Give, Save, Spend

 Here's a great way to teach your kids about tithing, from Splink!

 

 

 

Items needed: three envelopes for each child

Markers

Allowance money

 

Teach your children to give by using the envelope system. (This can be purchased, but it is easy to make your own. There is even an online version at www.familymint.com.) Label three envelopes—give, save, and spend. Let kids decorate the envelopes, if you like.

 

Give your child an allowance, but give it to him or her in coins or one dollar bills so it can be easily divided into tenths. Let your child put one tenth into the “give” envelope to take to church to give to God; put another tenth into the  “save” envelope that will continue to grow until it is put into the bank; put the rest in the “spend” envelope.  (When the money is gone, the spending stops.)

 

Why do we give to God? (To honor God; it shows we want to put Him first because the Bible tells us to bring tithes to the church so God’s work can be done all over the world)

What happens to the money we give at church? (It is used for the expenses of the church [pay the lighting, heating, and other bills, pay the pastor, send missionaries to tell people about Jesus in other countries, help poor people, etc.])

What kind of giver does God love? Second Corinthians 9:7 says that God loves a cheerful giver—one who is glad to give!

 

*Don’t forget to take the money from the “give” envelope to church on Sunday. Let the family see you write the tithe check and put it in an envelope to take to church.

 

Random Acts of Kindness Week

February 14-20th is Random Acts of Kindness Week!!!! All through that week, find kind things your kids can do! It's a great way to show the love of Jesus to others!!!!

They can:
-hold the door open for someone
-donate their used books, toys, clothes
-take flowers or cookies to a neighbor
-pick up trash
-anything they can think of!!!

Family Ideas - Free Email

Check out SPLINK! It's a free email you can sign up for (from D6 Curriculum), giving you simple ideas to do family ministry.

Blessings

I've been thinking a lot lately about the blessings God has given me and my family. It's truly amazing! My parents have been blessed beyond belief, still happily married after 30 years, which is not the norm (my extended family is full of divorce). My brother, who wanted to become a cop, walked in off the street (no degree), and became a police officer, a great one at that. My husband, keeps getting promoted in his job. In this economy that is a feat alone, but he is also being promoted above people with more experience. God has blessed me giving me my job here at Bethel. He designed my husband specifically for me; I could not have picked a more perfect man to spend my life with. And now we have the greatest blessing of all, a little boy on the way. This list of blessings only scratches the surface.

It makes me wonder however. Why? God continues to bless myself and my family over and over. He loves His children, and blesses them, though we are undeserving; I do not feel that's the only reason. Is it because the baby I am carrying will be a great evangelist? Or am I supposed to make a huge contribution to the kingdom? I don't know the answer, but my prayer is that I be willing.

When faced with a baby before she was married, Mary said, "Yes Lord. I am your servant."

Think about all of the blessings God has bestowed on your family (they are there). Are you willing to do whatever God asks you in any situation? Are you like Mary willing to say, "Yes Lord. I am your servant" ?

Spiritual Parenting

I was reading an excerpt from a book on Spiritual Parenting, and it posed a great question:
  
"For years I had naively assumed that as Christian Parents, we simply have babies, raise them in a Christian home, then do our best as parents. We expose them to Christ and to God's word, we put them in the community of other believers, and then eventually...don't they just choose to follow Him?" Spiritual Parenting by Michelle Anthony

Is that what you are doing in your household? You can not let this be your only witness to your child(ren). As parents, you must actively teach your child about Christ. Their salvation is to important to merely leave to change that eventually they will choose to follow Jesus.

Thankfulness Activities

Group has a whole page of really awesome Thanksgiving/thankfulness inspired activities. There are crafts, games, snacks, music videos, and even free songs to download. Check it out!

http://group.com/groupmusic

Ministering to Babies

Ministry to Babies and Toddlers You can support infants and toddlers' spiritual growth using these tips.

• Read to little ones about God and Jesus. Simple Bibles for toddlers such as board books about God's creation, animals, and family are great choices.
• Talk often about God and Jesus.
• Tell children constantly that Jesus loves them.
• Use teachable moments to highlight spiritual truths.
• As children learn to talk, help instill words of our faith such as God, Jesus, Bible, and pray in their vocabulary.
• Include infants and toddlers in spiritual activities such as worship and prayer.
• Know that infants and toddlers really do learn at church.
• Invite little ones to special worship occasions such as Christmas Eve.
• Encourage parents to have their youngest children present during prayer times at home.
• Pray with infants and toddlers. Explain that prayer is talking to God.
• Make prayer a part of the routine in your classroom.
• Remember that children discover God from infancy. Paul wrote to Timothy "from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures" (2 Timothy 3:15).


* From childrensministry.com