Children's Worship

This month's Loop article this month was all about worship. If worshiping with your kids isn't exactly a normal practice, it's okay! No better time to start than today. :) Here are some great CD's that you can listen to at home or in the car.


iWorship series

This series is great music that is fun and still centered around God. The iWorship series includes songs you recognize but done in a fun, upbeat way that children respond well to. Even so, it's fun and upbeat for adults too!

I personally like volume 3, which includes songs such as "Blessed Be Your Name" and "Trading Sorrow".

You can hear a preview of the album here: Amazon Music.


Hillsong Kids- "Tell the World"


If you and/or your kiddos like to rock out, this is a great CD for that! You may be familiar with Hillsong (we sing a few of their songs during our worship service at Providence!) or even Hillsong United. This is Hillsong Kids. I love that they allow worship to be accessible, no matter how old you are. They have videos to some of their songs posted online and they show thousands of children worshiping God together.

I must admit, I've caught myself listening to these songs on more than one occasion. My particular favorites are "Tell the World", "I Want the World to Know" and "Yours Alone". This is a CD you can set on repeat.

Preview it here: Amazon Music.


Seeds Family Worship: Seeds of Faith

We LOVE Seeds here at Providence. We use them quite a bit for our memory verses. What's great about these CD's is that they use Scripture rather than lyrics. After listening to them a few times, you'll catch yourself memorizing these songs...in turn, memorizing Scripture! They are simple and fun.. kids and adults alike love Seeds. There are albums based on faith, encouragement, purpose and courage.

One of my favorites on this album is called "Faith" based on Hebrews 11:1.. also your child's memory verse this month!

Preview it here: Amazon Music

What are your favorite worship songs/CD's to listen to with your kids?

Happy New Year!

2010 is here.

We now have an entire year ahead of us - a clean slate to work out whatever resolutions we've set, plan for improvement.. only to break them and re-resolve to work harder. If you're anything like me, you may even forget your resolutions by mid-April. With all this resolution talk, it begs the question - what resolutions do you have for your children?

As they grow older and wiser (per your guidance!), your children and preteens will start to ask more and more questions that will push you beyond your comfort level. For example, some of our lovely moms came to help us put together furniture for our children's area. We all got to chatting and we somehow got on the subject of their children asking some pretty challenging questions. They responded in love and grace and with one of my favorite, and appropriate, responses - "Let me pray about it and get back to you."

Over the years, the Lord has continued to stir up a passion in me to help equip families to teach biblical principles in the home. Honestly, if I could have an unlimited book budget for a personal library, I would snatch up all kinds of resources to read and lend out to all of you.. but alas, this is sadly not the case...yet.

So let's hear it: what kinds of plans do you want to implement for your kids or in your home in general? Also, what kinds of articles would you like to see on the blog for the new year? Ideas for devotionals? Resources for specific topics?

Let us know!

He's Here!

If you are an avid reader of the Loop, then you may have seen that I suggested the nativity story from the Jesus Storybook Bible entitled "He's Here!". Well, the Bible was recently recorded into an audio version and they made this clip as well. When I saw this, I was so so excited.. I hope you are just as excited to see this. Enjoy!

Advent activities

Hope you've had a great first week of Advent :) I also hope that you have found a devotional to study with your family during the Christmas season. (If not, let us help you find one!) Here are a few ideas for your family as you continue to celebrate Advent:

• Create your own Advent calendar..it's not too late! You just might have to play catch up. Get small envelopes for each day leading up to Christmas and have your child decorate each envelope. Get little trinkets or stickers to put in each day. As they get their 'present' out of the envelope, have them say one thing they love about Jesus.
• Think of short but fun activities you could do with your children each day. Activities like making Christmas cookies for your neighbors or even donating extra clothing to Samaritan's Inn are great ways to bond with your children. These are easy ways to be able to talk about Jesus being the reason for the season.
• Go to the library and read some Christmas books. There are some suggestions in this month's Loop (hint, hint). Ask your children to retell you the story and take that opportunity to teach them the significance of Jesus' birth.

Any other suggestions for ideas or activities? Feel free to post a comment here or on our Facebook page.

Praying that you have a blessed time with your family and your Heavenly Father!

Why Advent?

Depending on what church you went to growing up, you may have not celebrated Advent during the holiday season. So it begs the question, "Why celebrate Advent?"

Advent means 'coming' or 'arrival'. The spirit of Advent is waiting the arrival of the coming Messiah. Jordan found a wonderful Advent study that you can do with your family. It has references to the Jesus Storybook Bible as well so your children can participate. This is a great way to study the birth of our Savior and create the sense of anticipation for His return.

To download this study, go here. Thanks to Christ the King Presbyterian Church for this great devotional.

Check in and our Facebook page for more ideas as we continue to celebrate Advent!

Did you know....

...that Providence Kids has a Facebook page?! Well you do now!

That, as well as the blog, will be updated with devotional ideas, announcements and the like. Its also a great place to get updates on the new building as we need more wo/manpower and donations to help us move the mission forward! Speaking of which..

Many people have been asking ways they can serve. First of all, thank you! We are blessed to have people in our body that have a heart to serve. There are a few ways to help us out in this awesome but kinda crazy transition. The first way is this:

On Saturday, December 5th, from 4-5:30, we will be doing a donation drive to help outfit the classrooms at our new location. There is a list at our Facebook page of items to donate. Please comment on the discussion board there or email one of us if you have additional items not included on the list.

So while you are wasting time on facebook at work (shame on you), then check out our page! Post some new discussion board topics and get the ball rolling.

Table Talk for Elementary Students

Here are some ways to do "Table Talk" i.e. bring up what they learned that morning to the table over Sunday lunch. Reinforcing what they were just taught will help greatly with retention and comprehension of fundamental truths.

The elementary class are learning about the early church in Acts, more specifically Ananias and Sapphira. To brush up on your church history, go here: http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=acts%205&version=ESV

Some great questions to ask your children:

: What was the big mistake did Ananias and Sapphira make?

(They deceived the apostles on purpose. They made it look like they gave all their money, just like Barnabas did, so they could look like good people. Instead, they kept part of the money just in case they needed it. They didn't trust the leadership of the apostles to provide for all their needs.)

: Do you think they were forced to sell their land to give away all their money? Maybe that's why they felt they had to keep some of the money for themselves....?

(No because it says in Acts 4:34 that "from time to time" landowners sold their land. It never says that it was a requirement for them to give everything. It was a way to be generous, to bless the church and to worship God. Ananias and Sapphira didn't do these things and were punished for it.)


The verse they studied for this lesson was:

1 Samuel 16:7

"...The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

Talk about what that means when it comes to motives, how they treat their friends and family, etc. Get a dry erase marker and write it on their mirror so they can see it every day this week. Hiding, or memorizing, Scripture in their heart is a great way to be restored and renewed. Talk with your child about other ways your family can work on their hearts this week.


See you Sunday!