I’m so pleased to offer the Advent wreath and liturgy from my first book Faithful Families: Creating Sacred Moments at Home, published by Chalice Press in 2017. If you like it, be sure to check out the full book which has more than 50 easy to implement ideas for families to use at home. Get
Family Advent Wreath Instructions and Simple Liturgy Read More »
Family ministry (and ministry in general!) can be extremely chaotic during Advent. Churches squeeze in a lot of programs and activities, and ministry to children and families becomes a priority as visitors and friends attend. One of the “tricks up my sleeve” during Advent has been to rely on good picture books to rotate during
5 Simple Ways to Use Picture Books During Advent for All Ages Ministry Read More »
For a few years I’ve been offering gratitude challenge calendars. Sometimes they’ve been free, other times for sale on the Etsy store. This year I’m splitting the difference. This year’s calendar (click to download) is free for personal use, but if you’d like to distribute it to your entire church or school community, I’m politely
Gratitude Every Day, 2019 Read More »
Last year our congregation talked about how to make a simple “welcome station” where people could see what’s going on in the congregation and feel welcome as they came inside. The solution was simple: we moved a long buffet in front of a wooden welcome sign we already had. Small metal clips were nailed on
Good Ideas: Welcome Station with Mini Children’s Library Read More »
Worship with children and adults of all ages together is on trend right now. Lots of my colleagues insist it’s the only way for the church to move forward. Children have been programmed to death, plucked out of church services, and not made to be a part of the worshipping community as a whole. Because
Blended Church: All Ages Worship + Children’s Church Read More »
One of the things we’re working on in my church right now is fixing up dedicated space for children, youth, and intergenerational events. Like many mainline churches, our building is much bigger than the congregation needs right now, which presents both challenges and opportunities. There are so many bulletin boards in hallways and classrooms, and
Bulletin Board Idea: Let Your Light Shine! Read More »
There are moments in our lives that transform us and color everything that comes afterward. For author Greg McKeown, author of the New York Times bestseller Essentialism that moment was taking a business meeting right after the birth of his child. His boss assured him he would be rewarded for his dedication, but upon reflection,
Book Review /// Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less Read More »
Over the past few years, in an effort to build intergenerational community, many congregations have set their worship spaces up to include a designated area for young worshipers. Dubbed “pray-grounds,” these spaces sometimes offer child friendly furniture, resources, and lessons for young people in worship. I highlighted a number of them in this article. Though
Pew Boxes for Interactive Worship Read More »
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever heard about creating is this: If you create for yourself, you’ll always know that at least one person is happy with your work. I wrote my first book Faithful Families for me and for my family. I’ve been so incredibly grateful to see it resonate with
Introducing Prayers for Faithful Families! Cover Reveal and Inspiration Read More »
As she wrote in the foreword to Faithful Families, Rachel Held Evans and I met when we were at a Christian Women’s Retreat in Mo Ranch, Texas. She was the keynote speaker and I was one of many workshop leaders. Together we were the leadership team, and because of this, we had a number of
