Be a Brightsider not a Discourager

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

1. 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.
2. 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
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Exercise- The release of endorphins has a measurable positive impact on your brain and your thinking.  Read 1 Corinthians 6:19
6. 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
7. 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.

The Gratitude Group

Spread Joy Network

Spread Joy Song

Do the Gratitude Dance

Facebook Group- Rebel Against Recession

Facebook Group-Recession Survivors

LOGOS Started through Webinar Training

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.

Are You a Slow Parent?

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

Other resources are:

**Reclaiming Childhood: Letting Children Be Children in Our Achievement-Oriented Society
**Trees Make the Best Mobiles: Simple Ways to Raise Your Child in a Complex World
**Pressured Parents, Stressed-Out Kids: Dealing with Competition While Raising a Successful Child

Raise Up A Child to Answer God’s Call

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,

“Taking Risks to Explore the Fullness of God’s Promises.”

(it starts with a piece of music, an audio clip presentation and then her message)

This is not a unique experience for children raised in LOGOS.  Here are two other messages by LOGOS youth given in their churches:

The Joy of the Lord is Your Strength by Chelsea,  Christ Memorial Presbyterian Church

God is There Like it or Not by Meredith, Catoctin Presbyterian Church