The Family Table

Dear LEFC Families,

It’s been a full spring of ministry here at LEFC, and we’re just getting ramped up for a fun-filled summer! When planning your summer fun, be sure to include our LEFC fellowship opportunities on your calendar!

Family Bible Week Registration is Open!

Family Bible Week registration is now open! Take a moment to register your child in advance to help our teachers plan well for their classes. Don’t forget to invite friends to come along, too!

Family Bible Week Volunteers

The sign up for Family Bible Week volunteers can be found in the church foyer. Check it out to see how you might be able to fill a need. Take a flyer to hand out or hang up in the community as well!

Touch a Truck at the Good News Cruise

The Good News Cruise will be held on August 16th, and we’ll once again be incorporating Touch a Truck for the kids. Plan to join us for the fun!

Save the Date Reminder for Fall Retreat

The date for this year’s fall retreat has been set! Save the date for September 19-21 to join us back at Seven Mountains Scout Camp for a weekend of fun and fellowship for the whole family. Last year was loads of fun, and you won’t want to miss it this year!

“Saul Rescued Israel” Kids Bible Class Devotional

You have free access to a family devotional based on the curriculum our kids are studying each week in KBC! It’s called “The Gospel Project at Home.” Today’s Bible Study is “Saul Rescued Israel” (Volume 4: Unit 10: Session 2), and the devotional can be found at this link.

Visit the Family Ministries page on our website for information about how to access The Gospel Project at Home for the first time.

And for Dessert…

Our recommendation for family discipleship this week is book for parents brimming with wisdom for raising kids by faith, not by formula.

On the first page of Child Proof, family-counseling expert Julie Lowe writes:

“At a meeting with my editor, I was holding a mug of coffee (essential to daily life) that read, ‘I childproofed the house, but they keep getting in.’

We laughed about that—she has four children and I have six—but our laughter was rueful. Because the truth is that we do want to childproof our homes. Not to keep our children out, but to make sure that once and for all they remain safe.

It’s what all parents want, right? Safety and a guaranteed good outcome. We want that so much that we are easily persuaded to reach for a parenting formula or recipe—Do this! Don’t do that!—that promises to ‘childproof’ our homes. But parenting formulas not only don’t deliver the promised outcome (safe, happy, never-in-trouble kids), they keep us from parenting by faith. So we miss out on a rich life of trusting God to guide us in knowing and loving our children and guiding them toward love for God and others in ways that are specific to their unique gifts and needs.”

What follows is 163 pages of pure gold for parents who believe that, in the Scriptures, God offers something better (though often harder) than an one-size-fits-all formula.

I (Pastor Matt) think that Child Proof would make great summer reading for any Christian parent in our church family. It’s very accessible with short, readable chapters. The first 6 chapters lay a wise foundation, and then the last 9 chapters build out practical application with titles like these:

– Parenting a Difficult Child
– Parenting an Anxious Child
– Parenting a Child with Disabilities
– When Your Child Says, “I Don’t Know”
– When Your Child Says, “I Am Bored”
– When Your Child Isn’t Thankful
– The Importance of Role Playing and Practice
– Technology and Your Child
– When Your Child Breaks Your Heart

I wish that I had this book when our kids were younger, and I hope that many of the families in our church take advantage of it now.

For More:

Sample: Read the introduction, table of contents, and first chapter online.
Watch: Julie Lowe was interviewed on Focus on the Family: “Parenting by Faith Not By Formula.”
Access: We have recommended Julie Lowe’s teaching before: Prepare Your Kids to Disobey.
Borrow: I have a copy of Child Proof in my library I would love to loan to you.

We hope our families eat it right up!

Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor