Tee It Up
(This post was written by Gina McClain, Director of Children’s Ministries)
I stink at golf.
I mean, I really, really stink at golf.
Here are golf terms I relate to: Slice, bunker, rough, water hazard & Caddy Shack.
Here are golf terms I can’t relate to: birdie, green, fairway, Fore, & hole-in-one.
Did I mention how bad I am at golf?
Yet I find one part of golf irresistible. Teeing up the ball.
Setting the ball on the tee is saturated in hope. The hope that I’ll make a solid hit down the fairway toward the green… and ultimately the hole. The hope that I just might make a hole-in-one.
Sunday night I sat with my kids at the computer. We were on the website www.studio252.tv watching some videos on forgiveness. They love these cheesy, goofy, Nickelodeon-style videos that unpack scripture in a creative way. In fact, one of the videos we watched Sunday was the 2nd time they’d seen it.
I love the time that I spend with them just laughing together at the goofy antics. But while watching the videos it occurred to me that I was metaphorically teeing up the ball. By watching these videos together and briefly talking about how the action of Forgiveness works out in our lives, I am setting myself up for later conversations.
Forgiveness is a topic we will all discuss with our kids at different times. But I increase my impact in these conversations when I can point back to a shared experience.
So when my daughter came in last night upset over an exchange with the neighbor boy, I could point back to the video we learned together about Forgiveness. I could pull out an eraser, providing the visual reminder that holding a grudge is like holding a bucket full of rocks. A heavy weight that’s only reduced when we stop keeping records of the wrong things others have done.
As parents, we are more successful when we take some time to “tee up the ball”. The opportunities to hit the ball will come. No doubt. But there’s a big difference between hitting a ball directly off the ground or hitting it off the tee.
I’d rather hit if off the tee.
Here are some ways you can Tee Yourself Up each week:
- Subscribe to our weekly blog post “Parent Connections” at www.faithpromise.org. Every Friday we post a brief overview of what your child will learn in fpKIDS that weekend. We keep it short, sweet and equipping… just for you.
- Look over the Take Home doc you receive each time you pick up your child from fpKIDS. You’d be tempted to think that doc is only for your child. But reading through it better equips you with language and content that will help you to connect your child with God’s Truth.
- Check out the monthly virtue videos. For Preschool: http://www.whatisorange.org/firstlook/. For Elementary: www.whatisorange.org/252basics. Gain great insight for parents and ministry leaders to better equip us to lead this generation.
- Subscribe to the monthly ‘Cue Box’. It’s a kit full of different activities centered around the monthly virtues we teach in fpKIDS. My kids love it. It’s worth the $10/month expense.
