How you can help your children grow- CFN newsletter Week 93

CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK NEWSLETTER 93

> God's plan for children - the role of parents and the church
> News:
> 'Don't lock up the children'
> Who will sponsor Saddam Hussein ... aged eight?
> Digging for youth victory in Devon
> Sites:
> When your partner doesn't know Jesus
> Tackling internet porn - and winning
> Peace protests online
> Marriage MOT: Be patient!
> You've got to laugh: What are you up to?
> Members' Zone latest

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Dear All

Our Spring magazine is due out any day now - packed full of helpful articles on practical parenting and helping your family grow spiritually. Check out our magazine page on the website to see what's in store!

We've also got encouraging stories of Christians reaching troubled youngsters, more from God's Plan for Children, stacks of helpful websites for teachers, parents and pupils PLUS news, reviews, fun items and much more.

Do let me encourage you to renew your membership to CFN - and to get a friend or two on board as well. We value your involvement with us - without you, there won't be a network in the future.

Let us know what God is doing in your family!

God bless

Russ Bravo
Christian Family Network
info@cfnetwork.co.uk
http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk

PS Christian Family Network is here to direct you to the best in parenting, marriage and family resources; to link you up with other Christian families up and down the UK; and to help you make the most of life as a follower of Christ - at home, at work, at school and college, at play and online.

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ANALYSIS

God's heart for children - the role of parents and the local church

• Continuing our series of excerpts from Dave Roberts' book God's Plan for Children (Children's Ministry/Kingsway)
  

Another major thread in the faith and life tapestry is the role of the parent. The church fathers have been very clear on this. The parent or influential adult is a key 'means of grace' for the child. Martin Luther said: "Most certainly father and mother are apostles, bishops and priests to their children, for it is they who make them acquainted with the gospel." Karl Barth encourages parents to "joyfully invite children to 'rejoice' with them in God."

The parent has the potential to interact with the child in several ways.

• Facts - the parent shares the facts of the faith.
  
• Example - the parent offers the child an example of Christ.
  
• Revelation - the parent equips the child for revelation by introducing them to the Scripture and prayer.
  
• Doing - the parent helps the child 'learn by doing'.
  
• Parable - the parent shares their own faith and that of others via story telling.
  
• Tradition - the parent promotes everyday rituals and traditions that provide both order, structure and faith content for the child.
  
• Reference - the parent is an anchor and a reference point for the child as they learn the lessons of life.

This ideal is not always the reality. In Passing on the Faith the authors tell us that their research indicates that the average church going family is not talking about faith to their children (65% reported no family devotional life). Walter Brueggemann, theologian and writer notes that: "One major function of intergenerational life is to transmit the stories and promises which identify the family, so that each new generation has an inheritance that gives both identity and roots, purpose and vocation."

Much of this happens in the mundane things of life. The National Merit Scholars organisation found that the one thing that most of the high achieving students had in common was that they ate dinner with their family almost every day. The key factor in their growth was domestic.

Christian thinkers from across the traditions and from around the world, are calling the church to rediscover the primacy of the 'domestic church'. In the face of societal breakdown and the spiritually thin Christian household it may seem like a new message, but it's timeless, echoing through the Scripture and church history.

Go to the rest of this article in our Resources section at http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp

> THIS WEEK'S NEWS

> 'Don’t lock up the children'

A leading charity has given a cautious welcome to the Youth Justice Board’s recent pledge to remove girls under the age of 17 from adult prisons.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> Who will sponsor Saddam Hussein?

More than two million children from the developing world are sponsored through World Vision. Sponsors are only too happy to help a child realise its potential – unless the child’s name is Saddam Hussein.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/resources.asp for the full story

> Digging for youth victory

Work has started on an ambitious building project in the grounds of Lee Abbey, Lynton.

Go to http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/news.asp for the full story

> MARRIAGE MOT

> Check out our archived marriage tips in the Members' Zone, plus stacks more marriage resources at http://www.2-in-2-1.co.uk

Love is … patient!

In today’s world of fast food and e-mails, we’re not used to being patient. It’s easy to expect everything to be available or sorted out at once. We can’t run our relationships like that …

Some people need time to get used to change or to think something through. It takes our teenagers time to get round to opening up and talking to us – they don’t always do it when it’s convenient for us.

In marriage too we have to learn to be patient – to give our loved one the space they need to think something through or to find the words to say what they want. We may want them to change their behaviour, but even when they’re willing to change it may take time – are we willing to wait?

Patience involves generosity of spirit and heart, allowing our loved one to be who they are, to handle life the way they find best. It involves setting aside our desire to have things sorted or "closed out" at once. It involves laying aside our anger and desire for our own way and to leave space for the one we love to be who they are. When we love, we are willing to be patient.

How patient are you?

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> EVENTS

> YOU'VE GOT TO LAUGH ...

Missing the point?

A man comes out of the factory one day pushing a wheelbarrow in which he has a carefully wrapped parcel. The security guard eyes him suspiciously and then challenges him.
"What's in the parcel?"
"Sawdust," comes the reply.
"I don't believe you. Open the parcel."

And sure enough, it is sawdust just as the man said.

This goes on day after day, with the security guard getting more and more frustrated. He knows the man is up to something, but every time the parcel contains ... sawdust. Finally, he can take it no longer.

"Look," he says, "I know you are up to something, and I can't work out what. Tell me what you're up to and I promise I won't report you."
"You promise?" asks the man.
"Absolutely. On my honour," replies the guard.
"OK. I'm stealing wheelbarrows."

From the Grove Books newsletter

> CHRISTIAN FAMILY NETWORK THIS WEEK
(MEMBERS' ZONE) - http://www.cfnetwork.co.uk/members/default.asp

> Advice

> God's heart for children

> Resources

> Net Accountability - beating internet porn
> School resources on the web
> Foster family - one woman's amazing testimony
> Moments with Mum - Elisabeth Corcoran's March column
> The untouchables: reaching troubled kids with love and the Gospel

> News

> 'Don't lock up the children'
> Who will sponsor Saddam Hussein ... aged eight?
> Digging for youth victory in Devon
> News Extra: charities call for children's champion

> Top sites this week

> When your partner doesn't know Jesus
> Tackling internet porn - and winning
> Peace protests online

> Reviews: Russ Bravo reviews How to help your children succeed

> Events: More of what's on near you

> Webwatch Index: more than 500 sites at your fingertips

> Site Search Engine: the easy way to trawl our 500-page plus archives

Christian Family Network, Christian Media Centre, Garcia Estate, Canterbury Road, Worthing, West Sussex BN13 1EH, UK (01903 821082; subscriptions 01903 602136)

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