This Week in Fatih 3-27-20
/I hope everyone is doing well as we continue to learn to navigate these unusual times with our families. As I continue to send out this blog, I hope it is helpful and encouraging. I typically try to include a good mix of encouragement for the difficult task of parenting, wisdom from others about parenting, and helpful resources you can use. I realize there are some in this time that are looking for things to do with their families and to help in this crisis but they don’t know where to start. So for you, hopefully some these articles can help point you in the right direction. But I also realize that there are some that are feeling overwhelmed by the new schedules and all that we have to accomplish and help our kids do. If that’s you, then don’t let the articles about things to do add to the stress you are feeling- just skip those articles and listen to the song at the last link :) Please let us know how we can pray for and encourage you and your family during this time.
Because the session decided this week that the church will continue to be closed through the end of April, we are going to try and do a few more things for kids and students to keep them connected during this time.
This Sunday, in addition to the worship service, we will send out a short kids’ sermon with some music from our typical Sunday school singing time.
Our student ministry small group leaders are working to create online groups to read through Scripture, pray for each other, serve and have fun together. If you have a student who has not yet connected with a group, and they would like to, please let me know.
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9 Ways to Love Your Neighbor in this Pandemic
I liked this article because it is a list of mostly simple things we can do to love God and love our neighbor during this time. Like Pastor Nathan has said multiple times, this moment is an opportunity for followers of Jesus and his church. But it can also feel overwhelming to look at the million great ideas on social media and suggestions from friends when it feels like it can hard to get through the day between helping kids with school, trying to get work done, and finding peace in the midst of the chaos of the world and the crowdedness of our own homes. But these are some simple things we can think about to use this time as an opportunity to trust God, grow in our faith, and be a blessing to our neighbors in some really practical ways.
Click here to read the article by Justin Whitmel Earley.
How to Talk to Children About the Coronavirus
Cameron Cole is a student pastor from Alabama that I like a lot. This is an outline of a conversation he had with a 1st grader about the virus and our response to it as Christians, around three basic questions. I think you could adapt this to a child almost any age which makes it really helpful as we continue to talk to our kids about what’s going on and how to face it with wisdom, confidence and hope.
Click here to read the article by Cameron Cole.
All the Free and Discounted Stuff for these Difficult Times
Here is a great list of free and discounted books, shows and movies for you and your kids. If you are looking for something to do together, or some things for everyone to do on their own, this list has a lot of different kinds of offerings. We have been doing a family movie night most nights at our house and we watched the first item on this list, an animated Pilgrim’s Progress movie, the other night and it was great [thanks Mustard family for the suggestion!].
Click here to read the article by Tim Challies.
How to Fight Cabin Fever
There are some good things in this article but I thought the best part was the section “Keep Things in Perspective”.
Click here to read the article by John Majors.
VIDEO: How Do I Talk to My Kids about Porn?
During this time, most kids are using technology more than ever as they do digital learning all day long. They are more isolated than ever and maybe even more isolated with their technology. Boredom, isolation, and opportunity make this a prime opportunity for the enemy to tempt our kids towards pornography. This video provides four helpful concepts to consider as you begin to talk to your kids about pornography and as you continue to talk to them about it regularly.
Click here to watch the video from Harvest, USA.
VIDEO: CityAlight- Jesus, Strong and Kind
This song is another one of my favorites from CityAlight that is a continual encouragement to me [Thanks Kenny McBride!]. Hope it is for you too!
