The Family Zone
Lectionary-Based Playlist /Issue 44/January 31, 2021
"If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts"
READ!
SUNDAY READINGS: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/013121.cfm
Family Stories:
- "My Heart" by Corinna Luyken
- "A Heart for Jesus" by Juanita Bynum
- "Just in Case You Ever Wonder" by Max Lucado
Parent Article:
- Do you want your kids to look like they follow Jesus or live like they follow Jesus? https://herviewfromhome.com/faith-i-want-to-raise-children-whose-hearts-belong-to-jesus/
- Helping your child discern appropriate media through a lens of faith: https://www.focusonthefamily.ca/content/mind-your-media-8-tips-to-raise-discerning-teens
- Discernment is the process of listening for God's input in your decision making and looking at life's challenges with a heart open to the wisdom of faith. Here is an article to help you understand the process and how it can work in your life: https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/ignatian-spirituality/discernment/discernment-making-inspired-choices/
Write!
- Here is a writing exercise connected to the children's story, My Heart, listed above. This activity can be used to talk about difficult feelings, God's expectations for our heart, and how your child's heart grows due to kindness! There is even a Valentine that can be filled out and sent to a loved one!
- Make a list of ways God "speaks" to you in your heart, even though you may not hear God physically.
- If a friend came to your son or daughter and asked for some advice, what would he or she say? Use the attached handout to role play "advice-giving." This is a great exercise for working together on your child's moral development.
LISTEN!
A lighthearted exploration of the Sunday readings Fr. Peter Mussett: Pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Center Dr. Scott Powell, director of the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Thought in Boulder
PRAY!
WATCH!
Play!
- When we follow God, there is a chain reaction of wonderful things that we can see in our lives that we can appreciate and spread to others! Build a Chain Reaction with craft or popsicle sticks! https://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/popsicle-stick-chain-reaction/#:~:text=The%20key%20to%20the%20popsicle,sticks%20(or%20the%20system).
- Play one of these games to practice listening to directions. God gives us directions on how to live our lives; are we listening? https://www.coffeecupsandcrayons.com/following-directions-and-listening-game-teacher-says/
Create!
- God invites us to be transformed and have a change of heart! Make this change of heart together and talk about what that means! https://www.dltk-holidays.com/valentines/m-plate-heart.htm
- Use one of these object lessons to talk about transformation and connect it to how we can be changed if we open our ears and our heart to God's messages: https://ministry-to-children.com/object-lessons-on-transformation/
- Caterpillars turn into beautiful butterflies. When we allow positive change in our lives, we also can turn into something more beautiful than we already are! Use this craft to break open a conversation about positive change: https://www.hellowonderful.co/post/transforming-paper-butterfly-craft/
Wonder!
- How does God talk to us?
- What does it mean to have a "hard heart?" Is there something or somebody you have a hard heart against?
- Is it sometimes hard to know what God expects of us?
- Is it sometimes hard to understand what our parents and our teachers expect of us? Are those things the same as God's expectations?
- How could I be even better than I am right now?
WORD OF THE WEEK!
Office of Evangelization and Catechesis
Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester
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