This coming week we are looking at the story of Joseph...I love the story of Joseph. When I think that my life is just a little harder than it needs to be, he is one of the characters that can sometimes pop into my mind.
God showed him favor...in his gifts and talents, in so many things, but it is a story that is filled with such heartache and dysfunction. Bad things happening to a good person...
I will be wondering with my kids this week about why God lets some things be so hard for us...why God just doesn't wave a magic wand and poof...everything is in its place and we are able without any friction, or resistance, to do all that He had made us to do...One of the questions that I'm going to be asking our kids this Sunday is "What would our lives be like if everything just worked out real easy-like?" A life where everything just happened without any hardship, loss, disappointment...
Could you imagine what it would have been like to have the family that Joseph had...Those bullies for brothers, and a father out of touch with the hurts and insecurities of his sons...At least one of them kept the others from actually killing him...God's spirit at work. God took an evil act, a selfish trail of events and worked for years to save thousands of people from famine, even the brothers who, in selfish betrayal, tipped that first domino in the story of Joseph.
Joseph, despite the parade of manipulative and deceitful characters, kept his eye on God...continued to believe in the gifts and talents God had given him to use, continued to believe that it wasn't his doing, but God's hand at work in him.
What if there had been no family betrayal? No violence...no deception...no slavery...no manipulation...no revenge...no failure...no famine...no forgiveness...no reconciliation...no opportunity for God to show Himself...no Story.
The things that happen to us in this life are the tools God uses to shape us, make us...the good, the bad and the ugly...all ways that God forms us into the people he knows and continues to creates us to be...
Keep trusting that God is at work, moving and shifting situations, events and people around us. The losses, disappointments, failures, mistakes, enemies, former friends, and estranged family, are things that God is at work in, being God in...restoring and creating something new in. Share these stories, your Joseph Stories, with your kids...let them hear that sometimes bad things come into our lives, but that God is always at work in huge, quiet, wonderful ways...sometimes most especially the hard-not-easy times of our lives.
In His loving Kindness,
Dana
Friday, September 11, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Prayer for your kids journey today...
MERCY
Oh Father, grant that
my children would be
full of mercy and
compassion as you are
Lord.
James 5:11
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler
Oh Father, grant that
my children would be
full of mercy and
compassion as you are
Lord.
James 5:11
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Prayer for your kids journey today...
INTEGRITY
Lord, may integrity and
uprightness protect my
children because their
hope is in you.
Psalm 25:21
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler
Lord, may integrity and
uprightness protect my
children because their
hope is in you.
Psalm 25:21
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Prayer for you kids journey today...
SALVATION
Lord, I pray that my
children would obtain
the salvation that is in
Christ Jesus, with
eternal glory.
2 Timothy 2:10
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler
Lord, I pray that my
children would obtain
the salvation that is in
Christ Jesus, with
eternal glory.
2 Timothy 2:10
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Chapter 1 WoW!
I have been anticipating the start of The Story and today, Sunday, August 30 we started discussion on Chapter 1. What a day! I was not directly involved in the Sunday School classes but after talking with my teachers it seems as if the classes went great and there were some good questions asked by our students. Then Sunday evening we had 30 students and 7 leaders all in discussion concerning chapter 1. Just so you know, during Huddle we are going through the discussion questions in the back of the book for each chapter and starting next week we will be breaking into small groups to discuss these questions.
Tonight I was not sure just how everything would turn out since it was a large group setting, but it blew me away! We had some amazing questions asked and thoughts given that just showed how much our students want to learn. A majority of the students were involved in the discussions and it was a blast. With this I really want to encourage all of you parents to take advantage of this and take my word for it, our kids want to learn and they have some great questions to go along with The Story. Hang out with them and go through the Parent Pages with them.
Also, the questions our students tend to be fairly deep in thought so take time in answering them. If you are not sure of the answer, tell them, "I don't know but lets find out" and then study together. Remember Dana and I are here to help you parents in any way possible so feel free to ask us any questions you may have. Enjoy the journey and God Bless.
Tonight I was not sure just how everything would turn out since it was a large group setting, but it blew me away! We had some amazing questions asked and thoughts given that just showed how much our students want to learn. A majority of the students were involved in the discussions and it was a blast. With this I really want to encourage all of you parents to take advantage of this and take my word for it, our kids want to learn and they have some great questions to go along with The Story. Hang out with them and go through the Parent Pages with them.
Also, the questions our students tend to be fairly deep in thought so take time in answering them. If you are not sure of the answer, tell them, "I don't know but lets find out" and then study together. Remember Dana and I are here to help you parents in any way possible so feel free to ask us any questions you may have. Enjoy the journey and God Bless.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Prayer for your kids journey today...
PASSION FOR
THE LORD
Lord, I pray my
children’s souls would
pant for you as the
deer pants for streams
of water.
Psalm 42:1
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler
THE LORD
Lord, I pray my
children’s souls would
pant for you as the
deer pants for streams
of water.
Psalm 42:1
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Answering the questions our media-savvy kids have about Creation...
Have your kids ever asked you questions about God, or the Bible that you just didn't know how to answer? What about creation? Now there is a subject that kids are very curious about, but after seeing what the Discovery Channel, teachers, Church, and the Bible have to say about it, they are often left confused and sceptical.
More often than not, kids in this generation and era are left feeling sceptical, after they hear about events like creation. Kids have TV, movies, school and the Internet competing with what they hear in church about "the Truth", and what the truth is. When I was a kid, entertainment had a much less "real" quality to it...it was easy to figure out what was real and what wasn't. Look at the Internet...last week there was a "viral video" that had even spread to TV news. It was a video of a guy in a helmet riding down a giant slip n slide, up a ramp, flying 100 yards through the air and landing in a small inflatable swimming pool. It was impossible...and it looked real. Even the news anchors couldn't explain it, and presented it as a fluke reality...My own daughter saw it and thought that it was miraculous. Days later it was exposed as an advertisement stunt that had parts of it digitally altered so that it looked real.
Our kids are surrounded by this kind of virtual-but-not-quite-real reality constantly...and that is just the way the world is now...it's not bad...just the way it is. It changes the way that our kids think about "truth"...they are naturally going to doubt things that I, as a child of the modern era would believe simply because someone I trusted told me so.
So what do we say when kids ask us "How could god make the world in 6 days when the History channel says that dinosaurs roamed the earth thousands and thousand of years before there were humans on the earth"? I think that its OK to tell our kids that sometimes we don't know...the Bible doesn't really spell out exactly how God did it...I just know that He did it. I think that its OK to tell our kids that time is something that God made just like trees and that time doesn't affect Him like it does us. We get old, God doesn't, so a day to God might not be like a day to us.
With a kid in this generation and era, if you act like you have all the answers and don't wonder or question anything about God or the Bible, they are going to disregard and dismiss you in a heart beat. I think that its OK to tell kids that there are things about God and the Bible that are a mystery, and that is the way God wants it. I think He didn't spell everything out in the Bible so that we could spend time looking for Him, learning about Him, finding Him. If God gave us all the answers in the Bible like a text book for school, we could know everything about Him and then we would get cocky, too big for our britches, if you know what I mean...kind of like Adam and Eve. They had God right there, in a way I can only imagine, and all they had to do was not eat from that tree. The tree that the snake said could make them like God...
I love to sit with a curious group of kids and talk about the questions they have about God...sometimes I know the answers and sometimes I tell them "you know, I don't know...what do you think...let's see what the bible says about that...You know what I do know? I know that God made me, I know that God loves me, and I know that God sent His one and only Son to be my best friend, and way back to God." These are the truths that the Bible tells me...and I can spend a lifetime searching and learning about all the wonderful ways he has done these things.
I love to day dream about the mysteries of the Bible...I think kids do to. Imagine what creation was like...read the beginning of the Bible with a child's eye, and then day dream with your kids and celebrate the mystery of it...Its like this cool secret that God has and someday if we keep looking and believing in spite of the things we don't know, we will find ourselves at the coolest Storytelling event ever...sitting at the feet of God hearing The Story.
Praying for your journey,
Dana
More often than not, kids in this generation and era are left feeling sceptical, after they hear about events like creation. Kids have TV, movies, school and the Internet competing with what they hear in church about "the Truth", and what the truth is. When I was a kid, entertainment had a much less "real" quality to it...it was easy to figure out what was real and what wasn't. Look at the Internet...last week there was a "viral video" that had even spread to TV news. It was a video of a guy in a helmet riding down a giant slip n slide, up a ramp, flying 100 yards through the air and landing in a small inflatable swimming pool. It was impossible...and it looked real. Even the news anchors couldn't explain it, and presented it as a fluke reality...My own daughter saw it and thought that it was miraculous. Days later it was exposed as an advertisement stunt that had parts of it digitally altered so that it looked real.
Our kids are surrounded by this kind of virtual-but-not-quite-real reality constantly...and that is just the way the world is now...it's not bad...just the way it is. It changes the way that our kids think about "truth"...they are naturally going to doubt things that I, as a child of the modern era would believe simply because someone I trusted told me so.
So what do we say when kids ask us "How could god make the world in 6 days when the History channel says that dinosaurs roamed the earth thousands and thousand of years before there were humans on the earth"? I think that its OK to tell our kids that sometimes we don't know...the Bible doesn't really spell out exactly how God did it...I just know that He did it. I think that its OK to tell our kids that time is something that God made just like trees and that time doesn't affect Him like it does us. We get old, God doesn't, so a day to God might not be like a day to us.
With a kid in this generation and era, if you act like you have all the answers and don't wonder or question anything about God or the Bible, they are going to disregard and dismiss you in a heart beat. I think that its OK to tell kids that there are things about God and the Bible that are a mystery, and that is the way God wants it. I think He didn't spell everything out in the Bible so that we could spend time looking for Him, learning about Him, finding Him. If God gave us all the answers in the Bible like a text book for school, we could know everything about Him and then we would get cocky, too big for our britches, if you know what I mean...kind of like Adam and Eve. They had God right there, in a way I can only imagine, and all they had to do was not eat from that tree. The tree that the snake said could make them like God...
I love to sit with a curious group of kids and talk about the questions they have about God...sometimes I know the answers and sometimes I tell them "you know, I don't know...what do you think...let's see what the bible says about that...You know what I do know? I know that God made me, I know that God loves me, and I know that God sent His one and only Son to be my best friend, and way back to God." These are the truths that the Bible tells me...and I can spend a lifetime searching and learning about all the wonderful ways he has done these things.
I love to day dream about the mysteries of the Bible...I think kids do to. Imagine what creation was like...read the beginning of the Bible with a child's eye, and then day dream with your kids and celebrate the mystery of it...Its like this cool secret that God has and someday if we keep looking and believing in spite of the things we don't know, we will find ourselves at the coolest Storytelling event ever...sitting at the feet of God hearing The Story.
Praying for your journey,
Dana
Prayer for your kids journey today...
PATIENCE
God, strengthen my
children with all power,
so that they may have
great endurance and
patience.
Galatians 5:22
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler.
God, strengthen my
children with all power,
so that they may have
great endurance and
patience.
Galatians 5:22
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Prayer for your kids journey today...
HOPE
God of hope, grant that
my children may
overflow with hope and
hopefulness by the
power of the Holy
Spirit.
Romans 15:13
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler.
God of hope, grant that
my children may
overflow with hope and
hopefulness by the
power of the Holy
Spirit.
Romans 15:13
Adapted from an article written by Bob Hostetler.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Ready to set out on this Journey?
Welcome to the Original Small Group, our blog for St. Stephen’s UMC Children, Youth and Family Ministry! It is the hope of Ryan and I, that this blog can serve our parents, grandparents, and families as a resource to help them strengthen and grow the young people in their lives into the people God wants them to be.
This will be a place where we can all work together, parents and grandparents, teachers and mentors, leading our kids on this journey...a trek through The Story. We all have, in the coming year, a unique opportunity to look and see the same part of The Story, each week. Every age and role in your family, with the ability to share their special view, will have an amazing experience...An experience that will not only impact and develope your family unity, but will reinforce the faith-foundation of your children as followers of Jesus Christ.
Ryan and I will hunt out ways to encourage and equip you, as parents and teachers, but we also hope that you will help us and each other by sharing your comments, ideas, issues and successes as we spend the next year finding the place that God has made for our families in this life-giving story! I can't wait to hear YOUR stories, God's stories for each and every one of the families of St. Stephen's! This is an exciting time! We are at the beginning of an incredible journey that God started at the beginning of time...I'm ready to see where he will take our families in the weeks to come!
Watch for my daily prayer focus for parents and grandparents (and anyone who has children in their lives), and know that Ryan and I are praying daily, sometimes moment by moment for each and every one of you.
In His loving kindness!
Dana
This will be a place where we can all work together, parents and grandparents, teachers and mentors, leading our kids on this journey...a trek through The Story. We all have, in the coming year, a unique opportunity to look and see the same part of The Story, each week. Every age and role in your family, with the ability to share their special view, will have an amazing experience...An experience that will not only impact and develope your family unity, but will reinforce the faith-foundation of your children as followers of Jesus Christ.
Ryan and I will hunt out ways to encourage and equip you, as parents and teachers, but we also hope that you will help us and each other by sharing your comments, ideas, issues and successes as we spend the next year finding the place that God has made for our families in this life-giving story! I can't wait to hear YOUR stories, God's stories for each and every one of the families of St. Stephen's! This is an exciting time! We are at the beginning of an incredible journey that God started at the beginning of time...I'm ready to see where he will take our families in the weeks to come!
Watch for my daily prayer focus for parents and grandparents (and anyone who has children in their lives), and know that Ryan and I are praying daily, sometimes moment by moment for each and every one of you.
In His loving kindness!
Dana
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