Hello parents and followers of NorthField Kids Ministry - We hope your year is off to a strong start. In this newsletter you will receive some encouragement and also see everything that is going on in the world of our kids throughout the month.
Hello parents and followers of NorthField Kids Ministry - We hope your year is off to a strong start. In this newsletter you will receive some encouragement and also see everything that is going on in the world of our kids throughout the month.
If you’re like many parents, you’re busy making resolutions this week. I think that’s a great idea.
But have you any made any resolutions related to your family?
I’m a big fan of goals.
Michael Hyatt outlines a number of compelling reasons you should actually write down your resolutions. The most persuasive for me is that you are 42% more likely to reach your goals if you write them down.
I was reminded of that this past week. When cleaning out a my office, I came across a list of written goals from 4 years ago. There were over a dozen. I was both surprised and grateful to see I achieved 80% of them, and am on track to complete them all within the next two years (some were BIG goals).
Interestingly enough, one of my goals was marriage related: to try to develop a few new shared interests with my wife now that our kids were getting older. That year, we bought snow shoes and started snow shoeing together. I don’t like snow-shoeing, but I like her, and we have lots of great memories.
A year later, she bought a road bike, and now we ride together. She kind of likes it, and I love cycling.
I’m so glad we wrote that goal down.
You will have some resolutions that are specific and personal to you—which is great. But there are some goals that every parent could benefit from accomplishing.
In fact, here are 5 goals that not only every parent can make, but that, with even a tiny bit of effort, every parent can keep.
You don’t have to make all 5, but my guess is if you pick even 2, you’ll have a much better year.
I think one of the reasons parents end up skipping time with God is we make it into a big seminary-type thing where we have to have thirty undistracted minutes and six versions of the Bible handy to make it pay.
Wrong.
Some mornings starting with God might mean praying, “Today, God, I’m going to need some strength” as you jump out of bed to see if your emerging toddler has once again escaped his crib.
See what you did there?
You started the day with God.
Even if it wasn’t a full on You Version Bible study.
Most days, you’ll even be able to catch 5 minutes, if you try.
If you’re married, it’s so important to prioritize your marriage even over your parenting.
A healthy marriage produces a healthier home.
Dating your spouse can, of course, be a full on night out, but the sitters aren’t always free and you don’t always have the funds for a crazy night out.
Guess what we’ve done over the years? Put the kids to bed and then sat down for our dinner after…with real grown-up conversation and candles and all that. It cost zero extra dollars (except for the candles maybe), and it beat watching TV.
A surprising amount of household conversation is what I call ‘transactional’, as in . . .
“Did you make your bed?”
“When are you home from school?”
“Hey, don’t paint your brother’s hair green again!”
“Is your homework done?”
“Didn’t you already watch your hour of TV?”
Each day, try to get past the who/what/where/when of family life and have a real conversation. Even if all you get is grunts from your teenager, he’ll know you tried.
Whenever I try to get together with Dave, one of my good friends, and I ask him about when’s a good time, he always says “I eat three times a day. Pick one.”
Dave’s so right.
We all eat three times a day, but many families have drifted away from eating together.
Reclaim some meal times together. You’ll not only enjoy your meals more, you’ll enjoy each other.
So this might not work if you have three kids under three, but try to get more sleep. Even thirty minutes more each night. Or an hour.
The real reason we don’t sleep enough is not our kids—it’s us.
And personally, I know nothing good happens when I’m tired. I get cranky. I make mistakes. I drag myself through the day. I get irritated more easily. . .All recipes for domestic disaster.
Go to bed those few minutes early whenever you can.
When you wake up rested, you won’t just feel better–your kids and spouse will thank you. You’re at your most kind when you’re the most rested.
PRESCHOOL (Birth - 5 Years Old)
Preschoolers love showing us what they can do. They are full of WATCH THIS moments. And it can be anything – turning in a circle, running and jumping on a pile of pillows, curtseying like a princess, or my favorite, making their eyebrows go up and down. I love it when they learn how to do that. Their facial expressions are hilarious!
Pretty much anything a preschooler can do falls into the WATCH THIS category, simply because they think anything they learn how to do deserves a WATCH THIS moment.
This month we’re going to run with that theme and the words ‘WATCH THIS!’ will be said… A LOT! For all of you science experiment fans, you’re going to have a blast! Any messes that will be made will be TOTALLY worth it. We want to invite preschoolers to WATCH THIS as we do a few impressive things so we can lead them to the ONE who can do ANYTHING! The goal for this month is to learn that Jesus is the one to watch, because JESUS CAN DO ANYTHING!
WEEK 1
We’ll begin the month talking about the time Jesus caught all of those fish after Peter caught nothing. Can you imagine Jesus saying, ‘Hey Peter! Watch this!’ as He pulled up the net filled with fish?
Story Focus: Jesus can do things we can’t. Peter wasn’t able to catch fish on his own. But, with Jesus, his nets were filled! Only Jesus can do that! Jesus can do anything.
WEEK 2
Or how about the time Jesus walked on water. That was definitely a WATCH THIS moment!
Story Focus: Jesus can do what is impossible. I can’t walk on water. Can you? Can your preschoolers? No. We can’t. It’s impossible for us. But, nothing is impossible for Jesus. Jesus can do anything.
WEEK 3
Then, there’s the time Jesus fed over 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish. Can you imagine the look on the disciples’ faces as they watched the food keep coming and coming and coming and then as they picked up the leftovers?
Story Focus: Nothing is too hard for Jesus. Feeding all those people seemed an impossible task for the disciples. But, nothing is too hard for Jesus to do. Jesus can do anything.
WEEK 4
We’ll end the month with Jesus doing something else only He can do – turning water into wine, or as we like to call it in preschool world, ‘Super Fancy Party Drink.’ Preschoolers may not know what wine is, but they know it’s a fancy party when you’ve got juice boxes or punch.
Story Focus: Jesus can do anything. Preschoolers love watching water turn into super fancy party drink. Only, we have to use drink powder to make it happen. Jesus did it all by Himself because Jesus can do anything.
We’re going to have a lot of little eyes on you this month watching and learning. We have an awesome opportunity to direct those eyes to the One worthy of watching – the One who truly can do anything – the One who wants to be their friend forever. And hey, who wouldn’t want a friend who can do anything?
ELEMENTARY (Kindergarten - 6th Grade)
Growing in faith is not something that happens by simply cramming information about the Bible into a child’s brain. The knowledge in their head means nothing if we don’t help kids experience what that knowledge can do in their heart. To experience faith, we want kids to practice their faith and that takes commitment.
God keeps all His promises and puts His plans into action. Because God has kept His promises to us, we can make a plan and stick to it. One of the best plans you can make is to commit to an ongoing relationship with Jesus. Commit to practicing faith by reading God’s Word, praying to Him consistently, talking about Him with friends, and living out your faith every day.
WEEK 1
Key Question: How can you hear from God? When kids learn they should learn to hear from God, they might have some questions. After all, when God doesn’t really speak audibly, how can I hear from Him? We hope kids wrestle with this idea and learn that through reading God’s Word they can hear from God and discovery what God wants for their life.
We start our look at commitment in Matthew 7:24-27 where we can read a parable Jesus told at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. Two builders took two different approaches to building their homes. One was built on a solid foundation, the other on shifting sand. Our solid foundation is built on hearing and doing what Jesus says.
Bottom Line: Practice hearing and doing what God says. We can’t do what God says until we know what God says, and that begins with listening to God. We pray that kids will learn the faith skill, HEAR, and discover how they can navigate and personalize God’s Word.
WEEK 2
Key Question: How do you pray to God? Kids are just starting to discover that they can pray more than before meals and at bedtime. We hope the kids in your environments learn that they can pray to God whenever they feel like they feel like pray with whatever words come to mind. God is always there to listen.
In Luke 11:1-4, we find Jesus’s disciples asking Him how to pray. Jesus responds with a prayer that serves as the perfect model for how we can talk to God. We can pray with gratitude and honesty, pray for our needs, and for forgiveness. It’s a comfort to know that we can pray knowing that God knows us and wants to hear from us.
Bottom Line: Practice praying to God. They can pray anytime, anywhere because God is always listening. We hope kids will understand more about the faith skill, PRAY, and find that talking to God is an important part of growing in their faith.
WEEK 3
Key Question: Who can you talk with about God? Talking about what God is doing in your life is an important part of growing in faith. But not every child knows the best person to talk to about their faith. We hope kids figure out the trusted people who can be a sounding board to listen to their faith stories.
In Matthew 16:13-20, Jesus asks His disciples about who people think He is. Then, Jesus turns the question on them. After everything they’d seen Jesus do and heard Jesus say, who did they think He was? This gave Peter the perfect moment for him to declare what he believed about Jesus—that Jesus truly is the Son of God.
Bottom Line: Practice talking about God. We can know God better by talking about Him with others. But this isn’t just about talking about Jesus with people who don’t know Him yet. There’s also another important element of talking about God. As kids process their growing faith, they will have questions and doubts. We want kids to practice the faith skill, TALK, and learn how to talk through their questions about God with others who believe in Jesus.
WEEK 4
Key Question: How can you live for God? Kids might think that they only practice their faith when they are at church. But when you practice living for God, you discover that whatever you do—work, play, read, sing, listen, whatever—can be a way you worship God with your life.
We finish out our month in Mark 12:41-44. Jesus is with His disciples and notices how wealthy people are giving lots of money, but then came a poor widow. She gave just two small coins. While this seemed like such a small gift, Jesus says this woman actually gave more than the rich people because she gave everything she had.
Bottom Line: Practice living for God. We know that most kids love to sing and worship God. But worship isn’t just something we do when we sing at church; worship is really how we honor God with our whole lives—through how we love others and serve them, how we give of our time and talents, how we obey and praise God, even how we rest. We want kids to practice the faith skill, LIVE, and discover that worship isn’t just singing loud, it’s living loud.
A big shout out to our amazing Kindergarten small group leader, Tracy Dyer! Tracy has been at NorthField since the very beginning! Not only is she a small group leader for kids, but she host a life group in her home and pulls curriculum for us weekly. She loves diet cranberry limeades from Sonic and enjoys the show Survivor!
If you see Tracy this month make sure to give her a big hug and thank her for all she does for NorthField!
NorthField is proud to be an official host church for Night to Shine, sponsored by the @Tim Tebow Foundation on February 9, 2018! Night To Shine is an unforgettable prom night experience, centered on God’s love, for people with special needs, ages 14 and older. To learn more please visit our website at northfield.nighttoshine.com
Coming Soon!
Coming Soon!
Camp KidJam is a a children’s camp for our current 2nd – 5th graders! We know it seems a little early but this is the best time to plan for Summer of 2018. You can check out what it's all about on Camp Kid Jam's website at http://campkidjam.com At Camp KidJam we will teach our kids as they grow in wisdom, faith and friendship. It will provide a fun experience for kids, unique leader training to develop adult leaders and to elevate the significance of Small Groups for children.
You don't want to miss out on the best rate to attend. $50 can reserve your spot today! Sign up online at https://www.easytithe.com/f/?