Daily Life – Page 5 – Family Faith Companion

Accept mistakes and celebrate grace

Posted on August 8, 2013August 8, 2013 by Carol Hulbert

It’s a nasty train of thought that I’ve carried with me for a long time:

But it’s not perfect!

All of my life I’ve been a perfectionist. In the 2nd grade when we were creating self-portraits at school, my mother was mystified by my insistence that I wear the same dress for several days in a row. (I wanted to get the details just right.)

I recall in 8th grade getting a “D” in Art class because I couldn’t finish my projects; I couldn’t get them to be perfect.

It’s a disease and I know that others suffer from it too. (Like the 5th grader I worked with who was afraid to estimate an answer to a mathematical problem because, well, it could be wrong!)

I think perhaps it is something that we teach ourselves to believe?

Here’s the pitch I’m repeating these days: Jesus is bigger than any mistake.

Try this at the family dinner table (or wherever your family is gathered together): Have everyone (adults included) share a mistake that they made that day. Repeat the process on a daily basis.

Exposing and naming our goof-ups teaches our kids that:

Everyone makes mistakes;
Home is a safe place to confess our sins;
When necessary, forgiveness can be extended;
We can all celebrate God’s gift of I-love-you-anyway Grace.

It’s not too late to learn: Jesus is bigger than any mistake. What learning is happening in your family?

Photo credits:
Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Broken seedling by D. Sharon Pruitt, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Proclaim the Presence of God

Posted on August 1, 2013December 3, 2014 by Carol Hulbert

Every family has routines — from the getting-up-and-getting-going groove, to the daily-drill, all the way to the beaten-path-to-bedtime.

Does your family routine include spending time every day, attentive to God’s presence?

It’s a behavior that needs to be taught.

Cultivate coming to recognize and experience God’s presence.

Here are some ways to teach your family to take note of God!

Make it a habit at every dinner table gathering to review everyone’s day with a sharing of highs and lows. Add in the question: where did you see God today?
Take a walk with a camera. Take photos of God at work around you. Puffy clouds with a blue, blue sky? Yes!
Is your child worried about something? Model for them the behavior of remembering when: Tell a story about a way that God has cared for you in the past. Encourage them to recall their own story. (Remember how you were afraid to go on that ride at the fair?)
Practice gratefulness. Start recording your thankfuls. (I’m up to #1756.) [Updated for December 2014 — I’m at #2985. Counting up reveals joy in all sorts of moments!]
Find God in the Bible. Read a passage using the practice of reading scripture known as Lectio Divina. Ask: “Where is God in this story?”
Add and subtract. Consider what needs to be reduced or augmented in your life, to make room for noticing God.
Admit that God is easy to see when life is full. Encourage looking for God, even in hard times.

Is God’s presence proclaimed in your family on a daily basis?

Photo credits:
Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
State fair photo by my niece, Sarah Clouse. Used with permission. Other photos from my archives.

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Worried? Time to work on remembering

Posted on June 20, 2013August 4, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

When faced with tough times does your trust in God evaporate?

Or do you remember?

When you cross deep rivers, I will be with you.
Isaiah 43:2a

Do you suppose Joseph had that thought while he was at the bottom of a pit or sold as a slave in Egypt or unfairly placed in jail?

He must have! Because in spite of all of the hard stuff that Joseph experienced, he maintained godly values and he readily shared his gifts with others.

Okay, so how do I get faith like Joseph.

And how can I help my kids to grow their trust in Jesus?

Here are a few ideas to try:

Model growing your own faith: Keep a Bible in a well-traveled space in your house. Let your children catch you reading the Bible and praying. Help your child to realize that a journey with Jesus is on-going. There is always something new to learn.
Start a family habit: when gathered together around the dinner table or while driving in the car, ask: What has God been teaching you lately? Share your stories of God with you. Hearing stories about how God was with someone can make it easier for us to remember: God is with me in all situations.
Re-focus: Use visualization techniques such as placing all their worries in a basket.
Commit Bible verses to memory. Look here and here, for ideas on how to learn verses by heart.
In times of stress, use breath prayer as a way to sense God’s presence. That link will take you to a how-to which uses an Aramaic word – the language Jesus used. Or try… On inhale: “God,” On exhale: “always here.” The possibilities are endless.

What are other ways that you teach your kids about growing their faith in God?

Photo credits:
Reflection time by Rajesh Kumar, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Wrestling worries

Posted on June 12, 2013July 12, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

Imagine living like this:

Potiphar left everything up to Joseph, and with Joseph there, the only decision he had to make was what he wanted to eat. Genesis 39:6a

I was reading our current Rotation story using Lectio Divina when this passage jumped out at me. Imagine not being concerned about anything, except what you eat! What a life Potiphar led!

Not a single worry.

Except whether to eat figs or grapes.

Crops need planting? No concern, Joseph will handle it.
Supplies need restocking? No problem, Joseph can take care of it.
(I wonder if Joseph did windows?)

Ever wished you could live like that – worry free? I sure have!

What about when your kids worry? How can you help them?
Does it work to say, “Jesus tells us not to worry?” (See Matthew 6:25-34)
Probably not.

Try this: Ask your child to close their eyes and imagine a basket. (Best done at bed time!) Have them imagine a basket on the floor next to their bed. Tell them to give details to their musing. What color basket? What shape and size?

a picture of a field is cut into strips and woven to look like a basket

When they have the image in their mind, ask them to imagine themselves putting their worries into that basket. Help them to form a clear picture of this process. Tell your child that Jesus will take care of the basket. Have them picture handing the basket to Jesus.

Try it out! What are other ways you help your kids not to worry?

Photo credits:
Woven “basket” by Cindy Cornett Seigle, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

A milestone!

Posted on May 22, 2013May 17, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Kindergarteners with their new Bibles/devotional books

These kids (and a few that were missing) passed a milestone on Sunday. Since many are starting to become readers, they received a gift from FUMC. Ahead of time they chose a Bible storybook, or a book of devotions. They also previewed (via a tour!) what Cool Disciples would be like when they become 1st graders. Here are a few notable differences about being “upstairs” kids:

They will be rotating!
(This is, after all, called the Workshop Rotation Model™, which you can learn more about here.) While in Kindergarten, the workshops came to the kids. As 1st graders they’ll be visiting the workshops – physically moving – to a different workshop each week.
How do we figure out where they go?
Check out the Children’s Ministries page in the bulletin. Or ahead of time at home (or from your smartphone on your way to church – not the driver of course!) you can check out the schedule post.
After the children’s moment in church, there is a large mob of kids – how does my 1st grader survive?
We’ve got a system. First graders are big kids, but the older kids can look bigger! To help out with this, the 1st graders gather in the hallway outside of the Sanctuary. This allows all of the older kids to ~~run excitedly~~ walk ahead to their workshops. A volunteer Shepherd greets the 1st graders outside of the Sanctuary. (Look for the person holding the orange 1st grade banner.) After the older kids have disbursed, the first grade goes as a group to their workshop.
On the first few weeks next fall, you may want to help your child find the banner and say goodbye in the hall; then once they are familiar with the process, you can let them leave the Sanctuary by themselves.
Do I need to sign them in and out?
Nope. 1st and 2nd graders will wait after class with an adult in their workshop, for pick-up by a parental unit. (3rd grade and up are dismissed to meet their families.) When you pick up your child do at least make eye contact with your child’s Shepherd!
What is a Shepherd (and how else can I get involved in this great program?
Glad you asked! Shepherds rotate with a class. They get to know the kids and help out as directed by the Workshop Leader (by taking attendance, forming groups of kids for a game, or assigning roles to puppeteers). Ideally Shepherds would serve twice a month from Sept. through May. There are many other ways to get involved. Email Beth Pascoe to ask more questions!

Oh, there is one more change… something that you as parents/caregivers have complete control of… (perhaps you’ve already implemented this?)

Continue the faith dialogue at home.

Journey with us; your family’s faith companion.

Photo credits:
Photos are from my archives.

Are you facing a den full of lions?

Posted on February 17, 2011February 6, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

If your kids are like most kids, they will experience good days and not-so-good days. They will have “glads” and they will have “sads.”

Spend time as a family with everyone sharing one glad and one sad for the day. (Don’t try to fix anything, just listen and celebrate and commiserate.)

A lion stuffed toy animal
After the sharing of glads/sads bring up the story of Daniel in the den of lions. In the days of Daniel, being sentenced to be thrown to the lions would count as a not-so-good day. It would have been a major sad!

Daniel got thrown in with a bunch of lions because he broke a law – he openly prayed to God rather than to King Darius. What did Daniel do about his situation?

He trusted God to take care of him.

This is my favorite part of this story… when the king discovers that the lions didn’t harm Daniel…

Not a scratch was found on him, for he had trusted in his God.

Talk with your kids about how our “sads” can be like being “thrown to the lions.”
When that happens, will they remember the story of Daniel?

It’s not easy trusting God. It takes practice.

God is always with us, even when we are in the midst of hardships.

Photo credits:
A stuffed lion by Terry Johnston, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Preparing for Easter: Notice the sacred in the secular

Posted on March 18, 2010February 23, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

Words on the street warning: look both ways

How is God calling us to look around with God’s eyes

and see all things sacred, and act accordingly?

This question was posed by Rev. J. Douglas Paterson in a sermon at FUMC Ann Arbor—the first sermon in a Lenten series entitled “Intentionally Christian.”

Intentionally Christian? What does that look like?

In the days of the early church, “Lent” was a time when the focus was on teaching new followers what it meant to be a Christian. It was like a prerequisite class to joining the church! The sermon series “Intentionally Christian” seeks to take this olden-days practice as an example, by asking questions like: “How do we conscientiously and purposefully live out our calling as Jesus-followers?” and “What is God asking me to do?”

In his first look at being intentionally Christian, Doug talked about how we often separate our lives into two facets: the sacred and the secular.

Our sacred life is when and where we practice our faith; it’s when we notice God. We hear ourselves say, “there is Holiness in this moment.”

And then there is the rest of our life, the secular or, the “worldly.” Unfortunately this latter slant is where we often forsake our faith and behave as if God is not involved. We don’t notice God’s presence and in fact, we aren’t even looking!

OK, so there should be no difference in the way we view what is secular and what is holy. That should be easy enough to do, right?

Wrong! I, surprisingly, have found that this can be hard to do! It takes careful thought. It takes being deliberately intentional! (Oh yeah – the title of the sermon series!)

We live in a world that is waiting for us to notice holiness. Share with your family members what mundane aspect of life looked holy to you. And share with all: What have you been noticing lately?

Photo credits:

Look by Travis Nep Smith; licensed on Flickr under Creative Commons (BY-NC 2.0).