Naming

I (Marri) teach my kids that identity informs action. That God is - and has always been - in the holy business of Naming.

So that’s what The Book of Belonging is going to focus on : who does God say God is...and who does that make you? 

I think with kids we often make the mistake of focusing on instruction - it just comes naturally- and we certainly SHOULD instruct- but when that’s the end of every story, they may come to the conclusion that God loves them because of what they DO, not who they are. And so they begin to modify their behavior, which has no real lasting effect or transformation.
It just becomes this mess of shame and moralism and hierarchies. 

BUT, if we can tell them who God is and who God says they are - if we can tell them over and over and over - they might just believe us. Either way, their action will always flow from their identity. 

So there will be a little section in the Introduction where kids can interact with this concept and record the different names they learn for God (Love, Justice, With Us, Healer…) and also an area to glue or draw a picture of themself and record the names they learn (Belonging, Forgiven, Pleasing, Purposed…)