Now look at the week/month ahead. Are there things you can cut out of your schedule to reduce stress? Are there things that could be hindering your spiritual growth? your families? Check out these passages from New Living Translation:

Proverbs 12:25 - “Worry weighs a person down; an encouraging word cheers a person up.”

2 Corinthians 4:17,18 – “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”

Jeremiah 29:11-14 – “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord . ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,’ says the Lord . ‘I will end your captivity and restore your fortunes.’”

1 Chronicles 4:10 – (Prayer of Jabez) “He was the one who prayed to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me and expand my territory! Please be with me in all that I do, and keep me from all trouble and pain!’ And God granted him his request.

Many times my schedule is so full that a Bible study or focused time of prayer is the last thing I want to do, but it is in those times that we need time with our Lord and Savior. Megan and I remind ourselves nightly how blessed we are in the good and the bad and fervently ask for God’s continued blessing. It is easy to ask God to bless us, but to take it to another level and be responsible for what he does bless us with is the challenge.

What has God blessed you with in your life? What about recently? Are there things you let get in your way of seeking out God and His will for your life. Are there things that clog up your families schedule that keeps you from a weekly bible study together?

God is on our side, if we want Him to be. He knows what is best for us and our families. If we seek Him in all that we do, He will bless us.

For this series we have also added a great Parent Feature. We are posting our Bible Story video online to watch and recap with your children. There are also review questions and conversation starters for you to use with your children. You can find the video and questions here:

After the children go to bed cover up all the mirrors in the house. In the morning, wake everyone up early and tell them they have to try to get ready without using any mirrors. After they have struggled for a while let them uncover the mirrors and finish getting ready. Tell the family that God’s Word is the mirror for our lives and it is just as important that we look into God’s Word each morning to correct our lives as it is for us to look into a mirror in the morning to correct our appearance.

This week in Downtown Kandoo we learned that the Bible is good, the Bible is God’s Word, and the Bible is True. Because the Bible is God’s Word, we need to listen to it and do what it says. Our Bible passage from James 1:19-25 and our Bible Story from 2 Kings 22 and 23 taught us that when we hear God’s Word, we need to do what it says. With your kids this week reread the Bible Passage and the Bible Story with your children.
A great way to bring this point home to your children can be done by this activity: Rule Book.
Buy a new board game to your family. One that everyone is unfamiliar with. Get everyone together to play the game, but don’t read the rules first, just make them up. Keep changing the rules until everyone starts getting frustrated. Then pull out the rule book and read it and play the game properly. Explain that the Bible is the rule book for our lives and that we should read it and do what it says.

What is it though about this time of the year? I thought it was supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year!?!
Many times it seems like to most people a time they would rather be reflecting on instead of staring at. I know the commercialization of the Holiday has definitely been an addition to the stress factor. Years ago children would be happy with a peppermint stick and some fruit. Families were focused on the joy of being together and reflecting on the years’ past. They weren’t zipping and zooming from one place to the next making sure they get exactly what their child wants. They would scrimp and save and thank God for the blessings they had been given during the past year.

How many more stuffed animals or Lego sets do our children need to be happy? What are we teaching them about where true happiness comes from? Do we reflect with our children on the blessings God has given us over the past year? Children are extremely receptive and impressionable, so if we start refocusing on why this season is the most wonderful time of year we can begin changing a generation.

I am not talking about a nativity set on the mantle or a birthday cake for Jesus even. A thorough reading of the Bethlehem story and the world Jesus was born into can lead into a great discussion of the blessing we have been given. Also sharing with our children that it is truly better to give than to receive. Working on an Operation Christmas Child box or taking a Christmas dinner to a family in need. Even going through our toy boxes and sharing the things we really don’t need with those with less fortune. If we are leading and showing this example to our children they will follow and grasp what you are trying to teach them.

This Christmas season, may you be truly blessed with family and friends. Remember all that He has done!

Merry Christmas

Sing Along
Have each member of the family choose a favorite praise song and burn them onto a CD. Play the CD and sing along when you ride in the car together. Remind your children that they can think about their favorite praise song all through the day to help keep an attitude of praise to God no matter what is happening.

Many times we praise God during the good times, for the good things He has done for us, it’s easy you know. It is much harder to focus on God and praise Him when we are in times of difficulty. We are often so focused on our own stress and burdens that we don’t see our Heavenly Father reaching done trying to give us a hand. It is so hard to do but when we turn from our problems and start praising Him, your troubles will fall away. It’s hard to focus on your problems when you are fully worshiping and praising God. That goes the other way too. It is hard to focus on God when you are fully focusing on your problems. This week as you come to a bump in the road, look to God and praise Him for all the blessings He has given you. When troubles come your way, ’cause they will, consider it an opportunity for great joy.

Who’s A Samaritan?
Have your child list his or her favorite people at school or church and the ways that he or she treats those people. Then list his or her least favorite people and the ways that he or she treats them. Remind your child that the Samaritans and the Jews didn’t like each other, but the Samaritan helped the Jewish man anyway. Help your child plan some ways to show love to the “Samaritans” in his or her life.

Our main point this week was God Loves Everyone and So Should I! Our Bible passage came from James 2:8-9 and this weeks story can be found in Luke 10:30-35. This week re-read these stories with your children to reinforce what God says about favoritism.  This week’s Bible verse tells how God wants us to avoid favoritism. Galatians 5:14 says, “For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” Practice this spiritual truth with your children this week.