We’re planning to go to a carol service at the weekend, and I wondered how familiar my children would be with the songs, so I contacted the person in charge and asked what carols they would be singing. They sent me the list, saying that they hoped they wouldn’t get in trouble for sharing secrets!!! … Read more
One This is a really simple, seasonal prayer activity to do as a family at home: When you see something looking beautiful because it’s covered in frost, praise God for it: You may well find younger children are good at this as they often have a better connection to awe and wonder. Don’t limit their … Read more
There are lots of models of faith. One of the ones I like is in Francis Bridger’s book Children Finding Faith. In this, faith is described as believing, trusting, doing and imagining. Faith as believing – knowledge, knowing facts, and understanding certain pivotal truths underpin our faith, as demonstrated in the Creed. This is what … Read more
I used to think spirituality wasn’t a Christian thing. It seemed a bit of a diversion from or dilution of Christian faith. However, when I read Rebecca Nye’s book Childrens’ Spirituality – what it is and why it matters over, I began to realise that spirituality is at the heart of faith. Without it, all … Read more
Here’s a simple version of an ancient practise: Use a breathing prayer to ‘chew over’ a Bible verse. This is less of an understanding exercise and more of a feeling, meditative one. If you’ve found a verse that jumps out at you or is particularly meaningful to you at the moment, this might be something … Read more
I love having opportunities for an open-ended, self-chosen response to a Bible passage or story. It’s a great way to give each other space to develop our own relationship with God in line with the type of person he’s made us. How to do it You could do this at the park or beach, by … Read more
I grew up in a home with lots of traditions: how we did breakfast, birthdays, and, of course, Christmas! It’s sometimes hard to get the balance between enjoying traditions and not being ruled by them. Here are some mistakes I made in the early days of being a Mum and how I plan to learn … Read more
Thankfulness is so powerful! It really does change how we see our lives, and encourages us when things are tricky. This activity is a way of identifying, focusing on and being thankful for the good things in our lives. You could make a thanks jar at any time of year, but I especially like starting ours on January 1st and reading … Read more
I find it really sad that in our culture, Valentines Day has become just a way to celebrate romantic love. In many languages (including those in the Bible), there are multiple words for ‘love’, demonstrating the different types of love and different types of relationships which involve love. The most classic passage in the Bible … Read more
I love Advent and candles. Here’s a really simple idea for using them to develop thankfulness in the run up to Christmas. It doesn’t take long, but a few moments each day will help develop a habit of thankfulness in a month when so much is trying to pull us away from it. You might … Read more
This week we started listening to the audible version of the Wingfeather saga again. It’s been about 18 months since we first read them, although my eldest daughter has read and listened to them almost non-stop. If you haven’t read my review of this book series, here is a link. At our house, we think this … Read more
Do you have Godparents? Are you a Godparent? Here’s some ideas of things you could do to celebrate! 1 Get in touchNot spoken for months or years? Get in touch this week by phone or email or facetime or text or letter. When my God daughters were little, I sometimes made them letters using pictures … Read more