A Blessing for your child’s teacher

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
I’ve discovered that blessing other people, anonymously, is a quiet way of spreading God’s love. I have been blessing people I pass by on the street or in the grocery store. Usually it’s just “Lord, bless that person.” I have no idea what sort of outcome it has for the individuals; it just seems like the right thing to do.

Next week school starts in our area. Why not bless your child’s teacher?

a teacher leads a group of students

Sit down with your child and tell them you would like to send God’s blessing upon their teacher(s). Try something like…

May __your child’s name__ teacher(s) bring to their classroom an open mind; ready to learn with their students. May they be full of energy, compassionate, and kind. May they excel at sharing a love of learning. May God watch over them as they prepare for the start of school.

Your child may not even be yet aware of their teacher’s name. But God knows!


Click on a box if you would like to…
A check-box Discover why you should bless your child.
A check-box View other suggested blessings.

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

Ordinary Time? Make it extraordinary!

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

Did you know that we are in Ordinary Time?

It may still be summer and nights may be feeling like fall, but according to the church calendar, this is Ordinary Time. Admittedly, this time of year can feel ordinary—plain, average, lacking special distinction, rank, or status. The dog days of August?

In this case the “ordinary” in “Ordinary Time” comes from the word ordinal, meaning rank in a series. We can consider Ordinary Time as counted time. Have you ever noticed the “count up” happening on the worship bulletins, “ninth Sunday after Pentecost,” “tenth Sunday after Pentecost,” etc. Next Sunday ask your kids to notice what week we are on!

A chart showing the percentage of time for various sessions of the church yearOrdinary Time occurs from the day after Pentecost until the first Sunday in Advent. That’s a long time! It takes up the biggest chunk of the annual pie shown on the right. Incidentally, Pentecost is the smallest slice of the pie – it lasts only one day! (Pentecost, celebrated 50 days after Easter Sunday, marks the day when the Holy Spirit came to Jesus’ disciples.)

It would be easy to consider the days of Ordinary Time not as ordinal time but as, well, ordinary!

Other occasions in the church calendar are marked by rich meaning: Christmas, Lent, and Easter—no question, something big is happening in those areas of the church calendar! But there’s nothing special happening in Ordinary Time.

Or is there?

Might I challenge you to change your perception of Ordinary Time by practicing one small, ah, ordinal thing?

Count the extraordinary in the everyday ordinary.
One child helps another wild flowers

Seek God in the ordinary events of life. Whether it is in the natural world around you or the wonder of people interacting, or something as simple as laughter. Notice the presence of God in the commonplace. Keeping an ordinal list can help you obverse the extraordinary ordinary that is happening all around you!

Where did my list-making start? Read more by clicking on this button…

Button to access the web site: A Holy Experience.

kids on a dock Two women share a laugh Puffy white clouds against a blue, blue sky
How will you note ordinary time as extraordinary?

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Photo credits…
“Kids on a dock” by anolobb, originally licensed on flickr under Creative Commons (BY NC-SA 2.0); photo no longer available.
Rest of photos, from my archives.
View the chart I created here.

A blessing: suited for God’s sheepfold

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

If you’ve hung around this blog you’ll know that blessing your kids is a big thing for me. I want to help you to do this! What can you say as the words of the blessing? You can use scripture! And since we are studying Psalm 100, why not use verse 3.

the words of Psalm 100:3 with a photo of sheep

There is assurance in these words.

^^that they have a place with God. Hearing these words reminds your child that they are welcomed into a special relationship with God.

Use similar wording — feel free to improvise. Say your child’s name and…
'May you know that the Lord is God! He made you. You belong to him.

Bless your child. Place them under God’s loving care.


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

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Photo credits:
Created by moi from a photo on Flickr by Randy Robertson, who licensed this photo under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).

The password is thank you

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

Is this Bible verse talking about the doors to church?

A church door

'Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise.
Psalm 100:4

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble
Ask that question at the family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.)

It happens that this month at Sunday’s Cool Rotation, we are studying Psalm 100. As we dig into this psalm with the kids, our primary focus is to explore what this tells us about how to worship God. After all, the Old Testament book of Psalms is a collection of poems, prayers, and hymns that were used in the worship services of the ancient Israelites.

When we reflect on “worship” we immediately think of what we do once a week on Saturday or on Sunday – opening up those gates (okay, the doors) and coming to church. We are commanded to worship God with loud, vocal praise.

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubbleIs worship restricted to just during a weekly “worship service”?

What if we consider those “gates” referred to above as “doors” to each new day of life? How does that change your outlook on worship?

If worship — expressing our love and our devotion to God — can take place at any time and in any place, then the teachings of Psalm 100 can be applied, not just once a week, but to daily life!

Time Out. Talk about…A speech bubble
What instruction does Psalm 100 impart to our day-to-day routine? Take a look at how the The Message paraphrases Verse 4 of Psalm 100:

'Enter with the password: “Thank you!”
Make yourselves at home, talking praise.

Do you know what this means? We are to approach our days with gratitude!

The password to wondrous joy is given to us: put into practice saying thanks!

A couple of years ago I started the habit of noticing and noting things for which I am thankful; gifts from God. I got started after reading the thoughts of Ann Voskamp…

Button to access the web site: A Holy Experience.

I find it helpful to keep a list.

Yes, it’s a numbered list. I’m working my way to 1,000, but I probably won’t stop there. Sometimes my list keeping is sporadic. But I always come back to realizing its benefits: it’s not enough to just think good thoughts, it takes feelings of true gratitude – seeing it all as gifts – in good times and in bad.

Some recent entries in my gratitude list…

  • 711. A husband who gets groceries.
  • 728. Having something to do while I’m waiting.
  • 735. A son’s smile when I give him a blessing.
  • 743. A job (in her field!) for my daughter.
  • 746. Wild, free-for-the-picking flowers to bring in for the table.
  • 748. An out-of-the-blue: “I’m coming over to help.”
  • 760. Having a mess to clean-up.
  • 789. Tears at saying good-bye.
  • 798. Sheets flapping on the clothes line.
  • 811. Reflecting on a weekend with wonderful women surrounding me as I stepped outside my comfort zone, multiple times!

What about you? Have you considered starting a list of thousands (and thousands) of gifts?

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Photo credits:
Church doors by Jimmy Harris, who licensed this photo on Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).
Button from A Holy Experience.
Rest of photos from my archives.

Worship = work?

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

6th grade preps to serve Connections

A quick quiz… Ask this at your family dinner table. (Or wherever your family is gathered together.)

Looking at the above photo, What do the following two Bible verses have in common?

'Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.   Psalm 100:2

And…

'Six days you shall labor and do all your work.   Exodus 20:9

 
Ahh?
Joyful worship is what you do after your 6-day work week is up??

Not what I had in mind.

Okay, so I asked a toughie. This is something that I didn’t know! (Probably because it involves being acquainted with Hebrew.)

The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew. The Hebrew word used for “worship” in Psalm 100:2 (abad) is also the same word translated as “labor” in the verse from Exodus. The word abad also means to serve. It appears that the ancient Israelites did not always differentiate between worship, and work or service – the word means the same thing!

The Cool Disciples have been studying Psalm 100. You may recall that one of our workshops in this Rotation is to serve as groundskeepers for the downtown church. Kids are learning that worship and work are synonymous. (And I know for a fact that they experienced joy in their serving!)

We might think of the word worship as what happens for an hour once a week, but in reality this word worship includes what we may do at any time – experience joy in serving the Lord. According to the psalmist, this joy is to be expressed with gladness and thanksgiving.

Kids work on creating school kits

If worship is actually the way we should live… if it involves serving others… what can you do together as a family in service/worship?

Here are some suggestions that our church is involved in:

  • L.O.V.E. Thy Neighbor: Help make sandwich lunches for the homeless. Friday nights from 6:30pm-8:30pm. Read more about the program here.
  • Help out with CAN projects: The Community Action Network (CAN), is a non-profit community organization serving families living in low income Ann Arbor. CAN advocates for these families with their schools, community service providers, and government agencies. They provide educational and life skills programs for children and teens, and supportive housing services for families. During Vacation Bible school we have in the past contributed boxes of cereal.
  • FiSH FRI: A Third Friday Mission Event. Not a Fish Fry! Our kind of FiSH Fri(day) will be all about filling needs in our community, each third Friday of the month during the school year.
  • Meals Ministry. Making meals for stressed families – maybe they’ve had a new baby! Involve your kids in planning a meal, shopping and preparation and delivery. I still remember a church member who brought us a meal after I was in the hospital. She very patiently unloaded our supper and her two small children and brought them to the door to deliver the meal. What a great lesson her kids learned that day – service!

What sort of service worship are you planning?

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Photo credits:
Photos are copyright; from the archives.

A blessing – leading on a good path

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
In offering a blessing to your child, you serve as a conduit of God’s love.

a winding road lined by trees

Say your child’s name and…

May God lead you along the path of everlasting life.

Choose another blessing? Click here to view more options.
Doesn’t it feel good to convey God’s love to your child?


Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
A winding road by woodleywonderworks who licensed this photo on Flickr under: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic.

On your feet now—applaud God!

Posted on by Carol Hulbert

Kids at Vacation Bible Camp stand up and sing!

This month our Rotation at FUMC is on Psalm 100.

Psalm 100 is one of my favorite psalms. It tells us how we should act around God. I think the The Message paraphrase of the Bible describes it best. It starts off Psalm 100 as…

'On your feet now—applaud God!
Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.

Why should that be the way we approach God?

Because God is good! All the time!

The various writers of the psalms were honestly sharing their feelings about God; they knew that God was involved in their lives. You know what? Kids readily recognize this fact! For us adults, it’s not as easy. We need to take some clues from our kids! Here’s one way:

Take note of God at work in your life.

Kids place their "God Sightings" on the poster.At Vacation Bible Camp (VBC) last month, kids had a chance to take note of what were called “God Sightings.”

Every day kids were asked to note times when they had recognized God in their midst. They wrote or drew, on stickers that were placed on large posters.

 

Some of their reported sightings…

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Discuss around your family table, your “God Sightings.”

What did you discover? Doesn’t it make you want to jump up and applaud?

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Photo credits:
Photos are from my archives.

A Blessing: Plants roots

Posted on by Carol Hulbert
To your child a blessing is a gift. It is a reminder that God loves them. It helps them to be firmly planted in their faith.

A father and child plant together

Try out this one. It’s based on Colossians 2:7. Say your child’s name and…

May you be firmly rooted and established in your faith, and overflowing with gratitude.

View other blessings here.


Photo credits: For info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email) click here.
Other photo by Debra Roby who licensed this photo on Flickr under: Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.0 Generic.