Conversation Starters: Resurrection Faith

“And if Chris has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins.  Therefore, those who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished.  If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone.”  1 Corinthians 15:17-19

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
Why did Jesus die?

What do you want to say to Him because He chose to die for us?

For Children
What does Jesus’ death say about His commitment to obeying God?

What is one way you can do something that you don’t want to do but will show people who God is?

For Students
Why were the women serving Jesus after they thought He was dead?

Who do you know that honors Christ in ways that other people find foolish?  What does that say about his or her faith?

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Conversation Starters: Called to be Fishers of Men

“And Jesus, walking by the Sea of Galilee, saw two brothers, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen.  Then He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” They immediately left their nets and followed Him.”  Matthew 4:18-20

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
What makes you one-of-a-kind?

What makes me one-of-a-kind?

What makes our dog one-of-a-kind?

What makes Jesus one-of-a-kind?

For Children
How was Jesus different from other people?

How were Jesus’ followers one-of-a-kind?

How can you show people that Jesus wants you to be different in how you live?

For Students
In what areas should Christians be different from un-believers in what they don’t do? (speech immorality, etc.)

In what areas should Christians be different from unbelievers in what they do?  (love, honesty, etc.)

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Conversation Starters: Seeking Him

“You will call to Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together.

For Preschoolers
Have you ever seen Mom or Dad fix a broken toy you didn’t think could be fixed?  How did you feel?

For Children
What’s the worst thing about having to wait for something?

When you know what you are waiting for is going to be really, really good, does that make it easier or harder to wait?

For Students
Do you think it is easier to build something from scratch or to repair something after years of neglect?

Do you think it is easier for someone to begin following Jesus, or to start following Jesus again after falling away from Him?

How can you pray for friends who have fallen away from God?

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Conversation Starters: He Disciplines the One He Loves

“Don’t be deceived:  God is not mocked.  For whatever a man sows he will also reap, because the one who sows to his flesh will reap corruption from the flesh, but the one who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirt.” Galatians 6:7-8

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
What are some of the rules we have in our house?
Why do we have those rules?  Are they because we don’t want you to have any fun, or because we don’t want you to get hurt?

For Children
What do you think would happen if you were never punished when you did something wrong?
Do you think if we (your parents) loved you more, we wouldn’t discipline you as much?  Why or Why not?

For Students
Talk with your teenager about the worst trouble you ever got into.  What did you learn from it?  How did your own parents discipline you?

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Conversation Starters: Our Calling to His Purpose

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
What do you want to be when you grow up?

How can you show people you love God in that job?

For Children
In addition to the above questions, ask, How do you think you can tell if this is something God wants you to do with your life?

For Students
When you work on a group project, hod do you decide which idea to go with?

Is it sometimes hard to admit someone else might have a better idea than you?  What do you do about it?

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Crafts With Teeny: Earring Holder

This one’s for the girls!

This month’s craft is a homemade earring and jewelry holder. It is very easy to make and a lot cheaper than most earring holders!

Supplies:
– Old frame ($3 Goodwill)
– Paint (optional)
– Burlap
– Glue
– Fabric Rosettes

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Conversation Starters: Our Caretaker

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  Deuteronomey 31:8

How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together.

For Preschoolers:
Play a game of “Follow the Leader” or “Simon Says” with your preschooler.  Use the experience to talk about how you as a parent would never give your child something to do that was impossible or that would hurt them.  Talk about how God is the same way.

For Children:
Have you ever tried to put a model together without a plan or a picture to go by?  Was it frustrating?  Why?

For Students:
Do you think God is concerned about every detail of our lives or just the “big stuff”?  What makes you say so?  If it is just the “big stuff”, then what counts as “big stuff”?

If God is concerned about every detail, then do you trust Him with every detail?  Why or why not?

Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge for Girls, Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Conversation Starters, Ridgecrest Summer Camps, Talking to your kids | Leave a reply

Conversation Starters: Obedience to Him

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”  Matthew 7:21

Conversation Starters
How can you keep this conversation going at home?  Try bouncing some of these questions around at the dinner table, as you’re driving your kids to school or an activity, or even while you’re shopping together:

For Preschoolers
What are some rules that keep you safe?
Why do we have rules like this?
What are some of God’s rules?  Did God give us rules to keep us from having fun, or because He loves us?

For Children
What are some rules you know we should follow?
Why should we obey these rules?
Is there more to being a Christian than just following rules?  What else?

For Students
Why are relationships important?
How do rules protect relationships?
Honestly, how would you feel about a parent who had no rules or expectations for his children?

Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge, Camp Crestridge for Girls, Camp Parents, Camp Ridgecrest, Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Conversation Starters, parent resourses, Ridgecrest Summer Camps | Leave a reply

Crafts with Teeny: Summer Fun Jar

As I write this blog the first campers of the summer are finishing up their last full day at camp. Time sure does fly by when you’re having fun. We’ve had a great first session at both camps! We’re looking forward to three more great two week sessions and a starter camp for new campers.

I came up with this craft a few days ago as I thought about what our campers do while they are not at camp. I’m sure many are traveling with families, going to sports camp or perhaps hanging out with friends just enjoying not having to go to school. But I know there are campers and families that spend some time bored, wondering what to do next. This craft is a “Summer Fun Jar”.

Supplies:
– Mason Jar
– Paint
– Paint brush
– Scrap paper
– List of activities

The first step is to paint on the outside of the Mason Jar. I chose to call it the “Summer Fun” jar. You could have your campers paint their own name and then choose their own activities that they want to put in the jar.
Have your campers write down, on scrap pieces of paper, some activities that they want to do this summer. I have included a small list to help get the ideas started.

– Go to the zoo.
– Make a bird feeder.
– Bake cookies together.
– Make a fort with mom/dad.
– Play in the sprinkler outside.
– Catch fireflies.
– Play with bubbles.
– Make homemade play dough.
– Go to the park.
– Fly a kite.
– Go on a hike.
– Make S’mores.
– Watch a movie.

Next time your campers are bored tell them to pull out an activity from the Summer Fun jar. Have a great time this summer with your campers!

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A Nation Of Wimps

An interesting article from Psychology Today about kids in America today. 

Maybe it’s the cyclist in the park, trim under his sleek metallic blue helmet, cruising along the dirt path… at three miles an hour. On his tricycle.

Or perhaps it’s today’s playground, all-rubber-cushioned surface where kids used to skin their knees. And… wait a minute… those aren’t little kids playing. Their mommies—and especially their daddies—are in there with them, coplaying or play-by-play coaching. Few take it half-easy on the perimeter benches, as parents used to do, letting the kids figure things out for themselves.

Then there are the sanitizing gels, with which over a third of parents now send their kids to school, according to a recent survey. Presumably, parents now worry that school bathrooms are not good enough for their children.

Consider the teacher new to an upscale suburban town. Shuffling through the sheaf of reports certifying the educational “accommodations” he was required to make for many of his history students, he was struck by the exhaustive, well-written—and obviously costly—one on behalf of a girl who was already proving among the most competent of his ninth-graders. “She’s somewhat neurotic,” he confides, “but she is bright, organized and conscientious—the type who’d get to school to turn in a paper on time, even if she were dying of stomach flu.” He finally found the disability he was to make allowances for: difficulty with Gestalt thinking. The 13-year-old “couldn’t see the big picture.” That cleverly devised defect (what 13-year-old can construct the big picture?) would allow her to take all her tests untimed, especially the big one at the end of the rainbow, the college-worthy SAT.

Messing up, however, even in the playground, is wildly out of style. Although error and experimentation are the true mothers of success, parents are taking pains to remove failure from the equation.Behold the wholly sanitized childhood, without skinned knees or the occasional C in history. “Kids need to feel badly sometimes,” says child psychologist David Elkind, professor at Tufts University. “We learn through experience and we learn through bad experiences. Through failure we learn how to cope.”

“Life is planned out for us,” says Elise Kramer, a Cornell University junior. “But we don’t know what to want.” As Elkind puts it, “Parents and schools are no longer geared toward child development, they’re geared to academic achievement.”

No one doubts that there are significant economic forces pushing parents to invest so heavily in their children’s outcome from an early age. But taking all the discomfort, disappointment and even the play out of development, especially while increasing pressure for success, turns out to be misguided by just about 180 degrees. With few challenges all their own, kids are unable to forge their creative adaptations to the normal vicissitudes of life. That not only makes them risk-averse, it makes them psychologically fragile, riddled with anxiety. In the process they’re robbed of identity, meaning and a sense of accomplishment, to say nothing of a shot at real happiness. Forget, too, about perseverance, not simply a moral virtue but a necessary life skill. These turn out to be the spreading psychic fault lines of 21st-century youth. Whether we want to or not, we’re on our way to creating a nation of wimps….

Click here to read the rest of the article.

By: Hara Estroff Marano
Psychology Today 

Posted in Just For Parents | Tagged Camp Crestridge for Girls, Camp Ridgecrest for Boys, Just for Parents, parent articles, Ridgecrest Summer Camps | Leave a reply