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Director's Note...
Dear Parents,
What is “Lent”? Lent is a season of the Church Year that lasts six weeks. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends the day before Easter Sunday. During these six weeks we look forward to Good Friday, the day our Lord died on the cross to pay for our sins, and to Easter Sunday, the day He rose from the dead to prove it! Why do we celebrate Lent for 40 days? Don’t forget what Lent is all about! It is a time when we are reminded of what Jesus gave up for us, and a time when we look forward to and prepare for His death and resurrection! We celebrate Lent for six weeks, or 40 days, as we remember Christ’s temptation in the wilderness in the Gospel of Matthew. There Jesus was without food for 40 days. We remember the temptation of the Israelites in the desert after the Lord had delivered them from Egypt. This lasted 40 years. Finally, we can remember the story of Noah and his family. After 40 days and 40 nights of rain, the Lord delivered them as He promised. During these 40 days of Lent, we remember God’s faithfulness to His people and how His faithfulness is complete in Jesus, our Savior. Jesus remains faithful to us, always being where He promises to be: in His Word and Sacraments. Wow! What a Savior! (copyright 2016 LCMS Worship "Kids in the Divine Service")
Lent is a great time to work on creating a vibrant Christian household with your family. The Barna Group in their research for "Households of Faith" says that vibrant Christian households "frequently participate in spiritual practices, spiritual conversations, and hospitality." Per Barna, spiritual practices include praying and reading the Bible together; spiritual conversations involve talking about God or faith together; hospitality consists in welcoming others into the home.
Children can also participate in spiritual disciplines that can become habits, including meditation, prayer, simplicity, solitude, focused fasting, and service to others. After sharing a Bible story, we can allow our children to meditate and focus on God’s Word, thinking about what it means to them or adding a bench to a garden so that they can see the beauty of God’s creation and spend time in awe and wonder at our amazing God who created all things and takes care of us. We can also encourage children to pray throughout the day. While discontinuing eating would not be an appropriate way to fast for children, they can still learn to replace an activity such as watching television with extra family time reading Bible stories.The spiritual discipline practice of simplicity occurs as we help our children be grateful for what we have. We can spend time each day slowing down, not overscheduling, in order to teach and model solitude to our children. We can also cultivate the habit of service by doing things for others and using what we have to serve others.
Families can also plan weekly activities during lent. One week can focus on prayer, and families can learn how to make pretzels and show how they are a visual for prayer with hands crossed on the chest. The second week can focus on the Lord's Prayer and learning the Lord's Prayer song. Another week could be a discussion on Lenten disciplines such as not eating out for the month and giving the money they would have spent to a homeless shelter or animal shelter, or going through closets and giving clothes/toys to others. Another week can focus on the new life Jesus brings by making caterpillars and butterflies. Make a cross and have the caterpillars can stay on the cross until Easter, and on Easter morning, the children can put butterflies on the cross. Another week families talk about the significance of purple and why we don't sing Allelujah during Lent. Families can tie-die handkerchiefs purple and put them on the cross. Another week families can make stained glass crosses and go on a cross hunt in their home to see how many can be found. In the final week, families can have a Seder dinner and talk about the Last Supper, wash everyone's feet, and talk about the significance of this ritual. Families are invited to Abiding Savior for worship, an Easter egg hunt, and a pancake breakfast at Easter. Much like the feasts and festivals in the Old Testament, these events help us to reflect on and remember all that God has done for us.
For more resources on creating a spiritually vibrant household see our links below in the Helpful Websites and Links for Parents section below.
Grace and Peace,
Mary Wolfinbarger
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This Week in Jesus Circle
Bible Lesson of the Week: We Pray in Jesus' Name One Man Says Thank You (Luke 17:11-19)
Bible Words: [God says,] "Call to Me and I will answer you." Jeremiah 33:3
Discovery Points
Law: Sometimes we forget to be grateful for God's blessings.
Gospel: Jesus forgives our lack of gratitude and guides us through His Word to grow in faithfulness.
Sanctification: Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can grow in recognizing and rejoicing in God's good gifts to us.
You can read this week's story in "The Story Bible" on page 377-379. Chapel this week is on Wednesday. This week in chapel Pastor will be teaching us about Ash Wednesday. The children will have an opportunity to receive the sign of the cross in ashes on their forehead, their hand or not at all. We will learn that when our hands get dirty we wash them off. During Lent we remember that Jesus died on the cross to forgive us and wash away our sins. We invite you to services at 12:30, 5:00 & 7:00 p.m. The 5:00 service will be live streamed.
Midweek Lenten Services
Please join us each Wednesday in Lent for worship at 12:30 p.m. Services are:
March 1
March 8
March 15
March 22
March 29
Dear Family: Your child learned about Jesus healing the ten men with leprosy who called out to Him for mercy. Talk about the ways God answers your prayers. It may not always be what you expect, for God answers in His own way and time. But He always acts out of love for you, because He wants what is best for you.
Have a basket to pass, and give each family member a gift-wrap bow. Say that every good thing is a gift from God. Think about something that really makes you happy, such as a friend, favorite food, or something you enjoy doing. Pass the basket to each person as all say, “Thank You, Jesus, for __________.” The person holding the basket finishes the sentence and puts the bow in the basket. At the end, say, Thank You, Jesus, for all Your blessings, especially for taking away our sin-sickness!
Our chapel offerings will go toward Hearts for Jesus - Hope and Care Outreach. Hope and Care Outreach equips local Liberia believers to be the hands and feet of Jesus. This year's Hearts for Jesus goal is to, together, send hundreds of kids to Lutheran schools throughout the nation of Liberia! $95 is the average cost to send a child to a Lutheran school for the entire year! This modest sum is the difference between a child becoming literate or not, realizing the gifts that God has given them or not, and most importantly, knowing Jesus or not. We pray that you will be blessed as you join us in lifting up these precious souls and future Christian leaders of Liberia.
South County Outreach has a growing need for soup to help feed the many people in Orange County including families and the elderly. Please bring in canned or packaged soup throughout February and March to the Narthex (on your way to service) or the church office during the week.
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From Our Handbook
Suggested Clothing
Preschool is a place for investigating and learning about many things. Many of these investigations can become quite messy and wet. Children can and probably will get messy and/or dirty at preschool. Please send your child to preschool in clothing you can easily launder. While painting, the children often get paint on their hands, arms, and any clothing not covered by our paint aprons. We appreciate you sending your child to preschool in clothing he/she can easily manage to unfasten and refasten when going to the bathroom. Suspenders, belts, "body shirts," and bib-type overalls are all adorable and look cute on your child but can cause a bathroom accident if they can't be undone quickly enough. The children will be learning to do many things for themselves. If a child cannot manage the clothing after trying, help will be provided. We encourage children to bring a jacket or sweater that can be left at preschool. We also request that a change (or changes) of clothing be left at preschool in case of an accident requiring a clothing change. Tennis shoes and socks are best for running, climbing, and playing in our playground. Open-toed sandals, dressy shoes, Crocs, and boots are not safe for climbing or comfortable for sand play and are, therefore, not allowed at school. The preschool has a minimal amount of extra clothing on hand. It is important to label coats, jackets, lunch boxes, and all possessions brought to preschool with your child's name. If your child is potty-training, several changes of underwear, bottoms, socks, and even an extra pair of shoes may be necessary. For children who are not potty trained, the parent's responsibility is to keep pull-ups/diapers and wipes at school. Our playground equipment is not intended to be used while wearing necklaces or sweatshirts with laces. Our preference would be that these not be worn to school. If a child does wear them to school, they may be asked to put them in their cubby during outside play.
2022-2023 Parent Handbook
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Extra Curricular Activities
We offer several enrichment programs for your child. There is limited space in each class, and a minimum number of participants is required to offer the class.
- Amazing Athletes – This is a sports and fitness class offered on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 11:30-12:15.
- Showtime Dance – This is a dance program that includes Ballet, Tap, Hip Hop, and Jazz. Dance is offered Thursdays and Fridays from 11:30-12:15.
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Parenting Tip from Conscious Discipline
How do I help my child handle disappointment?
Disappointment is a difficult emotion to handle. All parents ultimately want children to be good sportsmen, take responsibility for their actions rather than blaming others, and be able to stand tall after their falls in life (both literal and metaphoric). Here are some essential guidelines to help children with this type of pain:
First, your goal must be to help them deal with the emotion, not “happy them up.” “Happying them up” comes in many forms. It could be a distraction, a promise to buy a toy or taking them out for ice cream. This attempt to take away the pain can lead (in many years) to adults who unconsciously graze through the refrigerator or use shopping sprees to deal with disappointment.
Instead, we can provide empathy to help ease their pain and teach them that they can handle all that life brings to them.
“You seem _____________.” (Put your best guess of the feeling in the blank… disappointed, frustrated, sad, etc.) If you guess their emotion correctly, their body will relax. If you guess incorrectly, they will tense up, pull away or correct you. If this happens, simply try to describe the feeling again.
“You were hoping ______________” or “You wanted____________.” Describe the disappointment or hurt.
“It’s hard when ___________________.” Validate their feelings.
“You can handle it.” Offer assurance.
“Breathe with me.” Take a deep breath together, and then physically connect in some way.
Example: A child does not make a football team.
“You seem disappointed. You were hoping to make the team with your friends. You wanted this more than anything. It’s hard when things turn out differently than you wanted. You can handle this. Let’s take some deep breaths together.” Then hug or hold your child.
I’ve posted a great video on YouTube that explains how empathy helps children take responsibility for their upset in a compassionate, healthy way. My Conscious Discipline (educators) and Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline (parents) books also provide extensive information about ways to offer and benefits of empathy.
Conscious Discipline Website
Conscious Discipline and the Bible
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In Our Prayers
Thank you for your continued prayers for the loved ones connected to our center. If there is a need in your family and you would like to add someone to the prayer list, please let me know. This week we pray for:
+ Our February birthdays including Mrs. Rivers, Mrs. Whitten, Miss Ally, LIv, Lucas, Anna, Avery, Sawyer, Fiona
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Church News
Worship This Week |
-Saturday - 5:00 PM | Informal Communion Worship
-Sunday - 8:00 AM | Classic Worship
-Sunday - 10:15 AM | Praise Worship | Worship Folder
YouTube | Connection Card | Give
We follow these COVID-19 protocols:
-Masks are recommended for all attendees.
- Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer when you enter the worship center.
- If you have any of the symptoms related to COVID-19 stay home and enjoy the service via live stream.
February Day by Day Newsletter for Abiding Savior
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Wednesday Morning Adult Bible Study We meet in the Gathering Grounds coffee shop each Wednesday from 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Please join us as we study the book of Philippians.
Volunteers Needed
Have you read the new version of Matthew 25:35? "For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink." I needed to have my taxes done, and ASLC prepared my taxes for free! While these words are not scriptural it does convey a way to help our neighbors in need. Abiding Savior provides free income tax service to the community through the VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) program, which is sanctioned by the IRS. You can be a vital part of the VITA program. Our VITA team is seeking fellow brothers and sisters to join our team, which will be a blessing to our neighbors.
Frequently a client will ask, "Why are you doing this free tax service?" This opens the door for us to be a witness of our faith, and if a client has no church home, to invite them to an ASLC service. There have been clients that have attended our services, and perhaps others who have attended via live stream.
We are not just looking for tax preparers, we also need greeter / intake volunteers. There are online training and ASLC volunteers to assist you. Prayerfully consider this opportunity to serve. Please contact Bruce Hultine at cahultine@icloud.com to volunteer. The Lord bless you.
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