I have enjoyed looking on Facebook at all the cute pictures of children on their first day of school! Most of the time I find myself thinking, “Wow! They are growing up so fast!” Our children change quickly and as we watch, we see more of who they will become as adults. We can also see traits of personality that lean more toward a mom or dad. Then there are some that are just their own person!
Wouldn’t it be amazing if we could take spiritual pictures of our children as they grow up in the Lord? Some would be growing in faith by leaps and bounds while others are growing inch by inch. Some have hearts that are obviously filled with traits of God’s person and others are having to work a little harder at that. I think those kinds of images are for God’s eyes only – but He does see them.
Healthy children do not grow that way on their own, whether physically or spiritually. Just ask most children to name their favorite food and it will likely be on the “eat less of” charts. It is why they have parents! In the same way, for our kids to be spiritually healthy, parents must feed them constant diets of spiritual food. Those include lots of prayer, reading the Word, worship, gratitude and surrounded by a spiritual community. I hope these are all a major diet in your family. I hope the name of Jesus is mentioned multiple times each day and God is always given credit for all thing good.
For the past year, Faith by Phase home lessons have been offered on the Northside Faith by Phase Facebook page. Each month there has been a different theme such as Kindness, Patience, Peace, Commitment, Confidence and Wisdom. Through these lessons the children are given scripture examples to grow in these God-like attributes. The aim is to grow our kids to love God, themselves, and others.
In the last few months, Safari opened and our kids learn about God through lessons, geography, drama, games, and memory work. Each six weeks there is a different focus from either the New Testament or the Old Testament. The current rotation is about the heroes of the Old Testament.
So, what’s COMING SOON?
We are creating a Parenting Resource Center in the form of a large bulletin board. It is located on the wall between the Safari hall and auditorium entrance. You can’t miss it.
- For parents of kids from K-6th grade, you will find a holder for the Faith by Phase curriculum weekly lesson for home study. It will provide you with all the handouts needed and all you will need is to watch the story video found on Realm or Faith by Phase Facebook.
- For parents of Safari students, there will be a holder for a weekly card which will give you the memory verse, lesson scripture and conversation questions to ask your child at Sunday lunch about what they just learned.
- For all parents of 0-6th grade children, you will find reading resources to help in parenting the different phases of your child from birth through Loft. These will be updated often.
Please take advantage of these resources as you feed your children spiritual food all week long.