Family Faith Companion

Should Epiphany only be celebrated in the dark?

Posted on January 6, 2016February 25, 2022 by Carol Hulbert

A beautiful blue sky day in winter

Happy Epiphany! Such a bright, sunny day—how rare for these parts in winter! How do you plan to celebrate Epiphany?

On Epiphany we remember wandering “wise men” who tracked a star and “followed its glisten and gleam all this way to worship him” (Matthew 2:2, The Voice).

Did you know that the stars are always shining, even in the daytime? It’s easy to forget isn’t it? We need a total solar eclipse to be able to see them, but they are there! Epiphany, with it’s focus on stars, do we have to wait until dark to celebrate?

The word Epiphany literally means to show or to make known or to reveal. It gets this name because the magi had finally reached their long-traveled destination. They were searching for a child, born to be God among us, and they had finally found him! They worshiped Jesus, presented gifts suitable for royalty, and thus revealed to the world that Jesus was a king.

If they were focused on a star, I wonder how the magi navigated during the daylight hours?

Was the star bright enough during the day? Or did they only travel at night? (The Bible doesn’t tell us.)

Was their arrival at our Savior’s doorstep a dark-night happening?

We think of daylight as a time when it is easier to see; to find our way. We label “darkness” as scary and to be avoided.

Can we find comfort in our darkness — the kind that occurs in broad daylight — knowing that the stars are always there?

Light a candle at the dinner table tonight. Think about and discuss ways we can be God’s light helping others along the journey.

Photo credits:
Bright, daylight photo, copyright, from my archives.
A Star in the East, a painting by W. L. Taylor, 1900, in the Public Domain.

Are we there yet? Helpful Christmas activities will get you through!

Posted on December 23, 2015October 24, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

School is out for “Winter Break.” Are your kiddos busy or bored?

Looking for something for your family or your kids to do, that’s related to Christmas? Choose from these activities…

To do as a family…

Throw a birthday party for Jesus! Bake a cake together.
Read the Christmas story while it bakes. Be sure to decorate your cake! And sing “Happy Birthday” to Jesus!
Play a version of the game hot/cold. Choose one person (“it”) to leave the room while someone hides the baby Jesus from your nativity set. “It” then looks for the hidden Jesus, while everyone else sings a Christmas song – louder if “it” is close to the babe, or softer if he/she moves further away. Take this opportunity to discuss how Jesus is always close to us.
Watch some fun, short videos together (each about 1 minute). Produced by Veggie Tale creator Phil Vischer, these are a series of 12 videos called “Clive and Ian’s 12 Questions of Christmas.” Clive and Ian are puppets. Ian asks Clive questions such as “Was Jesus born on Christmas?” and “Who is Emmanuel?” Watch all 12 of them (one at a time) here.

For kids to do on their own (or with your help)…

Listen and read along as the nativity story is told, complete with appropriate Christmas Carols. It’s an on-line sing along! Click here.
Listen to the story of Jesus’ birth while you put together a puzzle showing the shepherds visiting the Christ child. Two different levels of puzzles here.
There are lots of other puzzles and games at this site. Some for older kids, ages 8-10.

Have the kids take photos which represent the words of Advent.

Check out my interpretation of these words.

Share your ideas for Christmasey entertainment.

Photo credits:
Birthday Cake by Will Clayton, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.

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Why you need a thanksgiving chair

Posted on November 26, 2015June 1, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

This Thanksgiving as you gather ’round the table, I’ll bet there will be a time for reviewing your gratitude. There likely will be lists. Every year we write ours on the table cloth.

There are the usual entries: Our health, our families, our friends, our homes, our stuff. Do we remember to add our skills and abilities; our talents?

Everything is a gift.

Yes, everything.

Even the hard things.

I wonder how the third servant in the Parable of the Talents felt, after he’d been lambasted by his master? Did he consider that a gift?

I wonder how our experience of misfortune can be changed if we consider it a gift?

Watch this short video. It’s powerful. It’s a reminder to always give thanks, for everything.

And to teach our children to do likewise.

(If reading this in an email, you can watch this video on YouTube.)

Happy Thanksgiving!

a blue line

Some of you have seen this before. Is it okay if I do a repeat? I’m using parts of a post I published two years ago… but this one is good. It’s worth the re-exposing. Thanks for grace.

~~ Carol

Video produced by Shift Worship.

Are you hiding your talents and skills? Take courage!

Posted on November 19, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

After hearing The Parable of the Talents, we pondered what was the most surprising thing we learned.

The hands down winner (in a crowd of 1st graders) was that the third servant chose to bury his “talent.”

Indeed, who today would bury something valuable?

I explained that the people who heard Jesus tell this parable would have approvingly nodded their heads when told of this concealing effort. In those days, to bury money placed into your care was considered a secure way of protecting a treasure. This third servant had done what everyone would have expected – gone for his shovel!

Except, according to the parable, the master wasn’t happy with this choice.
What resembled a smart decision, delivered a sad outcome.

How should we be guided by this parable — this story used by Jesus to teach his listeners about living in God’s kingdom?

Don’t bury your talents.

And here we aren’t only talking about the first century use of the word “talent” which referred to a large sum of silver or gold. Our use of the word “talents” encompasses much more — all of our resources including our money, our skills, our abilities, our time, and our stuff! Don’t hide these aptitudes; use them!

Making use of our talents? Easy, right?

What is holding you back? Are you allowing your “inner voice” to control your actions?

Do you explain away your behavior with…

I’m too busy.
My efforts are too small to make a difference.
I’m not ready.
I am afraid.
What will people think?

I’ve bestowed all of these excuses upon myself. I need a daily reminder to banish my fearfulness.

Everything is a gift.

Today, marks the ten-year anniversary of my near-fatal brain aneurysm. Because of an incredible story of everything happening at just the right moment, and lots of prayer, and skilled medical care, I survived. I received a precious gift: a second chance to do my best with the gifts God has given me.

Yet I don’t always act in this manner. I behave like the third servant in our parable.

Unlike his fellow-workers who were emboldened by the chance to make something of themselves — to serve their master faithfully — this third servant was afraid.

He forfeited opportunities to risk investing his gifts.

God asks only one thing for giving us the gold coin of life: Use what you have to facilitate God’s kingdom here on earth. We are not told how to use our talents, just that we should use them.

How will you make use of your resources, your gifts, your money, your skills, your abilities, and your time?

Photo credits:
An illustration from my favorite kids Bible, The Jesus Storybook Bible, used under an educational fair use category. (Link goes to Ann Arbor District Library holding.)

Your wealth of astonishing talents? Will you unlock them?

Posted on November 11, 2015September 2, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

We’ve all got “gifts” and talents — yes, even you. (Even me!) The question is…

How will we use those gifts?

This is the focus of our Rotation on The Parable of the Talents.

Read about our story in Matthew 25:14-28.
Talk about this story over the dinner table. (Or wherever your household is gathered together.)
Check out the growing list of opportunities to foster faith learning at home for this month’s story.

Join us as we explore this story!

On Sundays, at the downtown location…

Date	Our workshops for 1st through 5th graders…
	Art A	Art B	Games A	Games B	Cooking A	Cooking B
11/15	2nd grade	6th grade	3rd grade	1st grade	4th grade	5th grade
11/22	3rd grade	4th grade	5th grade	2nd grade	1st grade	—
11/29	1st grade	5th grade	4th grade	—	3rd grade	2nd grade

workshop location in the bulletin Check the bulletin for the location of workshops.

And here’s what the 6th graders will be doing on Sundays downtown… (They’ll always be in the Pine Room!)

11/15	11/22	11/29
Art Workshop – help 2nd graders	Host Connections	To be announced

And on Saturdays at the Green Wood location, here is the schedule…

Date	Workshop or Activity
11/14	Games A Workshop
11/21	Art Workshop
11/28	Worship with your family. It’s the start of Advent! Read the scripture ahead of time.

What’s happening in each workshop?

In the Art Workshops (A and B are both the same) students create a “wanted” poster using a unique self-portrait method, listing their “talents” and gifts on the poster.
In the Games A Workshop students will participate in a quiz game with a room-sized game board and game wheel.
In the Games B Workshop students will watch the story on a PowerPoint and then play a quiz game.
In the Cooking Workshops (A and B are both the same) students make “fortune cookies” with fortunes relating to stewardship.

On Saturday nights and on Sunday mornings at FUMC our Cool Disciples experience Rotation Model Christian education, as they learn about Bible stories and concepts through kid-friendly multimedia workshops. If you are in the area please join us for the fun learning at First United Methodist Church in Ann Arbor, MI.

Photo credits:
Kids sharing by Donnie Ray Jones, who licensed this photo on Flickr under a Creative Commons License.
Other photos from my archives.

Give your family a gift. Will you make a new habit?

Posted on November 5, 2015November 9, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

This coming Sunday, Rev. Nancy starts off a new sermon series on Stewardship. The scripture passage will be Matthew 25:14-28, which happens to be our story for our next Rotation!

Here’s a suggestion for giving your family a gift…

a couple with coffee Attend the 9:30 service and then, leave with the kids after the children’s time.

The kids head to class and you grab some coffee.

(No, that’s not the gift.)

It’s a little known factoid that coffee is ready in time for the choir members to imbibe. (You may need to look in the kitchen. Please be sure to make a donation for your coffee during Connections time.)

Find a quiet place to sit for 40 minutes. Though space on Sunday mornings is at a premium, wander about, you’ll find a spot. Catch up on your reading. (Please keep your chatting to a hush in a space like the Social Hall where a class is being held.) Then at 11:15… (here comes the gift)…

Attend worship as a family.

Use these discussion questions to debrief the service:

What was your favorite part of worship? Did you have a least favorite part?
In the Bible story, how much did the master give to each of his servants? (Answer)
What did the story mean by a “talent?” (Ans: In Bible times a talent was a measure of the weight of a precious metal.)
What did each servant do with what the master gave him?
How did the master feel about each servants choice?
Today we use the word “talent” to mean our abilities. Go around the table and identify an ability – a talent – of the person on your left.
How do you suppose God feels when we use our skills to help others?
How do you suppose God feels if we “hide” our talents?
What skill or talent would you like to develop? What do you feel you need to do to start?
God gave us our talents. God gave us everything we have! What prayer can we say to thank God for all of our wonderful gifts.

Perhaps you’ll start a new habit every Sunday during this sermon series.

Photo credits:
An edited photo of coffee for two by Nathan Walker, who has released this photo to the Public Domain. Offered at unsplash.com.

Why did Ruth make a startling (crazy?) choice?

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Have you ever admired something in someone, causing you to wonder: What makes them tick?

I’m not talking about wonderment in a swooning sort of way — more wanting to know what it is that motivates a person. What is their driving force?

The Bible doesn’t give us many clues but Naomi must have exhibited behaviors that Ruth applauded, eliciting a, “Hey, I want to be like her” response in Ruth.

This coming Sunday kids will be in worship as we celebrate All Saints Day, a time when we commemorate the lives of those who have shown us a picture of faith. Though this is a day set-aside to remember faith-warriors who have died in the last year, we can stretch our definition of a saint to someone who is living; someone who wears their faith on their sleeve.

Naomi must have worn her faith on her sleeve.

Ruth acted on her admiration for her mother-in-law Naomi. She made a startling choice:

Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Ruth 1:16b,c

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

What could have made Ruth decide to follow Naomi’s God?
Who to you seems like they are close to God?
Have you ever thought about asking them how they got connected to God?
Identify people you know who seem to be “God followers.” Make a plan to ask them about their faith.
What is it about YOUR faith that might make other’s think: “how can I be like them?”

How are you wearing your faith on your sleeve?

a blue line

Photo credits:
A thoughtful child by Ryse Lawrence, in the Public Domain, offered at Pixabay.com.

How to make bold, Ruth-like promises to people we care about

Posted on October 22, 2015November 5, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Naomi had packed up her belongings, and with her two daughter-in-laws, was heading to Bethlehem. What a trio – three widows without any children! (People hearing this story in Bible times knew about the perilous predicament of a widow without a son to care for her.) These three likely hadn’t gotten very far before Naomi urged them to make a different choice.

Go home. Go back to your families. What possible reason would you have for returning with me? (Ruth 1:11)

One of the daughter-in-laws does just that. She returns to her home in Moab… to her mother… to what was well-known… to her gods (Moab was a land of multiple pagan gods)… to a place where she wasn’t likely to be shunned (Israelites looked down on Moabites). She was looking out for number one – herself. Nothing to be faulted for that!

Meanwhile, Ruth makes a bold, surprising promise:

Where you go, I will go, and where you stay, I will stay. Your people will be my people, and your God my God. Ruth 1:16

Two kids make a pinky promise (by linking their pinky fingers)

Such an extravagant commitment!

This is a story about love, loyalty, devotion. And it’s about making hard choices.

What “Ruth-like” promises have you made for the people in your life?

While this strategy can apply to everyone in the family, I’m specifically talking to the parents here. How about making one (or all) of these promises:

I’ll attend worship with my family every week – even though the kids might squirm, sigh loudly, and make a fuss. (Because worshiping with your kids is good parenting in action.)
I’ll make sure that I am cultivating my own faith and I’ll talk about my faith journey with my family.
I’ll ask my child every night, “How can I be praying for you?”
I will daily invest in blessing my child.

a blue line

a Ruth wheat braiding project If your kids attend FUMC as Cool Disciples, they are mentally absorbing the basics. Each week they hear the story details. As they craft wheat creations or knead barley biscuits, they are learning definitions for widow, famine, and gleaning; they are hearing Ruth’s bold statement of trust.

But, with only (at best) 45 minutes in class, we can’t dig deep enough. We try, but we don’t have the time.

We need parents and caregivers to continue the learning.

We need you to make some Ruth-like promises, to ensure your child’s spiritually is nurtured.

Here’s my Ruth-like, stretching-myself promise to you (because I care about your kids): I’ll keep bugging you to grow your kids faith!

Photo credits:
Pinky promise by Cheryl Holt, in the Public Domain, offered at Pixabay.com.
Other photo from my archives.