Shaping Hearts
Did you know that you can influence what your children are passionate about? Do you enjoy sports? Is there a particular sports team that you follow? All my kids are Red Sox baseball fans (with the Chicago Cubs as a backup due to their mother). This did not happen by accident. I grew up in…
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When Mobilizing Hits Home
Ahram and his wife live in Pakistan with their son Rayan* (12) and daughter Maira* (10). As parents, they are intentional about mobilizing their children to live out God’s purposes through modeling, ongoing discussions, and direct involvement in God’s work. According to Ahram, “Leading clear purpose-driven and purpose-built lives ourselves, how can we not be…
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Make It Count
In a crowded living room, gathered with his family around a black and white television set in 1969, 9-year-old Chris Hadfield decided what he wanted to do with his life. As he watched Neil Armstrong step onto the surface of the moon he knew, with absolute clarity, that he wanted to be an astronaut. Of…
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Connect With God’s World:
Gingerbread Houses of Sana'a
In the last journal, you read a story about Hadi (HAH-dee) and his family (if you missed the story, find it here). They are part of an unreached Muslim people group--the Northern Yemeni (Yuh-MEH-nee). What do houses look like in the city? Enjoy learning with your family. Cultural Activity: Yemeni House In the old sections…
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Connect With God’s World:
Meet the Northern Yemeni
Help your family embrace God’s love for the world. Read this story together to learn about and pray for the Northern Yemeni (Yuh-MEH-nee), an unreached Muslim people group. Most live in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Come with me to a city in northwest Yemen where multi-story buildings cling to the craggy mountainside. Brown earthen homes…
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Discover God’s Word:
Worth a Shout Out
When we consistently use a “God-sized” lens to share God’s Word with our family, it broadens our children’s understanding of who God is and how He acts in our world. It also changes how our children view themselves, their blessings, and their purpose. Sharing the Bible with our children through a “God-sized” lens is not…
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Connect With God’s World:
Foreign Fridays
Jamie and Jessica have four children, ages 2-9. Jamie developed a heart for the nations in college. For Jessica, loving the nations has always seemed like the natural response to believing in Jesus. When she was a child, her church presented faith in Jesus and love for others, including other ethnicities, always going hand-in-hand. In…
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A Vision for the Generations
God has a plan to use your family to make a difference in the world for Christ. When I say "your family," I am not only speaking of the people He has put in your home today, but also of unborn generations to come! Faithfulness and growth through the generations is a major theme in…
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Children in His Story Part 6
Faith of a Child
Boys and girls have simple, but strong faith that is reflected in their prayers. God used an unlikely group of young prayer warriors to encourage a missionary doctor and demonstrate that nothing is beyond the scope of what He can do. The year was 1957. The place was Zaire (Democratic Republic of the Congo). Helen…
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Arrows Being Readied and Sent Forth
“Children do not get in the way of missions. It is amazing how the Lord uses children,” asserts Megan, a mom of seven with another baby on the way. Megan has a heart for Muslims and desires to serve cross-culturally someday. For now, she and her husband are cultivating a mission heart in their children,…