Parenting

books, Children, Faith, Gospel, Justice, Kingdom of God, Liturgical Year, Parenting, Uncategorized

Advent Devotionals You Can Start Today

November 28, 2021November 29, 2021 playwithyourfaith

Did the first day of Advent sneak up on anyone else? Anytime Advent begins just a few days after Thanksgiving I always feel a little behind the ball!

Thankfully there are lots of wonderful authors and creators who *have* been preparing for Advent, and so there are many reflective essays, devotionals, activities, and discussions questions ready for you to download and begin today.

PLEASE NOTE: I did NOT scour the entire Internet for available Advent devotionals, nor did I read through and endorse every word of all of the resources listed. This is simply a compilation of the resources that have come across my radar in the past few weeks either through email or social media from authors and creators that I follow. Not every resource will be relevant or appealing to every person, some of it may not be a good match for your theology (not all of the resources below completely align with mine, TBH), and that’s okay. But if you are looking for an Advent resource, hopefully you will find something that you like. Also, feel free to add your favorites in the comments below!

FOR ADULTS

Shadow and Light by Tsh Oxenreider
“Drawing from liturgical tradition, Tsh provides fresh insights for new and longtime believers alike. Each day includes Scripture, a reflection, a question, and a simple activity to engage the senses, such as lighting candles, listening to music, and viewing artwork both old and new.”
https://bookshop.org/books/shadow-and-light-a-journey-into-advent/9780736980609

Waiting, Accepting, Journeying, Birthing by Sarah Bessey
In Sarah’s own words: “Guided by the Carmelite themes of Waiting, Accepting, Journeying, and Birthing, this devotional offers readers new prayers, scripture, original essays by yours truly, and reflection questions for each Sunday of Advent as we journey towards Christmas….This isn’t a typical devotional designed to make you feel more calm in five minutes or less. Some of these essays grapple with big themes and ask you to lean into difficult conversations. I’m sorry and you’re welcome. Listen, if you can’t talk about patriarchy and white supremacy and liberation at Christmas, when can you? I ask you.”
https://www.sarahbessey.com/shop

Prophesy Hope! An Advent Reflection of Hope, Peace, Love and Freedom by Dante Stewart
“In this season of Advent, in the midst of chaos and confusion, the reader is invited on a journey inside the black American tradition. This tradition offers a rich legacy of faith that—like the crucifixion itself—exists at the intersection of chaos and pain and love. America needs this tradition. Not because it feels good or sounds good, but because they are still here, and they refuse to be silenced. In Prophesy Hope! Stewart leads readers on a 25-day journey through this tradition as they reflect deeply on God’s love and the meaning of Advent. These powerful devotionals invite us to see beyond despair into the hope of a new day. These caged birds are still singing; giving voice to love, peace, and freedom; and still prophesying hope.” https://www.dantecstewart.com/advent-devotional

The Season of Almost by Kate Bowler
Nobody articulates the beauty and pain that is being human better than Kate Bowler, and so that makes her an excellent guide on a journey through the longing and waiting of the Advent season. From the author: “My hope and prayer is that this Advent devotional will be a way for you to make the very act of waiting, holy. And as we anticipate Christ’s birth together, may we experience the stubborn hope of Christmas, joy in the midst of sorrow, a love that knows no bounds, and a transcendent peace amid a world on fire.” https://katebowler.com/advent/

Preparing a Way: Advent Through the Gospels by John Ruehl
“This 4-day (once-a-week) devotional reflects on passages from each of the 4 gospels in preparation for Christmas.” This free devotional can be accessed through Our Bible App, which is a progressive, inclusive faith community. The iOS version of the app needs an update to work properly, which they’ve said should be coming this week, so in the meantime you can read Week 1 at the link below.
https://www.ourbibleapp.com/new-blog/john-ruehl

Starry Black Night: A Womanist Advent Devotional
This is an online Advent devotional by Unbound, an interactive journal on Christian social justice that includes Sunday and midweek reflections. It is written entirely by Black women. https://justiceunbound.org/starryblacknight/

There Will Be Signs: An Advent Astrology Devotional by Chaplain Sarah Knoll and Reverend Lindsey Turner
I love the idea of doing the very same thing the people in the Biblical story were doing as they waited and watched for signs of the Messiah—looking to the sky.
“A 28-day devotional with four at-home candle liturgies for each Sunday in Advent, There Will Be Signs pulls from the Bible, extra-canonical texts, Saint Days, and the sun, moon, and planetary cycles of late November into December. Each day includes a scriptural reference, an astrological transit, a poignant reflection, and a journal prompt. We have also created a Spotify playlist to accompany each day of Advent!”
https://badpastor.me/store/p/there-will-be-signs-an-advent-astrology-devotional-digital-download

Anticipating the Birth of Jesus: An Advent Devotional on Immigration by Rondell Trevino
“Immigration is often a forgotten theme during the Christmas season. However, shortly after the anticipation of Jesus’ miraculous birth, His family flees for safety as Migrants to another land. Therefore, Jesus’ birth and the theme of Immigration are more closely related than we might think during the Christmas season. In ‘Anticipating The Birth of Jesus: An Advent Devotional on Immigration’, we explore this and what the Bible says about immigration in a 25-day devotional from December 1st through December 25th.” You can read this resource on Kindle Unlimited (click the photo) or purchase a copy directly from the Immigration Coalition through the link below: https://theimmigrationcoalition.com/adventbook/

FOR FAMILIES

To Light Their Way: Finding Simple Wonder & Joy in Advent by Kayla Craig
A free Advent guide that Kayla made to complement her beautiful new book, To Light Their Way. In Kayla’s words: “I pray that “To Light Their Way: Finding Simple Wonder & Joy in Advent” guides you to the glittering hope in Christ alone. Each week includes snippets of more comprehensive prayers from To Light Their Way, along with a simple conversation/journal prompt, one tangible practice, & a breath prayer from a Psalm. Each week fits on one page and should hopefully add peace to your season — not add stress to your to-do list!”https://kaylacraig.substack.com/p/your-free-advent-download-is-ready?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cta

An Illustrated Advent for Families: God With Us by Illustrated Ministry
Illustrated Ministry is one of my favorite inclusive resources to use with children.
This digital download includes family devotions, coloring pages, and an advent calendar. (Choose the “personal use” pricing option if you are using this with your family.)
“The stories of Advent are stories for hard times. Jesus was born amid upheaval and historical change and among people who seemed powerless. But when the world feels hopeless, Advent reminds us God is with us: In chaos, God is with us. In suffering, God is with us. In uncertainty, God is with us. In whatever our family endures, God is with us.” https://store.illustratedministry.com/products/an-illustrated-advent-for-families-god-with-us?variant=39431416905826

Ministry
If your children are like mine and balk at sitting down with a traditional written devotional, these videos might be a good alternative. They are cute and funny and ask thoughtful questions about the meaning and practices of Advent and Christmas. You can stream them online with a free account from Redeem TV. (They also have a Roku app.) https://watch.redeemtv.com/whirl-ada-and-leo-s-inspired-christmas-adventures

Jesus Storybook Bible Advent Kit
If you have a Jesus Storybook Bible at home this family Advent resource is made just for you! This free download includes 24 printable Christmas ornaments, a reading plan for each day of December, a Christmas soundtrack, coloring pages, and printable memory cards. https://www.sallylloyd-jones.com/2021-advent/

Little Way Chapel Advent Bundle
“Little Way Advent is a 68-page guide for your family’s Advent journey. It is both a calendar and guidebook, featuring one practice per day to prepare your heart and home for the birth of Christ. The calendar is formatted as strips of paper that can be cut out and either placed inside the doors or pockets of a traditional Advent calendar, or made into a count down paper chain.”
https://www.littlewaychapel.com/printables/littleway-holiday-bundle

Faithful Families for Advent and Christmas by Traci Smith
“100 easy, fun, and meaningful ideas for bringing the sacred back into the season. (It’s) divided into three sections of prayers, practices, and lessons.” You can download it on Kindle through the link below or see if your library has a copy through Overdrive (Libby) or Hoopla.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B08DG8PQW9/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1638107309&sr=8-3

Are you going to use any of these Advent resources this season? What are your favorite Advent devotionals to use for yourself or with your family?

books, Children, Children's Ministry, Faith, Justice, Parenting, Play, Recommendations

8 beautiful children’s books that promote inclusivity, diversity, and love during Pride month and beyond

June 30, 2019July 1, 2019 playwithyourfaith

I love a themed library haul, especially for children’s books. I’ve learned through trial-and-error how and when to place holds for books at the library so that I can bring home a stack of my favorite holiday and seasonal books at the right time, because there’s just something so fun and celebratory about coming home with a stack of on-theme books to read with the kids.

Knowing that, you probably won’t be surprised to learn that our library haul this June was decidedly rainbow colored. All month long , both at home and in our children’s Sunday School classes, the kids and I have re-read old favorites and discovered new books we love that celebrate the many beautiful ways we are each uniquely made and in community with one another.

Even though today is the last day of June, marking the end of the official Pride month, I still wanted to share this list of our favorite books we’ve read this month, because, of course, reading inclusive and celebratory children’s books is important all year long.

Below are some of our family’s favorite books that explore LGBTQIA+ history, promote inclusivity, highlight diversity, and celebrate loving families in all their forms.

Thankfully the selection of inclusive children’s literature continues to grow, and so this list is far from exhaustive. In fact through some of my favorite social media follows and blog posts, I’ve discovered several books just in the past few weeks that I can’t wait to check out.

The books below my children and I have read and enjoyed, so I am excited to recommend them to you! Do you have favorites that are missing from this list? Please share them with us in the comments below.

A Church For All by Gayle E. Pitman

A Family is a Family is a Family by Sara O’Leary

Jacob’s New Dress by Sarah and Ian Hoffman

Jerome by Heart by Thomas Scotto

(This book is about the deep love of childhood friendship. The two young boys in this book have a friendship that is simple, joyful, and beyond labeling.)

Pink is for Boys by Robb Pearlman

Spoiler alert: Every color is for boys (and for girls)!

Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag by Rob Sanders

Sewing the Rainbow Flag: The Story of Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag by Gayle E. Pitman

This Day in June by Gayle E. Pitman

Children, Parenting, Play, To Do Lists

“But, Mo-om, I don’t know what to do!”

February 16, 2019February 16, 2019 playwithyourfaith

It’s been the winter of never-ending snow days here in Kansas City. We’ve hardly had any snow for the past several winters and Mother Nature is trying to make up for all of that right now. Between regularly scheduled days off from school and unexpected snow days, I don’t even remember the last time my children had a full week of school. November?

We’re all in survival mode right now, so the screen time flows abundantly around this house, but I do make my children alternate between “screens” and “not screens” at regular intervals throughout the day.

Somehow my children always know exactly what they want to play with during screen time, but when it comes to “not screens,” my smart and creative six-year-old suddenly acts like he’s never played with another toy in his entire life.

“But, Mo-om, I don’t know what to do!”

My most frequent response? “Well then be bored.” Boredom is great for kids, as it turns out, so I still maintain that this response is totally legit. But, at least in my house, this phrase doesn’t quickly inspire my children to the kind of independent play that allows me to return to my own work (or much-needed alone time, depending on how many snow days we’ve had in a row). Verbally listing off options has the same (non) effect.

But a few months ago I made these “activity option cards” and they are somehow the magic tools to remind my children how to play. If I tell them “play with your cars” I frequently get back arguments of “I don’t feel like it” or just grumpy stares. But if the CARDS suggest they play with their cars, suddenly it’s a good idea.

A hastily written list also worked pretty well for my six-year-old, but since I also have a preschool daughter who can’t read, these picture cards allow her to use them, too. Plus the visual and reusable nature of these cards appeal to both of my children, and to me.

Obviously, the cards I made are very specific to the ages of my children (3 and 6), and their particular interests and toys. My very literal preschooler does best when the photos are of the *exact* toys that we have. Older children may do better with more “symbolic” photos. Still, I am happy to share the document I made in case you are able to easily print and use some of them, or maybe they just inspire you to make your own version!

DOWNLOAD THE ACTIVITY CARD PDF FILE HERE!

Once you print the cards you can just keep them in an envelope (we move ours from the green to the blue envelope when the activity has been completed), hole punch them and keep them on a binder ring, or even put them in photo pages for easy viewing.

Depending on your child’s personality, you could use the cards in a variety of ways:

Let the child pick out 4 or 5 cards at the beginning of the day to act as a checklist. Once they complete an activity, move it to the back of the pile or into a separate envelope. Repeat until all the cards have been completed. Repeat if necessary.
Choose one at a time. Whenever it’s time for a new activity have the child pick a new idea card from the stack.
Limit options by having an adult pick two or three cards and then letting the child pick from just those activities.
If your child likes surprises and spontaneity, or has a hard time with choices, make it into a game and have them blindly choose a card from the stack. Whatever the card says goes! (Maybe consider giving them one or two opportunities to “pass” if something just really doesn’t appeal.)
Use the cards to earn screen time! Set the number of activities a child needs to do (be sure and set a minimum time for each, too) and then have your child turn in the completed cards in exchange for a screen time allotment.

You know your child’s personality (and your own) the best! Do whatever works best for your family. Whether you are trying to survive snow days, sick days, or just the weekend, I wish you the best of luck, friends!

Gospel, Parenting, Play

The Good, the Bad and the Superheroes

February 3, 2017February 3, 2017 playwithyourfaith

Until he’s prompted for more details, my four-year-old son’s report about his day at preschool always contains the same three elements: 1) If they had indoor or outdoor recess today, 2) what game he played at recess, (My favorite report was the day he said they played “salad.” “Salad?” “Yeah, we used leaves and pretended to make a salad. Then we played police officers.” “Okay then.”) and 3) If he got in trouble at recess that day. His most frequent recess infraction involves throwing wood chips. (For the love, child, what’s so great about throwing wood chips? Stop it already.)

I love that he feels safe enough with me to tell me when he messes up. And my policy (so far) is that he never gets in trouble at home for something that happened at school. This is because, first of all, his awesome teachers have school under control, but more importantly, because I want his unguarded honesty with me to last as long as possible. Preferably a lifetime. We do talk about what happened, however, thinking through how that made all the people involved feel, and what he could do differently in the future. (We have also written the occasional apology note or created an apology video when it seemed appropriate.)

This week, my son told me he got in trouble for hitting a friend at recess. When pressed for further details, he explained that he and his regular crew of recess friends were playing Superheroes, an ever-popular game among preschool boys, and he was the Hulk.

“Mom. I was just being the Hulk,” he said. “When you’re the Hulk you have to Hulk Smash the bad guys and stop them.”

I paused and looked at him in the rear view mirror. “Honey, when you’re hurting someone, you aren’t stopping the bad guys. You are BEING the bad guy.”

He blinked at me.

“Superheroes help people,” I explained. “They are the good guys (and gals) because they are doing good things. When they hurt other people, even if those people are the bad guys, they aren’t being superheroes anymore.”

It’s a hard lesson to learn at the age of four. I see many adults struggling with the concept. There’s no title or position you can hold, no reputation you can acquire, or party or organization you can join that automatically makes everything you do good. A wrong choice is a wrong choice, no matter who makes it.

The world isn’t divided into “good guys” and “bad guys,” despite the story that comic books and modern politics want to sell you. You are only being a good person when you are doing good things. Things like showing love and kindness, practicing generosity and hospitality, and extending mercy and grace. If you do 99 wonderful things in a row, and then make 1 horrible, harmful choice, that action doesn’t suddenly become okay just because it was done by someone who has done 99 good things. It’s still wrong.

When a political leader protects the rights of one vulnerable group of people, but allows the bombing of another, it’s still wrong. When a country engages in acts of torture, even under the auspices of national security, it’s still evil. If a religious leader brings hope to thousands, but alienates his own family, that’s never okay. If an entrepreneur creates a useful and beautiful product, but hurts the factory workers or the environment in the production process, the harm is still real. If social activists work to bring positive changes, but silence minority voices in the process, it’s still causes lasting damage.

The good news is that the reverse is also true. If you make 99 bad, hurtful decisions in a row (something that would most certainly get you labeled as a Bad Guy), but then make one authentic good choice, that one action still counts. Will it undo the 99 harmful things you’ve done? Unlikely. Will people automatically trust you and rally around you? They probably shouldn’t. But choosing compassion over fear, or kindness over indifference, is never a wasted action. You can choose to be the Good Guy at any crossroads, even if it’s a path of bad decisions that led you to that particular decision point. And that truth is a deep and powerful grace.

We all want to be the heroes in our own story, and often, the quickest way to to this feeling is to cast yourself as the good superhero, fighting against a swarm of villains. But life doesn’t work that way. There IS both Good and Evil in the world, but they are each contained in all of us. We all have potential to bring light to everyone around us, but we must never forget we always have the capacity to amplify the darkness as well.

The true superheroes are the ones who relentlessly do the next right thing, even when they know that their position or reputation might give them a pass, or even a mandate, for a poor decision. They chose love and peace, even when it’s unpopular or inconvenient.

The true superheroes are the ones who are unafraid to praise the good that is done by people or groups with whom they normally find themselves at odds. They know that acknowledging goodness and truth from any source only brings more goodness into the world.

Our true allies are not the people that claim the same beliefs or embrace the same team. They are those who act in ways that make the world a more compassionate, welcoming place. Jesus called those people our neighbors.

But whether you think of these people as neighbors, good guys (and gals), or superheroes, the most important thing is not how you label one, it’s that you set your mind, body and spirit on becoming one.

Faith, Kingdom of God, Parenting, Play

Play With Your Faith

January 28, 2017January 30, 2017 playwithyourfaith

I don’t think that anyone would describe me as playful. I’ve never been whimsical, or theatrical, and only my children think I’m silly. And no one was surprised when the All About Mom page my son brought home for Mother’s Day last Spring basically listed my greatest strength as “adulting.”

But even though my love for To Do lists and productivity is deep and wide, I’ve also spent a surprising amount of my adult life thinking about play. First, as an early childhood and elementary education major, then as a children’s minister, and now also as a parent.

Admittedly, these days this thinking could often be more accurately described as worrying, particularly about the play habits of my own children. Do my children play enough or too much? Do they do the right kinds of play—free play, structured play, imaginative play, cooperative play? Do they play outside enough? Do they read enough? Is it okay that my son almost never wants to color? How much technology-driven play should I allow? Should I be playing with them more or does that take away from their capacity for independent play? Should their play have a purpose? Are they playing right? Is it possible to play wrong?

Play is generally described as engaging in an activity that is 1) voluntary, 2) enjoyable and 3) open-ended and flexible. Play is about the experience, not the ending. If your play can only have one specific outcome it’s not play, it’s a project or a competition.

Play is not a break from the real world. It is how you discover it. Play is how you try things on, practice various roles and personas to see if they fit, practice the rules and then change them, join in the act of creation, imagine the world as it could be.

As the ever-wise Mr. Rogers explained, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children play is serious learning. Play is really the work of childhood.”

And research shows that play is not just the work of children, it is the work of all of us. The need for play does not end when we become adults. “We don’t lose the need for novelty and pleasure as we grow up,” says Dr. Scott G. Eberle in the American Journal of Play. “Play brings joy. And it’s vital for problem solving, creativity and relationships.”

I think play is also vital for faith. We must be able to play with our faith.

I know that sounds counter intuitive or irreverent even. For many of us faith is IMPORTANT. Shouldn’t we WORK at faith, not play at it? But it’s a false dichotomy that buys into the lie that work and play are opposites. I believe faith, like play, must also 1) be voluntary, 2) enjoyable, in the sense that it is rooted in joy rather than pain or fear, and 3) it must be open-ended, flexible, and changeable.

In this way faith and play are inextricably linked. This is a problem for a society of adults who have been conditioned to believe that play should only be done if all of your ducks are in a row. (Has anyone seen my ducks?) But if those are the terms, we’re doomed from the start

But play is not frivolous. Educators, researchers, and Mr. Rogers all affirm that play is, and always has been, real, meaningful work. Work that must be born and fostered in childhood, but that needs to continue into a healthy adulthood. Play is the work we do to practice imagination, try on new ideas, and dress up in various roles to see how they fit.

Play allows us to try out our our strengths and our weaknesses, in low-stakes settings. Play is where we learn to dream, to wonder, and to question reality. Play is where we practice telling, hearing, and getting caught up in Stories. Play is where we learn to create and respond with our bodies through music and dance. Play is where we learn to use and grow our imagination.

And for those of us who are Christians, and affirm that Jesus is God revealed to us, then we understand Play to be a part of the very nature of God. If we have in our minds a humorless, Vulcan-esque image of Christ, we didn’t get it from Scripture. Even in the small snippets of Jesus’ life depicted in the Bible, we find that our God has sharp sense of humor, a lively imagination and a penchant for creative storytelling.

We serve a God that enjoys word play and told humorous stories about a person who tried to take a speck out of a friend’s eye while a giant log was sticking out of his own. We serve a God that could look at nobody, a screw up, or a terrorist, and imagine the world-changing person they could become. We serve a God that knew when he needed to rest and when he needed some time alone with nature. We serve a God with a self-deprecating sense of humor that led him to lead a Royal parade on a donkey rather than the traditional horse in order to make a point. We serve a God that created the Blob Fish and the duck-billed platypus.

And if play is part of the very character of God, perhaps as God-seekers we need elevate the role of play in our lives individually in our faith communities.

This means we must MAKE space for play to happen. We are no longer children, who will naturally play given the smallest amount of time. Instead of the adult method of rushing through mundane tasks, children naturally transform ordinary moments into opportunities for exploration, wonder and play. My 4-year-old son cannot walk by a drawer or a cabinet without opening it to see what’s inside. He slithers like a snake down the hallway to retrieve his jacket. He plays with every toy as he puts it away. It. Is. Maddening. And yet it’s inspiring.

So many of us adults have had play conditioned out of us, however. We no longer see the world as full of wonder and possibility, but as a problem to be fixed. So we get from Point A to Point B in straight lines, our minds already thinking about the next task. When we do have little bits of time we choose distraction, not imagination. So it’s precisely because play is no longer as instinctual to us as pulling out our phones that we must purposefully make space for it in our lives. And we need to do it especially when we feel like we don’t want to, when we couldn’t possibly find the time, when there are lots and lots of important things to be done. It is at these times that we need to play the most.

Because if we have lost the ability to play, we have lost the ability to imagine. And if we can no longer imagine, then what are we doing here? What are we doing when we come together in our faith communities? We might be upholding tradition. We might be passing along knowledge or rules. We might be enjoying each other’s company. But we are certainly not on a journey of faith. We are definitely not participating in the Kingdom of God. Because to believe that Love and Grace can change the world is to imagine what such a world would look like, what people transformed by God would look like, and to have the playful, imaginative faith that this could be so.