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The Early Childhood Encourager
Northwest District LCMS - Education Services
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November 24, 2009
Devotional Ideas and Resources |
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We wish you a Blessed Advent and hope you have a wonderful time as you share the story of Jesus' birth with the children and their families!
Devotional Ideas
As Lutheran Educators we spend lots of time making sure that the children have opportunities to grow in their Christian faith. It is also important to nurture the staff involved in our ministry.
Many early childhood centers begin their day with staff devotions or prayer time. This is a wonderful way to begin! Sometimes the early childhood staff is joined by others on the congregation ministry team such as the pastor or DCE.
In other centers this is difficult to do because staff members have different schedules and there is not a time that all can gather together. If that is the case some possibilities are having a Thought for the Day Board that has a Bible Verse and Prayer or having devotional materials in the staff room that can be read on individual breaks. If your staff communicates by e-mail a daily or weekly Bible verse and prayer could be shared that way.
In addition to daily opportunities, staff meetings offer a wonderful opportunity for a devotional and prayer time. The resource Milk and Cookies for the Soul has often been used in this way.
Many blessings on your worship times,
Martha and Karen
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For Personal or Group Devotions |
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http://kim.marxhausen.net/blog/ Kim Marxhausen is a former Lutheran kindergarten teacher who is now studying for a doctoral degree. She was our presenter for our Early Childhood Seminar in Seaside this fall. Kim has many devotional writings on her blog. She hasn't put up much new recently, but you can look at past devotions, archived by date.
www.imallshookup.com This is the website of a Lutheran Educator who has Parkinson's Disease and found dealing with this disease has led her to deepen her spiritual life. She writes devotions, lyrics for worship songs, and greeting cards. There are many devotions archived on the site.
Milk and Cookies for the Soul This resource is spiritual food for the Early Childhood Educator. It contains meditations that speak to common experiences typical to young children. Each section reflects a Christian philosophy of life values based on Lutheran beliefs. A journal is included for personal reflection. It can be used individually or as a group. This resource is a downloadable Adobe PDF format available from the DCS Store on www.lcms.org. The cost is $8.50
Quiet Times With Jesus by Jacqueline L Loontjer, published by Concordia Publishing House in 2001, is currently out of print. It is a devotion book especially for teachers. You can find very reasonably priced used copies online. Just google the title and author.
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| SAVE THE DATE: Early Childhood Director's Conference- April 9th and 10th, 2010, at the Clarion Hotel near the Portland Airport (same location as last year).
Mark your calendars for now. More details will be coming. |
