Anchors and Alphabets

“In our confrontations with obstacles or opponents today, we would do well not to focus on the troubles lined up against us,” writes Jim Cymbala in You Were Made For More. “Instead, we need to celebrate the God who has already demonstrated his power and provision in our past. We don’t need to be fretful or anxious. We need to anchor our hearts and minds in God’s overwhelming track record.”

Expressing gratitude — the intentional expression of thanks — is that anchor. Ruth Graham expresses a similar sentiment in Fear Not Tomorrow, God Is Already There: “[O]ne thing that makes it easier for me to trust God is cultivating a habit of remembering what He has already done. I tap into that track record. Remembering is a God-given prescription.”

Have you filled that prescription? Do you actively and regularly choose to remember in gratitude what God has done and is doing in your life?

Years back, on the spur of the moment one bedtime, I came up with a thanksgiving prayer experience to share with my young children. Ironically, though it’s meant for kids, this alphabet prayer habit has woven it’s way into my own spiritual life in order to anchor my soul — as a means of taking that God-given prescription of grateful remembrance.

I describe this practice in my book for parents Faith-Filled Moments. Here’s an excerpt for you to check out . . . and try with your kids (or without!).

Family Fun!

OK, I’m taking a short break from the spiritual formation topics we’re covering in 2012. It’s summer time. School’s out. The sun is shining. The world is a-blooming! And so for July we’ll focus on the topic of FAMILY.

This is a great season for moms of young kids — but family is also an important topic for women of all ages and all situations. For singles, for empty-nesters, for moms of young kids, for grandmothers, for parents of teenagers — we all value and are profoundly shaped by family! So I hope, readers, that no matter what stage of life you’re in, you’ll enjoy the discussion this month. There is a soul-shaping power in time spent with family, so along with some posts reflecting on “deeper issues,” I’ll also be sharing ideas for family FUN.

So let’s start things off with 2 fun ideas for those of you with kids at home this summer.

Here’s a great activity for outdoors: a prayer-focused bike ride.

And here’s a fun one for inside days: a simple card game that reveals a critical spiritual truth.

Creation Care with Kids, 101

Got kids? Want some ideas for family activities geared toward creation care?

Here are a few ideas from previous posts (click on the links to read the full posts!):

Together consider how and what you eat.

Garden together.

Contemplate nature’s beauty.

Use a little Vivaldi!

15-Minute Formation: Your Family, Your Community

If you’re a mom, one of the most important ways to practice the discipline of fellowship may surprise you. We often long to “get away” from our kids for some “real” fellowship with adults. I can certainly empathize with that desire! And we certainly do need adult time!

But if you’re at a stage in which you’ve got kids in the house, whether they’re 2 months old or 18 years old, spending time with them can be a meaningful and significant aspect of “fellowship” in your life. Time building relationships. Time listening. Time sharing and mentoring.

And even those tough times — when your kids stretch your patience, push you to the brink of losing your temper, or frustrate you to the extreme — these experiences are part of the good fellowship can do in your life. Those tough times are opportunities to practice service, to choose humility, to exercise self-control and grace.

The Best Book Ever

If you have kids, here are ideas for ways you can help your kids develop lifelong habits of devotional reading of Scripture like lectio divina and contemplative reading. All you need is a children’s Bible.

When you next read a Bible story to your child, introduce him to one of the ancient methods of scriptural learning described below that combine prayer and meditation with Bible reading. (And try it out yourself too!)

Lectio Divina (or “Holy Reading”)

This ancient approach to Scripture traditionally has five parts:

1) silencio (quietness and preparation)

2) lectio (slowly reading a Bible passage)

3) meditato (reflection and meditation)

4) oratio (prayer about the passage)

5) contemplation (quiet waiting and prayer).

Your child isn’t likely to connect with these Latin terms, so bring this method down to your child’s level and do it together in a simple way.

1) Say something like “Let’s quiet our hearts and minds before we read this story.” Allow about 5 to 10 seconds of quietness.

2) Read the story aloud with emphasis and emotion, perhaps even doing different voices for the various speakers.

3) Reflect on the passage aloud together by asking, “What do you think this means?” or “What stands out to you about this story? Why?”

4) Say, “Let’s ask God to help us understand more about what this passage means.” Then briefly pray aloud, naming your child’s ideas he shared in step 3 and asking God for further understanding.

5) Say, “Let’s keep praying but without words now as we listen to God.” Allow about 30 seconds (or more if your child is very focused on prayer), then say “Amen.”

Contemplative Reading

In his Spiritual Exercises, Ignatius of Loyola outlined a process of contemplative reading. In basic terms, Ignatius encouraged Christians to imagine themselves into Gospel stories. Children are experts at this! In fact, they could teach us logic-bound grown-ups a thing or two!

Read a story to your child from one of the four Gospels. Next say, “Let’s pray and ask God to help us imagine what it was like for the people in this story.”

The Jesus Storybook Bible

Some old friends visited us this fall and passed along a fabulous recommendation: The Jesus Storybook Bible. I bought a copy and have been reading it to my children before school every week day. There are lots of great resources for kids out there, but this one is really amazing. The short narrative retellings of biblical stories portray Scripture as one big story (which it is). The idea of the book is that “every story whispers his name.” Each Old Testament story somehow builds toward the idea that God has a big “Rescue Plan” and the Rescuer (Jesus) is coming. And the art in the book is amazing. If you’ve got kids between 3 and 8 or 9, this is an excellent resource for helping them learn from and love God’s Big Story.

 

Faith-Filled Moment: Bunnies, Turtles, and Puppies…Oh My!

Here’s a quick, easy, and FREE field-trip you can take with your child that can have an eternal impact. For more ideas like this one, check out my book Faith-Filled Moments.

Bunnies, Turtles, and Puppies…Oh My!

Visit a pet store to explore together God’s tender care for us.

Supplies: none

Experience

Take a trip to a pet store with your child; It may not be as exotic as the zoo, but it’s free! On your way there, talk about this question: “If you could have any animal in the world for a pet, what would it be? Why?”

When you get to the pet store, allow time for your child to look at every animal. If you can, ask an employee to let your child pet a puppy, kitten, or rabbit. Talk together about what you like (or dislike) about each animal. Then take a quick tour through some of the pet supplies in the store: cage/aquarium, food, grooming products, etc. Wrap up your time by sharing with each other which creature was your favorite.

Connection

Caring for a pet requires a lot of work; whether you already have a pet or a visit to the pet store is as far as it goes in your family, you can use the topic of pets to help your child begin to grasp the truth that God cares for us everyday. Share with your child that a good pet owner provides daily feeding, affection, grooming, and cleaning up after her pet. She does so because she loves her pet.

Help your child think through the many ways God cares for us; lead her to come up with concrete examples of ways God meets our daily needs and shows us love and kindness.

Faith-Filled Moment: If Necessary, Use Words

This game can lead to lots of laughs and family bonding — and can also help your child discover what faith looks like. (You’ll find more ideas like this one in my book Faith-Filled Moments.)

If Necessary, Use Words

Play charades with your child to help her develop a full picture of what it means to be a witness for Jesus.

Supplies: scraps of paper, pencil, bowl

Experience

Play a simplified version of charades with your child by writing down several simple noun and actions on various scraps of paper (such as lizard, cat, baseball player, flying a kite, ballerina, swimming, cowboy, gymnastics, elephant, Cookie Monster, going down a slide, soldier, riding a bike, gorilla, and airplane). Invite your child to also write down some words on scraps of paper. When you’ve got a good amount of slips, fold them up and put them in a bowl.

Take turns selecting a slip and then trying to silently act out the word or phrase while the other person tries to guess what it is. Have lots of fun together hamming it up!

Connection

A powerful maxim about evangelism that’s often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi goes like this: “Preach the gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.” This statement has a compelling message for us about the way we live; our actions and daily choices do powerfully “preach” the message of Christ to others. But it also contains a fallacy

Faith-Filled Moment: Litter-Bug Patrol

Grab a “green” moment with your child to teach him or her about creation care. (You’ll find more ideas like this one — along with crafts, games, science activities, cooking projects, and more — in my book Faith-Filled Moments!)

Litter-Bug Patrol

Turn a walk outside into a mission to clean up God’s Creation.

Supplies: latex gloves or sandwich bags, garbage bag

Experience

Go on a walk outside to a natural area like a park or a neighborhood common area. Spend the first half of your time outdoors simply enjoying nature; be sure to verbally point the focus toward our Creator by saying things like “Isn’t this a beautiful world God has made?” Draw your child’s attention to the beauty in nature, looking together at ladybugs, leaves, and clouds; smelling flowers or pine needles; feeling a gentle breeze.

About halfway through your time outdoors, begin looking together for litter as you continue to walk and explore. Whenever you spot something, use a glove (or turn sandwich bags into plastic hand-mittens for your child) to pick it up and put it in the garbage bag you’ve brought along. As you do,

Faith-Filled Moment: Dance Party

Worship God with your child — and work up a sweat! — with this fun idea. (You’ll find a whole array of ideas like this in my new book Faith-Filled Moments!)

Dance Party

Worship God together with wild, fun, dancing.

Supplies: an upbeat worship CD, children’s musical instruments (optional)

Experience

Clear off a dance floor in the family room, then play a favorite upbeat worship song with the volume turned up loud. Invite your child to join you in singing and dancing together. Say something simple like, “Let’s praise God by dancing!” then start dancing your heart out with a big smile on your face. You might feel a bit goofy, but that’s part of the fun!

If you’ve got any children’s musical instruments, play them together as you dance and sing along with the music.

Connection

When Miriam was full of joy after God’s people crossed the Red Sea, she burst forth into song and dance (Exodus 15:20). When David led the ark back to Jerusalem, he was overjoyed and danced in praise with all his might (2 Samuel 6:14-16). So when was the last time you danced like that? (Slow dances at wedding receptions don’t count!)

Depending on your church tradition, dancing before God in worship may feel natural and normal to you, or it may feel really, really weird! But the matter at hand here isn’t how your church worships together on a Sunday morning; it’s simply about your own—and your child’s—personal worship of God in the privacy of your home. Dancing is