March's Nutshell Messages

March 9
Gospel: John 11:1-45 (Raising Lazarus God gives life)
Fourth Beatitude: Blessed are they which do hunger
and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled.
Nutshell: Bee GRATE-full

This week, we look at being grateful as our nutshell message. This is a terrific word to work into your daily language with your child. You could of course liken it to being thankful and link it to things you may already do, like saying grace or thanking God in a prayer at night. In this week and the next, think about ways to use the word ‘grateful’ daily in your lives. (We’ll try it, too!) Try using our Family Gratitude Journal as a springboard for discussion and prayer.* You could choose to tell what you’re thankful for about each person at the dinner table as fun family gathering (My family says they dread this at Thanksgiving, but I have a feeling they secretly enjoy it!) Retelling the gospel story of the Raising of Lazarus is an interesting way to explore feeling with your children, too. Talk about how Jesus was happy with his friends Mary, Martha and Lazarus and how worried they were as he became ill. Finally, of course they were sad when he passed. Try singing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” by adjusting the feeling and the actions (for instance, if you’re sad, you start to cry). Exploring and accepting feeling is challenging but worthwhile, I suspect. J

*Due to the snow, we were unable to meet on March 9^th. As such, the children will receive the Family Gratitude Journal on March 30^th as a take-home craft.

March 30
Gospel: John 20:19-31
Fifth Beatitude: Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Nutshell: Bee MERCY-full

Although we won’t be meeting for Easter, you will each be in our prayers until we meet again on March 30 when we examine “Being Merciful”. Having mercy and giving mercy is a gift God gives us that we can also give one another. Think about and discuss how your family forgives and asks for forgiveness. You may even talk about formal ways the church recognizes forgiveness. Jesus’ resurrection is a very difficult concept for little ones, but I like the idea of Jesus’ resurrection promising new life for us – not only heaven but also the promise of peace and love when we follow Jesus and his teachings. Take a nature walk and see that winter is beginning to be merciful on us, giving us hope of new life in nature. Another idea to try is this: read a book with obvious good and bad characters, like Little Red Riding Hood or something similar. Then, begin to try to see the book from the wolf’s, or ‘bad guy’s’ point of view, even try saying, “That wolf must have been in a bad mood, what do you think might him want to hurt Riding Hood?” We don’t excuse behavior, but try to understand in order to forgive. Talking about the Golden Rule and how your child treats others hopefully creates responsibility and accountability for your child’s actions.

Thank You to This Month's Sponsor

Children's Liturgy of the Word

wishes to thank

Mayor and Mrs. Williams

for their generosity this month.

Their donation makes all of our craft projects, snacks, take home activities and book gifts possible.

We appreciate their support for our efforts and the terrific children of Holy Trinity!

Thanks, parents!

Thanks to all who attended the Feb. 10 Liturgy of the Word. We had a wonderful time and enjoyed a great crafts and cupcakes! We appreciate you!

February Nutshells

Children’s Liturgy of the Word “Nutshell messages” for Little Ones…

Together, the gospel and the eight Beatitudes will be the focus of our “nutshell messages” from now until our last meeting on May 4. During our eight meetings this year we will introduce the gospel messages “in a nutshell” – an easy way for children to learn that Jesus has a message for them in the Bible.

In 2008, we look forward to “Bee-ing full of the spirit” – truly getting our nourishment and thereby growing from our spiritual endeavors. We learn so much by preparing the gospel for your children. We want to full them up, too!

February 10

Gospel story, Matthew 4:1-11
Second Beatitude, “Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted.”

Our nutshell message for these two weeks is “Be Prayer-full” – full of prayer. Jesus is tempted and is modeling making good choices for us. There are so many choices in life that effect your child. Many choices are her own. Discuss both good choices and poor choices with your child – perhaps healthy vs. unhealthy mealtime choices or picking out an appropriate outfit for a particular kind of weather… each choice has a consequence for which your child is responsible. Everyone makes mistakes, of course and this is where we ask God for his Divine Intervention: “Please God, I am prayerfully committed to making good choices for myself and my family. Please help me__________ today. Amen.” During your prayer routine, pray for God to help with a particular choice that’s been difficult. You can choose something to work on along with your child and thereby model this prayerful behavior. I personally pray often for patience. Some days my kids see God deliver and other days I fail. I’m human and they know it. J Lovely lessons!... My children pray for help on their own goals and we praise them when they’ve obviously worked with God to do well. Throughout the two weeks we celebrate being prayerfull, talk about Jesus and the kinds of choices he models for us. Weave in discussion of the Second Beatitude by thinking of it like this: “Happy are those who have done something wrong and are ready to not repeat it, for they are forgiven.” Prompt your child to ask for forgiveness from those whom they may have wronged, and be sure to also ask God for his forgiveness. Encourage children to notice the sense of peace when forgiveness is granted. It’s also important to point out that giving forgiveness is a great feeling, as well. I’m sure you’ll have many opportunities to apply this nutshell message.

February 24

Gospel story, John 4:5-42 “Jesus accepts everyone”
Third Beatitude, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

We have chosen to interpret this week’s gospel as “Jesus accepts everyone”, and our nutshell message is simply: Be respect-full. Challenge yourself and your child to find a loving quality in anyone they meet – respecting that person whom God created. Talk about the concept of seeing others as God sees them. What do you enjoy about your own family members? Resolve to tell others how you respect their positive qualities. An amazing reinforcement for such an idea is the book You Are Special by Max Lucado. Another idea is to try not to hold a grudge with your child or others. Discussing this idea brings forward an understanding of the third beatitude – loosely interpreted as “Happy are those who are letting go of anger and hurt, for they will experience wonderful things in their lives.” Draw pictures of the wonderful gifts and blessings your child has. Mail the pictures to a relative who would appreciate the sentiment. Finally, practicing manners is a great way to be respectful. Teaching children to be respectful is a difficult job, but rewarding in the end (I hope!)

Thanks for allowing us to share some extended ideas for our nutshells. We hope this helps you continue your study of the gospel as you apply it to your lives with your children.

Jan. 27 Parent Letter

Dear Parents,

Welcome to Children’s Liturgy. We are so happy you could join us this week! As we mentioned, our new theme, “Bee Full of the Spirit”, we focus on the week’s gospel story and the Beatitudes. This week, we combine the Matthew 4:12-23 and the first Beatitude into the nutshell “Faith-full”. We talked today about Jesus choosing faithful friends, how they choose to be faithful, or “think about God” often. Additionally, we talked about the first Beatitude – “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” We talked about ways children can be faithful to God; by praying, thanking God, being kind to friends and family and so on. Finally, we played “Follow the Leader”, as a parallel to our following God. We encourage you to talk with your child about ways you are faithful – maybe faithful to sports teams – our households are partial to the Bengals – we are faithful fans, even when they don’t win! We stick faithfully to a routine – breakfast, lunch, dinner. Talk about other routines you are faithful to… going to church on Sundays, bedtime routines, etc. You are faithful to them because you are always thinking about them and find them important. Throughout the next two weeks, try to commit to one way to show your faith – using a devotional book, reading a Bible story. Have fun! We look forward to seeing you again at our next meeting on February 10.

Thanks again for your support of our program.

Sincerely,
Amy Cribbs
Amy Mumper

This Month's Sponsor

We are grateful to the Holy Trinity Variety Show Players for their amazing support during the month of January. Their donation made all of our crafts and snacks possible, as well as the books the children received relevant to each session.

If you are interested in joining this terrific group, bring your dancing shoes to a practice! They meet at 1pm Sundays in the Parish Hall.