An Advent Wreath in Every Home

The season of Advent is a beautiful time to add simple prayers and practices to the lives of young children. The four weeks leading up to Christmas day are full of anticipation for little ones and so it is the perfect opportunity to teach patience, prayer and the joy of watching for a great event.

Each home should have an advent wreath. The wreath is full of simple symbols that children can understand. The circle that has no beginning and no end like God's love; the every green branches that stay alive even during the darkest time of the year reminding us of God's constant presence.Children love the bright pinks, purples and blues of advent candles and the slow change from dark to light as more and more candles are lit each week.

Further, the wreath with its lighting of sequential candles as the weeks burn on gives an opportunity for hands-on learning. Constructing the wreath with pine branches, either real or artificial is a simple project. (Parents may need to remember that it is the process that is more important than the end product.) There are many resources from which to find prayers of children to pray during Advent. For a lovely moment parents and children should read or repeat the advent prayer each day and then in silence light the candles, teaching children both the disciplines of praying together and of silence.

The advent wreath tradition brings families together during what can be a hectic time. The short time spent praying and taking turns lighting the candles can be an oasis of peace and a reminder of God's grace as we move into and through the holiday season.

We parents have the knowledge, experience, faith and do our best to pass it on to our children. It is amazing how sincere and pure children are and how naturally they accept God and his Word. Before we know it we can learn a lot from them!

One evening this summer as I was saying prayers with my son, I prayed for our loved ones and told Alistair we will pray for Daddy who is faraway alone. He quickly sat up in his bed and loudly exclaimed "Alone?! Alone? He is not alone! God is with him!" It is just a small example how the truths we teach our children are being put into practice. A child knows God is always with us, he also believes it. It was a strong reminder to me that night to believe and trust that God would protect my husband.

The path to God's Kingdom is the path to the Kingdom of Love and our children intuitively choose that path. It is the adults who so often forget it and make it a life goal to make a career or get rich. What a wonderful time childhood is. It is a time we sow the seeds of faith in our children's hearts. A child is a most enthusiastic learner who eagerly takes in and believes the biblical truths. When we instill in the child that the most important thing in life is to love God and people, he will live it.

I recall reading the Bible with my daughter when she was two. As I was reading the story, I explained if one believes in the Son of God, one will go to Heaven. "I do!" she exclaimed although I did not personally ask her. It is easy for children to believe! Jesus knew that children can accept and believe Him with great purity. But it is our responsibility to introduce them to Him.

Let us model God’s love to our children and sow the seeds of faith and truth. And let us learn to trust as children do.

Kristina

Beginning to Pray

(The articles usually found at this site are generally written by Kristina, the Early Childhood Minister at All Saints' Church . Kristina is traveling so this summers articles will be written by Michelle, the Children and Youth Minister at All Saints' Church .)

Prayer and quietness are traits not highly regarded in most of our society. Prayer and quietness are valuable to not only adults, but to very young children. The only way to learn to pray and to be quiet is to practice. Children wont do this on their own they have to be led, shown and taught. Prayer before each meal and before bed are a long standing tradition. this may be because those are the times when children are most receptive to it. They are willing to pray if it means they can then start eating and they are willing to pray if it means they can postpone lights out at bedtime just a little longer. No matter their motiviation, it is good to start a habit of prayer.

Several years ago I was at a kindergarten birthday party with a bouncy house, one of those inflatable houses that everyone goes in and jumps until someone is crying. A little girl became upset at some kindergarten level injustice involving the bouncy house. She left the house and laid on the grass crying and generally having a fit. Her father approached her and quietly said something in her ear, she talked to him through her tears for just a couple of minutes and then I saw them sitting together being quiet. The little girl was holding her hands in her lap and breathing deeply. It looked to be some kind of practiced way of calming herself, of bringing herself under control, of exercising self control. Clearly this was something that her father had taught her. I don't know if they prayed or were just being quiet, but it helped her quickly return to the party. It allowed a bad situation to be reversed, it kept things in perspective.

That father did not wait for the crisis to teach his daughter how to handle a situation that she preceived as bad. He prepared her ahead of time and then reminded her at the time and sat with her while she regrouped. That is much like what we should do with prayer. We can't wait until a crisis to teach our children the comfort of prayer or the practice of prayer; instead we should pray with them everyday to make a it a reaction that they can go to with only a gentle reminder from us. The hope is that someday they will pray even without that parental reminder.

Start today to pray with your children. It is an investment of time that will reap untold rewards.

Michelle

Joy

It is important for Christians to be joyful (Phil. 4:4). Joy is closely related to the relationships in our lives. When those relationships flourish, when they are based on love and sincerity, we are filled with joy. The Bible talks about the powerful joy that evolves from our relationship with God. If we lack that joy, perhaps it is a sign we need to refocus and examine ourselves. Have we turned away from God? Have we not repented over our sins and mistakes for a while? And, most importantly, have we spent enough time with God, as healthy relationships require time. Only when we spend time with God can we experience the joy that the Bible is talking about.

Another wonderful source of joy in our lives comes from our relationships with our spouses. God knew from the beginning we would seek our other half for happiness and fulfillment. The most common joy killer in marriage is selfishness. It is amazing how sacrificing oneself and serving others can heal and restore us. When we focus on others, we are blessed with joy. No wonder giving is more rewarding than receiving!

A third wonderful source of joy is our children. The Bible says that children are a gift of God. And of course, God’s gifts are for our joy. And though we love them so much, oh, how easy it is to lose the gratefulness and joy in the routine of raising them!

When we begin feeling joyless, let us remember the blessings of faith. Let us be thankful for being chosen by God and be with Him daily. Let us attempt to spend time with our loved ones, as it is the greatest gift we can give them and the source of one of the greatest joys we can experience.

In this most joyful Easter season, let us give thanks for the relationships in our lives.

Lent with Little Ones

Lent is a special time when we, parents, can share the concepts of prayer and gratitude with our children. It is an excellent opportunity to teach children more about Jesus and His love for us. Many of us will draw near God by giving up the things we are attached to or add the activities we need to enhance our spiritual life. During this time it is very meaningful to spend time together as a family reading a children’s bible and praying together about whatever we may have learned from the passage. There is great value in reading the Word and praying on one’s own, but doing it together as a family will strengthen the bond between parents and children. This is a time we strive to get closer to God, and doing so we can also grow closer with one another.

It Is Never Too Early

As I sat down to write, I remembered a time when I met a childhood friend at a children’s bookstore in Lithuania. As I was perusing the books, I couldn’t contain my excitement about seeing many beautiful Bibles. Knowing my friend grew up Christian, I asked about her favorite Bible for her young son. Her answer was so unexpected that at that moment I did not have a ready response. “There are so many things I do not understand in the scriptures, that I simply could not explain it to him correctly. It is not something we read right now. I don’t even know how to begin to explain such a big concept as God to such a young child like my son.”

I never realized such a reason could make somebody wait. I knew I too did not understand a lot of things perfectly, and although my teaching is far from perfect, it never stopped me. I live believing our limitations should not stand in the way of our children learning about their Creator. We are so frightened by our disbelief that we assume children are too. But they are not. They are much more eager to believe! It comes to them naturally. Jesus even told us to become like them – open, innocent, trusting.

Wishing our children the best, we introduce a proper diet now and do not wait for them to grow up and then let them decide about it. Teaching children the Bible is not a lecture on religious ideas or ceremonies. It is teaching them how to live and have a good life. And that teaching must begin very early.

For my friends who are not reading their Bible regularly, I suggest to start by reading a children’s Bible to their children. That is how I came to really love God’s Word. Once we start doing it daily, we cannot help but be changed. I tell my children that their Bible is not just another great book. And those black letters on the pages are not just simple words. These words are God’s words and they are alive. His Spirit is willing to reveal the love, wisdom, and meaning of His Word to us when we ask Him.

Never would we leave our children without breakfast, lunch or dinner. However, it is so easy to be caught up in our busy routines, schedules and priorities and not open God’s book, leaving them without tasting His spiritual food. I close with a verse from Deuteronomy 6:7, encouraging us to build in God’s teachings in our every day routine: “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”