Bleeding Duke Blue

This morning Kai was playing and bring me his brothers suitcase saying he is ready to go to North Carolina.  I told him I’m sorry but we just can’t go today.  He kept insisting that we needed to go to Duke today.  I asked him if he wanted to see how far it is from Winona to Duke?

He was all excited and wanted to see.  So I got out my phone and mapped the directions to show him.  I said the green dot is where we live and the red dot is where Duke is.  He said “No, the red dot CAN’T be Duke it NEEDS to be blue!  Don’t you know that blue is Duke.

I think his father has trained him well!

Here is word from Kai himself he wants to write on the computer!

zvfmfbb,.bf,db,,bff.dfdkmdfg,sklkltnjv xz;lrfz hkrykekfrkhe;hkfky;rskrgloll ge j kjjkjklllllk ju 34g6344b 0hkgkkgzks;ls/gvkvdgmm mb kmmchmc    micah    i.hdhr4jt5jte4teyt34t 5uerey4r46t4urgterfg;54ihibojiyyyhkjky65kbnb nt5 bvjhtgt vgtfgyrt

God @ McDonalds

“Christ has no body on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours.  Yours are the eyes through which Christ’s compassion for the world is to look out; yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good; yours are the hands with which He is to bless us now.”

After church today the boys and I went to lunch at McDonalds.  When we walked in 2 young (teen) moms walked in with us.  Each carrying babies in their carseat carriers.  They walked over to one side of the restaurant while I went over to place our order.  One of the young moms came over to get in line to place an order.  (We’ll call her mom 1) While we were waiting for our food I could hear a very unhappy baby and a grandparent type couple came in to order food.

Our food was ready so I brought the tray over to the boys.  Shortly after sitting down I heard a lady say, “Mama…mama.”  I turned around to make sure she wasn’t talking to me thinking maybe I dropped something on my way to the table.  Instead I was able to witness I think one of the most beautiful things.

The grandma type lady that came in after us was calling to a crying mom # 2 who was about to walk out of the restaurant with one of the babies.  I couldn’t hear what was exactly said and I couldn’t see very well because they were behind me.  What I did witnessed was “grandma” give this mom, who was a stranger to her, a hug and some encouraging words.  I also heard mom say something about having a hard night and “grandma” told her that it would be all right.

Their exchange didn’t last more then a minute but it was amazing and has reminded me to open my eyes to those hurting around me.  You never know how an encouraging word or a helpful hand will lighten someones load and brighten their day.

All afternoon I’ve been praying this:

Heavenly Father I lift up these 2 young moms.  That you will bless them with more people to offer encouraging words and helping hands.  That they will be able to remember the joy these children bring to their lives especially when times are difficult.  Lord, you know what they are going through I ask that you give them courage & peace.

I praise you for the “grandma” that has eyes and hands like Christ, willing to step up and encourage this young mom.  Bless her Lord, she has touched my life more then she knows.

I ask that you open my eyes to see those around me that are hurting, the bravery to step up, and the words that will encourage them.    Amen.

Family Devo 7 {Sharing Good News}

Family Devotional 7

Matthew 28:18-20

When Jesus came near, he spoke to them. He said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. So wherever you go, make disciples of all nations: Baptize them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teach them to do everything I have commanded you.

“And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”

Parent – to – Parent

The big “E” word: Evangelism. It can be a word that makes us uncomfortable and unsure what to do. But it is something God calls us to do.

My first thought is how can I teach my children about Evangelism when it’s something that I don’t feel comfortable doing. I then realized that my children have probably taught me more about it then I have taught them.

We will be in a store and Kai will belt out “Jesus Loves Me” or “Here I am to Worship” and not care who is listening. Each Wednesday Micah asks at least one friend to come to Faith Formation with us.

Family Time

Read Matthew 28:18-20 together as a family. Talk about the scripture and what stood out to you.

The following are some discussion questions to help in talking about the above scripture.

What is Jesus telling us to do?
What does Jesus say he is going to do?
If there has been a time where you have told someone about Jesus share that experience?
Is there someone you know that doesn’t know about Jesus? It can be anyone just try to think of someone because we will pray for that person later.

I found a neat illustration to show the power of one kid telling another about Jesus at Ministry to Children.  There is a video here that you can check out about this activity.  Take a set of dominos and on one of them draw a happy person or put a sticker on it on another one draw a sad face or put a sticker on it. Put the “happy kid” on one end of the table and the “sad kid” at the other end. Talk about how the “happy kid” knows about Jesus and wants to share about him but can’t reach the “sad kid,” the one that doesn’t know about Jesus. But he tells someone else (Put a domino behind him) and that kid tells one kid (put a kid behind him), continue this until the dominoes reach the “sad kid”. Talk about how just telling one kid can set off a chain reaction of kids telling kids all around the world. Push the first domino over and watch what happens as they all fall over.

Prayer

Have your child(ren) repeat after you.

Dear God.
Thank you for giving us.
a reason to have faith in you.

We lift (the person you thought of before) up to you.

and ask for courage and an opportunity to share you with them. Amen.

Family Devo 6 {Holy Spirit}

Family Devotional

Empowered by the Spirit

Philippians 4: 10-20

I am so happy, and I thank the Lord that you have again shown your care for me. You continued to care about me, but there was no way for you to show it. I am telling you this, but not because I need something. I have learned to be satisfied with what I have and with whatever happens. I know how to live when I am poor and when I have plenty. I have learned the secret of how to live through any kind of situation—when I have enough to eat or when I am hungry, when I have everything I need or when I have nothing. Christ is the one who gives me the strength I need to do whatever I must do.

But it was good that you helped me when I needed help. You people in Philippi remember when I first told the Good News there. When I left Macedonia, you were the only church that gave me help. Several times you sent me things I needed when I was in Thessalonica. Really, it is not that I want to get gifts from you. But I want you to have the benefit that comes from giving. I have everything I need. I have even more than I need. I have all I need because Epaphroditus brought your gift to me. Your gift is like a sweet-smelling sacrifice offered to God. God accepts that sacrifice and it pleases him. My God will use his glorious riches to give you everything you need. He will do this through Christ Jesus. Glory to our God and Father forever and ever. Amen.

Parent – to – Parent

“God was with them — the Holy Spirit. He’s given to every person at the moment they put their faith in Christ, but rarely accessed. The Spirit helps us, affirms we are God’s, teaches us, even prays for us, leads us in what to do, & equips us with what we need to do.”

I found this quote when reading the book Anything: The Prayer that Unlocked My Soul by Jennie Allen and I thought it was a great way to describe the Holy Spirit and to better understand.

Family Time

Read Philippians 4: 10-20 together as a family. Talk about the scripture and what stood out to you.

The following are some discussion questions to help in talking about the above scripture.

How can Paul be content with what he has when he’s in jail?

Talk about what would make you really happy.

Paul says that the church of Phillippi was the only church to support his missionary work. Is there some one or an organization your family can help support this week? It doesn’t need to be finically (a meal, clothes, time).

Here is a fun activity I know my boys will be excited to do.   I found this at Sunday School Lady and a great way to show that the Holy Spirit is like a volcano: Ordinarily it seems quiet, but there is much power when the Spirit acts.

Materials Needed:

• 3 drops of dishwashing liquid • 1/2 cup water
• 3 drops red food coloring
• 4 Tbsp. baking soda

• 1/2 cup vinegar
• cookie sheet
• plastic bottle
Mix all ingredients in the bottle EXCEPT vinegar. Make sure the bottle is sitting on the cookie sheet. Add vinegar and watch it explode!

Prayer

Have your child(ren) repeat after you.

Dear God.
Thank you for your ever presences.              Be with us this week.                              remind us to trust in you.                               in all that we do.

Amen 

Family Devo 5 {Love}

ACTIVE IN LOVE

1 John 4:7-21

Dear friends, let us love one another, because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born again because of what God has done. That person knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.    How did God show his love for us? He sent his one and only Son into the world. He sent him so we could receive life through him.  What is love? It is not that we loved God. It is that he loved us and sent his Son to give his life to pay for our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we should also love one another. No one has ever seen God. But if we love one another, God lives in us. His love is made complete in us.  We know that we belong to him and he belongs to us. He has given us his Holy Spirit.

The Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. We have seen it. We give witness to it. God lives in anyone who agrees that Jesus is the Son of God. That kind of person remains joined to God. So we know that God loves us. We depend on it.  God is love. Anyone who leads a life of love shows that he is joined to God. And God is joined to him.

So love is made complete among us. We will be bold on the day God judges us. That’s because in this world we love as Jesus did.  There is no fear in love. Instead, perfect love drives fear away. Fear has to do with being punished. The one who fears does not have perfect love.

We love because he loved us first. Anyone who says he loves God but in fact hates his brother or sister is a liar. He doesn’t love his brother or sister, whom he has seen. So he can’t love God, whom he has not seen.  Here is the command God has given us. Anyone who loves God must also love his brothers and sisters.

Parent – To – Parent

As a mom of 2 young boys I want to teach them to have generous loving hearts.  To do this we try to show them different ways to help others in need.  I pray that as they grow older they will WANT to help others when they see a need and will do it with a loving heart.

 

Family Time  

Read 1 John 4:7-21 together as a family.  Talk about the scripture and what stood out to you.

Ask your child(ren) who their brothers & sisters are.  (List in family, then add church family, then add school & community family, and then add world).

Talk about needing to love all these people and what that looks like.

I found this activity at worshipingwithchildren.com

One way to show our love is to pray for each other.  On a sheet of paper have your child make a scribble with big spaces.  In each space have them write the name of a person or group that they would like to pray for.  Then have them decorate each space with details and key words for that person.  Hang this some where in your house to remind you to pray for the people throughout the week.

One of my favorite ways to show God’s love is through Random Acts of Kindness.  There are so many ways to do this.  You can google “random acts of kindness” to find 100’s of ideas or here are a few examples we’ve done and enjoy:

~ Pay for the person behind you in a line (at a coffee shop, restaurant, grocery store, Target, anywhere)

~ Go grocery shopping for the food shelf

~ Leave homemade “Have a great day!” notes on random cars

~ Bring flowers & cards to a nursing home

~ Hide a dollar with a note in the toy section of the dollar store

~ Buy a hot wheels car and give it to the first child you see

Plan out a random act of kindness to do as a family this week.

Prayer

Have your child(ren) repeat after you.

Dear God.

Thank you God for your constant love.

Be with us this week.

and help us to show your.

love to those around us.

Amen

 

 

Family Devo 4 {Baptism}

Baptism {February 24}

Acts 16:25-34

Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every door flew open, all the prisoners were loose.

Startled from sleep, the jailer saw all the doors swinging loose on their hinges. Assuming that all the prisoners had escaped, he pulled out his sword and was about to do himself in, figuring he was as good as dead anyway, when Paul stopped him: “Don’t do that! We’re all still here! Nobody’s run away!”

The jailer got a torch and ran inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out of the jail and asked, “Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really live?” They said, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!”

They went on to spell out in detail the story of the Master—the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and then—he couldn’t wait till morning!—was baptized, he and everyone in his family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God; everyone in the house was in on the celebration.

Parent – to – Parent

One of my favorite parts of a Baptism is the congregation agreeing to help nurture each other in their faith.  Isn’t it reassuring to know that we are not walking through this big messy life alone?  That we are able to look to fellow Christians for help.   As a parent I especially like knowing that I’m not alone in raising my children in Christian faith.  That I have THIS whole church to help me with that.

Family Time

Read Acts 16: 25- 34 together as a family

The scripture above is about the jailer & his family learning about Christ and becoming Baptized.  If you remember your Baptism tell you child(ren) about it.  If not & your child has been baptized then tell them about that day.  Why you wanted them baptized?  Who was there?  What made it special?  

Try this activity — Materials Needed:

• Pudding or Jello or washable Finger Paint or something rather messy
• Plate
• Paper
• Sink & Water

Give your child(ren) the “messy” medium you choose and a piece of paper.

Let your child(ren) play around in it on a piece of paper.  If you wanted you could have them create a picture to go along with the scripture.

When they are finished or getting close to being done have your child(ren) put some of the “messy medium” on to the plate and make it very dirty.

Then have them take it to the sink to wash it.

Talk to your child(ren) about the dirty plate representing us when we have sinned.  We are dirty but when we are baptized Jesus washes our sin away and makes us clean.  Just like when you wash the plate it is clean.

Prayer

Have your child(ren) repeat after you.

Dear God.

Thank you for these stories of Baptism.

that we are able to hear.

and learn from.

Help us to remember

your abundant love and grace.

Amen

 

Family Devo 3 {Believe}

Believe

 

Hebrews 10:35 – 11:1

So don’t throw away your bold faith. It will bring you rich rewards. You need to be faithful. Then you will do what God wants. You will receive what he has promised. In just a very little while, “The one who is coming will come. He will not wait.  The one who is in the right will live by faith. If he pulls back, I will not be pleased with him.”   But we aren’t people who pull back and are destroyed. We are people who believe and are saved.  Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.

Parent – To – Parent

Believing in our children or believing the sun will rise in the morning can be easy for some of us.  Believing in God can be more difficult for some of us.  Hebrews 11:1 says “Faith is being sure of what we hope for.  It is being certain of what we do not see.

 Family Time

Read the above scripture together.

Who are some people that you have faith in?

Here are a couple activities you can do to explain faith.  I found these activities at When You Rise.  Click the link and find out what she did to teach Faith to her children.

~ Trust Fall — Have a child stand on a stable surface tell your child to turn around with their back toward you and cross their arms over their chest as they fall backward into your arms.

This takes lots of trust and you need to believe that the person is strong enough to catch you and that they will keep their word by not letting you fall.

~ Fly A Kite — Or make a piece of paper move with a fan or blow dryer if it’s not windy outside (or it’s too cold). Read Hebrews 11:1 again.  “Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.”  Talk about needing to believe in something that we can’t see.  Can you think of something that blows trees and flowers and hair and kites?  Talk about how we can’t see wind.  Try to catch and hold it in your hands (either outside or by sitting in front of a fan or blow dryer.  Are you sure there’s wind?  Then fly the kite or piece of paper in front of a fan.

Prayer 

Have your child(ren) repeat after you.

Dear God.

Thank you for being.

ever present in our lives.

Help us to remember.

that you are near us

even if we are not able to.

touch, see, feel, hear, or taste.

you all the time.

Amen

 

Family Devo 2 {Repent}

Acts 9: 1 – 20

After Jesus’ resurrection, more and more people began to worship Christ and follow his ways. Saul and the Pharisees were troubled by this. They didn’t accept that Jesus was God’s son, and they put his followers in jail. Saul set out for Damascus to arrest Christians who believed in Jesus and bring them back to prison in Jerusalem. He carried letters from the high priest giving him the power to arrest people. As Saul drew close to Damascus, a powerful light from Heaven beamed down directly on him. Saul crashed to the ground! A voice called, “Saul, Saul! Why do you wish to hurt me?” “Who are you, Lord?” cried Saul. “I am Jesus,” said the voice. Jesus told Saul to rise and go to Damascus. “What must I do there?” Saul asked. “You will be told what to do,” Jesus said. Saul struggled to his feet. When he opened his eyes, he could not see. He was completely blind! His friends were astonished and afraid but helped him find his way to Damascus. For three days, Saul stayed in a house on Straight Street. He didn’t eat or drink. He just prayed to the Lord. And he had a vision that a man named Ananias would help him see again. Jesus came to Ananias in a vision and told the holy man to help Saul. “But Saul has hurt your followers in Jerusalem,” Ananias said. Jesus said, “Go to him. I have chosen Saul as a special messenger of mine to all foreigners.” Ananias was afraid but he went to Saul. Ananias said to Saul, “Jesus has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” As soon as he touched Saul, something like fish scales fell from Saul’s eye. He could see again! Saul was baptized and became a disciple of the Lord. He changed his name to Paul, and for the rest of his life Paul taught people about Jesus.

My mother-in-law gave Micah a tin full of Bible stories from Great Bible Adventures.  These are great cards that tell Bible stories, have little activities to go with the story, and discussion questions.  This weeks scripture I took from their Story of Saul’s Trip to Damascus.

Parent – To – Parent

Repent — You realize you are doing something wrong, you feel regret and you turn away from it. You ask God for forgiveness. You may also need to ask someone else for forgiveness.

This happened to Saul in the above scripture. He believed he was doing the correct thing by persecuting Christians but then Christ appeared to him. This encounter with Christ made Saul realize that he needed to repent for what he had been doing. After he repented he turned around and became a disciple of the Lord.

Family Time

Read Acts 9:1-20 above and talk about the following questions.

What was Saul doing before going to Damascus? What happened to Paul on his way to Damascus? What happened to Paul when he met Ananias?

Because Saul repented and decided to follow Christ he became the Apostle Paul and taught people about Jesus. Is there someone in your life that you can help in their faith journey?

The following activity I found at We Talk of Christ, We Rejoice in Christ  Please click the link and find out how they did this project and what they talked about.

You will need:

• a glass of water
• food coloring
• a glass of bleach

Take the glass of water and put a few drops of food coloring in it. Tell you child(ren) that this represents us when we sin. We are no longer clean just like the water.

– What are some actions that make us unclean? – What do we do to make us clean again?

Jesus can help us come clean again if we repent by asking Christ to help us and take away our sin.

Now add the beach to the glass with food coloring in it. This represents us repenting and Christ making us clean.

Prayer

Have your child(ren) repeat after you.                                                      Dear God.
Thank you for sending your son.
to take away our sins.

Help us to bring glory to you. in all we do.
And to share your love.
to those around us.

Amen

Family Devo 1 {GRACE}

Ephesians 2:4-10

4 But God was very, very kind. He loved us very, very much.
5 We were dead because of the wrong things we had done. He has made us alive with Christ. You have been saved by his love and kindness. 6 God raised us from death with Christ Jesus and gave us a place to sit with him in heaven. 7 He did this to show us in all times to come how much he can bless people and how kind he is. It was Jesus Christ who brought this kindness to us. 8 You have been saved by God’s love and kindness because you believed. It was not because of anything you did, but it was a gi. from God. 9 You were not saved by trying to do what the law says. So no one can be proud about it. 10 God has made us. In Jesus Christ God made us so that we can do good things. He planned that we should live that way.

GRACE

Parent – to – Parent: 

Grace: A FREE gift of love that we receive, it isn’t earned and it isn’t deserved. At least this is my definition of what Grace is and that is what Paul says in verse 8 of Ephesians 2 we have been saved by God’s grace because we believe. Not because we have done anything to deserve it. It is a gift from God. God loves each of us so much that God sent Jesus to die for OUR sins.

How do we help our children get a better understanding of what Grace is? I have found two wonderful examples of parents explaining grace to their child. These come from the blog When You Rise.   Please click the link to read what Desire has written about grace.  This first story is one that she heard in a sermon one time.

A man sent his son to his room without dinner for some major disobedience. After a while, he went in to talk to his son and asked the boy what he thought his punishment should be. The boy answered with something like, “I should be grounded for 2 weeks.” The father answered with, “I agree. That sounds like a fitting punishment. But instead, I’d like you to come out to the kitchen and have dinner with us and then I’m going to take you out for ice cream.” The boy was puzzled but the father smiled and said, “That, my son, is grace.” I’m not sure if the story is fact or fiction, but I imagine if it’s true, that it’s a lesson the boy never forgot.

I agree with Desire in that this most certainly isn’t something you would want to do for all of your child’s misbehaviors but I think it would be a wonderful way for your child to experience grace first hand.

The 2nd example is a conversation that Desire, from When You Rise, had with her son and I think it’s a great model on a conversation that you could have with your child(ren) in order for them to get a better understanding of what grace is.

“Hey, when you don’t eat your vegetables and trow a fit, who gets in trouble?” He pointed to himself)

“What about when you don’t clean up your toys? Does Mommy get in trouble?” He giggled a little and said “No.”

Then I said, “But Jesus loved you so much that he said, ‘Isaac, I’ll get in trouble for you.’ Because here’s the deal: Since you sin and since Mommy sins, we can’t go to heaven and live with God someday. That’s not good, is it?” He shook his head, “No.”

But Jesus said that he would take our punishment and sin away. He did that when he dies on the cross. Should he have gotten trouble for what you did?”

“Uh-uh.”

“You’re right, but he did! And that’s grace” 

Family Time:

As a family talk about the above scripture from Ephesians 2:4-10 (you may want to read it aloud a couple times). What in these verses stands out to you?

Have a conversation like Desire had with her son.

How can we show grace to those around us? (siblings, friends, parents, children)

Pray:

Have your child(ren) repeat this prayer after you.

Dear God.
Thank you for loving me.
so much that you sent.
your son, Jesus.
to take my sin away.
Be with us this week.
to show grace to those around us. Amen.

Family Devotional Time

I’ve seen and read about a great idea of having place mats that children can draw on.  One idea I pinned on pinterest was chalkboard  place mats that I found here.  Then recently I read about a chalkboard painted dinner table here and how they used it during their family devotional time.  I loved the idea of posting a question and having the kids draw pictures.

Family devotional time is something that I would like to incorporate into our supper time (Is it dinner or supper to you?) routine.  I also wanted to start a new tradition of taking the Christmas cards that we received and praying for a family for a week.

I decided to merge all the ideas into one.  It kinda happened because I was at my wit’s end  one evening trying to make supper and the boys were running around the house wild.  I needed them to be “busy” while I got supper on the table.  We haven’t started the family devotional part but we are taking baby steps and next week we should be there…at least once a week.  More about that in a bit.

This is what we’ve been doing and we are not consistent with it by any means.  For some reason I only think to have the boys do this when they are wild and need some structure so I can focus on making food.  We’ve moved a few times (and know that with the itinerant system moving is in our future) and have a BIG pile of packing paper.  I cut the paper into 4ths and use this for our “mattress”(that’s what Kai calls it).

“The Today I….” box is always there along with the empty box which they are able to draw whatever they would like here.  The other box I put a question in or on Thursdays we get a new family to pray for so I have them draw a picture for that family.  Thursdays are also the days we have college students over to eat and those that come early enough get to make one too.  I tell them that they can also draw a picture for the family or write a prayer.  Then I mail this part of the place mat to the family to let them know that we are praying for them this week.

The boys (and students for that matter) seem to enjoy creating these.  It’s been a wonderful tool to calm the boys down while I finish up supper.

More about the devotionals that we will be starting…

We are starting a new sermon series at church titled Building Blocks: Foundations of Faith.  I was volunteered asked to create a family devational for each weeks topic.  I may have had grand visions of creating one for each day of the week but then got hung up on our first week and decided why overachieve now maybe next time.

So for the next 7 weeks we will be able to do at least one Family Devotional a week and try to work it into our suppertime routine.

Join us in this 7 week devotional to help your family grow in our understanding of faith.  I’ll be posting these devotionals right here on the blog.  There will be scripture to read, A Parent to Parent section that just has more about that weeks topic.  A Family Time section that I’m going to try to have an activity to do as a family but I failed the first week in doing that.  Along with some questions to help in discussion.  Also a short prayer.  I’ll try my best to have these posted Saturday night so that you will have all week to take a look at them and set aside some family time.