Passport 2 Purity

Every so often I get to spend a weekend at home with the kids - without my wife.

As I sit here on the couch I will tell you that today is one such weekend.

Jodi and Talyer left on a weekend away. Their purpose for going was to go through a pre-teen development program called Passport 2 Purity. The idea is that the daughters get to take off for a weekend with their mom and the boys with their dad when the kids are ready for a purity talk.

Jodi gets first crack at the program. I will take Garrett this summer. Then Kendra in a couple of years.

Jodi took the hour drive to Red Deer, got a hotel with a Jacuzzi in it and the girls did girls stuff all weekend. In between the giggling and doing hair, they will go through this really cool program.

Now, when Garrett and I go through this program we will not be staying in a hotel. We are going to be camping and fishing. I guess whatever a parent does, the purpose is the same. To instill values that are important for the development of their kids.

As parents we spend this special time with our kids for two reasons.

• First, our kids need to be taught and shown that they are special and that God has a special plan for them. When we do things God's way we find that fulfillment in life that will not happen when we do things our own way.
• Second, we want to share our experiences with other parents in our congregation so that they can be encouraged to do the same when the time arrives.

Parents are the # 1 Spiritual influence a child can have. But I am finding that while parents want to help mould their kids spiritually, the often do not know how. For this reason Jodi and I are willing to let others learn from our mistakes and our successes.

Jodi and Tayler will be home soon. The three of us will be going out for supper and at this point we will present my daughter with a purity ring.

I cannot believe how quickly they grow up. I cannot believe that God has entrusted us with raising these kids. I cannot believe what a privilege it is to be given this responsibility.

A Sign

It has been a week and a bit since I brought up the idea of going on a family missions trip. My thinking is that I want the kids to be prompted by the Holy Spirit instead of this being "Mom and Dad's" idea.

Today, as we were having lunch, my oldest daughter said out of the blue, "so when we go on our missions trip we will get to learn some pretty cool stuff right?"

I guess that might be a sign to me - the Holy Spirit is still moving in my kids. I believe that this idea of heading somewhere to serve as a family has to a family decision.

It was encouraging to hear my kids getting excited about a potentially really cool opportunity.

I will keep you all informed as soon as more develops.

Opportunity to Serve - Lesson learned

As in my past posts, you know that Jodi and I are looking for opportunities for families to serve God together. We revisited one that had eluded us for the past 3 years. We went to the Seniors Lodge.

Once every 7 weeks our church, McDougal Chapel, brings the service to the Extended Care as well as the Lodge in Sundre. The tradition is that you sing some hymns, give a short message and then go home.

Yesterday I brought my kids!

When we mentioned the idea I could tell they were not too excited. In fact, if I am totally honest, we bribed them. We said that we would go to Subway after if they came along.

My oldest daughter could not go because she had too much homework. However my son and youngest daughter could not come up with an excuse good enough to stay home. So, in a way, they were forced to come with Jodi and I.

On the way to town I could tell my daughter was abit scared. I reminded her of how she wants to be a missionary and that this is practice. I could see that click with her and her body language became more positive.

The first stop was the extended care. This was at the hospital and the patients there were not capable of taking care of themselves.

Garrett and Kendra just went to a corner and watched as the adults assisted the patients in finding their pages in the hymn books. When the service was done I got the shock of my life. My kids tried their best to go around and shake hands. This is not an easy task when the person you are shaking hands with is sleeping or not responding.

As we drove over to the Lodge for the second service the kids were getting abit excited. I think it was because at the Lodge, the residents there can (for the most part) take care of themselves.

The service at the Lodge was average. Then I saw what really blessed my heart. My kids started interacting with everyone. Garrett ended up working on a puzzle with a lady he did not know and Kendra enjoyed being shown around the building by another kind lady. Kendra even got to take the elevator to the sun room and then play shuffleboard.

We got in the care after and both kids said without hesitation that they would love to do that again.

Want to serve in your community. Want to teach yourkids that it is not just about them and their needs.

Go to the Lodge. You might be suprised.

The Plan!

Ok - the Janz family has a plan. A plan that will not only strengthen the faith we have in Christ but will also draw us closer to each other.

Let me backtrack abit here...

In mid-December, as we were sitting down at dinner I proposed an idea to my family.

"Would you be interested in going on a family missions trip in a year?" I asked.

The response was silence. After what seemed like a the longest ever quiet time at our table the questions started to come.

"What would we do on a missions trip?"

"Where would be go?"

"How would we afford this trip?" - (that was my wife)

"Can we go to Disney World too?"

I proceed to explain to the family about the research that I had already completed. Here is some of what I had found out.

Did you know that most mission organizations do not have opportunities for entire families? The reason is because they do not want to have to "babysit" more kids.

I guess that makes sense.

Also, from watching short term mission teams come and go, I have also noticed that most teams go to build something. I honestly cannot see my 9 year old helping mix cement. At least not in a productive manner.

Then I thought about going to help in an orphanage. I found a really cool orphanage in Haiti with a good short term missions program. I contacted them and found out that Haiti was an unsafe country for kids.

As my internet surfing became more frustrating than productive, I stumbled upon an organization (another orphanage) that could use a family like ours. It was in the Dominican Republic.

As of today, our kids have committed to praying for this opportunity. It is not certain as of yet but we do want to know soon.

Our plan right now is to find a place to serve. Where that is I do not yet know. It might be right here in Canada.

As of today, we are still praying about what God wants us to do. The kids were excited about heading to the Dominican to serve but we will only go if God wants us to.

When God lets us know, I will let all the readers of this blog know too. Then you can follow our journey as we move forward with Operation Family.

Operation Family - Serving God Together

I am sure that there are families all over Canada and the world that may feel like they are not serving the Lord like they should.

I am not saying that they are in trouble or hate each other. I have just noticed that families are looking for more opportunities to connect with not only themselves, but also with the Lord.

Here is the challenge - families are too busy.

On Christmas Eve during our Candle Lighting Service I was chatting with a family that only attends occasionally. Their kids are in sports and clubs. Parents are both very busy. Your typical North American Family.

The mother said to me, "We need to come to church more often. We just love it. But we are too busy."

Here is what I know:

• you are in control of your time
• you can set your priorities
  
• you only get one chance to raise your kids in the Lord

Did you know that the #1 Spiritual influence for your kids is not the church or pastor - it is the parents.

Now our family is close. We love to play together. We love to vacation together. We just love each other. (See pics below)


Yet, even though things seem to be going well with our family, I just keep thinking, we only get one chance to raise our kids.

The key to a family that honors the Lord is not one that just gets along. We have already accomplished that.

The key is that we need to be serving Him together!

This blog is our journey of serving the Lord together. I am not sure how that will look (I do have some ideas) but we will document it here.

Remember: We only get one chance to raise our kids.