Friday, August 30, 2013

Reflection for Family Ministry e-news

Teamwork . . . it sounds easy enough, right? Work as a team. Wanting to work in teams is not something that comes natural to everyone. Some people work best when they work alone. While this may be true for some, there is a reason for the age old saying "two heads are better than one". Even Jesus sent his disciples out in teams of two.



Andrew Gallagher and his team
Former ASEDS student, Andrew Gallagher (at left) and his fellow team of rowing crew at a recent event for National Trials.


So why do I mention this? The first reason is because with the new school year, comes new friends and new required groups for your children. Working in a group is a huge part of school, no matter how old your child is. Daily students work in groups to learn how to problem solve and to learn how to work with others. As you know working together usually makes the workload a little lighter as well. Sometimes your children will love the groups they are assigned to, and as you already know, sometimes they will not. When they complain about a group try to remind them that working as a team is so important that even Jesus asked his disciples to do it. The second reason I mention this is because this weekend we will be having our dodge ball Pre-Game Game to help us learn how to work as a team so that we can be ready for the diocesan tournament in a few weeks. If you are 11 years old or older, please come play in the Pre-Game Game on Saturday, if you are younger come to cheer on the players!



Peace,

Lauren+

Friday, August 23, 2013

Reflection for Family Ministry e-news




Can you believe it is time to go back to school already?! I feel like I have just gotten into my summer routine and now it's time to get back to my normal routine. I imagine that in each of your homes there is a high level of excitement, mixed with a bit of anxiety, about the new school year. Some of your children are starting school for the first time which brings its own bag of mixed emotions. In this time of change I'd like to offer you a devotional resource that youth and older children can use on their own, and younger children can use with their parents. The devotion is found at  
Everyday throughout the year a devotion can be found on this website, with special devotional series during advent, lent, and back to school time. These simple and short devotions are geared to help our youth and children see and feel Jesus in their every day lives. Please check out www.d365.org and take a look around, after you feel comfortable with it, please share it with your teens and children.

Peace,
Lauren+