FEBRUARY: GOD CALLED A FAMILY TO BE A BLESSING

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Concept:  
 This is the ancestral story of the people of God. It’s the story of a family who heard the call of God to be a blessing to the world. The people in these stories missed the mark a lot. They often fought with each other, tried to shape the future the way they wanted it to be, and did things that hurt others instead of being a blessing to others. But God stuck with them and kept reminding them of who they were and of who God was.    Photo by Jan Canty on Unsplash​
Read It: Genesis 12:1-2 (The Peace Table pg 26-27, Shine On pg 25)
   Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
​Pray It:    God, you call us to be a blessing. Like our spiritual ancestors, we often miss the mark and forget how to be a blessing. Thank you for always sticking with us and loving us. Amen.
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Do It:   
  • Read more of the ancestral story. Read The Peace Table pages 26-46 or Shine On pages 25-39 over the course of the month - you’ll get the full family saga!
  • Artistic representation: Using whatever medium you like - playdough or clay, drawing, pipe cleaners, pegs, natural things like sticks and bark… - create the generations of the family. 
  • Tell your family stories: This is the ancestral story of the Jewish people - and as Christians, we are adopted into this ancestral story. What are your family’s ancestral stories? As a household, tell the stories of who in your family first left their home and came to a new place, or your grandparents’ migrant journey, or how your parents met and decided to have a family together. These stories don’t have to be perfect to be effective - in fact, a family story that includes some messiness builds resilience (see Mark Yaconelli’s excellent book, Between the Listening and the Telling).
  • Family Tree: Make a family tree of Abraham/Sarah/Hagar’s family (make sure you include everyone…including characters like Bilhah and Zilpah). If you look up “Abraham family tree,” you’ll find lots of information. I don’t love the way most are drawn (pretty blatantly patriarchal), so maybe you can find a new way to draw them (share it with us if you do, we’d love to see it!). 
  • Make your own family tree. This family tree and the one of the biblical ancestral story can serve as prompts for telling stories.
  • Be a Blessing: God called this family to be a blessing, and God calls your household to be a blessing, too. How might you be that blessing to others? Invite someone over, or shovel snow in a neighbor’s driveway, or go visit someone who is sick or housebound, or draw pictures and make cards and send them to someone…the possibilities are endless.
Recite the Story: Keep building your monthly simple recitation of the story
  • God created, and it was good.
  • ​​God called a family to be a blessing to all the earth.
*You may want to make up motions to do with this recitation of the story - or make up a simple tune for it so you can sing it.                             ​ ​Photo by Vivian Arcidiacono on Unsplash
Explore It: Notes from Tami
  • A common bedtime request when my children were young was, “Tell me a story about when you were a little girl.” It was surprising how many little snippets of my past came to mind through daily routines and happenings. Sometimes, I substituted stories about myself with stories about my husband, siblings, parents, or other ancestors.  And sometimes, I wondered if their interest and questions for further details were a delay tactic to put off going to sleep. But, as I look back, I realize how valuable those little stories (sometimes embellished a bit!) were for helping my children learn their family story, their family history. 




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