KidzPort February 7 – ABBA

February 9, 2010

Not the band.  No “Dancing Queen” here.

It’s pretty common in our culture to give people nicknames.   We do it all the time, even if the “nickname” is just adding an ending to someone’s name.   We even give our parents “nicknames” of sorts; we call mothers “mom, mommy, mamma, ma.”    We call fathers “dad, daddy, dadda, pappa, pop…”   Technically, these are called diminutives. That’s an unfortunate word.  Because when we give someone a personalized name, it means that we have a special, personal, intimate relationship with that person.   After all, it would be weird if a total stranger came up to a woman and started calling her “Mommy.”  Wouldn’t it?

Can we have this kind of familiar, casual relationship with God?  Of course!!  In fact, the Bible shows us we can.  The Aramaic work abba is the equivalent to something like “Daddy.”   Jesus used this word when praying in the garden.  (Mark 14:36)

For Parents:

• Ask your child if they have any nicknames for their friends, or talk about any “family” names that your family might have.  Are there stories behind them?
• Read Romans 8 and Galatians 4 together.  Can you find where “Abba” is used, and why.  What does it say to you?
• Pray together, trying to be more personal and less formal in our conversations with our heavenly “Daddy.”

KidzPort January 31 – Cloudy With a Chance of Pancakes

February 1, 2010

Since the pancakes were such a big hit last week, we decided to do it again.  So while we sat around the kitchen flippin’ flapjacks, we also talked about this past Friday’s Family Movie Night.

It was the first time we’d gotten the parents and kids together for an event like that, and it was a big success.  A lot of people showed up, and they enjoyed our feature, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

So we talked about some of the characters in the movie, and what they are saying to us.  I just simply asked questions, and let the kids come up with their own observations, most of which were right on the money.   Some of the things they noticed:

Sam’s focus in the beginning of the movie was on her looks, to the point she wasn’t even able to see clearly because she didn’t want to wear her glasses.  Flint convinces here that she should just be herself, and that (to him) she is more beautiful that way.

There is a big difference between Earle the cop and Tim, Flint’s father.  Earle is constantly telling his son that he loves him, and providing all kinds of positive input.  There is no doubt in Cal’s mind that his Dad loves him.  Tim, on the other hand, has a hard time communicating with Flint.  It’s like they don’t speak the same language.  But at the end, we find out that Tim is just as proud a father as Earle is.

Manny the camera man had everyone fooled.  At first, people were willing to dismiss him as unimportant.  Turns out that Manny was more than he seemed – a doctor,  a pilot and even a comedian.

The whole thing happened because people got greedy.  They weren’t content where they were, and wanted more, to the point they were willing to sacrifice common sense.  Never a good thing.

For Parents:

• Talk to your kids about the movie. (If you haven’t seen it, maybe rent it and watch it together.) What kinds of good and bad role models are there?
• What does God tell us about being ourselves?  Does He want us to pretend to be someone else?  Can we even try to be someone else in front of God?
• Does your child identify any of the people in the movie with people in real life?  If so, talk about that (without being critical).