May 2013 - Bellflower Brethren

Ideas to Grow Your Preschooler’s Faith at Home
MAY 2013
JANUARY 2011
It’s never too early …
to start habits of faith in the home!
In the prior two issues of Parent Pause we encouraged you to get
a head start on two key habits that build your child’s faith1. In this
last issue of the club year, we introduce out third and final habit.
Habit 3: Talk with your child about faith.
Parents, this habit is so simple and straightforward that we often
forget about it. All you have to do is TALK! Look for daily moments
to have informal conversations with your child about God, Jesus,
the Bible, heaven and other spiritual topics. The conversations can
be short or long, light-hearted or serious — it doesn’t matter! Just
focus on making faith a constant topic of discussion in your home.
To inspire you, we asked two parents to share meaningful
conversations they had with their kids about God.
Jeff Smith still remembers a conversation he had with his daughter
when she was about 2 or 3 years old.
After learning 1 John 4:8, my daughter asked me if God really
loved her. I told her that God loved her so much that He
made her special and one of a kind. She then asked if God
loved her sister. I said, “Very much so.” She asked if God
loved Mommy. I answered in the affirmative again. She asked
if God loved me. I repeated my answer. This went on for a
while as she mentioned various people she knew. By the
time we finished our talk, she was grinning from ear to ear.
She didn’t know a lot about God, but she knew that He loved
her very much. God used our conversation that day to plant
this important biblical truth deep into her mind and heart.
Continued on page 2
© 2013 Awana® Clubs International. • This newsletter may be reproduced only by churches registered with Awana. • Visit us at awana.org.
PAGE 1
Deuteronomy 6:7 Impress them [God’s commands] on your
children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you
walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
Continued from page 1
Pastor Rob Rienow tells this personal story in his book,
God’s Grand Vision for the Home (available for purchase at
awana.org/store).
In my family, we are trying
to develop the habit of
having a brief, spiritually
focused conversation each
time we get in the car …
One morning, the family
was driving me to work.
We were one minute away
from church and I realized
that I had forgotten to have
our “car talk.” So I quickly
said, “Kids, here is one of Daddy’s favorite verses from the
Bible: Philippians 2:5, Your attitude should be the same as
that of Christ Jesus. What kind of attitude did Jesus have?”
They replied simply, “A good one.”
I said, “Yes, a good one. (I guess I was expecting something
more profound!) He was joyful. He was patient. So as we go
through our day, let’s remember that our attitudes should be
the same as that of Christ Jesus. I love you. Have a good day.”
It was just a short spiritual touch, tagged on the last minute of
our car ride.
At the end of the day, my wife picked me up and we drove
to a friend’s house for dinner. Amy and I were having an
“honest and open marital interaction” (otherwise known as
an argument) in the front seat of the car. Our voices were
raised, and things were going in the wrong direction. From
the back of the car, our 7-year-old called out, “Remember
our verse!” That was not what I wanted to hear in that
moment. I wanted to win the argument! But short spiritual
touches make a difference. In this case, the verse came back
to convict me as my child confronted my bad behavior.
1
To read about “Habit 1: Serve Together” and “Habit 2: Do Family Devotions,”
download the March and April issues of Parent Pause online at awana.org.
Four God-filled Moments
In Deuteronomy 6:7, God tells parents to talk with their children
constantly about His commands. Based on this verse, Rob Rienow
challenges today’s parents to seize four prime conversational
moments in each day:
Sitting at home together — If your family doesn’t regularly sit
together, on the couch or around the dinner table, arrange your
schedule to make this happen. Spend a few minutes praying,
singing and talking about a Bible story or passage together.
Travel times — Develop the habit of starting a brief, spiritual
conversation each time you ride together in the car. Discuss a
Cubbies® verse, a Sunday school lesson or the way you saw God’s
love on the playground that day.
At the start of the day — In the morning, set the tone by thanking
God for the day or by blessing your child. A blessing is a prayer of
encouragement spoken to God and your child. For example, say
“God be with you today” or “May God bless you and give you His
peace.”
At the end of the day — Put your child to bed with another
blessing or with a verse from God’s Word.
Which of these four power moments would God have you give
special attention to in the coming month? Choose one. Start small.
Build a new faith habit today.
z
© 2013 Awana® Clubs International • Visit us at awana.org.
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™
Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com
MAY 2013 • PAGE 2
Cubbie Bear’s Corner
Hi, Cubbies! Cubbie Bear and his friends are picking up
trash. They want to take good care of the earth. How many pieces of
trash do you see? Write your number here:
Put the trash where
it belongs! Draw a line from each piece of trash to the trash can. Then
color the picture.
Parents:
April and May are good months to teach your
Cubbie about caring for God’s creation. Explain that
the earth belongs to the Lord (Psalm 24:1), but
He has chosen us to be stewards, or caretakers, of
it. (However, keep in mind that people are God’s
highest creation, and our care for the earth should
never override our care for people.)
© 2013 Awana® Clubs International • Visit us at awana.org.
Start teaching your child simple, earth-friendly habits around your house:
1. Shut off lights and appliances when not in use.
2. Recycle glass, paper, plastic, and tin and aluminum cans.
3. Donate and purchase used clothes, books and toys.
4. Turn off the faucet when brushing teeth.
5. Use reusable containers — such as cloth shopping bags, lunch boxes
and thermoses.
MAY 2013 • PAGE 3
Puggles’ Page
Puggles Precept: This month, focus on the fourth Puggles Precept —
GIVE
THANKS.
Specifically focus on giving thanks for God’s creation. Try these at-home activities with your Puggle.
1 Take a walk outside and point to
things that God created. If you
have a digital camera, take pictures
of each item. Or bring a recording
device and capture various sounds of
nature. Download the pictures to your
computer (or listen to the sounds) and
talk about them together. Thank God
for what He has made.
2 Teach your Puggle about caring for
the earth. Help her to put recyclable
materials into the appropriate bins. Or
try recycling your decomposable waste
by making a compost pocket in your
yard. First, dig a hole about 18 inches
(about 46 cm.) deep. Then place used
coffee grounds and fruit and vegetable
scraps into the hole. Cover the waste
with soil to bury it and fill the hole.
After about a month or two, plant a
flower or a tomato plant in your filled
pocket. Watch your plant grow! Thank
06-02-06 © Carol Gering
© 2013 Awana® Clubs International • Visit us at awana.org.
God for letting us care for His creation.
MAY 2013 • PAGE 4
Our Club News
© 2013 Awana® Clubs International. Visit us at awana.org.
MAY 2013