Those who attend may know, but they may not. For those who don't attend, they certainly do not and both are a shame. The fact is Sycamore View has one of the best Children's Ministry offerings in the entire city, perhaps the region. Our Family Factory show is so far beyond other productions, it's more like a ticketed event. Sure our philosophy is not main stream, but it's proven and productive in the lives of those who matter - the kids and the parents. We have an EXCELLENT group of volunteers that work hard every week to bring forth God's message in a creative and practical way.
My only regret is, for the most part, it remains hidden. It's like having a free circus or ballgame or broadway show or High School Musical right here in Memphis/Bartlett and no one knows about it. We need to do a better job of getting the word out. We need to be talking to our neighbors and schoolmates, our family and friends and getting them to come experience what we offer - just once.
So my challenge to you is to ask someone this week to come and see Family Factory. Think about it, every week that they DON'T come is another week they miss out on experiencing a more complete life by knowing the things you already know. Have the courage. Walk right up to them and ask. Just move your mouth and God will give you the words.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Thursday, February 12, 2009
What is Family Factory?
That a tough question to answer because it depends on which part you're asking about. See Family Factory is a place, it's an idea, it's a program, it's the people; it's many things all at once. I guess at its core, it can best be explained by defining and combining the two words.
First, we have FAMILY. That’s a unit of people God has placed together to experience and live life.
Second, we have FACTORY. A factory is where raw materials are brought together to produce something of value.
So, Family Factory is a place where families are brought together to become more focused on making God the center of their daily lives. Because when we are truly and totally focused on and committed to God, we become the MOST VALUABLE thing on earth - HIS!
Nothing is more important than your personal relationship with God. Nothing! And it’s never too early to start that relationship. That’s why we come together and learn about these virtues, so we may know more about God and try to pattern our lives to fit His expectations. Do you know your life is not your own? Well it’s not. It’s Gods, to do with however He sees fit. But that’s another lesson on another day…
First, we have FAMILY. That’s a unit of people God has placed together to experience and live life.
Second, we have FACTORY. A factory is where raw materials are brought together to produce something of value.
So, Family Factory is a place where families are brought together to become more focused on making God the center of their daily lives. Because when we are truly and totally focused on and committed to God, we become the MOST VALUABLE thing on earth - HIS!
Nothing is more important than your personal relationship with God. Nothing! And it’s never too early to start that relationship. That’s why we come together and learn about these virtues, so we may know more about God and try to pattern our lives to fit His expectations. Do you know your life is not your own? Well it’s not. It’s Gods, to do with however He sees fit. But that’s another lesson on another day…
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Quiz Time ...
Age 3, Age 6, Age 9, Age 12.
Q: At what age do you think a child's moral foundations are set in place? Research shows that by the age of 9 years old, a child's understanding and realization of right and wrong are pretty much in place.
Q: Within which age range is the framework set to which the rest of their lives will be primarily lived? Again, studies show that between the ages of 3 and 9, a child's direction is set.
Q: By what age would you think a child's spiritual beliefs are largely set in place? Some experts feel it's as early as age 12. Of course this varies by maturity, but understand that way before they choose a career, way before they drive a car, way before they reach puberty, kids are forming concrete views and understandings of spiritual things.
FINAL Q: Are you doing what you need to do to provide your kids with an accurate and personal moral compass? Are you feeding them the spiritual nourishment they need as they mature? OR, are you allowing SpongeBob, Hannah Montana, and their best friend at school to enlighten them? What do they see on your TV at night? What do they learn from the friends you keep? What do they hear from your mouth?
Point: We have a very popular song we sing called "Monkey See" which follows a bad dad. Eventually he comes to understand that THEY ARE WATCHING OUR EVERY MOVE and he needs to be better. I'm sorry you can't change the past, but you can start RIGHT NOW and make a difference. If need be, sit them down and talk about it. Tell them, "mommy/daddy has not been acting like I want you to act. I'm going to act better and i hope you do too." Being a parent is hard work, it requires a Hard Hat, but that's another song and another day...
Q: At what age do you think a child's moral foundations are set in place? Research shows that by the age of 9 years old, a child's understanding and realization of right and wrong are pretty much in place.
Q: Within which age range is the framework set to which the rest of their lives will be primarily lived? Again, studies show that between the ages of 3 and 9, a child's direction is set.
Q: By what age would you think a child's spiritual beliefs are largely set in place? Some experts feel it's as early as age 12. Of course this varies by maturity, but understand that way before they choose a career, way before they drive a car, way before they reach puberty, kids are forming concrete views and understandings of spiritual things.
FINAL Q: Are you doing what you need to do to provide your kids with an accurate and personal moral compass? Are you feeding them the spiritual nourishment they need as they mature? OR, are you allowing SpongeBob, Hannah Montana, and their best friend at school to enlighten them? What do they see on your TV at night? What do they learn from the friends you keep? What do they hear from your mouth?
Point: We have a very popular song we sing called "Monkey See" which follows a bad dad. Eventually he comes to understand that THEY ARE WATCHING OUR EVERY MOVE and he needs to be better. I'm sorry you can't change the past, but you can start RIGHT NOW and make a difference. If need be, sit them down and talk about it. Tell them, "mommy/daddy has not been acting like I want you to act. I'm going to act better and i hope you do too." Being a parent is hard work, it requires a Hard Hat, but that's another song and another day...
Friday, February 6, 2009
Yes. You Can Force Them, But Why?
Last night I took my two boys to a Christian concert (TobyMac, Brandon Heath and Hawk Nelson were the big names). My boys are 10 years old and 7 years old. This would be their first concert and my first one since high school (yeah, 20 years ago!). It was AWESOME! great music, cool lighting and special effects, excellent messages and a relatively intimate setting (about 5,000 people). Both boys like TobyMac's music (not as much as mine of course, but he's a close second) and I figured they'd love the concert setting. Well, kind of...
Fairly early on we went for a snack and to buy some of those various items they sell that light up. The older wanted the glasses and the younger wanted a spinny-around thing. Ok, done. We grabbed those and a snack (all of which were VERY reasonably priced) and headed back to our seats. So now the main 4 acts we're playing and I noticed that the younger was facinated by this spinny-around thing. For the next 2 1/2 hours he played with that thing (holding it up, putting it on his teeth so it'd vibrated his skull, waving it around, showing me every aspect of how it worked). Despite my many attempts to encourage him to watch the concert we CAME HERE TO SEE, his fascination was in that cheesy tricket.
After about an hour I almost took the thing away and said "Watch the concert!" but I stopped myself. Afterall, he wasn't being mean or disobedient. He wasn't trying to get on my nerves. He was just being himself. See, our younger LOVES the journey much more then the destination (which is completely opposite of myself). He LOVES to find out how things work and what can be done with them (much like myself). He was enjoying that $6.00 LED spinner more than anybody else could. He was having a great time.
I guess the point is this: Your children are not you. They have different views, goals, likes and dislikes. The younger ones still enjoy the simple things in life, so let them. The older ones, well, I'll let you know in about 5 years. If you don't know what "love language" your child speaks (both giving and receiving), let me encourage you to FIND OUT! (an excellent resource is "The Five Love Languages of Children" by Chapman and Campbell). Rather than always dragging them into your world, take time to live in theirs.
Fairly early on we went for a snack and to buy some of those various items they sell that light up. The older wanted the glasses and the younger wanted a spinny-around thing. Ok, done. We grabbed those and a snack (all of which were VERY reasonably priced) and headed back to our seats. So now the main 4 acts we're playing and I noticed that the younger was facinated by this spinny-around thing. For the next 2 1/2 hours he played with that thing (holding it up, putting it on his teeth so it'd vibrated his skull, waving it around, showing me every aspect of how it worked). Despite my many attempts to encourage him to watch the concert we CAME HERE TO SEE, his fascination was in that cheesy tricket.
After about an hour I almost took the thing away and said "Watch the concert!" but I stopped myself. Afterall, he wasn't being mean or disobedient. He wasn't trying to get on my nerves. He was just being himself. See, our younger LOVES the journey much more then the destination (which is completely opposite of myself). He LOVES to find out how things work and what can be done with them (much like myself). He was enjoying that $6.00 LED spinner more than anybody else could. He was having a great time.
I guess the point is this: Your children are not you. They have different views, goals, likes and dislikes. The younger ones still enjoy the simple things in life, so let them. The older ones, well, I'll let you know in about 5 years. If you don't know what "love language" your child speaks (both giving and receiving), let me encourage you to FIND OUT! (an excellent resource is "The Five Love Languages of Children" by Chapman and Campbell). Rather than always dragging them into your world, take time to live in theirs.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Humility in Victory
Yesterday was the Super Bowl and we were invited to a friend's house along with a small crowd (all of which were Cardinal fans). We had chosen to be Steeler fans having seen an interview of a Steeler player and hearing about his Christian beliefs (and the fact that our oldest son likes playing his video game as that team).
As those who watched know, it was a good game where the Steelers were winning most of the time. The kids were cheering their teams and arguing the calls and doing typical kids stuff.
Midway through the 4th quarter, I noticed our oldest son was still in the side room watching the game as the rest of the crew was in the main room watching. I also noticed that this was the same time when the Cardinals were rolling and took the lead, so i went to see what was up. He was visually upset (which was partly due to lack of sleep the night before), but i asked him what was up. He didn't want to say. I asked him if the other kids celebrating their team's success was upsetting him. He said "yes, they were in my face cheering and pointing." I asked him how that made him feel. The answer was obvious. So I took some time to talk to him about victory and defeat and celebrating and such. (Truthfully the kids were just being kids and having fun there was no ill will or intent). He felt better and he and I watched the next several minutes in the side room by ourselves.
Then the tide started to turn back toward the Steelers and they looked to be maching toward a victory. That's when I said, you know if they score and win, you can't go running in there and be cheering and pointing and such, to which he said, "Why not?" So after ANOTHER talk about victory and defeat and celebrating, he DID finally understand.
My point is only this: Keep an eye out for teachable moments, they present themselves everyday in a wide variety of ways. Don't get caught up in the surface of life and forget the importance of life. And it may not "take" the first time, have patience and trust that the Lord is working with you.
As those who watched know, it was a good game where the Steelers were winning most of the time. The kids were cheering their teams and arguing the calls and doing typical kids stuff.
Midway through the 4th quarter, I noticed our oldest son was still in the side room watching the game as the rest of the crew was in the main room watching. I also noticed that this was the same time when the Cardinals were rolling and took the lead, so i went to see what was up. He was visually upset (which was partly due to lack of sleep the night before), but i asked him what was up. He didn't want to say. I asked him if the other kids celebrating their team's success was upsetting him. He said "yes, they were in my face cheering and pointing." I asked him how that made him feel. The answer was obvious. So I took some time to talk to him about victory and defeat and celebrating and such. (Truthfully the kids were just being kids and having fun there was no ill will or intent). He felt better and he and I watched the next several minutes in the side room by ourselves.
Then the tide started to turn back toward the Steelers and they looked to be maching toward a victory. That's when I said, you know if they score and win, you can't go running in there and be cheering and pointing and such, to which he said, "Why not?" So after ANOTHER talk about victory and defeat and celebrating, he DID finally understand.
My point is only this: Keep an eye out for teachable moments, they present themselves everyday in a wide variety of ways. Don't get caught up in the surface of life and forget the importance of life. And it may not "take" the first time, have patience and trust that the Lord is working with you.
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