Cry of the Orphan. Take some time to join with others in prayer for children in the foster care system from May 20-27. This link will tell you a little more.
Cry of the Orphan-Foster Care Prayer Vigil
8 05 2012Comments : Leave a Comment »
Tags: fostering, orphan, prayer
Categories : Children's Ministry
Student Parody Prayer
22 11 2011Here’s a shout out to all the students out there! (Thanks Frank for sharing this with me.)
Now I lay me down to study,
so I pray I won’t go nutty!
If I should fail to learn this junk,
I pray thee Lord I will not flunk.
But if I do not shed a tear,
just put a rose behind my ear,
then pile my books upon my chest
and perhaps I’ll die before I wake
so that will make one less test to take!
Anonymous
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Tags: learn, parody, prayer, student, study
Categories : Uncategorized
9 Tips for Teaching Kids to Pray
30 03 2011Prayer is in essence a fancy word for conversation and connection with God. Teaching kids to pray can be tricky, but you can do it.
A few friends and I had a conversation about this not too long ago. We talked about the challenges of it and the frustrations that go along with it. For example, when teaching a young boy to pray at bedtime, what do you do with silliness? Or how do you get an elementary aged girl to open up and actually pray more than a sentence? What do you do when they start rambling? Is it okay to thank God for Ironman? Is it even possible to teach kids to pray? I believe it is even though I also am challenged with it at church as well. I love to see kids pray out loud even when they are tentative!
When I was in driver’s education I had an instructor. One of the things he taught us was to have verbal diarrhea. In other words, talk about everything you see as you’re driving down the road. Be aware of your surroundings. Be alert. This mindset can be helpful with prayer. Sometimes we just need to get the ball rolling. Creation is a great place to start. Go for a walk and have kids thank God for everything they see. Then have them come up with things on their own to thank God for.
Teach kids that the most important connection they have is not you or their friends, but God. Tell them they can talk to Him anywhere, all the time and about anything.
Tips to keep in mind:
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Tags: connection, conversation, kids, prayer, tell God, thank God
Categories : Children's Ministry, Christian Life, Parenting, Teacher/Leader Resources
Chat Show (Vol.2, Iss.7): Minecraft, a Monkey, Muddy Waters and More
29 03 2011Dive into this issue to catch a glimpse of what kids are curious about. There’s a new game called Minecraft, strange names like Muddy Waters, friendship, Peter’s denial of Jesus and more.
Use the arrows to move around in the slide show or press stop to stay a little longer on a particular slide.
Please note, that when I include references to games, movies and other forms of entertainment, I am not necessarily recommending them, but simply creating awareness of what kids are interested in.
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Tags: friend, friendship, Jesus, minecraft, monkey, names, peter, prayer
Categories : Chat Show, Children's Ministry
Sonora’s Two Principles for Handling Bullies
16 02 2011
Sonora, my four year old daughter, came home from school awhile ago saying a boy in her class had hit her. Obviously, this bothered her some. I don’t know the severity of that exchange, but it’s worth considering. It could have been a hard hit out of the blue or a tap with noticeable anger. Bullying is a reality worse for some than others, but every kid will encounter it in their school experience. I don’t really consider this bullying, but it would be if it were pervasive.
On her next day of school she mentioned him again. Now, before we send her off to school we usually say a prayer. She mentioned that we should pray for this boy. She asked that God would help him not to hit her. I coached her along a little and suggested that she ask God to help her to be kind to him and she did. Simple and short, but yet a powerful refocus for the day. I didn’t think much of it until the end of the day.
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Tags: bully, enemy, forgive, Jesus, kindness, pray, prayer, school, scripture
Categories : Children's Ministry, Christian Life, Parenting
