Hi, Friends!
I pray you feel connected to your church and loved on this Friday! Mary and I continue to think about you and our FBCP family everyday, and we are here to talk and pray with you anytime you need it. We know that summer is here, it's hot, and most of the typical kid-friendly options are not available. We have some plans in the works that we will share next week regarding some kid "camp" options in July. Stay tuned!
I know many of you have been asking good questions and doing some reading and processing about racial justice. If you are interested in being part of a group to do some learning with other folks, click the button below and we will keep you updated on opportunities to engage with each other. You could also check out this page to get a free ebook from a large list of titles—but the offer ends today!
Weekday Wonders
Today's Weekday Wonders are a little different. Because this Sunday's liturgy is going to focus on joy and gratitude, today we want to share some related resources.
Dan's Gratitude Exercise
Our own Dan Linscott shared a really helpful and practical exercise on gratitude and a little background on why gratitude has been proven to be such a healthy practice for us. If you missed that daily encouragement (or even if you heard it!), then check it out and try it this week!
Some More Gratitude Practices For Kids
This article has some more practical tips for cultivating gratitude in families. Some of them don't take long at all; others could become a regular habit at the dinner table.
Space for Songs and Silliness
It's been a long and tough season—no doubt about it. But joy is something God invites us into even in the midst of suffering. Simple things like singing, dancing, or allowing ourselves to be silly can help foster joy and connection. Get creative, even if it's just a five minute dance party break for the house or making up silly lyrics to a song the family loves. If you want more help, then this ridiculous blog post has tons of ideas. We'd love to know how you are finding moments of joy with your families!
An Opportunity to Spread Joy (and stop by FBCP!)
Here's an opportunity we have to partner with The Giving Spirit! We have a yellow box set up right outside of First Baptist Church Pasadena for you to drop off a card. Read on for the details!
In the coming weeks, The Giving Spirit is committed to serving 10,000 homeless lives by building and delivering new Health and Safety Kits to help protect 10,000 of our most vulnerable neighbors during this dangerous time. And just as with their traditional Survival Kits, each Health and Safety Kit will include a homemade “Friendship Card” – it’s often the first item that the recipients pull from the bag because it tells them just how much we care and gives them hope that they are not forgotten! This is where you come in. We would love your compassion and creativity to help create these cards and make sure they get to those in need. It’s totally safe and easier than you might think. Here's a video and here are some written instructions.
Sunday Specials
Sunday Video
In addition to our regular video (which featured our very own Engry!), last week we had fun sending some individual videos to our kids, too! This Sunday Pastor Mary and I will be hosting some guests on our church video, and we are going to be focusing on—yep—joy and gratitude!
Youth Hangout!
We are on for our regular noon call this Sunday, and here is the meeting link that you can use each week to hop on the hangout. This week we are also going to send food (because food brings us so much joy!), so you can respond with the button below to place your youth’s order. We love our youth!
Sending you so much love and virtual hugs!
With gratitude for you,
Pastor Lindsay & Pastor Mary