As I was taking my kids to school this week, I thought about the phrase that I see on our school signs, “Staying above the Line.”  I asked my daughter what she thought it meant to be above the line and she said,  “doing the right thing.”  Then I asked her, what would it mean if you went below the line?  She said, “that would be when we get into trouble for not following the rules in school and we are not obeying our teachers.”  I was rather curious to see what her thoughts were, and then I thought and challenged them to think of the line like this:  “When we obey and do what is right we are staying on the  line, but when we do things above the line we are going above and beyond what is expected of us.”  I, then, asked them what were some things they could do to be above the line.  My daughter said helping other kids, giving my best at basketball, and not complaining when things don’t go my way.  My son (age 4), on the other hand, didn’t quite get the concept.  He did finally come up with doing his best at baseball.

To me, the line marks what God expects of us each and every day of our lives.  When we go below the line, it shows us where we have failed in what God expects of us.   When we are above the line, we are showing God that we want to do more than what He expects and our desire is to stay above the line as often as we can so that others might see Him through our actions and attitudes.

What will you do to help your kids to try and stay above the line in all that they do?  What are some parameters you can put in place to help teach your children so that as they grow they understand what it truly means to be above the line and to show the highest possible standards of integrity they possibly could hold.

Titus 2:7 “In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity…”

As we drive in our cars we think we are in control, but when we are driving there is an area of weakness that most of us don’t pay attention to until it’s too late, Blind Spots!  How many of you have had an accident because you didn’t check your blind spot in your car or you had someone honk their horn at you to let you know that you were in their lane?  I know I have come very close to wrecking my car because I forgot to check my blind spot or the weak area in my car.  The horn sounding is a sounding board to say hey, watch out you forgot to check out that area.  For several days after the horn sounds,  I will be aware of the  blind spots in my car so I won’t run into someone unexpectedly.  Kids are no different than us.  Yet they are not always aware of their blind spots or weaknesses.  It’s up to us as parents to help teach them to have an eye for their weakness.   This is a great lesson to show children that God can help them overcome their weaknesses by doing the right thing.

Supplies:  2 pieces of plain white paper, a pencil, and a Bible, a colored crayon

Activity:  Poke a pencil-sized hole through the middle of one piece of paper.  (Be sure to not poke the entire pencil through the hole or it will not work.  You will just need to poke the hole big enough for the led to go through otherwise this activity will not work.  I did the larger hole first and the object lesson didn’t go as planned.) On the other sheet of paper you will want to draw a circle in the middle about the size of a penny and color it in. (You can pick any color but I suggest a color other than black. We used blue for our color.) Let each family member complete the following tasks to determine which eye is dominant:

1. Hold the paper with the colored circle at arm’s length.

2. Hold the paper with the hole in it in front at just the right distance where the circle can be seen by both eyes through the hole.

3. Alternating closing the left and right eye to determine when the circle disappears.

4. If the circle disappears when the right eye is closed, that means the person is right-eye dominant. If the circle disappears when the left eye is closed, that means the person is left-eye dominant.

After you complete the activity with each person explain to them that the reason the dot went away when you closed one of your eyes is because each of us has a dominant or stronger eye than the other.  We also have strong and weak spots in other areas of our lives.  Share with the family I Kings 11:3-4.  Explain in your own words that even Solomon, who was the wisest man to ever live, had weak spots.  He was led to do some wrong things.  Satan likes to attack our weak spots.  Have each person share an area in their lives when they are weak.  My kids said following directions and obeying mom and dad all the time is hard.   You as the parent should also share an area where you are weak so the kids see that you have a weakness.

Then read 2 Corinthians 12:9-10.  Ask your kids, ” What are we to do with our weak spots?” (Admit we have them, tell someone about them, and be honest) How do we overcome our weak spots?  (Ask God to help us and trust Him)

We all have weaknesses and blind spots.  There are some areas in our life that we are weak in but we don’t notice them.  However your friends, parents, and teachers may recognize them.  Instead of pouting about them or getting upset about having weak areas of our life, the Bible tells us that we should give them to God and He will help us overcome the areas in our life where we are weak.  If we never give our weaknesses over to God, and admit we have them we will never overcome them.  Pray and ask God to help reveal or show you the weaknesses in your life so that you will have an eye to catch yourself and ask Him to overcome them.

Adapted from Simple Science Family Night Tool Chest by Jim Widemann and Mark DeNooy, with Kurt Burner

Children are very inquisitive.  They are like sponges that soak up everything that comes into their path.  Children begin their journey as early as the preschool years, learning that God loves them and that Jesus is their friend.  As they move into the elementary years, they develop a deeper understanding of what is right and wrong.  They begin to see other friends being baptized or other adults and begin to ask questions about baptism and sin.  Here are a few tips and questions that can help you as a parent to recognize signs that your child is leaning towards salvation.

One of the most common indications that your child is thinking about Christianity is the persistent asking of questions in regards to sin, death, or even hell.  The biggest thing to remember is to never push your child.  Instead, let them set the pace and depth of their responses.  When this takes place, be sure to follow these guidelines:

1. Keep it conversational.  Don’t make your child feel like its a question and answer session but a conversation that takes place over a period of time.

2. Be sure to use simple and concrete terms they can understand.

3. Encourage your child to express his or her own ideas.

4. Give your child time to think (Open ended questions allow them to think deeply about what is being discussed).

5. Always rely on God’s word (God’s word is the ultimate source in the plan of salvation).

Here are 5 key things you want to share with your child when they are ready in regards to salvation and key verses to share with them.

1. God loves you and has a plan for you (Psalm 139:13-16). God wants a relationship with everyone, and He has a special plan for your life.

2. Everyone has disobeyed God (Sin) (Romans 3:23). Explain to your child that we choose to do things our own way rather than God’s way.  Ask them if they have sinned and what God thinks about sin.

3. Even though you and I choose to sin, God still loves us and offers us a way to be forgiven (Romans 5:8) Explain to your child that God loves them even when they sin just like you and I do.  God promised that one day a Savior would come, not sin, and die for all people.  Do you know who God sent to be the Savior of the world?

4. Jesus is the Savior of the World (John 3:16). What did Jesus do for you so that you could be forgiven? (He lived a perfect life without sin, died on the cross, and 3 days later He came back to life.) Jesus did that for you so that you could spend the rest of your life with God in Heaven.

5. You can become a Christian by telling (confessing) that Jesus is your Savior and Lord (Romans 10:9). Encourage your child to tell in his or her own words what they understand.  Ask them if they want to become a Christian and a part of God’s team.  If so, then you can lead them in this simple prayer that they can pray in their own words.

They would say something like this, “Dear Jesus, I know that I have disobeyed you and sinned. Please forgive me for what I have done.  I am sorry for my sin.  I believe that you are God’s son, and I choose you today to be my Savior and Lord.  Thank you, Jesus, for giving up your life for me, and I can’t wait to see you in Heaven someday.”

After your child prays, read Romans 10:13 and remind them of the promise.  It means that they are a Christian.  I would be sure to write in their Bible or something special the date that your child accepts Christ and make it a big deal for them. You may even want to take a family picture of that special day.  Sarah and I took a picture of our daughter the morning she accepted Christ. Have them call their friends and family members along with their Pastor or Children’s Pastor depending on your church home. They will follow up with you in regards to baptism and any questions you may have.  Once they have done this, remind your child about it once a month to encourage them.  On the anniversary of your child’s decision,  throw them a party, similar to a birthday party, to help remind them of their decision so they will never forget how important it is to love God.

To View a training video of this go to :  http://vimeo.com/9363002

How many of you as parents struggle with a devotional or coming up with something to teach your kids for the day or the week?  I know I have and still do.  There are times I want to kick myself and go, “Why didn’t we do this or that, I just missed a great opportunity to teach my kids.”  Many times we have opportunities that slip through the cracks.  At least once a month I will post a devotional or activity that you can do with your kids at home.  I hope you will find these helpful.  These ideas will come from the lessons we have taught in our Children’s Ministry at Long Hollow or other books, curriculum’s, and ideas of my own that I will indicate at the end of each activity.  If you have lessons you have used that your kids found really good, please pass them along and I will include them in our archives for others to see.  I’m always looking for great and new ideas that work.

Main Point:  When we apply God’s Word to our lives, we can live according to God’s values

Question:  Where can I learn about God’s word?  (Family, Friends, Church, etc)

Activity: Applied Principles

Supplies:  2×4 piece of wood, brick or blocks of wood, and a Bible

Set a brick or a wooden block in the middle of the room or outside if you prefer.  Set a 2×4 piece of wood on top of the brick. (it doesn’t have to balance)  Have the family gather around to explain the activity.

Parent:  The object of this activity is to have a lighter person lift a heavier person across this home-made teeter-totter.  The trick is that you will have to determine where the person will stand before they step on the board.  I am going to give you some tools to help you think about before you actually do this activity.

The weight times the distance from the brick in this case with the lighter person must be greater than the weight times the distance from the brick on the side with the heavier person in order to lift them. Let’s say dad weighs 200 lbs.  The child who is lifting dad weighs 100 lbs.  In order for the child to lift dad, the child must be twice the distance or more from the brick as his or her dad.  (The weight of 200 times 2 feet equals 400, and the weight of 100 times 4 feet is also 400; so the minimum distance is four feet if the dad is two feet from the brick.)

Have the family try and figure it out and then have the kids stand on the board to see how leverage works.  You can also try this with a variety of participants on either side.  After a few lifts ask the following questions:

How was the information that was given helpful? (It told us what we needed to know to succeed; we used it to accomplish our goal)

How can we use this same principle like applying wisdom in our lives?  (If we apply wisdom, we can do great things, wisdom helps us to accomplish things we didn’t think we could do.)

For Younger Kids: Allow them to play with the materials.  Have them play with the materials and see if they can lift the other parent up and figure it out on their own without the calculations.  You can use this moment to teach them that sometimes we fell happy (when you are up) or sad (when you are down), but up or down, we can trust God.  Another is a teeter-totter is pretty boring by yourself but with someone else it makes it a lot of fun and that is why it’s good to make friends.

Have someone read Proverbs 1:3-4

What does this verse teach us about wisdom? (we can learn to be clever, we can make good choices; we can live with discipline.

What are ways we can gain wisdom?  (Study the Bible, listen to our parents, go to church and learn from our teachers and pastors, pray, etc)

When we apply God’s principles in our lives, we gain wisdom that will allow us to avoid many problems and pain.  God’s word is full of wisdom we can use it each day that will help us grow closer to Him and live in ways that are pleasing to him.

(From Heritage Builders Family Nights Tool Chest, by Jim and Janet Weidmann and Kurt Bruner)

I tweaked this a little for my own kids and they loved it!  They are 6, 4, and 1! 

Driving in the car with your kids can sometimes feel like you are out in no man’s land.  Kids screaming in the back or arguing over something that really is not that important and you have this thought as you look at your spouse, “Want to get Away?”  Sarah sarahunderhill.wordpress.com and I sometimes wish cars came equipped with a window similar to the ones in limo’s. The button would be on the dashboard of the car and when the kids got too loud you could just push the button and the window goes up to drown out the noise.

But seriously, our kids are a gift that has been given to us by God.  I want to challenge you to have teachable moments with your kids as you are riding in the car.  Statistics say that most families today spend more time together in the car than they do at the dinner table.  Wow!  That is staggering to think about.  But if this is you then take note, you have an opportunity to have teachable moments with them even in your crazy schedule.  Each month I will provide some Drive Time tips that either we have used as parents or will share from some of you that have worked.  Hopefully this will be another way to help you as parents to see ways to teach your kids about God and the love He has for them.

Here is one example that Sarah and I use when taking the kids to school:

Take time to teach them one truth of God’s word on their way to school.  We have a devotional book (365 Daily Devotionals for Kids) in my car that has a devotional for each day of the week.  We share with our kids  that devotional for that day and ask them questions in relation to the topic and how they can use it to make wise decisions at school, at home, with their friends,  etc.  One lesson recently was on self control.  I read the verse about how God wants us to be in control of our lives but we can’t do it without His help.  Sometimes our speech, our attitudes, or our actions are out of control.

As we were talking about self control, my daughter remembered a time when she had thrown a fit and was out of control as an example.  We talked about ways we can try to catch ourselves in that moment to stop the wrong behavior.  When we do lose control we need to give it to God by asking Him to help us and forgive us.  I then asked both my son and daughter if they wanted to pray.  My daughter asked God to help her watch her attitude when things don’t go her way.  My son on the other hand didn’t quite catch it but he still said a prayer. Then I followed up by praying for them in helping them be self-controlled in everything they do.

I don’t do this every time I take them to school, but when I do I see a difference in them that day.  I want to challenge you as I am challenging myself to make it a priority to teach your child something about God at least once a week.  It could be on the way to school or on the way to ball practice.  Once you get it down to once a week, try it more often and see what happens.  See what your kids’ responses are.  Usually they will get in the car and start to ask you to read from the book if it becomes a habit or something they enjoy.  Be sure to make it fun and relevant to them.  The more fun, the more excited they are.  It only takes a few minutes to do.  So go ahead and start your Drive Time off right!