Mothers Day

What are some aspects of God that remind you of a mother?

My personal (yet overused) favorite is used in the song On Eagles Wings. In nature, young eagles are taught to fly by being shoved out of their nests at great heights, only to be swooped up on the wings of their mother, who flies beneath them and catches them before they can be harmed. In the song, God is referred to as a male eagle,

but MALE EAGLES DO NOT DO THIS!

The quoted scripture is giving us a feminine reference on purpose :)

Contemplate honoring your mother this week by using feminine language when referring to God, or praying. See how your image of God is changed.

May 2009 Prayers

Meal

{God is Great a new way}

God, you're great.

God, you're good.

Now we thank you for our food. Amen.

Anytime

I am God's child,

I am whole and free.

My God protects and cares for me. Amen.

God Is Faithful

Throughout scripture and beyond, we have examples of God listening to our pleas, and faithfully following through with God's promises.

Genesis 18 tells the story of Abraham bargaining with God to take a different approach - and God listens.

Daniel 3 tells the story of God's followers trusting God's faithfulness, and God keeping them from harm in a fiery furnace.

Daniel 6 tells the story of God watching over Daniel, and keeping him safe in the den of lions.

Check out these examples (if you don't ahve a bible, plug them into google). Read through them and contemplate these questions:

Has God been faithful to you recently?

How can you be more faithful to God?

April 2009 Prayers

Meal

For all we eat and all we wear,

for daily bread and loving care,

we thank you Lord. Amen.

God Redeems

Children can be a handful, we all know. But what keeps us going are all their redeeming qualities, right? What are some of the things your child(ren) do to help you see those?

What comes to mind when you think of redemption?

As parents (Really as people) we make mistakes (hence our need for Jesus' sacrifice!). When these happen, it is our responsibility to our child(ren) to redeem ourselves and our actions.

How do you do that? How do you trust God to complete that redemption?

Discuss with another adult (sans kids) one or two areas where you might feel you need God's redemption for yourself. How might you accept that gift?

March 2009 Prayers

Meal

For food in a world where many walk in hunger,

For faith in a world where many walk in fear,

For friends in a world where many walk alone,

We give you thanks, O Lord. Amen.

Anytime

Lord, I worship you. My God, I trust you.

put my hope in you all day long. Amen.

God Provides, Therefore We Share

We know what is required of us to be caregivers and gaurdians of our children, but there are many things that children need that we don't automatically provide. This week, I would like you, as a parent/caregiver, to think of one thing you can promise your child(ren) that you will ALWAYS provide.

Here are some examples:

You will regularly pray for them

You will always tell them the truth

You will always honestly answer their hard questions

They can trust you with their feelings and tough questions

Wherever you are is a safe place for them

God Provides, Therefore We Share

We all probally feel we spend a majority of our time telling our children to share. We know that sharing is a key social skill, but why so immportant?

What leads us to share?

How does sharing encourage understanding or provision? How do we communicate to our kids that we share because we can?

What are some ways we, as parents, can share with our kids our faith? Our belongings? Our talents?

Spend a few minutes discussing with another adult the differences of adults sharing and children sharing. How are they similar? Different?

February 2009 Prayers

Meal

For what we are about to recieve,

may the Lord make us truly thankful. Amen.

God Calls Us

What does it mean to you to be called by God?

How has God called you to do or be things in your life? What were these things?

How do we, as parents, help our child(ren) to hear God's call?

What would you do if you were unwilling to follow God's call? What if God called your child to do something you felt uncomfortable with?

How do you decipher the differences between something you are called to do and something you want to do? Are they ever, or often, the same?

List a few things with another adult that you might be feeling called to begin. Ask this fellow adult to pray for you about this potential calling.

Prayer Discipline

God is big and we are small. If this is true, how is it that we ever reach complacency in our faith? As parents, raising our kids with love and respect for one another, and for God, it is crucial that we, too, are disciplined...... spiritually.

What does this mean? Well, we all come to church most every week, we say bedtime and meal prayers with our kids, we answer yes when people ask us if we're christian. But, these area actions, not discipline. In choosing to raise our children in church, we, too, must put effort in to our faith by communicating with God.

Try to discipline yourself to pray in small and regular ways this week: alone, with your partner, family, and children. But specifically, allow yourself to pray honestly. If you have a bible (if not you can browse an online one - I suggest NRSV or NASB translations, please don't use a KJV or NKJV!), you can gain some signifigant prayer insight by flipping through the Psalms and witnessing the diversity of a disciplined believer's prayer. They are angry - hostile, even, loving, joyful, depressing - honest.

December 2008 Prayers

Meal

Lord Jesus, be our Holy guest,

our morning joy, our evening rest.

And with our daily bread impart

your love and peace to every heart. Amen.

Bedtime

Bless those I love, bless everyone with wisdom, peace, and light.

And with tomorrows rising sun

God be with us, Good night. Amen.

Advent: prepare!

Is there a special thing you do to prepare yourself for Sunday worship? Do you lay out your clothes the night before? Is Saturday evening a major bath night? Do you have a sit down family breakfast before worship?

Advent is the preparatory season for the celebration of Christ's coming, but December becomes a hectic and busy time of the year. How do you prepare for teh Christmas season? What can you do, also, to prepare for this celebration spiritually? emotionally? actually?

How do we prepare ourselves as parents to guide our child(ren) in their understanding of Christmas?

God Protects

God protects us in the sanctity of God's love. God does not, however, protect us from pain, hurt, or loss.

What does it mean to you, that God protects, in times of strife?

Is it God's fault/responsibility to protect us from these things? Why, or why not?

God Protects

When you define the word protection, what comes to mind?

What does God's protection mean to you?

Think about this verse in the context of God being a protector:

For God so loved the world that God gave God's only Son... John 3:16

How does this verse expand your definition of protection?

November 2008 Prayers

Meal

God is Great

God is Good

Now we thank God for our food. Amen.

Bedtime

God of Blessing, God of Love

Watch over us from up above.

God bless Mommy.

God bless Daddy.

God bless...

God bless....

and God bless me. Amen.

God Promises..... within our relationships

When we know that God is Love, we know that God is present in our relationships. How do you honor that in your unique relationship? Discuss some additional ways you could honor Gods Love.

As parents, discuss how you can together promise to keep your relationship healthy, with each other, family, and your children. Talk about faith promises, love promises, and parenting promises.

October 2008 Prayers

Bedtime

We thank you for our clothes and food,

for freinds and paretns kind and good.

And Lord, we thank you for our play,

and sleep, when tires at close of day. Amen.

Meal

God bless us with the food you give.

O help each one of us to live

So that your blessings and our food

Will do our souls and bodies good. Amen.

God Promises

How do you plan to share God's promises with your child(ren)? - What promises of God do you want to incorporate into your childs daily living?

When your child is upset or sad, how can you comfort then with God's promises?

God's promises don't always ensure joy or happiness. How will you relate that alongside God's love for your child(ren)?

God Created...... you to be parents!

How do you honor one another as parents?

What parenting skill do you find the most attractive in one another?

What would you like to model for your child(ren) as a person of faith?

In what ways can your church experiences benefit your parenting?

God Created...... your unique relationship

When you and your partner learned you were going to be parents, how did your relationship change?

What pre-baby rituals did you have that you no longer keep? How about the ones you do?

What new post-baby rituals would you like to create?

How does your relationship support faith development? Do you pray together? Do devotions? Pray for one another?

What can you commit to together, to inspire faith building in your relationship?

September 2008 Prayers

Bedtime

We thank you, God, for the day just spent.

For laughter, tears, and all that you sent.

Grant us, Good Shepherd, through this night,

a peaceful sleep til the morning light. Amen.

Anytime

God, help us show kindness is all that we do, today and always.

Amen.

Meal

Come Lord Jesus,

Be our guest.

Let these gifts to us

be blessed. Amen.

September 14, 2008

When you think of the word family, what kinds of things come to mind? What kinds of emotions are generated?
Family members, more than anyone else, know us, warts and all. They know how to push our buttons. The differences between us create tension, misunderstandings, and struggle.
If you could improve one thing about your family, what would it be? Would it be confronting a negetive behavior, or starting a new tradition? Would it be including someone who has been outcast, or fulfilling a lifelong family dream?
How can you move your family toward the kind of family life you have always dreamed of? Start by loving unconditionally. Unconditional love, like that God has for us, provides redemption and renewal.
God is present in the midst of families who live together, with God, and through God.