Parenting With Purpose!

Hi parents!

This past Sunday, I shared a message called 'Parenting With Purpose'. You can download it here (although unfortunately, we had an issue with the recording and the first 6 minutes is rather spotty).

 Deuteronomy 6:4-9 challenges us, as parents, to ensure that our faith is personal and meaningful.

"Listen, Israel! The Lord our God is the only true God! So love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. Memorize his laws...Write down copies and tie them to your wrists and foreheads to help you obey them.  Write these laws on the door frames of your homes and on your town gates."

The passage also offers us some practical tips on how we can take advantage of our everyday family routines as times where we can spiritually invest in our kids.

"Tell them to your children over and over again. Talk about them all the time, whether you’re at home or walking along the road or going to bed at night, or getting up in the morning."

In light of my talk, I just wanted to post a few questions to challenge you and get you thinking about what you can change/add to ensure that you are fostering the faith of your kids when you're together as a family. If you have found that one of these things has been helpful in your own life or is something you have started to incorporate into your family time, please let me know!


1. When you think about your child's future, what is the thing you want the most for him/her?

When Moses was leading the people of Israel into a land full of prosperity, his greatest concern was that they would love and follow God and raise their kids to do the same.

"It will be heartbreaking if your children enjoy the benefits and the prosperity of a better lifestyle, live in a land flowing with milk and honey, and become experientially rich, but never really know God". -Reggie Joiner, Think Orange

Our world sees success as being rich and famous, having a home, a family, friends, a fulfilling career, and being a benefit to our society. These are all good things, but if those are the only dreams we have for our kids, then we're forgetting the only thing that ultimately matters: That our kids would grow to know, love and follow God.

"What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?" -Jesus in Mark 8:36-37

2. What are my kids learning from me?

Moses challenged the people of Israel to be people who loved and followed God with their entire being ("with all your heart, soul, and strength"). Is our faith deep and meaningful? Does it affect the way we live our lives, the things we say and do? Do our kids see us living out what we claim to believe? Is our relationship with God evident in our attitude, in how we treat our spouses, in how we treat others, in how we work, in how we spend our money, in our commitment to church community? Are our homes places where our kids are learning about God an experiencing his love? Do we show our kids what it's like to really pursue God?

3. How can I take advantage of mealtimes or times we sit together at home? (Deut 6:7).

Many families live in the same home, but are often pursuing their own interests-- seldom sitting and talking together. In this verse, Moses encourages us to take advantage of times when we sit together at home to help foster the faith of our kids. Do you do family devotions? Do you pray together? Do you talk about God and what it means to follow him? Do you relate the things you and your kids are going through to what the Bible has to say? Think of a way you can take advantage of your home time to help your kids develop a better relationship with you and the God who loves them.

4. How can I take advantage of the time we spend travelling? (Deut 6:7).

Even with our busy schedules, we often have time when we have a "captive audience", when we are driving as a family to school, church, daycare, sports practice, or even the grocery store. Think of ways that you can utilize that time to invest in your kids spiritually. Can you use some of that time to pray for and with your kids? Can you use some of that time to sing worship songs together? Can you use that time to talk to your kids about difficulty and stressful situations they're going through, and encouraging them?

5. How can I take advantage of bedtime? (Deut 6:7)

This is a pretty hectic time for parents that sometimes involves a lot of fighting, screaming and unpleasantness. It's definitely easier to simply SEND your kids to bed than to BRING them to bed. While it involves some self-sacrifice, this is an ideal time to enter your child's personal space to help foster their faith. Can you commit to praying for and with your kids before they go to sleep? Can you commit to reading a Bible story or share a family devotional time before they go to bed? Make it a part of your routine!

6. How can I take advantage of our time in the morning? (Deut 6:7)

Families seldom have much time to do anything spiritually significant in the morning between getting breakfast, bathing and preparing for school or work, but this is the perfect time for parents to act in the role of a coach. What can you say or do in the morning that would help give your kids spiritual fuel for the rest of the day? What is the spiritual equivalent of a granola bar? Just a few encouraging words or a quick meaningful prayer can do a lot to start your child's day on the right foot.

Resources for Parents (Kids Bibles)

Hi there parents!

This week, I'm busy writing a message for Father's Day called "Parenting with Purpose". In it, I'm  giving some Bible-based tips on how you can inject your faith into your home life. Taking a break from that message (ok, maybe I'm procrastinating), I wanted to share a few great Bibles that you could read with your kids. These are the ones that we've test-driven in our house. Take some time every day to look into God's Word together at home! We typically read one regular story and one Bible story every night before our kids go to bed and have found it to be a valuable part of our daily routine. Because my oldest is six, I don't have as many Bible recommendations for older kids. If you happen to have a recommendation of something you and your kids love, let me know in the comments!

FOR BABIES AND TODDLERS

 
The Baby Bible (by David C Cook Publishing)
We wore through this set with our kids! Each of these board books has a different theme (ABCs, 123s, Animals, Stories About Jesus...) with colourful pictures and a simplified Bible story (including actions). If you are ordering these books online, just be aware that there isn't much of a difference between the Boys and Girls versions aside from the colour of the covers.  Here's an example of the Animals book in a PDF (My personal favorite). 

Lift The Flap Bible (by Sally Lloyd Jones)
Lift the flap books are a kids favourite (The Little People series being quite awesome), but this is the Bible with flaps that my kids enjoyed the most. The artwork is great and the flaps help animate the Bible stories quite well (for example, I loved how the flaps in the story of Exodus shows the Egyptian army getting closer and the waters parting). Here's an online sample of this book. 

Little People: Noah and the Animals
I've spent quite a bit of time searching for great "lift the flaps" books, and none can compare to the Little People series. This version of "Noah and the Animals" is a lot of fun, encouraging kids to find hidden animals or objects throughout the story. The pages are colorful and huge. Of course, like most renditions of Noah's Ark, it doesn't highlight the reason why God flooded the earth in the first place, but it's a great read for babies and toddlers. Here's an online sample of this book.

Candle Bible for Toddlers
This is a great one for toddlers and kids in kindergarten. The pages are fun and colorful and the Bible stories are short and simplified which I like a lot better than the Bibles that just contain excerpts direct from the NLT or NIV. I find that when I read this with my kids, we usually read a few stories at a time. Here's an online sample of this book.

 

The Smartest Giant in Town (by Julia Donaldson)
Ok, so now I'm cheating a little bit. This isn't a Bible, it doesn't contain any references to the Bible, and as far as I'm aware, the author isn't a Christian, but this book is PERFECT. I don't know the names of many authors of children's books, but I know and love Julia Donaldson's stuff (Monkey Puzzle, The Gruffalo, and Stick Man are super fun!). This book, however, stands above and beyond the others. It is very much like Jesus' parable of The Good Samaritan, telling the story of a giant who gives selflessly and makes sacrifices to help others in need. Fun artwork, great rhyming and a powerful message! I would recommend getting the board book version if you've got younger kids.
You can view the entire story on Youtube here (although after reading it hundreds of times, I like my rendition of the giant's song and the character voices more).

FOR ELEMENTARY AGE KIDS

My First Hands-On Bible
This is my favorite Bible for toddlers to kids ages 8 or 9. It's not a complete Bible, but does take excerpts from the actual NLT translation to walk through the Bible's most notable events. Actually, the thing that I like the least (simply because I read it during story time and my kids are still quite young) is that the stories aren't paraphrased at all, but are passages straight from the NLT. That said, however, it covers a lot of material, has some really great pictures, and has a lot of action cues and ways to involve kids during and after each story. For example, kids are encouraged to make sounds like a storm during the story of Jesus calming the wind and the waves, and probably my favorite, in the story of Jesus' crucifixion, is to rip a tissue in half to explain the significance of the temple curtain being supernaturally torn. You can check out an online example here. There is a regular 'Hands-On Bible' for older kids, but it's not very conducive for story time.

 

The Bible App For Kids

If you are in the mood for a Bible that is more interactive and portable, I highly recommend The Bible App For Kids. It is a free download for Apple and Android devices, and contains a great selection of Bible stories with new ones being added every month. While I wouldn't recommend this replacing times where you sit and read with your kids, this can be a fun change of pace. I don't ever let my kids use the app on their own (although you could), but usually have them sitting on my lap as we hear the story and have fun clicking on the screen together. Some of the animations (like Samson doing his best Hulk Hogan impersonation) are hilarious. My kids are always begging to use this for our family Bible reading time, but I do find that sometimes they tend to fight over who gets to touch the screen and do the animations. You can find out more info and get the links to download it here.

Keys For Kids

Keys For Kids isn't a Bible, but it's a devotional magazine (think of a kids version of 'Our Daily Bread'**) that's been around for years. Each day contains a relevant story where kids learn some kind of biblical truth. It's suitable both for family story time or for young readers on their own. As a kid, I still remember this being the main way I dug into the Bible by myself. You can order a FREE subscription and have a physical book mailed to your home) here, or you can read it online or download the app. My personal preference is to read from an actual paper book. (**By the way, there is a kids version of 'Our Daily Bread' which is more of a one-year Bible format. You can view a PDF sample of that here.)

Comic Bibles

Here's the truth. As an older kid and pre-teen, I would NEVER have spent much time reading the Bible if it hadn't been given to me in comic book form. There are some great comic Bibles available today that will have your kids actually wanting to turn the pages. My two personal favorites are 'The Action Bible' and the Manga Bible series (Messiah, Messengers, Mutiny and Metamorphosis are just a few, although Messiah is a good place to start). These books help make the Bible come to life. They are definitely more for older kids as they do depict scenes of violence, but I would highly recommend either. The biggest difference is that 'The Action Bible' is more a North American animation style, while the Manga series is more of a Japanese animation style. What I like most about the Manga series is that on every page, it has Bible references to see exactly where to find that part of the story in the Bible.  Check out a PDF sample of The Action Bible here! Check out a version of Manga Messiah here!

Well, that's it for today! If you attend Arlington Woods and managed to read through this list, I'm prepared to reward you. Have your kid find me on a Sunday and say "Manga Bibles are cool" and I will give you one of 10 copies of a condensed version of Manga Messiah (called The Messiah) FOR FREE. Once they're gone, they're gone!

THE GREAT BEYOND (Part 2), June 12, 2015

THE GREAT BEYOND (PART 2)

Last week we looked at how we can know what God's plan is for our lives and how we can make big, potentially life-changing decisions in confidence. This week, our last CATALYST night until the fall, our topic was "WHEN YOU'RE NOT LIVING THE DREAM".

While we would all love to have a job or career that we find fulfilling, that's not always the case. With the average person working 15-20 jobs in their lifetime, in most of those cases it means that you'll likely be working at least a few jobs that might be just for the paycheque. Tonight we talked about how even those less-than-desirable jobs (fast food restaurants, coffee shops, cleaning toilets) can be important and valuable and be places where God can use us.

1. They can be a learning and growing experience.

Any job we have offers us an opportunity to learn. We can learn important skills that can benefit us in the future (for example, computer skills, customer relations skills). Those less-than-desirable jobs we have can also help build our character and develop us more into the people that God wants us to be. I shared with the teens how, in my first few years of working, I learned the importance of having a strong work ethic (having the reputation as someone who works hard), I learned how to be patient, to be kind to people I didn't like, to be honest and trustworthy, and I also learned how to follow God and make right choices even though none of my co-workers understood my choices, sometimes even mocking them.

If you don't really appreciate the job that you have, or think that it's a waste of time, ask yourself, "What can I learn or what am I learning from this job? What's something that this job can make me better at? What skills can I learn from this job that'll look great on my resume?"

2. They can fund what you love to do (and what God wants you to do).

We discover in the Bible that Paul, one of the early church leaders who was a pastor and missionary who also wrote a good chunk of the New Testament, was someone who held a regular (ahem...boring) job. Acts 18:3 says, "Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was". Paul had leather-making skills and made tents to help provide a living, better enabling him to travel around, planting churches and sharing his faith with others. I shared my story of working as a part-time church custodian (not a very glamorous job) so that I could do what I really wanted to do-- to work as a youth pastor, encouraging teens in their faith. Whether you're working a summer job, or working full-time at something that doesn't fulfill you, that job is still valuable. It can help fund hobbies, it can pay for further education, and it can also enable you to serve in your church or community! Many of our own youth leaders work full-time jobs, but invest hours of their free time every week so that we can run great programs for kids and youth!

Ask yourself, "How can this job enable me to do something I enjoy in my spare time? Is this job enabling me to use the skills and interests that God has wired into me to support the work of the church?"

3. They can be a place where God uses you.

I shared with the teens that in one of the less-than-desirable jobs that I had (where I simply pushed a button or weighed boxes for 12 hours straight), I had a lot of conversations with co-workers. When they discovered that I used to be a youth pastor, it led to a lot of questions. While I didn't see anyone accept Jesus while I was working there, I had one lady tell me that I had given her a better impression of pastors and the church simply due to the fact that she got to know me and saw the way I lived and talked. Every day on your job, you have a chance to be open and honest about your faith. Your very presence as a Christian matters! You might just find that God has placed you there so that you could be in the right place at the right time to make a difference in somebody else's life! In the Bible, a girl named Esther entered a beauty contest and won! The prize, much like The Bachelor, was she got to marry the King of Persia! When her uncle discovered a plot to exterminate all of the Jewish people, he pleaded with Esther to appeal to the King and save their people saying, "Who knows whether or not you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this." (Esther 4:14) This was no accident or coincidence, God had placed her here, in the right place at the right time, to save thousands of people from being murdered!


Every day, before work, pray and ask that God would open an opportunity for you to be a positive influence on somebody else's life. Pray for opportunities to share your faith and to have the guts to be open and honest about what you believe.

Discussion Questions:

If your teen is working one of those less-than-desirable jobs and they don't seem to appreciate it, ask them a few questions:

1. What are you learning from the job? What skills are you acquiring?

2. How can this job enable you to do the things you really want to do (hobbies) or enable you to serve or support the work of the church?

3. Are you working with people who don't know Jesus? Do they notice a difference in the way you live and speak? Do you pray that God would open up opportunities for you to say or do something in the right place at the right time to point them one step closer to the God who loves them?

Encourage your teen that any job they work is valuable and that, if they love and follow Jesus, they will be exactly where God wants them to be in life. When you work through the above questions, you'll appreciate your job a lot more and get a better sense of just how valuable it is.

THE GREAT BEYOND (PART 1), June 5, 2015

THE GREAT BEYOND (Part 1)

Because this is graduation season, this week at CATALYST youth, we talked about the future. How can I know what God wants me to do with my life? How can I know if a big choice I'm facing is right or wrong for me? Should I spend thousands of dollars going to college or university if I'm not sure what I want to do? Thinking about the future can be pretty scary and overwhelming for teens. Let's face it, it can be pretty scary and overwhelming for adults too. If I could give teens a roadmap for their lives, showing them exactly what they're supposed to do and when they're supposed to do it, well, I'd be a millionaire. Instead, we took some time to walk through a few Bible-based tips to help teens navigate THE GREAT BEYOND.

1. YOUR CAREER IS NOT GOD'S BIGGEST CONCERN FOR YOU.
God's biggest concern for us is that we are in a relationship with him and following him with our lives. Jesus said in Mark 8:36-37, "What do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?". We can have all of the wealth and fame in the world, we could have a great family and a fulfilling job and yet still be in deep spiritual need. Matthew 6:33 tells us that if we love God and do what he wants, we can trust him to take care of our future.

2. TALK TO GOD ABOUT IT.
We often visit guidance counselors and take career aptitude tests to help figure out what we should do with our lives, but do we talk to God? Do we read the Bible? 1 Peter 5:7 and Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us that we don't need to worry, but can talk to God about what stresses us out. When we do, he can give us supernatural peace. Psalm 119:105 describes God's Word as a flashlight. When we feel lost and directionless, we need to spend time familiarizing ourselves with God's instruction book for our lives.

3. TALK TO OTHERS ABOUT IT
When facing a HUGE decision, surround yourself with people who REALLY care about you- your friends and family-- people who have your back-- and ask them for some advice. Proverbs 12:15 and Proverbs 15:22 tells us that seeking advice from others is a very wise thing to do.

4. TAKING A LEAP OF FAITH
When you're facing a fork in the road and both options could be equally right, how do you choose? Some people feel that there is only one right job (or one right person) for them, and if they miss it, their life won't be the way God intended it to be. We need to remember that if we've had our sins forgiven and love and follow God, we are exactly where God wants us to be. A few other questions we can ask are:

A) Is it a direction that God would be proud to see me take?
B) Is it something that might be detrimental to my spiritual health and growth?
C) Is it something that seems to fit with the way God has wired me (my interests, skills, abilities, and the things that I enjoy)?

When we've answered those questions, it's time to make the best informed decision you can make and trust that when you do, you won't be jumping off of God's roadmap for your life, but that you'll be travelling down the road together.

DISCUSSION: (Take some time this week to discuss these questions with your teen. Even if those big scary decisions are a few years off, it's always good to talk about these things beforehand).

1. What is one of the most important decisions you could ever make in your life? Do you find that scary or exciting? Why?

2. What do you think God wants you to do with your life? What are some of the most important things that God would want for you?

3. If your teen is struggling with some big decisions, walk through the questions in point 4 (above) with them.

4. Pray with your teen. Ask God to help them make the right choices in life, especially that they would be people who love and follow Jesus. Ask God to give them wisdom and that they would trust Him with their future.