Holy Week is coming with palm parades, the last supper with the disciples, the arrest and trial of Jesus, followed by his death & resurrection. These are hard concepts for young children. Sometimes parents need resources and support from the church in order to help their children through the events of Holy Week. Enter the storybook … Continue reading Holy Week for Preschoolers

Just a few days ago we marked our foreheads with ashes to remember our mortality. We heard the words: "Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return." This statement has been running through my brain watching the aftermath of Parkland, Florida. Today, I woke up wanting to do something for the kids, youth, … Continue reading Space to Grieve (for Kids!)

Church #28. Meet Rachel Holston. She is the Director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church in South Minneapolis, MN. With an average worship attendance of 200 people on a given Sunday, Diamond Lake is a church that embraces a love for all people. Once a month on Wednesday nights, Holsten gathers families … Continue reading Story Stick Paraments

Lent 2018 Don't Forget to Pray (before sleeping, eating, or flushing)! Welcome to Lent - a time to prepare our hearts and minds to hear the stories of Holy Week and Easter. To help kids enter into the spiritual discipline of devotions, 50 church workers, parents and pastors from across the USA came together to write … Continue reading Lent 2018 – Free Kid Devotionals

Church #27. Meet Emily Dalen. She is the Director of Children’s and Family Ministries at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska, and she is on the board for the Christian Education Network for the ELCA. With an average worshiping attendance of 400-450 people on a given Sunday, St. Paul’s is working hard to connect … Continue reading One Step Backward, Two Steps Forward

People often ask to if they can "pick my brain" about all sorts of creative things. Brainstorming is one of my favorite activities. Combine it with storytelling, art and faith, and it feels like I have hit the Jackpot! With the onset of Lent, people from different parts of the USA have been reaching out … Continue reading Be Inspired.

Church #26. Meet Marie Gettel-Gilmartin. She is a member of Spirit of Grace in Beaverton, Oregon. Her congregation is an intentional community of 150-200 members made up of Lutherans, Roman Catholics and other faith traditions, who worship and serve together. Gettel-Gilmartin is a lay leader in her community–one that affirms all sexual orientations, gender identities, … Continue reading Radical Welcome – Radical Love

My Sunday School kids love to be involved in worship. We do something called G.I.F.T. or Growing in Faith Together, parent and child classes to dig deeper into the churchy topics. (Check out this post for more information and thanks Rich Melheim for the acronym.) In a couple weeks, the littlest ones will lead the the "Greeting of the … Continue reading An “I Spy Church” Greeting

My family is not unusual. Just like yours, there are Christmas programs, school concerts and cookies swaps. December 1st rolls around with the reminder that there are 24 days to Christmas. Yikes! Since I wrote my Thanksgiving Blog, Take Time To Hide, I have been thinking about how can we slow down to seek God. … Continue reading Busy Lives? Use FAITH5 for Advent!