Northwood Parents

Hey everybody!  Sunday is on its way!  Here’s what we’re talking about this week…

Preschoolers are beginning a month of learning about the people God has given us to help us.  Preschoolers are specifically focusing in on Ruth 1:1-19 this week!  Preschoolers will learn that God made special people to help us in our day to day lives.  Preschoolers will have the opportunity to think about and talk about the special people in their lives that God has given them to help them.  Sometime after Sunday, find a piece of paper, some scissors, and a marker.  Use the scissors to cut out a large heart shape.  Remind your preschooler that God made people to help her.  Help her think of people who help her like, mom, dad, grandma, or a teacher.  Write the names of those people on the heart.  Take some time before bed to pray and thank God for these people along with your preschooler.

Elementary kids are beginning the new virtue of humility - putting others first by giving up what you think you deserve.  This week, kids are going to make “U1st Tickets!”  They will take these tickets home and here’s your job…  Each week when your child puts someone else first, he is supposed to give that person a U1st Ticket.  Encourage your child to put others first and use up his tickets each week throughout the month.  Sometime after Sunday, talk to your child about something he thinks he deserves.  Get specific with your child!  Talk about how he can put someone else first by giving up the very thing he thinks he deserves.

We are here to help your family impact the lives of your kids!  Do your part by taking what we teach and applying it and we promise to do ours!  I’ll see you Sunday!

Sixth graders…don’t forget the Zeta Coffee Shop opens every Sunday at 8:30!

It’s Wednesday night!  We’re finishing up this month of Summer CAMP 2 with Slime Time Live!  There’s a chance that every child will get slimed tonight during Summer CAMP!  Dress your child in clothes that can get messy.  We’ll try to rinse them off before they have to get in your car though!  In a game show format, kids will be slimed Just as quickly as Jesus could return (and that’s quick!)!  They won’t want to miss it!

We’re talking about the return of Jesus tonight!  We’re specifically focusing on Matthew 25:13 where we’re told to “keep watch” for the return of Jesus.  We need to be prepared, at any moment, for Jesus’ return.  One day He promised that He will return!  We have to be expecting His appearance.

On the ride home tonight, talk with your child about what he learned tonight during Summer CAMP 2.  Talk about how we can be ready for  Jesus’ return - know Him as Savior!  It’ll be a great opportunity to talk to your child about asking Jesus to be his Savior.  If you have any questions about how to talk specifically to your child about becoming a follow of Jesus, click here.  I’ll be glad to help any way that I can.

I am so pumped about tonight!  I look forward to seeing the kids who attend here on Wednesday nights as I see the excitement of being at church on their faces!  See you then!

Every week, it seems like, I run into parents who are now step-parents and are having difficulty making that transition into a blended family.  I have seen blended families work really well and have thought many times about providing a support group for blended parents here at Northwood.  Today, I want to give you those of you who are dealing with stepchildren and the transition into step-parenting some reminders as you live in your new blended family.

1.  Be Patient!

It takes a minimum of four years for bonding to occur between a stepparent and their stepchild — and that’s if things move very quickly.  Understand that it isn’t going to be an overnight process.  Divorce doesn’t end family life, it just reorganizes it.  Your life as a family does not have to end with divorce and remarriage, but you have to be patient.

2.  Enjoy The Relationship You Have Now!

This is the key!  Print this one out!  Write it down!  Put it on the refrigerator!  Keep it in the forefront of your mind.  Let your stepchildren bond with you at their own pace!  If they welcome or seek affection, go for it.  If they remain distant, honor that.  If they follow your rules, assert your authority.  If they challenge your authority, find ways to utilize their biological parent.  I see it every week - stepparents who try to force their stepchildren to allow them to be a family.  It’s not going to happen that way - I guarantee it!

3.  Have realistic expectations.

Stepparents have to learn to relax into their role and not expect too much of themselves.  If you are a stepparent, you will not and can never be the biological parent - don’t try to be what you aren’t.  Relax and trust that your relationship will grow over time.  Stepparent relationships must form — they can’t be forced.

Step families make up a lot of families in our church and in our world.  I am here to help.  Children need to know that both their biological family and their step family love them!  Only you can make it happen!  Be patient!  Don’t force it and love will grow!

Here’s what we’re talking about this week here at Northwood…

Preschoolers are continuing to learn that God loves everything about them!  This week they learning that God made them to praise Him.  We want kids to understand that the reason they were created is to praise their Heavenly Father!  Sometime after Sunday, go on a walk and ask your preschooler to find three things she can praise God for.  Pick up a rock while you’re on your walk and share the verse in the Bible that says if we don’t praise God, the rocks will cry out to praise Him - Luke 19:40.  Remind your preschooler that God made her with a special task and that is to praise Him!

Elementary kids are finishing up a month of talking about patience by learning that you can miss out because you think you can’t wait.  We want kids to understand that if they don’t wait on what’s in store for them, they could miss good things!  Sometime after Sunday, talk with your child about something he’s waiting for right now that he’s really looking forward to.  Help him understand that, by not waiting, he could mess up that good thing that’s on its way! 

I hope you have a great weekend and I’ll see you Sunday!

It’s Wednesday and you know what that means - Summer CAMP 2!  Don’t forget to dress your child in clothes that can get MESSY!  Kids will be on a Super Sloppy Slopsticle Course tonight.  They’ll crawl through chocolate pudding, slide on shaving cream, and jump in a pool of baked beans before getting to the end of the course!  It’ll be a night they won’t forget!

Tonight, we’re looking at 1 Samuel 16:7.  The Scriptures tell us that the first king of Israel, Saul, was impressive because he stood a head taller than anyone else.  Perhaps Samuel had Saul’s appearance in mind when he considered Eliab as the next king, but God had no interest in Eliab’s height or appearance.  God chose the youngest son of Jesse- David- who was an unlikely choice in his family’s eyes, that they left him out tending sheep.  As a matter of fact, God later speaks about David as being ” a man after God’s own heart.”

On the ride home tonight, help your child think of people that you as a family have judged based on their outward appearance, without ever knowing their heart!  Talk about how cool it is that God doesn’t judge us based on the things we do or the way we look - He sees inside and looks at our heart!  Help your child think of someone at school that is judged based on their outward appearance.  Think of a way that your child can be a friend to him or her tomorrow at school.  Instead of judging him or her, ask your child to be his or her friend - just like God does!

See you tonight!

Today, I want to look at a topic that seems to be facing more and more parents - Christian kids who rebel against their upbringing!  One of my favorite books is by Dr. Tim Kimmel called Why Christian Kids Rebel.  I have several copies of the book and will be glad to get one to you if you get in touch here.

One of my favorite sections of the book talks about the controlled, spiritually isolated environments that parents raise their children in.  Parents have fears that, most of the time, are unfounded.  Today, I want to look at a couple of them.

1.  Christian parents fear the corrupt world system.

Parents fear the books, television, movies, and Internet so much that they have their children locked into a Christian environment with its nice Bible studies, worship, and fellowship.  Meanwhile the verses instructing us to be salt and light in a dark world are ignored. 

2.  Christian parents fear the power of darkness.

To this one, all I have to say is “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.”

3.  Christian parents fear their own inadequacies.

Do not fear!  The Holy Spirit indwells in you to give you insight, wisdom, and strength to raise your children.

4.  Christian parents fear their child’s vulnerable nature.

Don’t focus on your child and their weaknesses.  Focus on our God and His power.  The decisions you make for your child are not always the decisions God makes.  Let God lead your child.  He has much greater power than you ever will.

I hope these four insights help you, as a parent, understand that you do not need to be afraid of the world.  The Holy Spirit will guide you, God will be their Protector, and Jesus will save them.

It’s going to be here before we know it … Sunday!  Here’s waht we’re talking about with your children…

Preschoolers are continuing to learn that God loves everything about them.  We really want preschoolers to understand that God loves them more than anything else.  They are so important to Him!  This week, preschoolers are learning that God made us for a reason — to serve Him and serve other people.  God has made us with arms and legs so we can help others, a mouth so we can say loving things to each other, and eyes and ears so we can see ways to help and listen.  During bath time next week, ask your child to name something she can do with her legs to help others.  Her arms?  Her mouth?  Remind your preschooler that God loves her!

Elementary kids are continuing to learn about patience.  They’re learning that impatience can sometimes hurt other people.  When we choose not to be patient, it can sometimes cause us or someone else to be hurt!  Sometime after Sunday, ask your child about a time when someone else’s impatience caused him to be hurt.  Talk about a time in your life when your impatience or someone else’s impatience caused hurt.

Don’t forget… the Zeta Coffee Shop opens Sunday for sixth graders!  They won’t want to miss it!

Tonight, it’s Water Balloon Mania!  Your kids are getting WET tonight!  Tonight, kids will be playing in a water war, fighting with water balloons, and getting soaked!  Kids can wear bathing suits or shorts and t-shirt that can get wet!

We’re looking at Romans 12:15 tonight.  The city of Rome was the symbol of political and military might at the time Paul wrote the ltter to the Romans.  The people of the city dealt with many of the same problems we deal with today.  The Roman Christians had great reasons for mouring the loss of their friends and family when they were killed for their faith, yet they could rejoice that their loved ones were in Heaven.

We want kids to understand that the Bible is a real book that talks about real people.  These real people experienced the same struggles that we experience today!  We want kids to understand that there are times in life that are good.  Those times call for rejoicing.  There are other times when things go wrong and life seems bad.  Those times call for mouring.  One thing we know — God is with us both during the good and the bad!

I am so excited about this Sunday - I have to tell you about it today!  Beginning Sunday, our sixth graders are going to begin a brand new experience on Sunday mornings here at Northwood.

Our Zeta Coffee Shop opens Sunday!  The coffee shop will be located in the children’s ministry area and will be strictly for sixth graders.  It’s a place for them to relax, enjoy some coffee and soft drinks, and be with their friends.

During their small group time on Sunday mornings, they will be involved in service throughout the church.  Some of them will be helping design media presentations for the children’s ministry, some will be helping in classrooms with younger kids, others will be designing Power Point presentations for our Sunday morning large group time.

It’s an incredible opportunity for sixth graders to have a relaxed, cool place to hang out on Sundays - a place to belong in a world that has few places for young middle schoolers to be safe and belong.  It’s also a great place for them to learn about serving in the church in a hands-on, practical way.

Tell anyone you know who has a sixth grader to bring him here Sunday!  It’s going to be great!  I hope to have pictures of the coffee shop in my blog next week!

Sunday is on it’s way.  Here’s what we’re talking about with your kids this week…

Preschoolers are learning that God made people who help them.  Preschoolers are focusing in on Ruth 2:1-23 as they learn that Ruth helped Naomi and Boaz helped Ruth.  We want children to understand that their families are important!  God wants families to help each other!  Sometime after Sunday, challenge your preschooler to find one simple way to help others around the house.  It may be feeding the dog or helping a sibling put away toys.  Help your preschooler understand that God wants us to help our family.

Elementary kids are continuing to learn about patience by focusing on Numbers 14:39-44 when the Israelites try to take the Promised Land.  This week, we want kids to understand that if you don’t wait, it could cost you!  We want kids to learn that impatience almost always ends up costing us something that we would have gotten if we had only been patient and waited on it.  On the ride home Sunday, help your child think of something that he didn’t wait for, but later wished he had.  You take some time to think about the same things with your child.

I hope you have a great weekend and look forward to another Sunday!  Remember..the church is here to assist the parents!  We give you the tools to make an impact on your child and then you have to choose to use them.