Family Faith Companion

A Blessing: Go with God

Posted on October 5, 2011December 31, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

One of the unfortunate things about parenting is that feedback on our techniques takes years to show results! We have to place our trust in God.

Blessing your child may not give you instant “results” but it is powerful medicine for your child.

Start simple.

A child starts off on a walk

As your child leaves for school in the morning, say their name and…

Go with God!

What do you say as your kids leave the house?

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits:
Going walking by Jane Cantral, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

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Looking for a study of Psalm 23?

Posted on September 29, 2011November 18, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

Our 1st – 6th graders at FUMC in Ann Arbor, MI) do Sunday school in a novel way via what is called the Workshop Rotation Model. They learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops that each teach the story from a different learning style. Here are the workshops we used when we studied Psalm 23. (You can see which Bible story we are currently covering here.)

A Shepherd leads his flock to still waters

Since we have studied this story a couple of times — we repeat stories every six or so years — there are multiple descriptions for some workshops. Where available, I’ve linked to the lessons we used. They live on in perpetuity at the website for all things Rotation: Rotation.org.

Check out this Bible passage on-line here. And peruse a growing list of opportunities to foster faith learning at home using this story.

In the Art Workshop students discussed the word pictures found in Psalm 23 and used watercolors to paint a visual image of the psalm. Link to the lesson.
In the Cooking Workshop students will learn about sheep and shepherds, focusing on Psalm 23:1. Design sheep-shaped sugar cookies. Will kids be able to recognize their sheep?
In the Games Workshop (2011) students participated in two games. First a relay race called “Follow me to the Lord’s House.” Then Pictionary to work on learning Psalm 23.
In the Games Workshop (2017) students participated in a Psalm 23 Olympic obstacle course.
In the Newsroom Workshop students will create and videotape a news broadcast on a portion of Psalm 23 (verses 4-6). Link to the lesson.
In the Puppets Workshop students will use puppets to act out using Psalm 23 as comfort in a time of trouble. In this workshop the focus is on verse 4.
In the Storytelling Workshop students will learn about sheep and the tough job of a shepherd, from a storyteller dressed as a Bible times shepherd. They will play a True/False quiz game involving herding “sheep.”
In the Video-Making Workshop students created background and characters with Legos and other materials, and then created a video of a Psalm 23-like story, using their created scenes.

If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI.

Photo credits:
One of a set of photographs of a shepherd life, illustrating the Twenty Third Psalm,
created by the Photo Dept. of the American Colony (Jerusalem), circa 1900 to 1920. Access the original in black and white via Library of Congress, in the Public Domain. A colorized version via Waiting for the Word at Flickr.
Any other photos are copyright, from my archives.

A Blessing: Choose Joy

Posted on September 29, 2011September 29, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

It is a passion of mine: once a week I encourage you to bless your child(ren) and to offer you a blessing that you can try out with your kids.

The word “blessing” means speaking well, or saying good things of someone. It comes from the Latin word benedicere or benediction. Blessing your children can, over time, only lead to positive outcomes. Your words (really, just simple words) communicate your child’s high value to God, and to you. A blessing gives kids a vision of what they can accomplish and who they can become. Hearing blessings can cause them to think about their choices.

There is also another meaning of the word blessing: when someone is a blessing to others; when someone bestows good of any kind upon someone. Sara Frankl, an internet friend, was a blessing to many people. Sara was a blessing to me, for she reminded me to always choose joy in all circumstances.

So, in honor of Sara, here is your blessing for this week… Say your child’s name and…

May you take every opportunity to choose joy.

Why do I mention Sara? Over the last few years Sara has suffered from a couple of different diseases which kept her indoors and in constant, intense pain.

Yet Sara chose joy!

For example, Sara has said…

I am in pain, sick, frail, homebound, bedbound, without great possibility or potential in my future.

In all of that, I am whole. I am complete. I am exactly what God made me to be in the exact time He created me to be it.

Despite her circumstances, Sara always said, “Yes” to God. She made a conscious choice to choose to see God always at work in her life. Sara Frankl died on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 surrounded by family and friends. She was 38 years old. She is now pain-free in heaven. Dancing and singing.

I will miss your inspiring words Sara. May I choose to look always for joy. May I be so bold as to offer my words, in hopes of nourishing others on the path of growing their children to be disciples of Christ.

Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.

A Blessing: Support Your Child’s Character

Posted on September 22, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

The cover of the book, The Blessings of a Skinned Knee

The Wow Moms group (Women of Wonder, Moments of Mission) at FUMC, has just started reading and discussing the book The Blessings of a Skinned Knee: Using Jewish Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children by clinical psychologist Dr. Wendy Mogel.

This book chronicles the author’s discovery that her religious roots provided helpful axioms for her doubts and anxieties as a parent. In exploring ancient Jewish texts, including the Talmud and the Torah, she recognized venerable wisdom that could be applied to child-raising situations faced by all parents. She has laid out for us a road map for raising self-reliant, respectful and confident kids.

I have found her book fascinating! There was a lot of meat in chapter one of this book (to which our attention was attuned for this week’s meeting). From Mogel’s story of a return to her Jewish roots…

Something had been stirred in me, but I didn’t know what it could be.

To how we as parents place ourselves in a trap, all in the name of good intentions…

Determined to give their children everything they needed to become ‘winners’ in this highly competitive culture, they missed out on God’s most sacred gift to us: the power and holiness of the present moment and of each child’s individuality.

Quotes from the book.

It was this last point that our discussion focused on: Helping our children realize their God-given, inherent potential. We concluded that recognizing and encouraging our children’s personality, character and temperament, was important. Our leader, Shannan instructed us to take some time to jot down things we notice over the next few weeks. “Every child is so different, and the more we understand who they are, the better we can parent them.”

True words. Might I add to that?

Blessing your child to reinforce their character.

Here are some examples…

Is your child naturally exuberant? Give them this blessing: Say their name and… May God lead you to share your enthusiasm for life!
Is your child sensitive and quiet? Give them this blessing: Say their name and… God has given you the special job of noticing the good in every situation.
Is your child exhibit a “know-it-all” attitude? Give them this blessing: Say their name and… May God lead you to share your knowledge with others.

What other blessings apply to your children? Share your thoughts!

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
Other photo from Amazon. (Clicking on this picture will take you to Amazon. I don’t receive any benefit if you buy the book!)

Is God’s name Art?

Posted on September 20, 2011December 28, 2013 by Carol Hulbert

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Imagine a leader with a bunch of kids, and the conversation goes like this:

Leader: Hello everybody, I’d like to read to you the world’s most famous prayer, the Lord’s Prayer. Does anybody know how it begins? (pause)
Yes, that’s right, we start by praying the words: Our Father who art in heaven.
Child: Excuse, me, excuse me.
Leader: Yes?
Child: Who is Art? Is God’s name Art? I never heard God called Art before.

Okay, so that was just a hypothetical situation but when you think about it, just what does the Lord’s Prayer mean to kids? Take a look at the Lord’s Prayer with your kids, a line at a time. Read a line and ask your kids what it means. Listen to their replies. (They might have a thing or two to teach us adults!)
If you’d like to print out this list, click here.

Our Father, who art in heaven,

“Art” in this case means “is.” Our Father, who is in heaven.
We can think of God as someone as close to us as a loving parent.
Addressing God as a father would have been radically different for the followers of Jesus. To them God was grand and majestic… and intimidating and fearsome! To call God something chummy like “father” – this was new!
God as our father makes us all a part of God’s family. What a great, big wonderful family!
Even though God is in heaven, he hears you and wants to talk with you.

hallowed be thy name.

Hallowed means holy.
By calling God’s name holy, we acknowledge God’s greatness.
Our great and Holy God wants to have a close relationship with us! Amazing!

Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

“Thy” is a fancy way of saying “your.”
“Will” refers to the plans that God wants to have happen.
This line is like saying: God, may things here on earth be just like they are in heaven. May things be run according to God’s standards — peaceful and free from unfair treatment of anyone.
Because God is after all, God, he can cause his will to be done. So why ask for this? It is an invitation for us to participate in making sure that God’s plan happens.

Give us this day our daily bread.

This is asking God for what we need on a daily basis. (Which is different than what we want!)
It is asking for the necessities of life, not just food.
God knows what we need. Why should we have to ask? It reminds us of our need for God and that we can trust God.
We live in a world where the focus is on being self-sufficient (taking care of yourself). Yet God wants us to depend on him for daily needs.

And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Trespasses, sins, debts… all mean the same – things we do wrong. Things we do that separate us from God.
Forgiving someone can be hard because forgiving fells like it makes an act seem less serious. But when you are forgiving, it is like saying: what you did was wrong but I am giving you a second chance. There is acknowledgment that what was done was wrong.
Nursing the grudges of something that has hurt us wastes our energy. Forgiving allows us to put the past behind us.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.

Protect us from doing things that would harm ourselves or other people.
God provides us our “daily bread” however we are completely free to make choices about what we do with it. This temptation comes from our own doing.

For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.

You God, are awesome!

Amen.

Amen means “so be it.”

Credits:
The quoted text was adapted from a drama by Neil MacQueen of Rotation.org.
Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Other photo: from the archives.

Cool Disciples Schedule: September 2011

Posted on September 15, 2011November 9, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

On Sunday mornings, our Cool Disciples (our 1st – 6th graders) experience Rotation Model Sunday’s school, as they learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops. NOW our kids on Saturday nights at our Green Wood campus are also using Rotation!

At a prayer station

In both locations in September, we are studying the Lord’s Prayer. Prayer is talking and listening to God – any time, any place, and about any thing! God loves us and wants to have a relationship with us. Prayer provides a means of fostering that relationship. As we study about the Lord’s Prayer, we’ll be talking about prayer in general. Be prepared for questions!

Read about Jesus teaching his followers how to pray in two of the four Gospels: Matthew 6:9-15 and Luke 11:1-4.

For Saturdays at the Green Wood location, here is the schedule for September…

Date	Workshop	Activity
9/10	Cooking Workshop	Find out about the connection of pretzels to prayer. Create some yummy pretzels and discuss the Lord’s Prayer.
9/17	Video Workshop	Watch portions of two videos to see different renditions of Jesus teaching his followers about prayer.
9/24	Drama Workshop	Discuss how to portray various parts of the Lord’s Prayer. Then put on your drama disposition! How would you act out “we’re sorry”?

For Sundays at the downtown location, here is the schedule of workshops for September…

Date	Cooking	Prayer Walk	Video	Art	Drama	Art
	Pine Room	Social Hall	Room 204	Room 211	Room 215	Room 212

9/11	2nd grade	5th grade	3rd grade	6th grade	4th grade	1st grade
9/18	3rd grade	4th grade	1st grade	5th grade	6th grade	2nd grade
9/25	1st grade	6th grade	2nd grade	4th grade	5th grade	3rd grade

What’s happening in each workshop?

In the Cooking Workshop students will be following the same lesson as the Green Wood kids: Making prayer pretzels! I am sure that some eating will ensue.
In the Prayer Walk Workshop students will be doing multiple activities including experiencing a personal prayer walk with various stations (such as giving God your worries, asking for forgiveness, thanking God for his love..) While waiting for a turn to go through the prayer walk, students will write prayers to be used in worship on 10/30 and work on creating a prayer “book.”
In the Video Workshop students will watch portions of the live-action video The Visual Bible: Matthew, and The Animated Stories from the New Testament: The Lord’s Prayer. Play a game to teach about the meanings of portions of the Lord’s Prayer.
In the Art Workshop for 4th-6th graders, students will create a braided prayer rope with “tails.” They will Write prayer “starters” on the tail ends of their rope, which allows the rope to serve to instigate prayer.
In the Drama Workshop students will use a form of readers theater to explore the Lord’s Prayer. As the meaning in the Lord’s Prayer is discussed, they will create a “layered lines” rendition of the Lord’s Prayer. Will it make an appearance on YouTube?
In the Art Workshop for 1st-3rd graders, students will personalize a prayer pillow rock. I wonder how a rock will prompt them to pray? (My son who created a prayer rock 9 years ago, still has his!)

If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning!

Photo credits:
Photo from my archives.

A Blessing for scaredy cats?

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

Is the concept of blessing your child, scary?

I can’t do that. My child will think I’m crazy.

What if my child blows off my words?

What if I say the wrong thing?

How about if you think of a blessing as praying for someone? That’s essentially what a blessing is, a personal prayer said out loud that gives your child a sense of being loved and accepted. Try this blessing: Say your child’s name and…

God has made you perfect just the way you are.

Think about what hearing those words will mean to your child!
I guess the cat is out of the bag on this one. (grin)

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
Cat accepting visitors by Linda Åslund, who licensed this photo on Flickr under

A Blessing: Seeing God in Laughter

Posted on September 7, 2011August 26, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

Everyone knows that laughter is good medicine. Laughter is also a gift from God. In the Bible, upon the birth of a son at an impossibly old age Sarah declared: “God has brought me laughter. All who hear about this will laugh with me” (Genesis 21:6).

Spend time every day laughing with your child(ren); it blesses them with good health and good memories.

After a bellyful of laughter, try out this blessing:

Today may you see God in your laughter and in your joy.

Laughing kids

Click on a box if you would like to…
Satisfy your curiosity about why you should bless your child.
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credits:
Laughing kids by amslerPIX, licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).