Prayer Jar
There have been some articles, and replies to articles, circulating lately about "millennials" leaving the church in record numbers. Here's my short (and of course entirely unbiased) synopsis: People my age and younger are somehow missing the heart of their parents' "religion" and would rather disconnect from The Church entirely than engage in something that's either unfulfilling, or worse, fake. And who can blame them? Honestly, who has time to go sit in a church talking about a God who doesn't totally, radically change your life? What's the point?
Here's my point: if we parents want our children to believe what we believe, they have to see that it makes a difference at the ground level, where the rubber meets the road. They have to see that our daily lives are intimately changed because of a man who died on a cross and tells us he did it to save us because of Love.
I think about that a lot, and seek to weave Jesus into my own life so thoroughly that my children can't help but bump into His love.
This prayer jar is a way to remind us to pray as a family, and to spread my children's awareness out to those around them as well. We don't pull it out every meal, but we try. It's not my own idea. There are a billion (yes, I checked) different ways to do this on Pinterest if you're inclined toward modge podge and craft paint (which sometimes I am, so I'm totally not judging), but this I wanted to be simple, clean, and something my husband wouldn't grimace at.
Easy directions:
1) get jar.
2) get popsicle sticks or cut strips of paper.
3) drop sticks or paper in jar.
4) Congratulate yourself: you just made a prayer jar.
Bonus step: keep blank sticks and pen on a counter or other high traffic area. Write prayers on whenever you think of something.
Not that you need directions, but we just pass the jar around before or after a meal and everyone pulls out two sticks. Then we take turns praying. The jar stays on the dining table, and I help my family stay centered on Jesus.
Here's my point: if we parents want our children to believe what we believe, they have to see that it makes a difference at the ground level, where the rubber meets the road. They have to see that our daily lives are intimately changed because of a man who died on a cross and tells us he did it to save us because of Love.
I think about that a lot, and seek to weave Jesus into my own life so thoroughly that my children can't help but bump into His love.
This prayer jar is a way to remind us to pray as a family, and to spread my children's awareness out to those around them as well. We don't pull it out every meal, but we try. It's not my own idea. There are a billion (yes, I checked) different ways to do this on Pinterest if you're inclined toward modge podge and craft paint (which sometimes I am, so I'm totally not judging), but this I wanted to be simple, clean, and something my husband wouldn't grimace at.
Easy directions:
1) get jar.
2) get popsicle sticks or cut strips of paper.
3) drop sticks or paper in jar.
4) Congratulate yourself: you just made a prayer jar.
Bonus step: keep blank sticks and pen on a counter or other high traffic area. Write prayers on whenever you think of something.
Not that you need directions, but we just pass the jar around before or after a meal and everyone pulls out two sticks. Then we take turns praying. The jar stays on the dining table, and I help my family stay centered on Jesus.
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