Kids

May Family Challenge: Write It On Your Doorposts

klake — Thu, 03 May 2012 18:46:18 +0000

As a parent it can be difficult to find time to sit down and read the Bible. This month we challenge you to find creative ways to incorporate Scripture into your daily life, but don’t worry, we give you a few suggestions of our own. We believe in you as parents, as people, and as fellow believers. We are here to support and encourage you.If you are a Mars Hill Kids parent you should have received this month’s Parent Connect email. If you did not receive the email, please email kids@marshill.org to make sure we add you to the list. You can also subscribe to this blog and receive emails about current posts by following the link at the top of the Parent Talk home-page.

If you missed this month’s Family Challenge, follow this link to watch the video: http://vimeo.com/marshillkids/mhkparentconnectmay

As always, we encourage you to leave comments about how your family is participating in this month’s Family Challenge.

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

April Family Challenge: Walk for Water

klake — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:38:21 +0000

Few things are as foundational to life as the need for water. This year, Mars Hill will be participating in the sixth annual Walk for Water. This family friendly event is a great way to teach your kids about the water crisis and give them an opportunity to be participants in bringing change. Watch this month’s family challenge and look for a handout from your child’s ministry area to learn more about the event.

If you are a Mars Hill Kids parent you should have received this month’s Parent Connect email. If you did not receive the email, please email kids@marshill.org to make sure we add you to the list. You can also subscribe to this blog and receive emails about current posts by following the link at the top of the Parent Talk home-page.

If you missed this month’s Family Challenge, follow this link to watch the video: http://vimeo.com/marshillkids/parentconnectapril

For more information on the water crises and how you can help check out 20liters: http://20liters.org

As always, we encourage you to leave comments about how your family is participating in this month’s Family Challenge.

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

March Family Challenge: Beneath the Melting Snow

klake — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 18:27:05 +0000

One of the jobs God gave Adam and Eve was to care for creation. As Christians we continue this important job of caring for the people, animals, and land all around us. This month’s Family Challenge involves getting outside and joining in the restoration of this world.

If you missed this month’s Family Challenge, follow this link to watch the video: http://vimeo.com/marshillkids/marchparentconnect

As always, we encourage you to leave comments about how your family is participating in this month’s Family Challenge.

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

We’re in this Together

klake — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:33:35 +0000

Recently, we held a class for Preschool parents of Mars Hill. We talked about how important it is for parents to intentionally spend formal times with their kids, reading the Bible together and praying. We shared some specific ways to pray and even gave away a really wonderful new Preschool Bible called “My First Hands-On Bible for Preschoolers.” We’ve already heard from many parents who were at this teaching night about how they are using what they learned. Here’s your chance to share what you’re doing to intentionally spend time with your Preschool kids at home. We would love for you to share how you are using the “My First Hands-On Bible for Preschoolers” and how your child is learning from it.
If you are a Preschool parent who would like a free copy of My First Hands-On Bible for Preschoolers, just post a response to this post saying that you want a Bible and why.

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

January Family Challenge: Snow Angels

klake — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 14:21:08 +0000

Hey Parents,

If you missed this month’s Family Challenge, follow this link to watch the video: http://vimeo.com/marshillkids/mhk-parent-connect-january

For those of you who have completed this month’s Family Challenge, we’d love to hear how it went!

So what are you waiting for? Start typing!

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

A Call to Irrelevance

klake — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:05:23 +0000

As a parent, you are also a leader. You are called to be your child’s primary Christian leader; you will be the one they watch the most, the one they look up to, and the one they listen to even when you think they are not. That’s a lot of pressure. Pressure to perform, pressure to be “right” before God, pressure to be someone your child wants to look up to.

Or maybe there is no pressure to be any of those things, but rather a call to be irrelevant, completely insignificant, with nothing to offer.

“The Christian leader of the future is called to be completely irrelevant and to stand in this world with nothing to offer but his or her own vulnerable self – the unadorned self in which [you] are completely vulnerable, open to receive and give love regardless of any accomplishments.” – In the Name of Jesus, by Henri Nouwen

Wasn’t it Jesus who gave up his place in heaven, came to earth, and humbled himself on a cross to the point of death? Jesus is the best example of an irrelevant leader who was open to receive and give love. He did not need to prove himself, he simply shared his life and love with all God’s children.

As a parent you are the most prevalent Christian leader in your child’s life, called to be irrelevant and called to share nothing but your true self, stripped bare, broken, and changed by God’s love. Don’t waste another minute trying to be perfect. Simply be the imperfect, irrelevant leader that your child needs, sharing life, love, and grace in every moment and in every way regardless of accomplishments or lack of them.

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

December Family Challenge: Reading the Bible Together

klake — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:35:10 +0000

“Isn’t there anyone who knows what Christmas is all about?” This plea Charlie Brown made over forty-five years ago may still resonate with some of you today. Advent can often be a very busy time for all of us with Christmas parties, holiday recitals, trips to relative’s houses and sporting events. No wonder it is easy to lose sight of the meaning and joy of Christmas amidst the hustle and bustle, glitz and glamour, and tinsel and mistletoe. That’s precisely why this months family challenge may well be, well, a challenge for some families. It could also be exactly what your family needs to slow down and remember, “what Christmas is all about.”

If you missed this month’s Family Challenge, follow this link to watch the video: http://vimeo.com/32871028

For those of you who have completed this month’s Family Challenge, we’d love to hear how it went! Leave a post on this blog by December 31st and you will be entered to win a night out for your family. The winner will be drawn and announced in the January Parent Connect email and on the Parent Talk blog.

So what are you waiting for? Start typing!

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

It’s All About You

klake — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:30:12 +0000

Our friends Reggie Joiner and Carrie Nieuwhouf say, “If you want it to be in them, in needs to be in you.” This means the disciplines, practices, and traits you desire your children to have, need to be things you desire to have – and then do them. One of the first things we see parents give up when they start having kids is their personal spiritual care and development. This may seem like another thing on the list if things to get done during an already over packed day, but it has great implications for the spiritual development of our children. Look at this as a permission slip to invest in yourself, your relationships, and your marriage.

Feel free to comment below on how you have made this work to help give ideas to other parents.

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

November Family Challenge: Thankfulness

klake — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 13:39:32 +0000

Hey Parents,

If you missed this month’s Family Challenge, follow this link to watch the video: http://vimeo.com/31430471

For those of you who have completed this month’s Family Challenge, we’d love to hear how it went! Leave a post on this blog by November 30th and you will be entered to win a night out for your family. The winner will be drawn and announced in the December Parent Connect email and on the Parent Talk blog.

So what are you waiting for? Start typing!

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff

Identity and Blessing

klake — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:09:18 +0000

Everyday, we as parents and pastors are competing with the world to remind our children of their true identity. Our world is quite capable of promoting a false identity in our children. For instance, “if you don’t have this then you don’t have…” go ahead and finish the sentence. One way we can remind our kids of their true identity – their identity in Christ is by blessing them. As parents you have the incredible privilege and opportunity to speak your child’s true identity to them every day. One way you can do this is by blessing you children before they go to school or bed. It can be as simple as, “Today, may you grow more and more into the child God has created you to be”, or it can be specific to what your child need to hear.

Helping you help your kids to live the way of Jesus,
The MHK Staff