Sunday, December 7, 2014

Faithful Families Resources December 7 2014


Our Father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home. - C.S.Lewis

We are now in the season of Advent, a time that is focussed on waiting with anticipation. We wait with anticipation for the return of Christ, we relive in our own lives the expectation of the birth of Christ and his birth in our own heart everyday. We wait with anticipation for the kingdom of God to be fulfilled on earth. Over the these  four weeks the material will be shaped around four themes that are relevant to this time: promise, waiting, journey and gift.

In addition to the weekly resources have a look at the special Advent  page for some ideas and resources on how to celebrate the season well in your home.

In addition to the weekly resources have a look at the special Advent  page for some ideas and resources on how to celebrate the season well in your home.

Family Closeness
Game:
Alphabet Car Game
Since the theme this week is journey here is a game you can play next time you are in the car. It is a simple game that requires players to find all the letters of the alphabet in order on car number plates. A letter on a number plate can only be claimed by one player, the first to call it out. Multiple letters on the one number plate can be claimed and by different players. Whoever gets to z first is the winner. Find some more travel games for the car at the bottom of the blog.

Sharing:
  • What are the best and worst things about long journeys?
  • What is your favourite thing to do on a journey?
  • Where is your favourite place to journey to?

Story
 With your family read John 1.6-28
(for a way of explaining/talking about this reading with children look at

Questions for Discussion:
  • Who was it that John’s disciples were waiting for?
  • What evidence did Jesus give that he was the one?
  • How did John prepare the way for Jesus?

 Prayer and Celebration
A prayer for Advent
We thank you, Lord God, for the prophets and leaders who looked forward to the coming of Jesus the Saviour.
We thank you for those who prepared the way for him, like John the Baptist.
We thank you for the angels you sent with the message about Jesus.
and we thank you for Mary, who believed the message and was willing to do your will.
we thank you most of all for Jesus, who was born to save us.

In this Advent time, when we get ready for Christmas, help us to hear your message, to be excited that you want to be with us, and help us to an tto be part of your plan for this world you care so much about.
Amen.
 http://www.lunt.org.uk/resources/pages/liturgy/prayers_school.htm

Service
Here are some more Advent Service Ideas
  • Get a group together to sing at a nursing home.
  • Go through your cupboard and give some clothes to a charity.
  • Encourage your children to think of what toys they have that are still in good condition that they might give to a charity.
  • With your family choose a way to give a gift to a needy family. This may be best done through a registered charity or church. If you can make food donations take your children shopping to buy the food so they can actually see what it is they are giving. Some charities have schemes where people give gift-wrapped presents for children from needy families.

 Family Time
Are trips in the car a nightmare? Why not turn them into a family adventure. Here are a few ideas.

Semi Search
All you need is a sheet of paper to keep score, one person to be scorekeeper and a writing utensil. Each player chooses a colour. Each player's name and chosen colour is then written down on the score card by the score keeper, who will announce when there is a winner. Each player announces each semitrailer on the road that is his chosen colour. One mark, or point, is given for each semi the person identifies as his colour. The game can be played until one person reaches a certain number of points. Most people play Semi Search until one person reaches 50 points, but a longer game can be played for older children.

Travelling Bingo
 Bingo cards will need to be made prior to the trip, but only take a few minutes to make. Be sure to make several sets to allow for more then one game of Car Bingo to be played, especially if travelling a long distance. To make the Bingo cards, draw five columns of five boxes centered on the paper. You can use coloured or white paper, whichever is more convenient. Over the top of each column, one letter per column, print the letters B-I-N-G-O. Next, draw or place stickers of various items that may be encountered along the trip. Some popular suggestions are cows, tractors, umbrellas, dogs, horses, sheep, barns, lawn furniture, radio or television towers, different colours and types of cars (such as a red truck or blue station wagon), police cars, ambulances or fire trucks. You want the children, and/or adults, playing to have to search for the objects. Each player is given one card and a writing utensil to mark their boxes. When an object on the card is identified, an "X" is marked on the box for the object. When a person completes a row (up, down, across or diagonal), he wins. The game can be played until one person wins two games, or if fewer people are playing, the first to win three out of five.

The State Game
To prepare to play the State Game takes a little more effort than the other car games. However, if travelling a long distance, especially across country, the effort is well worth it. To play the State Game, make a list of all the Australian states on a sheet of paper. Make as many copies of this list as may be needed while travelling. Each player is given one list of the states and one writing utensil. The object is to find as many different states on the license plates of other vehicles as possible. The game can be played once or again played until one person wins two games. Be sure to make plenty of copies of the state lists, as this game becomes popular fairly quickly. 

Guess Mobile
Name a guess master -- the person who poses a guessing challenge. He or she could ask passengers to guess the color of the next passing car, or how long before you get to the next town. Or, with three clues, what it is that someone else sees.

Car Scavenger Hunt
Hand your kids a pack of index cards and ask them to write or draw pictures of 50 things they might see on a trip. Keep the cards for scavenger hunts when players vie to match what they see with the cards.

(This material is based on and draws from earlier Faithful Families emails by Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning: An Unless Ideas Production.) Unless otherwise noted all material on this blog is copyright Stephen Harrison and Richard Browning

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