Before out first Throwdown, our famly is participating in Advent. I did this growing up, especially being from the Episcopal church, we did this every Christmas. Since going non-denominational, I have not done it since I was little. So I brought it back with some fun this year!
My kids love it! It hasn't been as enlightning as I want it to be, but so far it hasn't been too bad. 3 boys and candles and get tricky but it has been fine so far. Last night my boys read the scripture in Phillipians 2 about Christ coming down in the form of a slave...this was probably the first Hymn the early church sang. It also deals with the incarnation. This time of year, as we all know, is about ME!!! Christmas presents and the whole thing! Paul says, "Have the same attitude as Christ did..." He emptied himself. I wanted to approach this Christmas, as best I could, from the same foundation as Christ laid...not me first!
So after the lesson, we prayed and then played! I made up a game called ADVENTure! I hide clues about advent all around the house and the boys find them, then find me for a little treat. THEY LOVE IT...probably more than Advent. Sam HAD to be the FIRST person to read the FIRST clue. I said, "Is this the same attitude Christ had?" I know...I'm cheezy. But he relented, and gave the first clue to Lake...joyfully. Little victory in Advent!
Hopefully your advent is a full of "ure"!!!
Monday, December 7, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Are you ready for a throwdown?
No, this has nothing to do with Bobby Flay, but it may be just as savory as some ribs he cooks up...
After reading Michael Card's book, "A Better Freedom", I got an idea to start what we call "Family Throwdown". The word "Parable" comes from the greek word, parabole, which means to "throw beside". In essence, parables were stories that were thrown down for us to wrestle with, be convicted by, all with the aim to unlock the mysteries of God's kingdom. A "Family Throwdown" is a time that my family has once a week to unlock the mysteries of God's Kingdom...I hope!
I have been struggling with "family bible time", or worship. I don't think church and Sunday school need to be our "be all end all"...yet for most of us this is the case. At the same time, I was a little overwhelmed with teaching my kids the bible. Where to start...Where to go...Where to end? Well if Jesus used parables to show the kingdom...If it was good for Him, it's good enough for me.
As I gathered my boys, three to be exact, to tell them that we are going to start having Family Throwdowns...they got excited. It sounded like a Saturday Night Main Event...so they responded well to that thought. In fact, right before I told them, Wesley my oldest son says, "Dad, I am reading my bible and these parables Jesus shares are hard to understand!" I was shocked. He had no idea what I was about to say...I told him God was showing him something for our whole family...needless to say, he was excited that God was speaking to him.
Isn't that what is is all about; Jesus speaking to us and us doing it!
We have not actually had one yet because we are doing Advent this year. This will lead us right into our first "Throwdown" in January. I am excited to have these times together.
So in turn, I wanted to start a blog to share our Family Throwdowns with you. Maybe you have a throwndown of your own to share. I called this blog, "Pair of Bowls", a little play on words to show that this blog will hopefully be more like a meal than words on a page. So get your bowl out of the cupboard...and bring it to the table. I will share what God is cooking for us...just be sure to share what God is cooking for you and your family.
After reading Michael Card's book, "A Better Freedom", I got an idea to start what we call "Family Throwdown". The word "Parable" comes from the greek word, parabole, which means to "throw beside". In essence, parables were stories that were thrown down for us to wrestle with, be convicted by, all with the aim to unlock the mysteries of God's kingdom. A "Family Throwdown" is a time that my family has once a week to unlock the mysteries of God's Kingdom...I hope!
I have been struggling with "family bible time", or worship. I don't think church and Sunday school need to be our "be all end all"...yet for most of us this is the case. At the same time, I was a little overwhelmed with teaching my kids the bible. Where to start...Where to go...Where to end? Well if Jesus used parables to show the kingdom...If it was good for Him, it's good enough for me.
As I gathered my boys, three to be exact, to tell them that we are going to start having Family Throwdowns...they got excited. It sounded like a Saturday Night Main Event...so they responded well to that thought. In fact, right before I told them, Wesley my oldest son says, "Dad, I am reading my bible and these parables Jesus shares are hard to understand!" I was shocked. He had no idea what I was about to say...I told him God was showing him something for our whole family...needless to say, he was excited that God was speaking to him.
Isn't that what is is all about; Jesus speaking to us and us doing it!
We have not actually had one yet because we are doing Advent this year. This will lead us right into our first "Throwdown" in January. I am excited to have these times together.
So in turn, I wanted to start a blog to share our Family Throwdowns with you. Maybe you have a throwndown of your own to share. I called this blog, "Pair of Bowls", a little play on words to show that this blog will hopefully be more like a meal than words on a page. So get your bowl out of the cupboard...and bring it to the table. I will share what God is cooking for us...just be sure to share what God is cooking for you and your family.
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