others. When he finally got out, the Pharaoh put him in charge of all of Egypt and made him the most powerful man besides him. In the end, God used Joseph to save the lives of thousands of people during a time of famine. Joseph became the rescuer for many, many people – pointing us to Christ, who was the rescuer to all people who love and trust Him.

Making it Stick: Take a walk with your child and talk about your story. Tell your child of some of the mistakes you made in your life or some of the bad things that happened. Talk honestly about hard times. Talk with your child about how God used those bad things for good. Talk about what you learned during those times and how God brought you out of them. Talk about how you would not be where you are now or the person you are now without having gone through those hard times.

Redeeming Halloween

There's no denying the controversy that accompanies Halloween. Whether or not you choose to acknowledge the day is up to you (obviously) but I'd like to offer some suggestions for those of you who would like to in some way participate in the festivities.
At Providence, we believe in redeeming Halloween. It is the only day in the year where the community comes to you - literally to your door. Because of that, we have a unique opportunity to meet people where they are (on our doorstep!) and bless them.
With a view to that end we take a couple of simple steps:

• Giving away full-size candy bars. We want the children to tell their friends about our house so we give away the best candy. Not only is it big, but it has a large sticker on it with information about the church. We take advantage of the real estate on the candy bar to get a message out.

• Yard Parties - Another way to make your house the best on the block is to do it up big. We do bounce houses, hot soup or chili or burgers and drinks for the parents, face-painting and little carnival games. This way, you're not only seeing the children and interacting with them, but you get face-time with the parents while their children play. No longer are parents waiting at the base of the driveway while their children run up to the door and back down.

These ideas might be hard to achieve based on limiting variables. The point is, there are steps we can make to get out into the neighborhood, meet both parents and children, and show others that Halloween can be redeemed for God's glory. A day that is taboo to some and downright wrong to others has the potential to bring people together and open up opportunities for the gospel.
So, should you choose to partake, make the most of your opportunities.

Happy Halloween!

Sharing our Stories

I was writing the Bible Story Follow-up application steps for parents and got to thinking about how parents dialogue with their children. We want spiritual language and topics to be the norm in our homes. We want the words of Scripture to be familiar words of comfort and training to our children. We want songs, Bible stories and Christian values to be a part of the foundation of our homes. But how practiced are we at telling those stories as a backdrop to our own stories? How well do our children know exactly what God did in Mom's heart to make her love and trust Him? Do our children know what it was that brought Dad "out of the darkness and into the light"? (1 Peter 2:9).
Depending on the age of our children and the nature of our salvation stories, being honest to tell our testimony may be difficult. But let me encourage you to, as much as is appropriate, share your stories with your children. Our testimonies can be the most powerful tool we have for evangelism because they are our stories. So talk with your children about why you love Jesus. Tell them what He saved you from. Be honest about the life you now lead because of the saving work of our glorious Lord.
Let your children hear the stories of the God who saved you. May He be the God who saves them also.

Follow-up: Jacob - The Promise Continues

Fundamental Truth: Jesus Came to Save Sinners

Making it Real:
In our story this week, Jacob had a dream. He dreamt about a ladder where angels were going up and down from the earth to Heaven. What can this dream show us?
Just like we see all throughout the Old Testament, here God is giving us a picture of Jesus Christ. Jacob’s ladder bridged the gap between Heaven and earth. It showed us that there was separation between us and God and that God would provide a way to bridge that gap. It helps us look forward to the time when God would forever bridge that gap by sending Jesus to die on the cross. The Cross was the New Testament picture of Jacob’s ladder and it gave us access forever to God through the shedding of blood for the forgiveness of sins.

Making it Stick:
Give your children guidelines to make a bridge. It can be a small bridge for dolls or a life-size bridge in the yard or at the park. Give them a list of materials they can use to make their bridge – make it a good-sized list, consisting of more than one type of material. Give them a time limit to complete their bridge, but one that they cannot stay within. Once they have run out of time, test their bridge and talk about why it failed. Give them more time, enough to finish, and test their bridge again. Talk about how we can remember that the cross is the perfect bridge to Jesus and that God, in his perfect wisdom, not only gave us the cross, but gave it to us with Jesus at the perfect time that God had planned. Talk about how God’s timing is perfect and how God’s plans are perfect.

Learning Like Our Children

One thing I love about leading a Children's Ministry is hearing my teachers say week after week, "I think I learned more from that lesson than the kids." And so often I feel the same way!
It is amazing to me how much I can learn by writing or teaching a children's lesson. The Bible says this about itself in Hebrews 4:12:
"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
When we are teaching the Bible to our children, there is so much we can learn ourselves. Regardless of how many times we may have heard the stories, they are new! So my challenge to you as you teach your children is to search the Scriptures both for lessons and truths to communicate, but also for lessons and truths that you yourself can learn.
May we never be a people who think they have gotten all they can from any particular story or passage. May we always come before Scripture ready to learn.

Follow-up: Abraham wk 2

Fundamental Truth: The Bible is God’s Perfect Word

Making it Real:
God gave Abraham and Sarah a baby when they were very old. Why didn’t God give them the promised son sooner?
We can never know why God does things the way He does. What we can do, is remember that God is in Charge of Everything. So no matter what He does, we can believe that He is doing it the best way possible. We can also learn from Abraham and Sarah’s story that even when it’s hard to trust God or remember His promises, He keeps them. Abraham and Sarah had to wait for a baby and it can help us remember that God’s people had to wait for Jesus to save them – but He came and with His death on the cross, the work of punishing sin was completed.

Making it Stick:
At the beginning of the week, make a promise to your child. You can promise a special meal or treat, a special outing or anything that gives your child something to look forward to. Tell your child that in order to receive the special thing, they need to trust and obey you throughout the week, just like Abraham had to trust and obey God. During the week, when your child disobeys, tell them that at times, Abraham doubted God’s promise and tried to do things his own way, but in the end, Abraham remembered and believed God. At the end of the week, give your child the promised treat and talk about how God kept His promise and gave Abraham and Sarah a baby and began Jesus’ great family.

Bedtime with Your Baby

As you put your child to bed every night, you probably have a routine you follow. This routine may include a bath, putting on PJs, reading a story, but does it include time with God? I want to start a multi-part series on how to use your bedtime routine as another setting during which you can teach your child about Jesus.

Let's start today by talking about your newborn baby. Even at the youngest age, you can choose a time each night to read a short story to her from a children's Bible, maybe sing a song that gives her a basic Truth, and say a quick prayer. There are many children's Bibles available, but one thing you want to do before purchasing one is to read it, cover-to-cover, to make sure it is theologically sound. Children's Bibles are not God's inerrant Word, as someone is just summarizing certain stories. After you have done that, you will be able to sort through what is most important to you. Some parents want to ensure that specific stories are included in their children's Bible, some want a Bible that is easy to understand at an early age, some want good pictures, etc. At this young age, as long as the content is consistent with the Bible and you won't be reading your baby things that are conflicting with God's Word, I think there is a lot left to personal choice. The important thing is that you are exposing your son or daughter to the Bible on a daily basis. Praying for them and with them is also a great habit to start from day one.

After reading the story of creation to your baby, your prayer may go something like this: "Dear God, I praise you that you made everything! I thank you for giving our family this precious baby. Please give her lots of good sleep tonight. We love you God. Amen."

If you are looking for a recommendation on a beginning Bible, you might consider this board book that we use as our children are infants and young toddlers, Baby Blessings Bible, which lists for $12.50 on Amazon. Beyond the Biblical accuracy, we like the rhyming, the bright colors, the short length, and the durability of this Bible.

Follow-up: Abraham

Story: God tells Abraham to move

Fundamental Truth: God is in Charge of Everything
Making it Real:
God told Abraham to pack up and move to a new place. Why did He do this?
God chose Abraham to be the father of a great big family, Jesus’ family! God set Abraham apart to show the world that through this man, the Rescuer would come. Abraham was a normal man who believed God and trusted Him and obeyed His directions. And because of Abraham’s faith and obedience, God lets him be part of the greatest family the world has ever known.

Making it Stick:
Create a scavenger hunt for your child. Depending on your child’s age, hide picture or word clues around the house or yard to lead your child to a special treat. Once your child finds the special treat, talk with him or her about how it was necessary to trust you and follow your directions in order to get the treat, just like it was necessary for Abraham to trust God and follow God’s directions when he moved to a new home. Talk through how hard it might have been for Abraham to take all of his things and his family and go to a new place, especially since had to wait for God to show him where to go. Explain the importance of faith and how God rewards our faith by letting us know and love him deeper.

Scripture Placemats

If you haven’t read Charity’s idea on the church’s site for making placemats, I reposted it here. If you have, you will know that my idea for making a Biblically-based learning placemat came from her. That said, here’s what we’re trying around our house.

My son is just starting to memorize verses for the first time. He’s also in the early stages of learning how to read a little. The first verse we memorized is 1 John 4:14 “We have seen and testify that the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.” We then started learning John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” Now he is mixing the two verse together into quite a mess. It usually sounds something like this: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son to be the Savior of the world.”

So I thought since he mostly knows the letters and the sounds those letters make, that I would write these verses down and make them into placemats. My goal is that as he is quoting the memorized verses he would look at each word on the placemat and see that the initial sound is the same as the one he is saying. Hopefully the written words will just guide him in the right direction. We’ll see how it works! (If your kids are readers, writing verses on placemats could be a good way for them to memorize new Scripture.)

Family Dinners and the Glory of God (Charity Keldie)

Originally posted on www.insideprovidence.com 3/18/2008

A few years ago, Barry and I were laying in bed one night, spending some quiet time together with God. Barry was reading aloud a devotional out of John Piper’s Pierced by the Word. Usually, these times were a sweet encouragement in my spiritual walk, but on this specific night, my heart would be pierced in such a way that I would never again be the same.

We were reading “How to drink Orange Juice to the Glory of God” and if you’ve never read it, it is truly convicting. The basic idea of the devotion is taken form 1 Corinthians 10:31. “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

Piper addresses living a life in which everything you do brings God glory. I don’t know about you, but this was a blow to my wonderful little world. You see, I live a good life. I love God, study my Bible, pray, serve in the church and obey the law. So, I consider myself a “good” person. Unfortunately, when you hold my life up to the light of this Scripture, all of the sudden, my good life seems dark. If I were truly honest, the “all” that I do each day seems to do little to bring God glory. So, with a lot of prayer and trust that God will one day complete this good work in me, I began working to change the way I approach life and the activities of the day.

I truly felt my heart was being changed and I was well on my way to “doing all to the glory of God,” when yet again my life was changed forever. In November of 2006, God blessed Barry and I with a son. All of the sudden, I was not only responsible for living a life that brought God glory, but I was also responsible for raising a son to do the same. The weight of this responsibility seemed almost overwhelming. Suddenly, I began to pray like never before. And, I began to seek out ways to make each moment I have with my son moments that would reveal the beauty and majesty of God, hoping that one day, God would save his soul and he would begin his own journey of living a life that glorified God.

Here are just a few ideas to help turn a basic necessity into a wonderful time of worship for your family.

First, mealtime is a time families need to spend together. This is a foreign concept in America, but I would encourage you to sit down together and share a meal.

Secondly, take a look at where you eat. Does your table look like a place of worship? This is not an excuse to go out and buy a new dining set (although I have tried to convince my husband we should!) It is an encouragement to be intentional about surrounding yourself with things that draw your mind and heart to God.

My favorite thing at our kitchen table is a placemat I made for my son. We actually have about 10 placemats that I made because I tend to go overboard. Kids (and adults) like color and things to look at while they eat. It’s why we read the back of the cereal box. So, give your children something beneficial to look at during mealtime.

Use construction paper or poster board to make your child their own placemat. If your child is in a highchair, trace the tray onto poster board to make a custom-fit placemat. Cover it with things you are trying to teach your children about: animals, their name, family pictures or maps. Then, pick a Scripture that relates to your placemat and write it on the placemat. Do the same thing with a different theme on the back. Take the placemat to Staples or Mardels and have it laminated. Now you have a two-in-one placemat that teaches your child. Make sure you talk about what is on the placemat during mealtimes. Read the Scripture to your child. If they are old enough, work on memorizing the Scripture. You can use this concept to teach your children Bible stories. You can use crafts they do at church to decorate their placemat. Have fun and be creative. These placemats can costs as little as $1, but can help create an atmosphere that opens up discussion to the things of God.

Additionally, use your words to bring glory to God and teach your children during mealtime. Start each meal with prayer. This is not a task or duty, but a brief moment to show gratitude to God for meeting our basic needs. Children need to see and hear their parents not only acknowledge God, but show affection for and the need of God himself. If you have children who can speak in complete thoughts, let them pray. Sure, sometimes their prayers will be difficult to understand or even silly, but they are learning to interact with God! Allow them the opportunity pray – you will often be amazed at the depth of their words.

Finally, be intentional and glorify God in what you feed your family. I’m not saying you should slave over a three-course meal where everything is made from scratch. But we should make sure our families are fed in such a way that gives them strength and health. As believers, we are daily at war with the evil one who will use all means necessary to bring us to destruction. Protect your family by keeping them healthy.

None of these ideas are groundbreaking, they are just simple ways to take a moment of the day and begin using it to bring God glory. Hebrews 10:24 tells us to “stimulate one another to love and good deeds.” My hope and prayer is that we can stir one another to honor God in our homes. Think about how you use your time and resources and look for ways to teach your children about God and glorify Him in all you do. Hopefully, one day soon we will all celebrate the salvation of our children.

Sunday's Stories

One of the easiest ways to talk about spiritual things with your child is to review with them what they learned at church on Sunday. I often hear stories about the funny things children respond with when they get the question, "What did you learn today at church?" Following up in the car on the way home or at bedtime Sunday night is a great way to review what your child learned and build on it.
But Sunday's Bible story can serve to encourage spiritual conversation all throughout the week. Depending on how much your child remembers, you can add to the story each day or night. By mid-week, your child should begin to be able to tell you the story. By later in the week, maybe they can write it, act it or draw it out.
Make the story review a regular part of each day. Share what the particular story has taught you or how you felt when you heard the story. Talk with your child about what a particular story teaches about God, His love for us and our need for Jesus.
May Sunday's stories serve to teach, encourage and equip you and your child throughout the week!