My favorite Halloween ever...

I vividly remember my favorite Halloween ever. I was about 11 years old, and it was the first time that my Dad was going to let me and two of my friends go down our neighborhood streets by ourselves. Now, before you try and call my Dad and tell him that it wasn't a good idea, you've got to remember that this was still in those days where you could send kids out to play in the neighborhood by themselves (within certain parameters...which were always made abundantly clear by my Father).

So, back to the story. It's my favorite Halloween because my buddies and I had a great plan to maximize our candy intake. We talked for a week about the best way to map it out and what to do. All three of us arranged for two costumes (one of which would hide our faces). As soon as we could, that day, we put on our first costumes and RAN from house to house. After we had hit every house in our "allowed" area, we went behind my friends house (where we had stashed the extra costumes/masks) and changed. We emptied our buckets into plastic bags and went out to every house again. We even went as far as to "change" our voices so that any of the neighbors who might know us wouldn't recognize us.

Needless to say, I had so much candy, I was still eating it by the time Spring Break rolled around. Ah, those are the memories.


I tell that story for two reasons. The first, is that I've felt guilty for years for duping my neighbors into giving me double the amount of candy. I don't know if any of them caught on, but if they did, I guess they just applauded our ingenuity and never said anything.

The second reason is that I tell that story is because Halloween is one of those times where memories can be made for a kid. Everyone loves dressing up in something they're not, and every kid likes candy! Remember as you go out and about this weekend that memories are being made. Spend time with your kids, tell them about your favorite Halloween, let them draw a map of the neighborhood and follow their plan. There are all kinds of ways to make it an awesome night for your family!

Happy Trick or Treating!


P.S. - if you're one of those families that doesn't like Halloween and chooses not to celebrate it, I am already fully aware of the reasons you make that choice. All I can say is...is it really that bad to meet your neighbors and get free candy? There's a way to "redeem" everything... even things that can be used for evil...and use them for "God-type" purposes.

You're too busy...and so are your kids!

For years I've been trying to put my finger on something when it comes to the busy, suburban, American family. Well, luckily someone else is putting their finger on it for me.

I couldn't recommend this link any more.

Sabbath For Your Children

Read up and consider!

Are you creating apathy?

Apathy...there's a lot of it in our world today. If I'm honest, sometimes there's a lot of apathy in my own heart and life.

Despite a culture of apathy, I'm almost positive that there aren't too many of you that want your children to have an "apathetic" outlook toward the world...especially to the things of God. But as I look around the suburbs of Dallas, I see a whole bunch of spiritual apathy. There are some days that my heart aches for kids (especially teenagers) who have a major case of "spiritual apathy." Here's some ways you can create spiritual apathy in your kids (consider it the "don't do" list).


"5 Keys to Making Your Kids Apathetic About Faith:

1. Put academic pursuits above faith-building activities.
2. Chase the gold ball first and foremost.
3. Teach your kid that the dollar is almighty.
4. Refuse to acknowledge that the primary motivating force in kids’ lives is relationship.
5. Model apathy in your own life."

Here's the source link for a further breakdown of each key - Creating Spiritual Apathy

Hide it!

One of the very first verses of the Bible that I memorized as a kid was Psalm 119:11.

"I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you."

At Firewheel, especially in the children's ministry, we are convinced that kids should begin to learn how to hide God's word in their heart. There are all kinds of benefits to that, and I could probably write multiple pages about the benefits of scripture memory. Instead of doing that, I figured I'd share a couple of links that talk about "easy" verses for kids to memorize.

10 Easy Bible Memory Verses

30 Easy Bible Memory Verses


How can you incorporate these at home? I really hope you'll consider that question.

Cue Box

One of the tools we try and put into parents hands is a thing called a "Cue Box." It's a really simple thing, but the goal is to give parents some tools that they can use throughout the week to "CUE" spiritual conversations. Everything in the box goes along with what your child is learning on Sunday mornings. There's a DVD, links to cool online material, and all kinds of other fun.

Here's a helpful video another children's pastor put together to show his church what's in a Cue Box.

Anatomy of a Cue Box with Dan and Liam from dan scott on Vimeo.

If you need yours, come and get it at the check in desk! It's a great tool!

"I don't want my kids to be happy"

What a provocative title? Even better is a mother's writings about how her desire for her kids is not their happiness, but something else.

Click below and find out what she's really after.


I Don't Want My Kids To Be Happy

Interesting Statistic...

You know what they say about statistics...almost 80% of statistics are made up.

However, I was listening to a radio program the other day, and the author reported a statistic (but didn't say from where)....

The average six-year-old has already watched TV for as many hours as he will talk to his/her father during his entire lifetime. (He said this was average, and so I'm assuming this includes children who don't have a father in the picture or live with their dads.)

My heart sunk, and I began to actually think about this statistic. If it's anywhere close to true, it's no wonder the folks at Disney, Nickelodeon and advertising agencies all over the world have more influence on our children than parents do.


Dads, we can do better...let's become men of the second shift (when you go home, there's another, more important job to do).

Homework for the Glory of God

If your children are old enough, "homework" is something that inevitably occurs in your family's world. As they get older, homework becomes more and more a part of their life.

I recently read a series of articles that had some ideas about how to leverage the ever-present reality of homework to teach kids about God. Below are the 10 main points. For more explanation, click on the links at the end.

1. Explain to your children that God gave them their mind and it is his desire that they use it.

2. Explain that God created us to be “questioners.”

3. Explain that God chose their schools and their teachers.

4. Show them God’s creativity in their homework.

5. Explain how they can use their homework as a means of mission to reach other kids.

6. Use tests as an example of how God sharpens our faith.

7. Explain that God gives us gifts as a stewardship and it is a students job to develop those gifts and use them.

8. Word pictures are great for describing our relationship with God.

9. Use homework as a chance to teach cognitive thinking.

10. Spend time with your child helping with his or her homework.

Homework, a Devotional Time??? - Part 1

Homework, a Devotional Time??? - Part 2

Homework, a Devotional Time??? - Part 3

Modesty - Young Ladies

Having worked in childrens ministry for almost 10 years now, one of the things that I've noticed (just in that short time) is how much fashion changes and how "fashion" or wanting to be "fashionable" is a desire of most young ladies.

However, in the last 10 years things have changed drastically when it comes to the modesty of young ladies. Call it our culture, call it fashion, call it whatever you want...the reality is that most young ladies will have to be conscious of how to be "modest" in a world that doesn't particularly want them to be modest. And yet we know from 1 Peter 3:3-4 what God wants every woman to "show off."

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:3-4


Here's a couple of links I ran across about young ladies, modesty, and how to talk about this with our young daughters and our young women.


Are Your Daughters Looking Sexy?

Modesty Guidelines for Girls


One of the great parts of these articles is a couple of guidelines that are given for knowing whether or not a particular outfit is "modest."

• "If you have trouble getting into it or out of it, it is probably not modest."
• "If you have to be careful when you sit down or bend over, it is probably not modest."
• "If people look at any part of your body before looking at your face, it is probably not modest."
• "If you can see your most private body parts or an outline of those parts under the fabric, it is probably not modest."

Moms and Dads, what are some ways you've addressed this issue in your home?

Having a family fight?

Families are going to have "fights." It's inevitable...like the rising sun or the Chicago Cubs not winning the World Series. Fights are going to happen.

I ran across an article the other day about how to have a "family fight." Not only is it good advice for a family fight, but conflict in general. Give a read and let me know what you think?

How to Have a Family Fight

Enjoy!

Parents...pay attention!

All this month, your children will be learning about "Initiative." It may not seem or sound like a super spiritual of an idea, but there is so much God wants to teach us in this area. Initiative is simply "seeing what needs to be done and doing it."

All month long, on Sundays, we'll be teaching the story of Nehemiah. I ran across a great video that you can watch (7-10 minutes) to understand where we're headed and how you might be able to use what we teach on Sunday mornings and continue the learning through the course of your family life this month.

Monthly Virtue Video

(To the right of the video player at the above link, thee will be an "orange-ish" button that says "October 2010 Virtue Video"- click on it and it should play this month's intro/overview video)

J.C. Ryle on Training - #5

Training Your Child to Love God Can Depend on You

“We heavily depend on those who bring us up. We get from them a taste and a bias which clings to us most of the days of our lives. We learn the language of our mothers and fathers, and learn to speak it almost without thinking, and unquestionably we catch something of their manners, ways, and mind at the same time. Time will tell, how much we all owe to early impressions, and how many things in us may be traced back to the seeds sown in the days of our infancy, by those who were around us."

“And all this is one of God’s merciful arrangements. He gives your children a mind that will receive impressions like moist clay. He gives them a disposition at the starting-point of life to believe what you tell them, and to take for granted what you advise them, and to trust your word rather than a stranger’s. He gives you, in short, a golden opportunity of doing them good. See that you do not neglect such an opportunity. Once you let it slip, it is gone forever."

“I know that you cannot convert your child. I know that they who are born again are born, not of the will of man, but of God. But I also know that God specifically says, ‘Train a child in the way he should go,‘ and that He never gave a command to men and women which He would not give them the grace to perform. And I also know that our duty is not to stand still and dispute the command, but to go forward and obey it. It is only when we move out in obedience that God will meet us. The path of obedience is the way in which He gives the blessing. We only have to do as the servants were commanded at the marriage feast in Cana, to fill the water-pots with water, and we may safely leave it to the Lord to turn that water into wine.” - J.C. Ryle