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Church Tips with Kids

Untitled Comment

4:15 PM, 2007-Jul-10 .. Posted by Lynne

Amy,
These are some really good tips on keeping the kids busy during church service. I also found your (and others) comments about dealing with other parents amusing. When our girls were very young, we learned to say to them "they have different rules than we do" to explain why other kids were just turned loose and allowed to misbehave.
Having not been brought up attending church, maybe I have a different perspective on things than most who read your blog. What I want is for my kids to feel that our church is "home", that they are welcome and that they belong.
When I was a young person, I used to be very judgmental about some other kids who I knew attended church every week but they were "bad kids". I used to think that they were hypocrits to attend church and then continue to behave badly during the week. Now I realize that these are the people who MOST need to be in church, and so maybe this has made me a lot more tolerant of a few kids who misbehave from time to time and their parents do not correct them. I have learned SO MUCH about how to live like a Christian by being surrounded by Christians and trying to model myself after them. I have also learned a lot by reading your blog and seeing a different perspective to things.

To Lynne

8:15 PM, 2007-Jul-10 .. Posted by YPAmy5

Lynne- I also enjoy your comments from a different perspective. So thank you!
I grew up attending church and was taught to behave in church but not everyone was that way.
One thing I work to impress upon my children and the kids in my youth group is that just because someone attends church that doesn't make them a Christian. And if the church was only full of Christians we would be failing in our jobs [as Christians] to reach out and minister to others.
I know wonderful Christian couples who have the most unbelievably misbehaved children (and vice versa!). I also know what it feels like to be a worn out mom and know that the last thing I want to do is chase my kid one more time [or argue with them etc.]. Whenever I or my children complain about others behavior we remind each other to pray for that person/family.
We just don't know what others are facing each day and how that affects their life. What our little family has been through the past couple of years and the things that people have unwittingly said to us (not knowing all our circumstances) has shown me that. [With that said- I do struggle with keeping tolerance when bad behavior happens week in and week out. Just keep on praying- I tell myself.]
I agree with you that a church must feel like home. I just cannot stress enough how important that should be. For one thing it's harder to volunteer when you don't feel a part of the family! A church may have everything you are looking for and still you may feel like you are on the outside looking in-- making it "not" the church for you and your family. The feeling of belonging is exactly what Jesus wants for us- to belong to Him and the Body. It sounds like your family is a blessing to the church and the church is a blessing to you. Wonderful!
Amy W

Untitled Comment

7:44 AM, 2007-Jul-11 .. Posted by Lynne

Amy,
Your comment that you do not know what is going on in other peoples' lives is so important. I think there are a lot of people out there who are struggling (especially with finances) silently right now.
I had an experience a few weeks ago when I was a chaperone for an overnight school trip to New York City with one of my daughters. I took extra cash with me "just in case". Our food was prepaid, but due to a problem our group did not get our prepaid dinner and we had to find a place for the kids to have dinner on our own. Of course none of the kids had money on them because they weren't expecting to have to pay for dinner. I paid for my daughter and the 5 other girls in my group. Every parent paid me back except one (so I was out $10), and I have no intention of asking them for the money. I don't think they have it.
I also know that for many kids this trip ($200) was something that took over a year of saving, lawn mowing, doing odd jobs, scrimping, etc. to come up with this money.
The girls were panicked when they thought they had to pay for dinner. I calmly told them I had brought extra money, I would pay for everyone, and not to worry about it. In fact, I never asked any of the parents to reimburse me, but most did. We went to a deli, and even thought NYC is $$$, it ended up being about $10 per person as the kind waiter quickly understood the situation and told the girls that the sandwiches were so large that one would be more than enough for 2 people. Even though the sandwiches were $18 (NYC is so expensive), the sandwiches were literally 6 inches tall and just huge. The waiter also brought out "samples" of different types of pickles, potato salad, and cole slaw so the girls could try real NY deli food. He did not charge us for any of this. He also only charged us for one pitcher of soda even though he refilled it several times. I don't know if this is standard practice, but I doubt it.
I called my husband that night and told him I had just spent $50 buying dinner for 5 girls and what happened, and he completely supported my decision even knowing we may not get paid back. Now for the end of the story. The next week when I was working in Baltimore, I found a crumpled up $10 bill on the sidewalk. The street I was on was empty; no one else was on the sidewalk. Coincidence?

What a testimony

8:43 AM, 2007-Jul-11 .. Posted by YPAmy5

Wow Lynne- what a great story! Thank you so much for sharing. God used you in an amazing way and in you allowing Him to do so He then used the waiter too. You didn't mention if the girls with you were Christians or not- regardless- your Light of Jesus shown bright to them that night.
God is so good!
Amy W

Untitled Comment

11:29 AM, 2007-Jul-11 .. Posted by Lynne

Amy,
I don't know if the girls were Christians or not. I actually only knew 2 of the girls out of the 5 assigned to me to chaperone. Fortunately, they were all really great, well behaved kids.
Here's the other funny thing that happened on our trip. We had some scheduled things to see with the school group, then we had some time to go out and sightsee on our own. At one point we had 30 minutes to kill, and we were 2 blocks from St. Patrick's Cathedral. I suggested to the girls that we go there. All of them, including my daughter, looked disappointed. I told them it was very famous and probably different than anything they had ever seen. I said we would just step inside and leave right away if they wanted to go.
When we got in front of the church, all the girls were amazed at how beautiful it was and they took out their cameras and started taking pictures. When we got inside, they absolutely loved it. They slowly walked throughout the church taking pictures. One of the girls asked if we could stay for a Mass that was starting in 15 minutes. I asked if any of them were Catholic, and none were.
We couldn't stay for Mass as we had to meet up with the big group for a tour. At the end of our 2 day blitz of NYC, I asked the girls what was their favorite thing we did (Rockefeller Center Top of the Rock, meeting a Rockette at Radio City Music Hall, seeing the Lion King on Broadway, etc). Their answer: going inside St. Patrick's Cathedral.