The Family Table

Family Bible Week 2026: THIS WEEK!

Family Bible week has officially kicked off! If you were unable to join us for our kickoff today, join us Monday through Thursday at 6:15 for Bible teaching, singing, fun and fellowship. Dinner is provided beforehand beginning at 5:30. Classes are available for ages 3 through adult. We’ll be shining a light on who Jesus really is at our Illumination Station! Come on out!

Summer Books for the Mama Theologian

Tiny Theologians recently published a blog post for Mamas as we jump into summer. In it, the writer acknowledges the different routine that summer can bring. This can serve as a blessing with slower days and less rigidity, but also as a hindrance due to a lack of structure and a home that isn’t quite as quiet with kids who are now home from school. The writer then suggests seven theological books for Mamas to engage with scripture. All of them come from trusted authors like Ruth Chou Simons, Jen Wilkin, and Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler and would make great additions to your summer bookshelf. Check out the post and see what might intrigue you!

Child Protection Policy Rollout

Our new Child Protection Policy rolled out this past week. As part of the rollout, we are now implementing several new measures to more effectively protect kids on our campus. If you were in church today or last week, you noticed several of these, such as our new check in and check out procedures. If you have been unable to attend, be on the lookout for these changes throughout Family Bible Week and beyond. Please see Jordyn Skacel if you have questions and/or concerns relating to our new policies and procedures.
God’s Story: A Summer in the Gospel Together

In this week’s Friday Family Email, Child Discipleship shared a fantastic resource for families to use over the summer. God’s Story: A Summer in the Gospel Together contains family worship guides, activities, and more to keep your family on track this summer. I love that this is intended to be done together as a family, helping parents to engage with their children well. Check it out here!

This Week’s Challenge: Family Bible Week

We’re sure you’ve heard that this week is Family Bible Week! We’ll gather Monday through Thursday for singing, learning, and fun. This week’s challenge is to attend FBW as a family each night, coming out at 5:30 for dinner and wrapping up just before 8:00. Even better would be to bring your friends! Kids and adults alike, be sure to invite others to join you! We’re thrilled to have our own LEFC church family together, but FBW is a great time to invite those who might not have a church home. With classes for ages 3-adult, there is something for everyone!

“Jesus the Healer” 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 “Jesus Rejected in Nazareth” (Volume 8: Unit 22: 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…

This week’s dessert recommendation is a whole collection of resources by one ministry: Whole Heart Ministries. Created by Clay and Sally Clarkson, Whole Heart Ministries’ mission is “to encourage, equip, and enable Christian parents to raise wholehearted children for Christ.” Previously serving as missionaries, Clay and Sally have now developed this ministry into a wealth of resources, both in print and online (and occasionally in person, too), and I (Jordyn) have greatly benefitted from their content in my own parenting.

I am most familiar with Whole Heart Ministries through the work of Sally, who maintains an Instagram presence (sally.clarkson) full of encouragement, a podcast, (Life with Sally), during which she shares much wisdom, scripture, and practical how-to’s in parenting, and her slew of books, primarily for moms. I appreciate that Sally speaks from a gentle, kind, scripture-saturated stance and that she maintains a rooted, Biblically focused perspective as opposed to getting caught up in the shifting twists and turns of culture, current events, and “hot button” issues. Her material is a breath of fresh air away from the noise of the world, focusing readers and listeners back to the Word and their goals of Godly parenting.

Clay and Sally have authored numerous books that serve to equip parents in their homes. Titles such as The Lifegiving Parent: Giving Your Child a Life Worth Living for Christ, Heartfelt Discipline, and Educating the Whole Hearted Child (a resource for homeschooling families) are incredibly valuable reads for parents who have a vision of discipling their kids well in the home. Sally’s Seasons of a Mother’s Heart, The Mission of Motherhood, and The Ministry of Motherhood are tremendously helpful, encouraging, and soul-nourishing in the quest of shepherding the little hearts in our homes as mothers. I’m not sure that there is any other author (outside of the Bible of course!) that I would recommend for moms more than Sally. You don’t want to miss out on her wise counsel.

Something that strikes me about the Clarksons is that all four of their now grown children are Christ-followers, and are boldly living out their faith through various pursuits, such as authoring books of their own, sometimes co-authoring alongside their parents. What a legacy of the fruit of their labor! That’s the same kind of legacy I dream of for my own family.

This is a recommendation I’ve been wanting to make for quite some time because it’s truly that good. I greatly encourage you to check out what Clay and Sally have to offer on your path of Godly parenthood.

Jordyn Skacel, Director of Family Ministry
Matt Mitchell, Pastor