Friday Media

Parents, wouldn't it be great if you knew what your kids will be learning about during the entire month of October at church? Wouldn't it be great if there were a video that could summarize it all, help you understand the big picture, and maybe give you some insight into how to have conversations with your kids after church is over each week? Wouldn't that be great?

Well, you're in luck...

Elementary

Preview: Imagine That (October 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Preschool

FL Preview : Fantastically Made (October 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Get ready...it's going to be a great month!

What are you focusing on...

The other day I ran across an interesting article. I found it to be an interesting read, and wanted to pass it along.

Biblical Parenting vs. Gospel Parenting

Here's the only issue I have with his article...biblical parenting is gospel parenting! In other words, gospel parenting is the biblical way to parent. Do you get what I'm saying or am I just confusing you (as I confuse myself)?

What I enjoyed about the article is the distinction of focus when it comes to how you parent? The kinds of truths you attempt to point your children toward in those critical moments of parenting is a BIG deal.

Your thoughts?

Friday Media

What does the Gospel have to do with parenting? It doesn't always seem like those two go together...but they DO!!!

The Gospel and Parents - David Platt

If you have a commute or enjoy listening to podcasts while you work out, make sure you grab this one.

Blessed...

I wanted to share a story with you about a recent blessings I received. One of our church members made it possible for me to attend a national conference. Sometimes conferences/learning opportunities can be expensive (travel, hotel, food, etc.). This particular conference is held locally in Frisco, and so the cost isn't as substantial.

I'll be attending on Thursday and Friday the D6 conference. D6 gets its name from Deuteronomy 6. It's one of my favorite passages about the family/parental responsiblibity to shepherd/nurture/grow the faith of the next generation.

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."

I'm looking forward to this learning opportunity. I hope to bring back some interesting knowledge and other insights for you about some new ways to look at this age-old challenge of growing up little "disciples."

I am a blessed man...blessed to have this opportunity...blessed to be a part of a church full of generous people...blessed to have a mission in life that I love...blessed in so many other ways!

Friday Media...

One of the great things that has started to happen in the last decade is this deep look into one of the "unwanted" or "undesired" outcomes of children who grow up in church. We've all heard the statistics about how many of the kids who grow up in church and yet, when they reach adulthood, they leave the church/faith.

There's all kinds of things I could say here...in fact, I have my own ideas/opinions/hypothesis, about why this tends to happen.

There's a study coming out of Fuller Seminary in CA called "Sticky Faith." When I heard the main thesis of the book, it matched many of the thoughts that I had about this phenomenon. It's set to release later this year, but the authors have provided a bit of summary for us. It's an audio podcast summarizing their findings.

Sticky Faith - Summary - Audio

I think this is something you should listen to and consider in your own parenting!

God is BIG!!!

I'm pretty sure you're aware of this, but God is BIG! Kids are acutely aware of how big God is. They are well acquainted with this idea of "wonder." As we move into adulthood, the "bigness" of God starts to become "less big." By "less big," I don't mean that somehow God is smaller. It's not His problem...but our problem.

I saw something the other day that helped me understand just how big things are that we think are. It's a completely different example an idea than God, but this helped me understand just how "BIG" some things are.

What does one TRILLION dollars look like?

Now, if that's what a "trillion" dollars looks like, can you imagine the size of the God of the universe who created everything (including the trillion dollars)? Want further proof, just google how many stars/galaxies exist.

How big is our God? [rhetorical question, no need to answer unless you really want]

Serving in Children's Ministry

Have you ever considered serving in children's ministry? Take a look at the reasons that a couple of ladies do!

Children's Ministry Testimony from Steven Polk on Vimeo.

Things I Love Too Much...

Last Saturday, I posted something on Facebook. I didn't think much about it at the time. I think, originally, my intent was to be a little comical and a little confessional. Here's what I wrote...

"There are some things in life that I love too much...#1 on that list...college football! (cut me some slack...at least I'm admitting that I have a problem)."

It's true. There are...

• Things that I love too much.
  
• Things that my affections are tied to.
• Things that I care about way more than I should.
• Things that are far from eternal.
• Things of which I need to confess.
• Things that hold too much sway over my emotions.
• Things that take way too much of the time I've been allotted on the earth.
• Things that I get more excited over than the worship of God on Sunday mornings.

All that to say, I don't have any plans to never watch a college football game again...I'm just wondering how much I love it. I'm trying to ask myself some of the hard questions that most people are really afraid to ask themselves.

So, here's the question for you today. What are those "things" for you? What are the "things" that you love way too much? An even scarier question...for those of you who are parents, what does that communicate to the little eyes that are constantly watching you from every angle?

It's a scary thought...but wasting your life on "things" that don't matter is an even scarier thought...at least for me.

Friday Media

As is custom, on Friday's, I pass along some good media (audio, video, etc.) about parenting.

Today, I wanted to share with you something that I think might be extremely helpful to you as a parent kids at Firewheel. Each month, our curriculum company gives us all kinds of great resources to help kids and families. Here are the summary videos of what your kids are learning about all month at church. Take a minute to watch...it may help you have a spiritual conversation to your kids!


Elementary

Preview: Grow Up (September 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Preschool

FL Preview: ANYTHING (September 2011) from Orange on Vimeo.

Hope they help!

Kids and Facebook

I found this to be an interesting take on kids and Facebook...

When should you let your kids use Facebook

My own personal thoughts are if the rules say 13 is the age you have to be...and your kid is 11 and has a Facebook...that means you either lied for them or you don't care if they lied and bent the rules. I know what you're thinking...everyone is doing it! You might even think I'm taking too hard of a stance. However, if you think I'm taking too hard a stance, go to www.firewheelchurch.com and listen to Pastor Jerry's message on integrity from a couple of weeks ago. Integrity is so tough sometimes, and I'm with you in that battle! Now, don't hear me condemning you...that's not what I'm saying. You could just as easily point a finger back at me in other avenues of life.

Instead, what I'd ask you to consider is to whether or not you've really thought about when, how, and why you let your kids be on social media websites.

What are your thoughts?

The Apple Doesn't _________________

Can you finish the sentence?

It's an old cliche, but it's probably true...the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree. I've been thinking about that a lot recently, since I will be meeting Lauren and I's little "apple" in November. If I'm honest, I'm kind of scared that he'll be just like me.

When someone uses that line, it is usually with a negative connotation. There are definitely times in life, where you're going to look at your kids and say "that's in THEM, because of ME, and I wish that weren't the case." But what about the positive potential that this statement holds? There are also positive traits/characteristics/habits that your kids are in them because you possess them.

Here's where I'm going with this...there's one area of life, where this statement is most definitively true...your relationship with God and your own spiritual growth. Many folks falsely assume that if I bring my kids to church, they'll grow spiritually. It's not that easy.

There are no guarantees that any of our children will grow up loving God and desiring to follow Him with their lives, but I do know this...they have a better chance of understanding what that's all about if they have parents in their life who are modeling that for them and doing their best to live out a genuine and real relationship with God in front of them.

If it's not in YOU...it's probably not going to be in THEM! When it comes to spiritual growth and desire for God, the old adage is true...the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.

Friday Media...

Last week's "Friday Media" was geared around the memorization of Scripture. Well, I figured that we would continue the theme. Everyone knows how to "memorize" things. I can prove this because all of us can immediately pop off a whole slew of music lyrics right now. There's something about music that helps us memorize things forever. In fact, there are music lyrics from 20 years ago that are still in my head to this day.

So, one of the easy ways to combine memory and Scripture is to put Scripture to music. Luckily the folks at Seeds Family Worship who have done this for us. If you like it and think your kids will like it, there are lots of CD's available at their website.









Pretty catchy...I'm singing a couple of them right now!

Wednesdays are for parenting tips...

A Fun Way To Teach Children to be Servants

One of the roadblocks to sibling harmony is selfishness. Children want to be first or best. Teaching kids to serve others is an important way for them to learn honor. A servant gives more than half, considers others' needs, and looks for ways to benefit those around him. Children who learn to be servants make better employees, develop meaningful friendships, and enjoy relationships more.

One fun way to teach children to be servants is the "I Cut, You Pick" Rule. It helps children who both want the last piece of cake, or plan to split a chocolate bar. It simply goes like this. When children must divide something between the two of them, ask one child if he would rather cut or pick. The other alternative goes to the second child. This plan motivates the person cutting to be as equal as possible.

Now, instead of two children arguing about who got the biggest piece, they are both involved in the solution. The "I Cut, You Pick" rule equips children with a tool they can use in many situations to bring peace instead of frustration in relationships.

The technique actually comes from a Bible story of Abraham and Lot. They had too many herds and not enough food so they decided to divide the land between the two huge families. Abraham, being a wise servant of God, said, "I'll cut the land into two pieces and you pick which one you'd like." In the story, Lot chose what appeared to be the better piece but Abraham was rewarded in the end and, most importantly, their relationship was preserved.

This parenting tip is taken from the book, "Say Goodbye to Whining, Complaining, and Bad Attitudes, In You and Your Kids" by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller, RN, BSN.

Taken from www.biblicalparenting.org

New School Year

This day is always a "guilty-pleasure-type-of-day" for me. For months, I've had to live through the constant facebook statuses and other reminders that there is a whole group/population of people who are out of school/work for three months. I'll be honest, for three whole months, I'm kind of jealous of their statuses about "going to the pool" or "got to sleep in today." You get the point. While the rest of the working world continues to plod along, they seem to be in the blissful "summer" state.

Well, today, all of that changed. That's right...It's back to school day! There's almost a sense in which I'm kind of secretly thankful that they won't be able to rub their "summer fun" in my face anymore.

I know what you're thinking...that's a little petty, Robert. I'm not denying it...welcome to my wicked, sinful heart. :)

Confession time...ever been jealous of students or teachers during the summer? Ever secretly been happy that they have to go back to school? Or is this just me?

Friday Media...

"I have hidden Your word in my heart...that I might not sin against God."

The author of the Psalms helps us connect the reality that memorizing Scripture is critical to living a life where sin is decreased and following God is increased. That is just as true then as it is now. There is a powerful link between knowing, memorizing, and storing God's Word in our hearts that helps us in the Christian life.

Ever wanted to think about how to get your kids to memorize scripture...well, below is a link to one prominent pastor's thoughts on the matter...

How Can Parents Help Their Kids Memorize Scripture?

There's your Friday media...enjoy!