Contemplation

We can tell our kids these stories, we can teach them who God is and who God says they are. We can answer their questions and we can gleefully push them toward wonder with our “i don’t knows”. But, those things are only as valuable as our kids’ ability to engage with those moments. To let the knowledge sink from their head to their heart. To create space for a relationship with a living God who we tell them is very near indeed. 

One of the best ways to accomplish all of this is to give our kids the Biblical tools of silence, solitude and stillness. They need this now more than ever in the fast-paced world we live in. To that end, we’re building in spiritually mindful practices like gratitude, lament, confession and reflection as well as more formalized contemplative practices like Lectio Divina (meditating on scripture) and Examen (prayerful review of the day).

The hope is that these “Mindful Moments” in The Book of Belonging will carve out some space for kids to get quiet and listen to God.