Snow Day!

The routine is shot.
The kids are home. They're excited. And because of that, you're certainly not going to get any of that work done that you needed to do today.
Our advice to you on this cold day - enjoy it!
Take this break from routine to truly break from routine and snuggle up with the kids and watch a movie or read a book, cook a special meal together or play their favorite game.
It's okay to achieve nothing more in a day like today (and maybe tomorrow), than loving on your children and making special memories with them.
Don't let the stress of an unplanned day steal your joy and make you forget that you have a unique opportunity to have fun with no agenda.
Enjoy your day. It is truly a gift from God!

Follow-up: Jesus Loves Sinners

Story: The Woman at the Well

Fundamental Truth: Jesus Came to Save Sinners

Making it Real:
When Jesus was talking to the woman at the well, He told her He could give her living water. What did He mean?
Jesus was using a word-picture to help the woman understand sin. Because we sin and think and do things that are wrong, there is a longing in our hearts that keeps us from the joy we could have. But Jesus fills that longing and gives us that joy when we love and trust Him. It’s like we are thirsty in our hearts and the water Jesus gives us is to know and follow Him. That is the way we experience God’s best for our lives.

Making it Stick:
Make a “Life Map” or an “About Me” page with your child. Have your child draw pictures, cut out pictures from magazines or snap photos of things he or she enjoys and things that have happened in his or her life. The object is to have a page that shows who your child is. Once you are finished, have your child share the page with you, other family members or friends. Talk about the things on the page and some things not on the page. Talk about how the page shows people who your child is but that no one knows your child like God does. Talk about how God knows everything about your child, the good and bad, and loves them so much that He sent Jesus to destroy the effects of sin. Talk about how wonderful is that God knows all of secrets and loves us still.

Bedtime With Your Toddler

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? This is a continuation of a multi-part series on how to use your bedtime routine as another setting during which you can teach your child about Jesus. Last time I posted about bedtime with your baby. Let's talk today about your young toddler.

At some point , you will watch your toddler learn to understand and use language. He will learn to obey when you ask them to complete a task (come to me, bring me your shoes, etc). He will point at objects wanting you to identify what he sees. He will begin to say the names of people he loves. One of the activities most fun for your toddler will be imitating those people who are most important in his life. As your child grows, your teaching will increase. Your toddler can understand that God is in charge of everything as you teach him about God and their environment around them. Your toddler can understand that God is good as you teach him about His love for him. Your toddlers can understand that we can talk with God as you pray with him throughout your day. Your toddler can understand that the Bible is God's Perfect Word as you read to him from His Word.

You are not only teaching your child the importance of spending time with God, but giving him the tools to continue to do that throughout his life. After reading a short Bible story, talk about the pictures he sees, ask him questions about what happened in the story. (Answering them if he doesn't or can't will only help to reinforce what you are teaching him.) He will learn that not only is reading the Bible important, but also understanding it and applying it. While singing a song of praise or Truth, your toddler can begin to sing along with you.

After reading a story and singing a song about Jesus loving the little children, your prayer may go something like this: "Dear God, I praise you that You are good! Thank you for giving us the Bible to teach us that you love little children. Thank you that you love (Jacob). Please help him to always have confidence that you love him. We love you Jesus. Amen." As your child's communication skills improve you can begin to leave space in the prayer for fill-in-the-blanks. Giving thanks is a great way for your child to begin to pray on his own.

As these things become a routine in your family, your child is learning the value you place on time with God. Giving him the early practice of reading God's Word on a daily basis and teaching him to be in the habit of praying regularly will teach him what a healthy relationship with the Lord looks like.

If you are looking for a recommendation on a toddler Bible, you might consider this one that our family uses as we raise toddlers, The Rhyme Bible Storybook for Toddlers, which lists for $11.04 on Amazon. Beyond the Biblical accuracy, we like the rhyming, the illustrations, and the content choice of this Bible.

Follow-up: Jesus Loves Sinners

Story: The Lost Son

Fundamental Truth: God is in Charge of Everything

Making it Real:
This week’s story was about a boy who took his share of his father’s money, left home, did whatever he wanted to do, wasted his money, and in shame went home to say he was wrong and to ask for help. The boy’s father had every right to be upset with the boy for leaving home and wasting his money and forgetting his family. But the father was not upset. Why?
The father was overjoyed to see his son coming home. He thought he had lost his son forever. The father watched and waited everyday for the son to come home, and when he finally did, the father was so happy he only wanted to welcome his son home and celebrate his return. This is how God loves us. Even though we often do what we want and do things that aren’t right, things that are sin, still our Heavenly Father will welcome us back into his presence with love and celebration and forgiveness. God is teaching us that He loves us and that He is in charge of our lives and our joy and our future.

Making it Stick:
With your child, make a script and act out this story. If your child does not enjoy the spotlight, he/she can create the script and have family members act it out. In your skit, include the actions from the story of the son leaving with his share of the money, wasting it, realizing he should go home, and the father receiving him with open arms. Also include what this story tells us about God’s love for us when we sin. Perform the skit for your family and video tape it if you can. Use every opportunity to highlight the truth of God’s unending love for sinners, His children.

An Idea for Your Christmas Cards

There are plenty of ideas to be found for recycling or reusing your old greeting cards. Use them for gift tags next year, make them into tree ornaments, fashion them into table place cards, the list goes on. They are so pretty and it seems like such a waste to throw them out.

But what about all the family portraits we receive? The ones where talented photographers captured our "natural moments" so that friends can see our love of the outdoors? So much time and energy were placed into the making and sending of these photo cards. Here's a quick and easy project that will give you an easy lesson for your children.

Go to your favorite mega-store and purchase a small photo album or scrapbook. Place all the photos in this book and then label them with the names of the family members. (Don't worry if you have to cut the pictures up, you were going to throw them out anyway.) Now use this book daily (during breakfast, family worship time, kids devotional time) and pray for one family each day for the year. Next Christmas, replace it with a new one. What a great way to help teach your children to pray continuously, without ceasing.

Teaching Your Child to Value Worship: Part 5 - Approach

Approach - Communicate the value of fellowship – Sunday mornings are wonderful opportunities for your children to be surrounded by people who love the Lord and love your children. In the corporate worship setting, your children see a godly community. They learn from your desire to reconnect with friends, pray together, laugh and share life.

Children are beginning, at a very early age, to understand and value using our gifts and time to build up the church. They are learning the value of attending worship every week – of recognizing the worth of receiving the teachings of church leaders, of spending time in song, prayer, confession and communion. They are seeing that this practice, this tradition, is not to be taken lightly or to be engaged in when convenient, but that it is something to partake of weekly.

When we worship we celebrate what the Lord has done in the past week, we celebrate with
expectation what he will do in the week ahead, and we proclaim to our children that this is a sacred time. Children will come to see Sunday worship not as a duty, but as a joy. They will understand it not as something obligatory, but as a necessary celebration and preparation in the midst of a life of distractions and obligations.

Teaching Your Child to Value Worship: Part 4 - Attend

Attend - On the weeks that you serve, attend service and serve. Communicate to your children that both worship and service are equally important. It might be hard for your children to be in their class back-to-back once a month, but during that time they are learning that sometimes we make sacrifices to serve the body. They are learning that our comfort or convenience is not as important as loving and serving the people in the church. They are learning that mom and dad think it important and necessary to take time to bless the church.