Thank You!

Thank you so much for joining me, reading my words, and giving me positive feedback these past few months.  I enjoyed all that I learned through this Forever Families website, and I think the learning is only just beginning as far as Faith At Home goes.  I am excited for the future of my family, your family, and all families who choose to make Christ the centre of their home and the centre of their futures.

After much thought and prayer, I have come to realize that I cannot maintain the website with any kind of quality, so it’s time for me to let go.  I will continue to write about Faith At Home whenever I get the chance, and will post the articles on my personal blog – Living in the Moments.  I created a special section called Faith At Home - so check it out!  And leave a comment if you have any ideas, thoughts or resources to share!

God bless you and your family as you head into the future He has for you, and I trust and pray He will direct you to some wonderful places where you can continue to be equipped to share faith in your home.

Putting Family First On The Calendar

Did you all have a great summer?  I hope these past months were full of wonderful memories, adventures and excitement – despite all the rain that came our way!  The topic this month is not as focused on faith issues, but I thought it a very important topic to share with you.  Keeping the family ties tightly-knit is key to building faith in the home.  So read on for something that’s been burning on my heart as my youngest son starts school and the nest becomes a little more empty!

It’s time to gear up for another school year.  The kids will be busy with school activities before you know it.  Add to that church activities and social activities, and the family calendar will fill up pretty quickly!  After a while your family may start to feel disconnected because of the constant activity.  But here’s an idea that might bring different results this school year… how about working backwards this time around?  Instead of trying to find time on the calendar to rest and relax as a family in between all your other commitments, why not try scheduling in family time FIRST?

If you don’t have a family calendar, consider investing in this useful tool for keeping everyone organized and connected when it comes to knowing what family members are up to.  The calendar could even serve as a reminder of what to pray for that coming day, week, or month. 

Here’s some tips for the calendar:

• Keep it in a room that everyone is in often – like the kitchen or dining room.  That way the calendar is easily accessible to everyone. 
• Let each family member be responsible for filling in their own activities on the calendar. 
• Each person can have their own colour for keeping track of their activities.
• Little family members who can’t write can use stickers instead (often the calendars come with stickers intended to mark different activities and appointments).
• Family calendars are available at dollar stores, book stores, or online at Families With Purpose (or do a search for many other sites).
• Some calendars are magnetic and will stick to your fridge – GREAT for easy access and easy viewing!
• Or just grab any calendar you can find and make it into what will work for your family!

Now that you’ve got the calendar, click on these pages to discover age-appropriate ideas for putting family first on your calendar:

Preschool

Elementary

Junior High

Senior High

Click here to read more about Our Journey of putting family first on the calendar.

Do you have any ideas, resources or books for putting family first on the calendar?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com and share them!

Next month we’ll focus on Prayer For Kids 101.

Have any ideas for future topics?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com.

Also check out these other areas of the Forever Families website:

About Forever Families

Ideas for Women to Connect

Ideas for Men to Connect

Ideas for Families to Connect

Simple Acts of Service

Movie Review Sites

Resources for Ministry Leaders

Memorizing Scripture – How and Why Do We “Hide the Word”?

I’ve never really made scripture memorization a part of my life.  People would tell me about its importance and give me examples of verses to memorize, but my eyes would always gloss over and my mind would always wander.

As I write this, I’m starting to get it.  I’m not very good at following through with things just because someone tells me to do them.  Usually there has to be a reason for me, I have to understand why and make it real rather than blind obedience.

I already know of a couple of good reasons to memorize scripture.  I know it is “a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105) and that it helps ”that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11).  I also realize I inadvertently have many verses tucked away in my head just from years of church attendance, personal devotions, small groups, Bible studies, and growing up in Sunday school.  I think I have all the books of the Bible memorized too – in order!  Impressive, eh?  I can thank Miss Brown for that – a wonderful woman who poured alot into the blossoming faith of a few kids each Sunday morning back in the 80′s.   But I digress…

As I researched more Bible verses with “word” in them I came across SO MANY reasons to memorize scripture and hide it in my heart and the young hearts of my boys.  There is one major reason that sums it all up in such a simple and fascinating way, and it is revealed right in the scripture I hope to start memorizing. 

As I lay out for you all the wonderful things the Word of God can do and all that it means for our lives, the qualities may start to sound vaguely familiar.  They might remind you of something… or someone… see if you can figure it out.

Scripture has the power to:

• Sustain us more than any earthly provision (Deuteronomy 8:3)
• Keep our way pure (Psalm 119:9)
• Keep us from sinning (Psalm 119:11) and from seeing death (John 8:51)
• Cause us to rejoice (Psalm 119:74) and sing (Psalm 119:172)
• Give us hope (Psalm 119:74) and direction (Psalm 119:105) and strength (Psalm 119:28) and understanding (Psalm 119:28) and true wisdom (Jeremiah 8:9) and faith (Romans 10:17)
• Determine what kind of faith we have by what we do with it (Matthew 13:20-23)
• Bless us (Luke 11:28)
• Make us holy (Ephesians 5:26) and born again (1 Peter 1:23)
• Save us (James 1:21)
• Judge the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)
• Create the heavens and the earth (2 Peter 3:5)
• Make God’s love truly complete in us (1 John 2:5)

WOW!  And there’s more! 

Scripture is:

• Flawless (2 Samuel 22:31)
• Right and true (Psalm 33:4)
• Near to us (Deuteronomy 30:14)
• Eternal (Psalm 119:89)
• Truth (John 17:17)
• The Sword of the Spirit – part of the Armour of God (Ephesians 6:17)
• Living and active (Hebrews 4:12)

What do you think?  Got it figured out?  Now here’s the really DEEP part – this excites me because I only really just got this as I read through these references.  A big lightbulb moment happened for me, and it is clearly laid out in the first verse of the first chapter of the gospel of John in the New Testament:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

And then Revelation 19:13 says:

And He [was] clothed in a vesture dipped in blood: and His name is called the Word of God.

What it comes down to is the more we know scripture, the more we know Jesus.  Memorizing it and hiding it in our hearts means having more of Jesus in our lives.  He is the living and active (Hebrews 4:12) Word of God.  He is the Bible made into human form.  It’s pure magic.  And THAT gives me more than enough reason to memorize God’s words to grow in my own faith, and help my sons to grow in theirs. 

Click here to read more about Our Journey of building faith in our home.

Click on these pages to discover age-appropriate scripture memorization resources for the children in your life:

Preschool

Elementary

Junior High

Senior High

Do you have any ideas, resources or books for scripture memorization that are successful in your family?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com and share them!

Next month we’ll focus on Putting Family First On The Calendar.

Have any ideas for future topics?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com.

Also check out these other areas of the Forever Families website:

About Forever Families

Ideas for Women to Connect

Ideas for Men to Connect

Ideas for Families to Connect

Simple Acts of Service

Movie Review Sites

Resources for Ministry Leaders

The Encouraging Truth About Devotions In Your Family

I stood in front of the book table for at least an hour… searching for the “perfect” devotional books for my sons. I was torn between excitement at the MANY choices available and confusion as to which ones would be interesting to my boys.  There was also some fear in my heart. Would I be ready for the questions my boys might ask? Did I have the discipline and drive to follow through with the ideas in these books? Would I be supportive as my sons learned how to live out their blossoming faith? Was I up for the challenge?

Peace finally settled over me as I realized I don’t have to be a perfect Christian to teach my children about God. As I stood there I gained more and more confidence, not in myself, but in the God who loves my children more than I ever could. Then I realized something amazing… I… can… learn… with… them.

When I had kids, my devotional time took a beating and I lost track for a while.  Often times I would go for weeks, even months without doing personal devotions.  But as soon as I opened my Bible or a devotional book, or stopped to REALLY pray, I knew God was there, He’d been waiting for me, He missed me, and He was glad to spend time with me.  And as I started working devotions into my son’s lives, it became easier to return to my own devotions.  Even if they were much shorter!  There have been gaps where I’ve lost track again, but the point is not to give up and just keep coming back to it.  God is waiting to meet with me and my family, and you and your family – no matter how long it’s been since we last met with Him.

I might fail—A LOT – as I try to find the best books, the best times and the right attitude for devotions in my family – for myself and my sons.  The true test for me will be getting back up, brushing myself off, and trying again.  All the while knowing I don’t have to be perfect, I just have to be willing.

God will be there as I read each page of the books with my sons. And if I forget or get sick or life just takes over sometimes, God will still be there when I remember, or get better, or get a handle on life again. My job is to simply keep turning the pages of the books, learn along with my children, and praying every time they ask me a question I don’t think I can answer!

Click here to read more about Our Journey of building faith in our home.

Click on these pages to discover age-appropriate devotional resources for the children in your life:

Preschool

Elementary

Junior High

Senior High

Do you have any ideas, resources or books for devotions that were successful in your family?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com and share them!

Next month we’ll focus on Memorizing Scripture - How And Why Do We ”Hide The Word“?  

Have any ideas for future topics?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com.

Also check out these other areas of the Forever Families website:

About Forever Families

Ideas for Women to Connect

Ideas for Men to Connect

Ideas for Families to Connect

Simple Acts of Service

Movie Review Sites

Resources for Ministry Leaders

Welcome to Forever Families!

This site reaches out to families as they strive to build Christian faith in their homes. I hope this faith will carry on to future generations and stretch on into…. forever.

My boys are about 4 and 8, and I’m excited to learn about building faith in our home, and sharing the journey with you and your family!

I hope to post a new topic every month regarding Faith In The Home.   I’ll give ideas, books, articles and other resources for each age group, to go along with the topic.

Feel free to browse the site! Find many helpful resources on the pages listed above and the posts listed to the left (I’ll be adding lots more over time so stay tuned!).

Upcoming topics:

Putting Family First On The Calendar – Coming September 1, 2009

Prayer for Kids 101 – Coming October 1, 2009

A Closer Look At Advent – Coming November 1, 2009

Giving Back To God – Coming December 1, 2009

Click on these links to subscribe to receive monthly updates by email OR subscribe to receive monthly updates by feed.  You can also click on the links in the right-hand column of this website to subscribe.

Have any feedback or ideas?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com.

Simple & Effective Ideas For Serving As A Family

Got more ideas?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com and I’ll add it to the list!

1. Grocery List Additions – The next time you sit down to write out your grocery list, try to remember to add a couple of items: A loaf or two of whole grain bread to drop off at the local mission.  Have your kids take the bread inside with you if they’re old enough!  Also add non-perishable food items (try to make it healthy – nothing too sugary or processed) to your list and take them to the local food bank.  Many grocery stores have big boxes or bins right inside the store for food bank items.  If not, ask if they’d consider starting one!
2. Baked Goods for Elderly or Ill Family, Friends and Neighbours - Have your kids help you bake up something delicious for someone you know who is elderly or ill.  Ask the kids to make suggestions as to who should receive your baked goods, and pray together for the person(s).
3. Sponsor a Child – World Vision and Compassion International are great organizations to get involved with and sponsor a child in less fortunate parts of the world.  The letters and pictures you send to your child and receive in return will build strong relationships between your family members and other families around the world.  Put aside an intentional time every month when you write letters, print out pictures, purchase small gifts and send them to your child together as a family.
4. Kiva - ”Kiva’s mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.  Kiva is the world’s first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend directly to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.” 
5. Write Letters to Grandparents or Others You Know Who Could Use a Penpal.  If your children are young they can draw pictures to send, and if they’re older they can help in thinking of what to write in the letter, or type it up themselves (and insert family photos), or put it in the mailbox, etc.
6. Click to Donate Sites.  You could also set these as your homepage on your computer and ask each member of the family who uses the computer to click on a site or two or a few before they move on to other online activities.  The Hunger Site featured on the right side of this site is just one of MANY such sites.  I like this site because it very easily links to so many others.

Ideas for Women to Connect

Got more ideas?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com and I’ll add it to the list!

• Walk, Hike, Jog or Bicycle
• Chic Flick
• Cooking Marathon
• Yard Sale Shopping
• Dessert Night
• Book Study/Bible Study
• Clothing Exchange
• Exercise Class
• Ladies Retreats
• Girl’s Night Out (www.girlfriendsunlimited.com has great ideas)

Ideas For Mom’s Groups:

• Moms at the Park

Plan weekly get-togethers for moms at a local park.  The kids can play, and the moms can enjoy a sharing or devotional time over snack with the kids.

• Moms on the Move

Women can meet at a local exercise facility for an  energy boost, OR to walk or jog outside (young children can lounge in strollers!).  Play time at the park can  follow for the kids!

• Children’s Programs

Start regular drop-in playtimes or studies at your church (find more info at www.mops.org) OR challenge women to invite others to local children’s programs at the library, community recreation centres (www.ymca.net), etc.

Ideas for Families to Connect

Got more ideas?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com and I’ll add it to the list!

Warm Weather:

• Picnic at the park
• BBQ
• Camping

Colder Weather:

• Skating
• Tobogganing

ANYTIME:

• Throw a party to celebrate… ANYTHING YOU CAN THINK OF!
• Small Group – You can hire a babysitter to watch the kids while you work through a Bible study, book study, or DVD study series with friends and enjoy some great fellowship.

Ideas for Men to Connect

Got more ideas?  Leave a comment or email foreverfamilies@ymail.com and I’ll add it to the list!

• Wii Fest
• Hockey Game
• Wings and a Game of Pool
• Hike
• Construction Project
• Men’s Retreats

Movie Review Sites

Click on these links to read fantastic movie reviews and more.  Some of these sites even have e-newsletters that you can subscribe to.

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families.  – Movie, TV, game reviews, search by age group or media type, helpful articles and more.

Plugged In Online  Shining a light on the world of popular entertainment – A web site of Focus on the Family

Christianity Today  Biblical perspectives on contemporary cinema (Also has GREAT “Best of…” lists)

Crosswalk 

Decent Films  Film appreciation, information and criticism informed by Christian faith