Family Time

As a multi-generational church here in Parker County, we recognize that North Side is made up of all kinds of families – old and young, big and small –experiencing life and issues in so many different seasons. Our desire is to lead, care, and support you and your family no matter the makeup. One of the ways we are seeking to best accomplish this challenge is through our FAITH@HOME strategy which is based on a biblical belief that God designed the family as the primary place for discipleship.

To support this belief and your family, we have a great tool in this enclosed Faith Path initiative to partner with you as you guide your child’s spiritual journey one step at a time. It is based on age-appropriate kits that have been created to help you leverage the best faith formation strategy for your child’s stage of development. We urge you to start today by taking the following simple steps. In this enclosed FAMILY TIME kit, you will find practical ideas and suggested resources to help you open God’s Word to your child and family. We urge you to start today by taking the following simple steps and look forward to watching your child and family grow in biblical understanding, relationships, spiritual discussions and life application.

STEP ONE: LEARN
We have provided a short video that explains this particular Faith Path step.  This video comes directly from the original launch of Faith Path and is used in a partnership with LakePointe Church.  You will hear from both experts and ordinary families as they describe the importance of family time and share practical suggestions from their experiences.  You will also find audio podcasts and a guide that offers practical tips and what we consider the best resources on the topic.

STEP TWO: START
To help you begin a family time routine, this kit includes Creating Impression Points ideas and an activity called Just Like Air ideal for a younger child.  We’ve also provided a fun Family Time song that will get everyone in the mood for the best time of the week.  Go ahead and put a day on your schedule right now in order to turn good intentions into practice.

“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them 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.” – Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NIV

WHAT: When your child reaches about four years old, it is a great time to establish a pattern of including fun family times in your schedule to foster communication, laughter and faith formation.

WHY: It is important to have a consistent routine of creating intentional moments that will help your family deepen relationships and have faith discussions. Regularly scheduled family time activities are a great way to make that happen.

WHEN: For some families this might be a particular night of the week after dinner. For another family it might be after Saturday morning breakfast.  Decide what works for your unique schedule and then protect that time. You might need to say “no” to some good things to keep family times a priority. We suggest scheduling a family time experience weekly, but no less than twice per month. Setting and keeping a regular schedule will show commitment and value to all involved. Go ahead and mark it on your family calendar.

THE PLAN: Plan for success by finding resources to help make your family times a great experience. We have listed several recommended resources on the back of this guide to help you get started. As your child gets older, ask them if there are specific topics they would like to make a part of your time together and let them help plan your activities. Don’t forget that the Bible is the most important resource God has given us to instill truth in the hearts and minds of our children.

THE FUN: Children are more likely to embrace your beliefs and values if they enjoy time with you. That’s why family fun times are a great context for effective faith formation. Be creative by acting out scripture together, doing crafts or object lessons that reinforce spiritual themes. Avoid becoming overly serious, rigid or stressed while leading family times. It’s okay for kids to be silly and it’s important to fill your home with laughter.

GETTING STARTED

• Protect a day and time by marking it on the family calendar to help build anticipation.
• Play the Family Time song included or choose a family theme song to gather everyone together. Spend a little time singing, silly dancing, or swinging kids, to get everyone in the mood for this fun time!
• Use the Just Like Air card (see below) with this kit to test-drive a fun activity together. Then choose a tool that will provide object lesson activities to help you reinforce biblical values and lessons on an ongoing basis.  There are lots of great resources online

OTHER IDEAS

• Pick a family verse that you want to memorize and say together. Make up or use some fun games to learn the verse.  
• Discuss a movie that is age appropriate for your child.  Make some popcorn and watch the film together.  Afterwards have a “faith talk” about the choices of characters and other aspects of the story that catch your attention. Check out movienightchat.com.
• Share with your child something that God has been or is teaching you.
• Cook a meal together and use the time for sharing and talking.
• Sanctity of the Supper Table: Turn off the TV and put cell phones away so you can take time to ask each member of the family to share his or her “high” and “low” of the day. In addition, download the D6 family app and discuss the “Family Fun Questions” around the table.
• Go on a family walk and spend the time praying for each other, the neighbors or others.
• Capture family prayer requests using a prayer chart, refrigerator, or white board.
• Create impromptu “God-moments” by taking advantage of unplanned and unscheduled opportunities to discuss your faith in the daily routine of life.

Best Use
As a family night activity

Nutritional Value
Teaches how a God we can’t see can be real

Advance Prepartion
You will need the following supplies…

• Several balloons
• A Bible

Serve It Up
Follow these steps for a great experience:

1. Start by asking the children the following questions and discussing their answers:

• Why can’t we see God?
• How can we believe God is real when we can’t see Him?
• Can we think of anything else we know is real that we can’t see?

2. Hopefully, one of the children will include “air” in the list of things we can’t see but know exist. (If not, suggest it yourself.) At this point, pull out the balloons.
3. Explain that air is not only real, but it has power.  Ask each child to use the air in their lungs to blow up his or her balloon. Remind them to hold the end so that it doesn’t fly away.
4. Once everyone has an inflated balloon ready, compete to see who can make their balloon fly farthest.
5. Once you’ve had fun repeating the balloon-flying contest, read several scriptures that describe God as a spirit (John 4:24 and Luke 24:39) and use the illustration of wind to illustrate the work of God in our lives (John 3:8)
6. Now tie off a few blown-up balloons and use the fan to have fun blowing the balloons wherever you want them to go.
7. End by memorizing the jingle “Just like air, God is there!”

Best Use  
A guide to use as a dessert date with your younger child(ren) in which you will select ways to share faith discussions together.

Nutritional Value 
Helps you launch frequent faith discussions in order to fulfill the commandment to “impress them on your children” found in Deuteronomy 6:6-9.  

Advance Preparation

• Invite each child out for a special parent/child dessert date.  You might want to send them a nice invitation in the mail just for fun!
• Bring this recipe card with you to guide a discussion in which your child will select the times and questions he or she wants to try as you launch parent/child faith discussions.  

Serve it Up
Select which of the times and discussion questions on the reverse you and your child(ren) would most enjoy.

Mealtime - Capture moments while eating together.  

• What to Do:  After giving thanks for your meal, someone shout “High - Low?”  That means everyone around the table must share the high point and low point of their day.
• What to Discuss:  While eating, discuss any of the following…
  • What Bible story did you learn at church this past weekend?
  • Name a favorite Bible character and tell his/her story.
  • If God wrote a letter directly to you this week, what topic would he address and what would he say?

Bed Time – Give each other a brief blessing at bed time.

• What to Do:  While tucking in for bed, parent or child says “What do I love?”  The other person must then guess what the person is thinking in one of the following categories…
  • A fun moment they shared that day
  • Something nice about the other person
  • Something they appreciate that person did today
• What to Discuss:  Before falling asleep, ask and answer…
  • How did we experience God’s goodness today?
  • Did we need to ask God’s forgiveness today?
  • What do we want to give thanks for before falling asleep?

Drive Time – Explore God’s creativity while in the car.

• What to Do:  Each time you plan to take a short drive, play a game of “I spy” together - naming several things God created (a flower, a cloud, a blue bird, a cow, etc.) that you must spot before arriving to your destination.
• What to Discuss:  On a longer drive discuss any of the following…
  • We know that God knows our future.  What do you hope he sees in your future at age (insert future ages)?
  • What do you think God wants you to do this week in order to prepare for such an exciting future?
  • How will you use that future experience as a way of worshiping God with your life?

Finally, be sure to put a date on the calendar to get started!

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

Just Add Family by Kurt and Olivia Bruner
Family Night Tool Chest series from heritagebuilders.com
Big Book of Questions and Answers series by Sinclair B. Ferguson
Fun Filled Parenting by Silvana Clark
Our 24 Family Ways by Clay Clarkson
Family Faith Talks by Sandy Atwood

© 2012 Inkling Innovations & Lydia Randall

Tamra Gutierrez, Preschool Director
tamra@nsbcweatherford.com
Jim Garner, Family & Missions Pastor
jim@nsbcweatherford.com