Family Faith Companion

The Beatitudes – workshops we’ve used

Posted on September 15, 2010April 27, 2017 by Carol Hulbert

When you’ve been using the Workshop Rotation Model for Sunday school as long as we have (15+ years!) you find that stories are repeated – at least every 6 years. (Six grades cycling through each Rotation… every six years is a totally new group of kids. Time for some do-again!)

In April 2017 we are about to revisit The Beatitudes, last done in 2004 and 2010. The schedule of which workshop your child will visit in the coming weeks, can be found on this page.

In a look at the past, here is what we did in each workshop for The Beatitudes Rotation, in preceding years:

In the Art Workshop (2010) students will imagine themselves in the crowd that participated in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. They will create renditions of themselves that will then be cutout and displayed on a mural. Stay tuned to see everyone at the Sermon on the Mount! (To ensure that everyone has a chance to be in our creation, two Art workshops will run concurrently, one for younger grades and one for older.)
In the Cooking Workshop (2010) students will discuss how Jesus’ teachings seem contrary (upside-down). Create mini Pineapple Upside-Down cakes to take home to share with their family. (And hopefully to further talk about the up-side down nature of Jesus’ words!)
In the Drama Workshop (2010) students will use sign language to discover a different way to express the Beatitudes. Discuss how can we apply the Beatitudes to our lives in the “Kingdom of God.”
In the Games Workshop students will explore living as Jesus taught while playing as game pieces on a life-size game board.
In the Video Workshop (2010) students will view the live-action video, The Visual Bible: Matthew showing Jesus teaching the Beatitudes.

Why are we doing different workshops?
There are several reasons including:

Our focus for a Rotation has changed (we’ve gained new understanding!)
We know our kids. We know what will, and won’t work with them.
We’ve got a new idea for a workshop!

Photo credits:
Rotation Model logo, used with permission, has been slightly altered.

Are you sending off your kids with heartfelt wisdom?

Posted on September 8, 2010August 25, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

Children board a school bus as parents say good-bye

September is here. School has started. Did you send your child off with a blessing?

With words that when continually spoken, become the playbook they run in their heads?

It’s never too late to start! To help form this new habit, here is a blessing to use. Add on to “See you this afternoon,” with…

Go with the confidence of God’s love.

It’s simple. It’s short. It’s easily said.

How about a new blessing every Wednesday…
“Wednesday’s Weekly Blessing.”
It’s got a catchy sort of ring to it. Let’s try it out. OK? (At least for September.)

Later added note: We kept up with blessings on Wednesday’s for quite some time! Blessings never expire. Look for one that appeals to you!

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…
Boarding the school bus by Glenn Beltz, licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0).

Praying a blessing

Posted on August 26, 2010April 18, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

a cartoon figurine sneezes Ahchooo! When someone sneezes do you say, “Bless you”?

Or perhaps, “God bless you”?

It’s a habit isn’t it.

Here’s a new habit to start:

Bless your child every day.

Don’t wait for a sneeze!

What does it mean to bless a child?

A blessing is defined as a formal act of approving. (As in: “She gave the project her blessing.”) The word “blessing” comes from the Latin word benedicere or benediction, meaning: speaking well, or saying good things of someone.

Since the our kids in Sunday school at FUMC in Ann Arbor, MI have been learning about prayer, the type of blessing I had in mind is more like a prayer; it is praying (out loud), saying in your prayer, good things for someone.

Out loud?

Yes, say the blessing out loud. Your child needs to hear you say the words. Moreover, they need to hear you say it in front of others. It’s showing how you value them; it’s displaying your trust in God’s provision for your child.

What sorts of words?

This is your chance to remind your child that God loves them! There is great power in your words; they can have a lasting effect! Henri Nouwen has written:

To give a blessing is to affirm, to say “yes” to a person’s Belovedness. And more than that: to give a blessing creates the reality of which it speaks.

Can you give me some examples?

You may choose to use a blessing from the Bible such as this recognizable one from Numbers 6:24-26.
Pray a blessing at bedtime: ___(insert child’s name)___, may God’s love and peace be with you this night.
Or as your child leaves for school: ___(insert child’s name)___, go boldly, with confidence of your goodness, for you are a true disciple of Jesus Christ.
Or for something special: ___(insert child’s name)___, there is no one else on this earth like you. You are special, uniquely created by God. God has given you skills that the world needs. You have a very bright future in the service of God, called by God to do good.
Once your child understands the concept of a blessing, it can be as simple as saying: God bless ___(insert child’s name)___.

Plant a treasure in your child’s heart.
Say (pray) a blessing today!

Click on the box if you would like to…
View other suggested blessings.

Photo credit…
A sneeze by by Zhao !, originally licensed on Flickr under Creative Commons (CC BY 2.0), however it appears to no longer be available.

Why we pray: a friendship needs feeding

Posted on August 19, 2010October 22, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Do you remember your best friend when you were a child?
How much time did you spend together?
Two kids enjoy time together jumping into a pile of leaves

Two kids enjoy time together jumping into a pile of leaves

It was as much as possible wasn’t it?

A way to explain to your kids about the importance of prayer: Use conversation with a friend as an example.

Put it this way…

Do you enjoy hanging out and spending time with your friends?
Do you like talking to your friends?
Do you talk to your friends only when you need something?
Is part of being a friend, listening to your friend?

Our friendships need this “feeding.”

Then add…

Jesus is our friend. (Jesus would very much like to be our friend!) Jesus likes spending time with us.
The way we talk with Jesus is prayer.
Prayer isn’t just for asking for something. (Though it is OK to ask for things.)
Prayer includes listening to God.

Prayer is a dialog between God and us. We can talk to God any time, any place. We don’t need a good connection, or a charged battery. God is always available. God wants to hear from us!

How is your friendship with God?

Photo credits:
Leaf pile by lecates, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

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More (creative) ways to pray…

Posted on August 12, 2010February 26, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

Ten more suggestions (ABC’s !) on how to enhance your family prayer time…

Apply an acronym.

Ever heard of using “ACTS”—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication—as a way to keep your prayers on track? Start with how you adore God! (Try using the Bible to pick out different “Adorations” for example: Psalm 139:1-6.) Follow up with Confession: what we are sorry for, something we did wrong, or something we should have done but didn’t do. Move on to Thankfuls (that’s always easy!) and finish with Supplication: Send help for the needs of others or for ourselves.

Be caught praying.

Allow your child to “catch you” at prayer. Show them your prayer list. (I keep mine on my phone.) Talk about those for whom you pray.

Create prayer reminders.

Did you know that pretzels – the twisted kind – can be tied to prayer?
A traditional twisted pretzel A woman holds her hands to her body (in a pretzel shape) while praying In the past our Cool Disciples have learned about prayer in the Cooking Workshop by making prayer pretzels. Bake some pretzels out of bread stick dough and sit down for a snack full of prayers.

Drive up to the fast food window…

Use your next trip to get fast food as an opener to talk about prayer. God is not like a fast-food restaurant where we drive up and place our orders… and expect God to deliver! God may answer our prayers with a yes, a no, or a wait and see. Say a prayer asking God for patience to rest for a reply and the insight to recognize God’s response.

Empower your child with a blessing.

You have been chosen to communicate to your child, God’s love for them! Do so by speaking a blessing. Something like: “Bless child’s name with wisdom. May the Lord God always be your guide.” Or use a Biblical blessing such as Numbers 6:24-26.

Frequently pray – so that it becomes a habit.

Pick a consistent time to say prayers. At bed time or in the bath time? Get into a groove!

Go on a prayer walk.

Walk around your neighborhood and say a prayer for each home that you pass.

Hold a Prayer Cross.

Use air-drying clay to form a cross that fits perfectly into your child’s hand. Clutch the cross while praying.

Identify God’s beauty.

Use every sunset, butterfly, and towering tree to point out God’s beautiful creation. Thank God for these gifts as you notice them.

Jar your table grace

Have kids write out table graces on slips of paper. Place them in a jar on the table. When it is time for the meal, take turns choosing a slip of paper and using the chosen grace. Click HERE for a few graces to use.

Okay, your turn… What other ways can you make prayer a part of your family life?

(It doesn’t have to continue the alphabet but it would be fun to think up ways for the rest of the letters!)

Photo credits…
Alphabet letters, in the public domain, from wpclipart.com.
A pretzel by Lara604, and Praying in a pretzel-shape by khrawlings. Both licensed their photos on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Making prayer a part of every-day life

Posted on August 4, 2010March 17, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

I don’t know about you but dinner doesn’t feel right unless we’ve said grace.

But how about the rest of your day, does prayer receive much focus?

God wants to build a relationship with us; prayer is a way that we can build that relationship. Teach your children that prayer can happen anywhere, any place, any time, and in lots of different forms.

In the month of August, our Cool Disciples at FUMC will be studying about prayer. This coming Sunday they will be learning about “popcorn prayer” and about a way to pray that involves the acronym “ACTS.”

In the meantime, here are some different ways to enrich your family’s prayer life…

Sing your prayers. Create a simple tune or “piggyback” on an existing tune such as this one: This is Our Prayer for You by Cathy’s Music. (To Piggyback on a tune means that you use a melody but make up your own words.)

Do something with your hands while praying: knit or crochet (each stitch is a prayer), work with clay or PlayDoh, draw symbols to represent who you are praying for. Here’s a neat book that guides your kids on drawing their prayers… (Click on the picture of the book will take you to Amazon – a non-affliate link).

Take your prayer cues from the Bible. Here are a few verses to try: ; Matthew 7:7-8; 1 Timothy 2:1; Philippians 4:4-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18.
Attend worship together. (A worship service can be thought of as one big prayer because we have set aside this special time to be in relationship with God!)

Carry around something that reminds you to pray: pick out a stone or a shell and carry it in your pocket. When you touch it, say a prayer.
Act on your prayer concerns. If someone needs help what can your family do?
Try out different positions to be in prayer: Palms pointing upward, or hands in the air, or lying on your back, or… follow the example of Jesus: he literally fell on his face to pray (Matthew 26:39); he knelt (Luke 22:41); and he stood ( Mark 11:25).

What are other ways to get prayer happening in your family?

Photo credits:
Western Grace by Ken Bosma; and Interesting find by Sophie ffrench-Constant, who both licensed these photos on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

Communion Questions

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Carol Hulbert

This Sunday is the start of a new month! This means that Communion will be served at FUMC in Ann Arbor, MI. The Cool Disciples worship with their families this Sunday.

Do you prepare your kids for a worship service that includes Communion?

What words do you use?

Try out some of these:

We celebrate Communion to remember Jesus. What do you suppose we should remember about Jesus?
I wonder how bread and juice help us remember Jesus?
Communion is based on the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples. I wonder what the disciples were thinking when Jesus said, “This is my body which is given for you?”
I wonder why Jesus used bread and wine for us to remember him, and not other food items from the Passover meal that they were sharing? (Like roasted lamb, bitter herbs, etc.)
I wonder what Jesus would like for us to think about when we take Communion?
At most meal times we eat food so that we can have strength. I wonder how receiving Communion gives us spiritual strength?

Note: Don’t worry about having definitive answers to your pondering!

Even Charles Wesley acknowledged the mystery surrounding Holy Communion when he penned his hymn O the Depth of Love Divine…

O the depth of love divine,
the unfathomable grace!
Who shall say how bread and wine
God into us conveys!
How the bread his flesh imparts,
how the wine transmits his blood,
fills his faithful people’s hearts
with all the life of God!

As you prepare for worship, what will you share with your kids about Communion?

Been in a shipwreck lately?

Posted on July 14, 2010September 23, 2019 by Carol Hulbert

A beached shipwreck

Have you been in a shipwreck lately? I mean of course, a figurative shipwreck.

The kids are driving you bonkers… The car needs extensive repairs… Or someone you know received a dire diagnosis…

What can comfort you?

It can be hard, can’t it?

Kids can experience shipwrecks too.

A friend moves out of town… A new school is looming on the horizon… Or there is sibling strife…

What can comfort your kids?

Sure, you’ll be there to give them a hug when needed. But what will they use as comfort inside?

What sort of self-talk will get used, in a shipwreck when you’re not around?

A recent Bible story our kids encountered at Vacation Bible Camp was about Paul in a shipwreck; a literal shipwreck! Read the story in Acts 27. Paul received comfort from God, before, during and after his shipwreck.

Will our kids seek comfort from God in the midst of their shipwrecks?

We hope that they will, but it takes some practice.

God’s word is comforting.

Spend time teaching your children to search for comfort in God’s word – the Bible.

The key is to put God’s word into their long-term-readily-available-brain-storage. (Often known as “learning by heart.” Call it memorization if you must, but perhaps not in front of your kids!) Make this a regular (and fun) activity – at bed time or at dinner time or at breakfast… any time. Just make time.

Why not start with the Bible Buddies – those little plastic characters that the kids receive at VBC. Look at them closely. There’s a Bible verse printed on each one! Tuesday’s verse was:

Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles.

That’s from Psalm 119:50.
If that seems too complicated, try this version:

When I am hurting, I find comfort in your promise.

What can you do to ensure that in your child’s shipwrecks, they turn to God?

A heart with the word 'God' etched in it For hints on ways to work at verse “memorization” see here and here and (updated) here!

Photo credits:
Shipwreck, by Katherine Hoppe, licensed on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Heart clip art by rygle, who has waived rights and dedicated the work to the Public Domain.