How do parents set boundaries for their children? Do parents need to know the difference between being “a parent” and “a best friend”? Do you struggle with setting boundaries for your teen and his/her use of the internet?
Guiding children to become healthy in all facets of their lives is certainly the number one job of any parent. “Tips for Parents and Healthcare Providers: Teens and MySpace” posted by Seattle Children’s Hospital helps parents think about the boundaries that need to be set for healthy use of social networks. Having family rules as well as family rituals, such as dinner together every night, can build your family’s relationships, improve school success, and significantly reduce at-risk behaviors.
Let us hear from you about how you cope with these issues in your family:
What does God say to us about boundaries?
Do you find it hard to set boundaries in your family—and stick to them?
What techniques have you found useful in guiding your child’s behavior?
What do you think setting boundaries has to do with spiritual growth?
For more on how setting boundaries can be healthy for your family, read the July issue of Heartfelt, our free newsletter for families who are committed to raising God’s whole child.
I just returned from a Children’s Spirituality Conference that talked a lot about children in worship. Then I was in worship this past Sunday and we sang a David Crowder song, “We Won’t Be Quiet”. Here are the lyrics that struck me:
You’re everything we could ever want
You’re everything we could ever need
You’re the reason we’re coming here
You’re the reason we’re gonna sing
I was reminded in the song of the real reason of worship, to praise God. I was also reminded of our purpose for being there, to worship God. Suddenly my mind went right to the Westminster Larger Catechism which says, “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and to enjoy God forever.” This is a wonderful summary of the teaching of Scripture on this matter (Isa. 43:7; Eph. 1:11-12). We humans have been created by God to first and foremost glorify God.
So how well do we pass this on to our children? When our children and youth hear us complain about style, methodology, space and sermon do they sense that we are living out our purpose to glorify God? Or are we teaching them that worship is something for us to consume and evaluate? Do we teach them the purpose of worship is to please and satisfy us? Should we not teach our children that we gather in worship because God is our everything and is everything we need?
I am reminded of two theologians I know, Robbie Castleman and Marva Dawn who both say, “when we are tempted to criticize worship, someone should remind us, we were not worshiping you.”
So what are we teaching our children about worship, that it is for us or for God?
If you would like more information on teaching children about worship take a look at this resource Worship for Life .
I went with my daughter to the high school baccalaureate service because her best friend is graduating. In comparison to the graduating class, very few people attended this optional service. However, there was a family sitting directly behind us with a graduating senior. It was almost time for the service to start when the lady behind us says, in a loud voice, “I hope they get this thing going, I know God is important but…. there is a game on tonight.”
I sat there amazed. My daughter and I just looked at each, not knowing what to say. I immediately thought, “You don’t have to be here so why are you?” The comment stuck with me and I continued to ponder it for the rest of the night. It would be easy to condemn or criticize this woman but I wonder in reality how many of us actually send this message without saying it.
God is important but……
I’m on vacation
I’ve got too much work to do
I’ve got a game
We’ve got a dance competition
We’ve got a recital
We just don’t have enough time
I’ve got to think about my family first
The list can go on and on and on. However, the message is still the same. In reality we are saying that God is not as important as what follows in the rest of that statement. Perhaps that is one reason I like our primary core value here at The LOGOS Ministry:
We affirm that a saving relationship with God through Jesus Christ is more important than anything else in life.
Like everyone I struggle to live this out daily but at least this value keeps reminding me of who God wants me to be. A great reminder that each and every day I need my life to reflect that truth.
We know that raising up children to be followers of Christ takes a lot of prayer, focus, and work. While ultimately parents are the leaders in this endeavor, we also know it takes all of us working together. So let’s do just that, work together!
That is whyHeartfelt, the extremely popular parenting newsletter from The LOGOS Ministry is now a part of the twitter community. If you have thoughts, questions, concerns or ideas about raising kids in today’s world, you can tweet them to @heartfeltparent so we can converse, no matter where we are, about raising children in a Christian home.
In addition, we are setting aside a specific time to talk(tweet) about being parents in today’s world. Let’s share ideas, solutions, and resources and offer each other some support. We will get started on Tuesday evening May 12th from 8 – 9 P.M. (EDT) with a Parents on Twitter event.
During the hour, we will lead a session that gets at the parenting topics that are on your mind…so questions can get answered and connections can be made. Put the kids to bed, make a cup of tea, and jump into the conversation. We’ll tackle the issues 140 characters at a time. Parents onTwitter will occur every Tuesday evening at the same time…make it a priority for yourself and your family!
You can join Heartfelt on Twitter and get real-time support for your efforts as a parent. We pray that @heartfeltparent will become the focal point for a community of Christian parents who want to share both the challenges and solutions associated with raising our kids today.
So what questions and issues do you want to share? Where are you experiencing great joy in your parenting adventure? We want to hear from you.
If you don’t receive the Heartfelt newsletter you can subscribe here.
Don’t have a Twitter account yet? Go here and sign up, it’s really easy. Then find@heartfeltparent and start following us today.
In his book, Courageous Leadership, Bill Hybels says, “The local church is the hope of the world.” In the last week, I have experienced the truth of that message in two different settings. I experienced it in such a powerful way that it has caused me to reflect on how the local church is the hope for our children and their future.
First was on Good Friday. My family and I piled into the the car Friday evening to head to a church 50 minutes away to see a musical Passion Play based on DaVinci’s portrait of “The Last Supper”.
We had no idea what to expect but from the moment the children, youth, and adults came running in with palm branches followed by Roman Guards and then Jesus on a horse, I knew that this was going to be something special. For the next two hours we watched as men held a frozen state just like Da Vinci’s painting, only breaking their pose to step out in character and remember the life of Jesus. It was spectacular.
However, what made it more spectacular was we were in a rural church in western Pennsylvania not a mega- church in the suburbs. For 12 years this church and community has poured their heart out into this production to offer it 4 nights of Holy Week to more than 1200 people. Who says there isn’t vital ministry in rural areas? Not only did children, youth and adult participate as characters but it engaged every person of every age in the audience that night. And as if the presentation was not enough, at the end was an explanation of God’s proposal to each of us for a purposeful and meaningful relationship. Thank you Pastor John and Grace UMC.
The second example of hope I lift up is the church I attend, Charter Oak Church. Easter Sunday was the kick off of a new series, ” You Don’t Have What It Takes” which is based on a circus strong man theme. Not only was this totally engaging for ALL ages but it rang true the real message of Easter, it is through Christ that we have forgiveness and new life not through anything we do. However, we all fall into the performance trap where we try to earn our way to heaven, even though we aren’t good enough and never will be. All of us fall short. When I realize that God accepts me through Jesus, I am no longer living for God’s approval but from God’s approval. Good people don’t go to heaven, forgiven people do. Thanks to Pastor Chris for a powerful message.
Both of these local church stories give me such a strong hope for our young people because both churches worked hard to be purposeful, practical and impactful for every generation and not just for one or two. They were a true every generation experience and message of the Gospel.
The thought provoking German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer once said, “The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.” So when we think about morality and children we cannot think about that apart from ourselves and society. At The LOGOS Ministry, we have a long standing prayer that the lives of children in the world today might be described by the Gospel of Mark 10:14 but we are afraid that their plight is described more by the circumstances that they are surrounded by today. Please watch this and join us in the prayer for children.
Won’t you also consider helping us change the world for children with your donation. Click here to help.
Do the Gratitude Dance! Perhaps you saw the segment on Good Morning America that was all about a new trend called , “bright-siding”. Bright-siding is the decision to do things that will intentionally bring a cheery atmosphere into your life and the life of others. It may mean wearing cheerful colors, painting a room with bright colors and listening to cheerful music. It definitely means living a life of gratitude and approaching others with a smile. Both gratitude and smiling have been demonstrated to have a positive effect on a person’s brain. The premise to bright-siding is that while one person can’t control the external things that are happening that person can control their outlook. So to be a brightsider, here are some first steps to take along with some biblical references for those steps
Turn off the Media. Watch it, listen to it, or read it once a day only. Besides, it is usually just a repeat of the same stories. Instead read Proverbs 3:25 and Psalm 23.
Connect with God. Spend a planned amount of time each day just talking and listening to God. Shift your focus from the world around you to God. Read Romans 8:5
Read Inspirational Books. Allow positive information and messages to replace the negative information. Read stories of people who not only survived but thrived. Use the story of Joseph as an inspiration in Genesis chapters 37-47.
Surround Yourself with Positive People- Negative and positive are contagious, so it is better to be infected with the positive. Seek out positive people. Search the Book of Proverbs for references to the foolish and the wise.
Exercise- The release of endorphins has a measurable positive impact on your brain and your thinking. Read 1 Corinthians 6:19
Get Plenty of Sleep- It is almost impossible to be positive when you are exhausted. However things are much brighter and in proper perspective after rest. Psalm 46:10
Go to Church- It is there that we can find a caring community. It is there that we need to be reminded of God’s unconditional love and mercy as well as God’s control as the creator of the universe. It is there we can experience the chorus of Alleluias from worship. Read Psalm 100 and 150 and John 3:16
The key is to do and think things that help you see the bright side. Here are some links for more information on bright-siding and positive thinking.
At a prayer meeting last week one of our fathers was bursting with joy and pride.His daughter, an eight year old who had been attending our church for four years, came home from our first night of LOGOS so excited that she wanted her parents to buy her a Bible so that she can learn more about God.That is our hope and dream for the ministry of LOGOS and on our first night, March 4th we saw many kids from our church and neighborhood experience a deeper, more vibrant and fun time with Jesus and our church family. We are a small church of about 150 members at Christ Presbyterian Church in Lakewood, California. We had twenty one kids show up for the first night and they are excited to come back and learn more about God, have fun and spend time with their friends!
Our team had been meeting and praying for months to launch this ministry. Each week we saw the Lord lead us to a new idea and a new volunteer. Each time we gathered we sensed God’s leading and presence and the people we approached were filled with joy at the thought of God using them to shape the lives of our youngsters.
We decided to have a prize for the end of our first session of five weeks. The kids get points for memorizing scripture, bringing their Bible, bringing friends and for participating in the theme of the night. The top three point winners will get a night out with our LOGOS coordinators.We thought bowling would be a good motivation and the kids are excited to participate. We used bowling themes for our tables for the meal portion and have made the dinner very fun and energetic. Our leaders have a deep desire to show the kids the love of Christ. We as a church Praise the Lord for this ministry and are looking forward to what God is going to do in the coming weeks, months and years!
This blog article was written by Michelle Conan, Coordinator of LOGOS for Christ Presbyterian Church, Lakewood, CA where there are 24 students from kindergarten through grade twelve in LOGOS after their FIRST NIGHT! Christ Presbyterian trained their volunteers through the LOGOS webinars on line.
There is a new trend being reported about in newspapers around the country called “slow parenting”. It is a reaction to the hustle, bustle, achievement oriented over scheduling that so easily takes place in family life today. So what is slow parenting? Slow parenting is about stepping back from scheduling and learning to appreciate unstructured time. It is about embracing and implementing family living. It is focusing on building up relationships instead of signing up for scheduled activities.
I am excited by this trend because it embodies what we stand for here at The LOGOS Ministry. Relationships are everything and activities should be used to build relationships. The key to relationship building through slow parenting is the parent sets the pace and the agenda.
S0, to help you with family relationship building we have developed two excellent family resources:
1. A free monthly newsletter to deal with family issues called Heartfelt and is available here. The Family Round the Table section includes inexpensive relationship building activities for the family to do at home.
2. Also, LOGOS@Home which offers 52 weeks of family faith formation activities,lessons and discussions to do at home for just $9.99 and available here.
Quality of time is a far better model for healthy families than quantity of activities. In today’s economy, it is a perfect time to focus on building healthy, family relationships in Christ.
Read more about the Slow Parenting Movement at ParentMap
How can we raise children to answer God’s call? It is about listening, praying and taking a risk. Here is a podcast from my daughter who was raised in the LOGOS ministry, has attended LOGOS Youth Conferences ( her American Sign Language passion she mentions began at conference) and is highly involved in mission. She and I went on a mission trip to Jamaica in November. Her early excitement about this trip soon turned to anxiety and even fear as the trip approached. Early this year she was invited as a high school student exploring ministry to deliver the message at our church, Charter Oak Church. She chose to talk about our trip. Listen now to how she over came the fear to answer God’s call in her message,
How do parents set boundaries for their children? Do parents need to know the difference between being “a parent” and “a best friend”? Do you struggle with setting boundaries for your teen and his/her use of the internet?
Posted by Pat J. 
I just returned from a Children’s Spirituality Conference that talked a lot about children in worship. Then I was in worship this past Sunday and we sang a David Crowder song, “We Won’t Be Quiet”. Here are the lyrics that struck me:
Posted by Tom Beagan 
I went with my daughter to the high school baccalaureate service because her best friend is graduating. In comparison to the graduating class, very few people attended this optional service. However, there was a family sitting directly behind us with a graduating senior. It was almost time for the service to start when the lady behind us says, in a loud voice, “I hope they get this thing going, I know God is important but…. there is a game on tonight.”
Posted by Tom Beagan 
We know that raising up children to be followers of Christ takes a lot of prayer, focus, and work. While ultimately parents are the leaders in this endeavor, we also know it takes all of us working together. So let’s do just that, work together!
r our children and their future.
ster, it is through Christ that we have forgiveness and new life not through anything we do. However, we all fall into the performance trap where we try to earn our way to heaven, even though we aren’t good enough and never will be. All of us fall short. When I realize that God accepts me through Jesus, I am no longer living for God’s approval but from God’s approval. Good people don’t go to heaven, forgiven people do. Thanks to 
Do the Gratitude Dance! Perhaps you saw the segment on 
At a prayer meeting last week one of our fathers was bursting with joy and pride.
There is a new trend being reported about in newspapers around the country called “slow parenting”. It is a reaction to the hustle, bustle, achievement oriented over scheduling that so easily takes place in family life today. So what is slow parenting? Slow parenting is about stepping back from scheduling and learning to appreciate unstructured time. It is about embracing and implementing family living. It is focusing on building up relationships instead of signing up for scheduled activities.
