Faith and Trust

I am really happy with the way our first project for the Year of Faith came out!

I've been thinking about what to do next.  Ideally, I'd like to do one small(ish) project a month, with a larger, less intensive project that would stretch over the year. (More on that soon!)

For October, we focused on what we believe, as articulated by the Nicene Creed.  This month, I thought it would be good to look at another meaning of Faith: not faith about what, but faith in whom. 

So, Faith as trust in Jesus.  Which brings me back to my continual question as a parent: how do I help my kids build and nurture their relationship with God.  It's tricky.  God actually does all the heavy lifting, of course, but how can I help?  Because, really, it all comes down to this, doesn't it?


One thing I've seen is that kids are very concrete in their relationship with God, and it really helps them to have an image to help them focus their imagination on Jesus when they pray.

 Fessing up here, it really helps me too!  I have this picture in my kitchen, hung at eye level, and about life sized, and it really helps me to remember that Jesus is with me.

But that's the image that helps me.  I have known several people who couldn't stand this image!

So I've been having the kids look at lots and lots of images, and picking one that speaks to them.  We've used Google images' search for Jesus (which does include some non-Christian images), a Pinterest page on Jesus (which was very good, if heavy on the smiles), and a Spanish page on Jesus (fairly diverse styles).  I'll print out each kid's favorite, and put it up near their bed.