God Discovered

The Jesus MeetUp                     Grandparent’s Day: Celebration of Parental Power             Week #38

 

[As this is a celebration, prepare the meeting place with happy music, lights full up, the “Happy Grandparent’s Day” banner prepared by the JMU Kids in advance, snacks and beverages perhaps. You may consider having the JMU Teen/Adult Leaders to have created a cake with the children for this special occasion.]

 

Leader: Welcome to each and every one here!

Shall we introduce our beloved visiting grandparents? Who do we have with us?

[Introduce each person by name and give a moment to cherish them.]

Leader:  Everyone, be thinking about a good story you can tell later about something wonderful a parent or grandparent has done in your life.

 

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Let’s begin our lesson.

There are all different kinds of parents. Some good. Some not so great. But, our Paradise Father is nothing but LOVE! He sees us as we may someday be – more and more like Him. After all, our Thought Adjusters actually live within our own souls and minds. He knows us through and through. He is our goal as many of us seek to be better parents. His love in our lives is powerful, to say the least. And, our human parents have a lot of power in our lives as well. If any of us want to become better parents, or are thinking about becoming a parent one day there can be no better role model than Jesus Himself, the material/physical expression of God Himself for us..

2:5.10 But the love of God is an intelligent and farseeing parental affection. The divine love functions in unified association with divine wisdom and all other infinite characteristics of the perfect nature of the Universal Father. God is love, but love is not God. The greatest manifestation of the divine love for mortal beings is observed in the bestowal of the Thought Adjusters, but your greatest revelation of the Father's love is seen in the bestowal life of his Son Michael as he lived on earth the ideal spiritual life. It is the indwelling Adjuster who individualizes the love of God to each human soul.

 

Putting ourselves second.

2:6.4 Selflessness is inherent in parental love.

Our Paradise Father loves us through and through - to the marrow of our bones - He loves us.  there is nothing about you or your child/children He does not see.  So, do not hide from Him. Hopefully, our children will feel for you this same way.  Hopefully, they will feel safe and secure in your selfless love to hold nothing back and confide in you everything that they are learning or struggling with in their lives.  We are the way our children learn about the love of their Paradise Father.  No pressure! LOL  However, this is very true! 

 

149:6.6 "When children are young and unthinking, they must necessarily be admonished to honor their parents; but when they grow older and become somewhat more appreciative of the benefits of the parental ministry and protection, they are led up, through understanding respect and increasing affection, to that level of experience where they actually love their parents for what they are more than for what they have done. The father naturally loves his child, but the child must develop his love for the father from the fear of what the father can do, through awe, dread, dependence, and reverence, to the appreciative and affectionate regard of love.

This should be our goal.  We should want our child/children to eventually love us, sincerely have affection for us because they are certain of our sincere love and devotion to them as their parent.

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A word from the wise.

Our main purpose and objective, as stated many times, is to reveal the Father through the Life and Teachings of our Lord Jesus. His mission here was fraught with difficulty and full of many tragic circumstances. Jesus lost His father, Joseph, to an accident – which was the supreme tragedy of His young life, affecting His entire Earth life. He did however, persevere in the face of this tragedy – which came to color His life because it occurred at such a young age. The children affected in this tragedy (Jesus' younger brothers and sisters) were also forever affected by the loss of their father.

 

There are many lessons on the positive effects of adversity, and yet it is grievous to see when tragedies occur in our lives. But yes, the young will grow and time will pass. The seasons will change, and change back again. There will be time for grieving, yes, but know there will be time for rejoicing anew – in life and in living.

 

In these life-tragedies, know there will be time for the recounting of your lives; of the growth of the children, and of the many wonderful things that will happen to them in the future. Parents and grandparents will see them grown and rejoice in this. There will be much happiness and laughter, all together in this future time. When you are troubled, think of this picture you have of this future rejoicing, this recounting, this happiness in reunion – and fear not the troubles of today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Power of Parenting

Parental power is not cynical. It looks for the best and builds UP.

140:5.12 "Happy are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." Spiritual purity is not a negative quality, except that it does lack suspicion and revenge. In discussing purity, Jesus did not intend to deal exclusively with human sex attitudes. He referred more to that faith which man should have in his fellow man; that faith which a parent has in his child, and which enables him to love his fellows even as a father would love them. A father's love need not pamper, and it does not condone evil, but it is always anti-cynical. Fatherly love has singleness of purpose, and it always looks for the best in man; that is the attitude of a true parent. ~ Jesus

A cynical parent will produce a fearful child. When a parent loves their child they look beyond the surface observances to what is happening within the child’s heart and mind.  Children are not all alike! This is real parental love. We should not assume but investigate the inner workings of our child. These formative years for a child are demonstratively tectonic plate-shifting!!! Always remember parents, you are raising new and emerging cosmic citizens in our Father’s house who will one day be your very own contemporaries over a long, long period of time as we are all on the journey to our Father in Paradise. Your mission is vital!

 

Good parental power is active and dynamic mercy! 

Mercy: noun: compassionate treatment of those in distress.

 

140:5.17 "Happy are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Mercy here denotes the height and depth and breadth of the truest friendship — loving-kindness. Mercy sometimes may be passive, but here it is active and dynamic — supreme fatherliness. A loving parent experiences little difficulty in forgiving his child, even many times. And in an unspoiled child the urge to relieve suffering is natural. Children are normally kind and sympathetic when old enough to appreciate actual conditions. ~ Jesus 

At one time you, yourself, were a child attempting to figure things out in your life attempting to grow. You, yourself, were young, immature, untaught, erring and yet trying to do what seemed right to you. You needed a loving parent who would help you, with mercy, to understand your life better so that you could make those higher choices that would bring joy, peace and success to your daily living. BE that parent to your child.

 

Good parents allow their children to work out their own problems.

141:3.3 Andrew was much occupied with the task of adjusting the constantly recurring misunderstandings and disagreements between the disciples of John and the newer disciples of Jesus. Serious situations would arise every few days, but Andrew, with the assistance of his apostolic associates, managed to induce the contending parties to come to some sort of agreement, at least temporarily. Jesus refused to participate in any of these conferences; neither would he give any advice about the proper adjustment of these difficulties. He never once offered a suggestion as to how the apostles should solve these perplexing problems. When Andrew came to Jesus with these questions, he would always say: "It is not wise for the host to participate in the family troubles of his guests; a wise parent never takes sides in the petty quarrels of his own children." ~ Jesus

Petty quarrels! How wise of Jesus to resist these minor struggles between His group. The wise parent sees deeper into the child to recognize that growth occurs through difficulties and allows the child to work most things out on their own. Hopefully, the child will eventually come to their loving parent for timely council as they watch their parent react well in their own lives. Always remember: Children are watching intently what we are doing and they will emulate these things. Parental Power is just that >>> Powerful for the emerging child of God who will become an adult of God one day. Teach them well!

 

The 3 most important messages a child needs from their parent/s.

1. I am proud of you.

2. I trust you.

3. I love you.

Have you told your child or children these three things – not as concept, but as sincere truth from your heart to theirs? Recognize: Kids know the difference!

 

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Lovenotes to our Grandparents

Children or adult children may now read a Lovenote they have prepared in written form to express love and appreciation to their special parent aloud to the group.

This will be powerful for the grandparent, parent and the child as well.

 

Remembrance Supper [pdf instructions are up above]

 

Prayers of thanksgiving. [Let this be free flowing as anyone sees fit]

 

Leader: As we move over to our snack center let’s open things up for story-telling about wonderful things our

parents or grandparents have done in our lives. Let’s go party!

 

Consider the idea of a preparatory cooking session with each grandparent and family cooking their favorite dishes together to then bring to the group. Create some recipe cards of those dishes to hand out to anyone interested while giving high praise to that grandparent. Let the group know whose recipe/dish came from who and give appreciation. Also consider the teens to work with the children to decorate a “Happy Grandparent’s Day” cake. These are simply opportunities to deepen loving connections. [Connecting the children who will make these dishes with the grandparents who have the recipes will enlarge the family ties and love for our older fellows. Make this fun, caring and self respect-building for all involved!]

 

Next week we will celebrate Friendship Day! Week #39

Needed resources:

Prepared Lovenotes

Prepared recipes and their cards to hand out

Cake and/or recipe dishes

Lovesong lyric sheets

Happy Grandparent's Day banner 

 

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