Faith in Parenting

Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Mom Tip: Imagine that there is a recording device capturing your words - and your tone - as you interact with your kids today. Practice being kind and compassionate, using a tone that is forgiving, rather than accusatory or exasperated. See how this one step - focusing on your tone of voice as you interact - affects your relationships. And when you feel yourself slipping into that negative voice, repeat this week’s memory verse in your mind: “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”

I wanted to let you know about some changes here at Faith in Parenting. Instead of meeting weekly for our support calls, we’re now going to try meeting once per month in the evening. Our April call will be Thursday, April 3 at 8:00 pm (ET).

We’ll be talking about how we fuel ourselves Spiritually in the midst of raising our kids.

In addition, I plan to add some new features here to the blog, including a weekly memory verse and One Minute Devotion idea, related to the memory verse, that you can share with your kids anywhere (in the car… at dinner… even while you’re grocery shopping!). Look for these tools in your weekly E-mail.

(And if you’re not signed up for weekly updates, enter your E-mail in the box to the right, and I’ll send you these tools, along with invitations to our monthly support call.)

Blessings,

Jennifer

This week, our church’s Children’s Minister and Preschool Director collaborated on an awesome series of activities designed to help families prepare for Easter Week. Along with various crafts, we had the opportunity to simulate washing one another’s feet (okay - we washed hands, but you get the idea!), share in the Last Supper, pray in the garden of Gethsemane, and walk through the empty tomb. On our Faith in Parenting Support Call this week, I’d like to share with you some of these activities and discuss how we can prepare our hearts for Easter as a family.

To join us, call (218) 486-1300 at 2:00 pm (ET) on Tuesday, March 18, and enter the access code 669379.

(For those in other time zones, the call will take place at 1:00 pm CT, 12:00 noon MT, and 11:00 am PT.)

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

• Date: Tuesday, March 18, 2008
• Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
• Telephone Number: (218) 486-1300
• Access Code: 669379

And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,
Jennifer

Last week, on our Faith in Parenting Support Call, we got to talking about how to handle outside influences on our children. This week, we’re going to explore how we identify those outside influences. For example, what changes in our kids’ behavior cause us to say, “Wait a minute. This is having a negative impact on you (or your grades, or our family…), and we need to deal with it.”

It sounds simplistic, but sometimes it’s hard to make the distinction between what we need to keep an eye on and what we need to take action about.

To join us, call (218) 486-1300 at 2:00 pm (ET) on Tuesday, March 11, and enter the access code 669379. (For those in other time zones, the call will take place at 1:00 pm CT, 12:00 noon MT, and 11:00 am PT.)

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

* Date: Tuesday, March 11, 2008
* Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
* Telephone Number: (218) 486-1300
* Access Code: 669379

And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,
Jennifer

It’s the first week of the month, so our topic for this week’s Faith in Parenting Support Call is up to you! Bring your questions and any pressing issues you’d like to discuss with the group. The last time we did this, it led to a really interesting discussion about dealing with bullies, and I’m sure this will be another great call.

To participate, simply call in at 2:00 pm (ET) to talk about whatever is on your mind, ask questions, and share concerns related to raising your kids. (For those in other time zones, the call will take place at 1:00 pm CT, 12:00 noon MT, and 11:00 am PT.)

“See you” there!

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

* Date: Tuesday, March 4, 2008
* Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
* Telephone Number: (218) 486-1300
* Access Code: 669379

And as always, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,

Jennifer

You know, a lot of the things we need to do to keep our families running smoothly are really quite simple.  Sometimes we just need a quick reminder and some support and encouragement to transform our well-intentioned plans and ideas into reality.

In thinking about this, I’ve decided to create a new weekly “feature” here on the blog - Saturday’s Simple Suggestion.  Every Saturday, I’ll share a different idea related to raising our families.

This week’s suggestion is a simple family devotion idea that one of our church families shared with us on our church-wide retreat a couple of weeks ago.  Simply take one of your favorite passages and read it in two or three different Bible translations.  For example, try reading it in the New International Version, The Message, and the The Living Bible.

In particular, pay attention to how each version teaches you a new aspect of the passage, or expands your understanding of the text in some way.

And if your kids are old enough to read on their own, allow them to participate by reading one of the translations aloud.   Then discuss which version holds the most meaning for you personally, and consider memorizing it together as a family.

What “yardstick” do you use to determine whether a certain video or computer game is appropriate for your kids? That’s our topic for this week’s Faith in Parenting Support Call.

To participate, just dial (218) 486-1300 at 2:00 pm (ET) and enter the access code 669379. The call is free, aside from any long distance charges you may incur.

For those in other time zones, the call will take place at 1:00 pm CT, 12:00 noon MT, and 11:00 am PT.

Hope to “see” you there! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Directions for Joining Us on the Weekly Support Call:

• Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2008
• Time: 2:00-2:35 PM (ET)
• Telephone Number: (218) 486-1300
• Access Code: 669379

I’m a list person. There are my grocery lists, to do lists, and long-term hope-to-get-to lists. All of these serve as excellent motivators for me and help me to realize that even in the busy midst of raising kids and maintaining a home, I’m actually accomplishing an awful lot!

But this week, I want to encourage you to write a different kind of list. Actually, I’ll suggest several. See which of the following exercises appeals to you most, and give it a try:

“You Are My…” This idea was suggested a few weeks ago by my Bible Study Fellowship Teaching Leader. The idea is to sit down with a blank sheet of paper and make list of all the things God is to you personally. Your Hope, Salvation, Friend, Sustainer, Provider… Give it a try and see what you come up with.

“Ways God Has Directed My Life in the Past” We believe that the Lord is the Sovereign God of the Universe, but do we take the time to reflect on how He is Sovereign in our personal day-to-day lives? Again, take out a sheet of paper; but this time, make a list of all the ways He has intimately directed your paths up to this point in your life.

For me, one “biggie” on that list would be directing me to attend The College of New Jersey (then called Trenton State College). I so badly wanted to attend Saint Mary’s College of Maryland, where all students had to take sailing their first semester! A lot of people warned me that it was known to be a “party school,” and that God might not want to place me there. But in His intimate, loving care, I was accepted into the school without housing. To me, this was such a gentle way of saying, “This isn’t where I want you to be right now.” And as you might guess, that one decision led to many, many others!

How about you? How has God directed your steps and the decisions you’ve made in your life?

“Who Does God Say I Am?” Just to glance at the title, this list sounds completely self-centered! But I’m reading the book Life Management for Busy Women right now, by Elizabeth George. And throughout the book, she refers to her readers as “Beloved” and “Dear One.” And it got me thinking…what are the names He has for me? That would be another encouraging list to think about.

If you’re a natural list-maker like me, sit down and give one of these alternative lists a try. They’ll stretch your thinking and help you to see yourself and your relationship with God in a new way.

My kids are on Mid-Winter Break right now, which means that they have off Monday and Tuesday this week. As a result, I’ll be taking a break from this week’s “Faith in Parenting Support Call.”

We’ll be back next week with some tips for evaluating kids’ video games.

In the meantime, have a great week. And if you’re looking for a little encouragement, take a look around the blog, listen to one of our previously recorded support calls, or check out the free resources available to your right.

Blessings,

Jennifer

Whenever my daughter sees my husband and I hugging, she runs up and presses herself in between us. It’s a great joke to her, and she giggles the entire time she’s working to interrupt us.

While that’s cute, it’s also important for our kids to know that our marriages are priority relationships. Today as we were driving home from preschool, my daughter mentioned that Daddy came by to say hello to her (since he works right upstairs!). And we got to chatting about how “Wasn’t that nice of Daddy? He sure does love you.”

And she said, “Yeah, and he sure does love his WIFE!” It was one of those adorable moments when out of a four-year-old pops this wisdom you didn’t know was there. She gets it!

So here are some tips for how we can all practice the art of making our marriages a visible priority - even in the busy, chaotic midst of raising kids, working, and more:

• Let your kids see that you’re affectionate with one another.
• Get a regular babysitter so that you can have a “date night” together out of the house.
• Ask (older kids) for privacy when needed to work out disagreements, discuss hot topics, etc.
• Demonstrate forgiveness and letting go of old grudges.
• Be kind and considerate of one another.
• Speak kind works about and toward one another.
• Be clear in stating your own needs, and give your partner a chance to meet those needs.
• Create time and space to focus your attention on one another (turn off all the other distractions).

These are just a few tips. What has been most meaningful for you personally? Leave a comment below to share your thoughts!