Routine Shakeup: Encouragement

Over the last several weeks we have been challenging you to find different ways to shake up your spiritual routine. This week, the challenge is to stretch your “Encouragement Muscle.” Physically, if we haven’t stretched our muscles for a while, they can become tight and start to weaken. Spiritually, it can be clunky and awkward at first to use some muscles that we haven’t used in a while. We need to be intentional in “working out” our faith and getting into that new routine of spiritual exercise.

So the new training regimen for this week is to think of two people each day that you want to encourage this week. The bible is filled with verses on the importance of encouraging one another. Especially in times like we’re in right now, the need for a sincere and genuine encouragement from a friend or relative is massive. Encouragement holds the power to soften the air, strengthen those feeling weak, bring hope to the discouraged, and usher God’s kingdom more fully into the world.

Here are some tips for how this can look for you:

1. Begin each day with a prayer to God to put someone’s name on your mind that might need a word of encouragement that day.

2. Do a search for all of the bible verses that mention the importance of encouragement. See what you can learn from those verses and their surrounding contexts.

3. Every hour stop what you are doing and ask yourself, “Have I encountered someone this past hour that could use a follow up encouragement?”

4. Send someone a text, write a hand written note, a well-timed email, or maybe a personal call.

5. Get your kids involved. Go to your neighbor’s or a friend’s house and have your kids write some special notes or bible verses with chalk on their sidewalk or driveway.

6. If you are married, don’t forget about the importance of a thoughtful and genuine note to your spouse. Maybe write it down and leave it in a spot where they will find it later.

-Pastor Tyler Lemen
Associate Pastor of Family Ministries at Friends Community Church

FAMILY ACTIVITY: Wrapping Paper Fashion Show

If you have any leftover Christmas wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows, get ready for a runway fashion show! We did this with some of the girls’ friends when they were about 11 and they had a blast. I can still remember their giggles!

How To:

1. Select teams of two. Ask them to pick a team name. Give them each a roll of wrapping paper, construction paper, paper bags, plastic bags, ribbons bows, tape, and scissors.

2. Give each team paper and markers to sketch out an a few outfits they will attempt to create. Remind them to create accessories too like hats, men’s tie, purses, scarves, shoes, jewelry.

3. Give the teams time to prepare their team introduction and description of the outfits for when their model walks down the runway. Embellish with creative words and silly descriptions.

4. Ask them dress in something light weight that can be covered in paper. Send them to separate rooms to make the first outfit. Cut, wrap, twist, fold, drape, and tape it directly on the first runway model.

5. Have your fashion show!

6. Send them back into separate rooms to design another outfit for the other child to model.

Tips:

• Lay out fabric, a sheet, or a tablecloth for a makeshift runway.

• Play music.

• Heavy paper works best. Double up thin paper and tell your children that rips and tears are expected and okay.

• Have an accessory (real accessories) table that they can use to enhance the outfit. Artificial flowers, bracelets, purse, shoes they can wrap paper around.

• Add special lighting, or a fan for a windswept look.

• Decide if you want to make this a competition and rate the outfits based on different categories.

• If you don’t have wrapping paper, you can use other household items.

-Barbara Grattan
Ministry Leader at Friends Community Church

Routine Shakeup Follow-Up

Routines are easy to come by. Sometimes they happen without us even noticing it. For example, do you brush your teeth then eat breakfast or do you first eat breakfast then brush your teeth? Or your bed: do you have to make it in the morning or do you just leave it a mess? Many times we’ve been doing something the same way since we were a kid because that’s the way we saw our parents or others do it. It takes a very intentional effort to change a set routine.

Last week I challenged you to shake up your routine by trying the “21 Day Bible Challenge.” This is something that the 4th and 5th graders do every month. They are encouraged to read their Bible and journal their thoughts 21 days out of the month. If you haven’t started, it’s not too late to try this new routine. If you have started, how is it going? We would love to hear about what you are doing individually or as a family and how it is transforming your routine and faith! Email us your thoughts and experiences at Tyler@fccbrea.org. In the video below, you can hear from the Winberg family and how the 21 Day Bible Challenge has helped them grow in their faith. You can also hear some tips of how they’ve incorporated it into their new routine.

In case you missed it last week, here are some tips of how this challenge can look for different ages and for those that already have a routine of daily Bible reading:

Adults: Try reading a chapter each of the 21 days. If you already have a routine of personal daily bible reading, try reading and discussing a portion of scripture with your significant other. Maybe add journaling your observations on the passage to your routine for this month. If you have grandkids, consider video conferencing them routinely this month and reading them one verse and then explaining what it means, how it has looked lived out in your life, and asking them how it can look lived out in theirs.

Youth: Try reading a chapter each of the 21 days. See if you can read through one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) in the month of May. Set a reminder on your phone to go off at a certain part of the day to help you get into the routine. Maybe do this challenge with a friend that can text you and keep you accountable. You can even text each other questions you might have on what you read.

Older Elementary: There is a worksheet on the Children’s Ministry page of the FCC website that gives you all the info you need for this challenge. You can access it by clicking here: 21 Day Bible Reading Challenge. It gives you a suggested reading plan, space to write the verse that stood out to you each of the 21 days, and space to write your prayers. It also gives you helpful tips to keep in mind while you read.

Younger Elementary: Have them practice their reading by letting them read the story for the day. Contact the Children’s Ministry staff for suggested age-appropriate bible translations. After reading, discuss what happened in the story. Going over the details of the story will help with their reading comprehension and help them to retain it longer. Discuss ways that you’ve seen it apply to your own life and then ask them how they might see it lived out in their own lives. Pray together afterwards.

Toddlers: Read a verse to them and explain what it means. Then pray that verse over them and ask that it would define them and their life. Try writing out that verse and your prayer in a journal. Put the date for each day so that you can have it as a keepsake and look back on all the prayers that you prayed over them when they were young.

The form is unimportant. What is important is getting into a routine of spending time with God and his word!

-Pastor Tyler Lemen
Associate Pastor of Family Ministries at Friends Community Church

Routine Shakeup Challenge

Routines are easy to come by. Sometimes they happen without us even noticing it. For example, do you do sock, shoe, sock, shoe? Or sock, sock, shoe, shoe? What about your pants, do you put your right leg in first or your left? For cereal, do you pour cereal first then milk or milk first then cereal? Many times we’ve been doing something the same way since we were a kid because that’s the way we saw our parents or others do it. It takes a very intentional effort to change a set routine.

What better routine could there be to develop than getting into God’s word?! And what better routine is there to display for our kids or grandkids to emulate? The 4th and 5th graders at FCC have a monthly challenge that they participate in called the “21 Day Bible Challenge.” They are encouraged to read their bible and journal their thoughts 21 days out of the month. This is the challenge I want to lay at your feet. For 21 days out of the rest of the month of May, could you read a portion of scripture? Try to shake up the routine you and your family have gotten into!

Here are some tips of how this can look for different ages and for those that already have a routine of daily bible reading:

Adults: Try reading a chapter each of the 21 days. If you already have a routine of personal daily bible reading, try reading and discussing a portion of scripture with your significant other. Maybe add journaling your observations on the passage to your routine for this month. If you have grandkids, consider video conferencing them routinely this month and reading them one verse and then explaining what it means, how it has looked lived out in your life, and asking them how it can look lived out in theirs.

Youth: Try reading a chapter each of the 21 days. See if you can read through one of the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, or John) in the month of May. Set a reminder on your phone to go off at a certain part of the day to help you get into the routine. Maybe do this challenge with a friend that can text you and keep you accountable. You can even text each other questions you might have on what you read.

Older Elementary: There is a worksheet on the Children’s Ministry page of the FCC website that gives you all the info you need for this challenge. You can access it by clicking here: 21 Day Bible Reading Challenge. It gives you a suggested reading plan, space to write the verse that stood out to you each of the 21 days, and space to write your prayers. It also gives you helpful tips to keep in mind while you read.

Younger Elementary: Have them practice their reading by letting them read the story for the day. Contact the Children’s Ministry staff for suggested age-appropriate bible translations. After reading, discuss what happened in the story. Going over the details of the story will help with their reading comprehension and help them to retain it longer. Discuss ways that you’ve seen it apply to your own life and then ask them how they might see it lived out in their own lives. Pray together afterwards.

Toddlers: Read a verse to them and explain what it means. Then pray that verse over them and ask that it would define them and their life. Try writing out that verse and your prayer in a journal. Put the date for each day so that you can have it as a keepsake and look back on all the prayers that you prayed over them when they were young.

The form is unimportant. What is important is getting into a routine of spending time with God and his word!

-Pastor Tyler Lemen
Associate Pastor of Family Ministries at Friends Community Church

FAMILY ACTIVITY: Cook-Off

Have you ever seen the TV show, Chopped, where three chefs open a surprising bundle of ingredients and then prepare a dish using those ingredients? Well it’s a ton of fun to do at home!

For my daughters’ 12th birthday, we had a Chopped-style cook off. I prepared identical baskets of ingredients for each “chef” and then it was up to them to create a tasty visual masterpiece using every item. They had access to the stove, oven, seasonings, flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and other refrigerated items to add to their creations.

1. In the first round, they were given a basket of ingredients and a time limit of 20 minutes to cook an appetizer and plate it. (We had an independent judge, but in while at home, I recommend that everyone taste and rate each dish on a scale of 1-10 for taste, creativity and presentation. ) Tasting and rating occurs after each round.

2. In the second round, they opened a new basket of ingredients and had to create a main dish in 30 minutes.

3. In the third round, they had yet another basket of ingredients and 30 minutes to create a dessert.

In the end, the parent can award each individual or team based on the three criteria. (And don’t be surprised if each team gets an award!) Here are a few ideas for the baskets:

Appetizer basket: vegetable, jam, peanut butter, lettuce, popped popcorn, jalapeños
Main course basket: cooked pasta, vegetable, tuna, chocolate, jam, nuts
Desert basket: fruit, marshmallows, nuts, pepper, cereal, oatmeal, pickles

The key is to be creative with your ingredients and for them to think outside of the box. For example, pasta can be used in soups, sautéed dishes, salads.

Some light prep work to do before this activity:

• Try to watch an episode of Chopped to introduce your family to the “game”

• Make and decorate aprons ahead of time. Make a chef’s hat out of construction paper

• If playing in teams, make a sign with a team name

• Set up cooking stations in the house using designated counter areas, a card table, kitchen table.

• Use baskets, boxes, or bags to hold the main ingredients

• Set out plates, bowls, mixing utensils, hot pads, paper towel, etc. at each station

• Design your own rating scale, or if your child doesn’t fare well with competition don’t rate the dishes, just praise the creativity.

• Take pictures of your creations and have fun!

-Barbara Grattan
Ministry Leader at Friends Community Church