How To Really Love Your Child by Ross Campbell

 

We received a copy of How To Really Love Your Child by Ross Campbell as a gift when our first baby was born.  I read it at the time and liked it, but moved on pretty quickly to the books that gave me the specific advice needed for the minutiae of the moment - sleeping, feeding, teeth, tantrums, temperatures and the like.  The principles of How to Really Love Your Child apply to infants and toddlers but it is a period that calls for specific survival techniques rather than broad brush strokes.  However as those young children emerge from their toddlerdom into that golden era called childhood, this book really comes into its own.

 

Campbell, a Christian developmental psychologist, works on the principle that we need to love our children unconditionally and that we can achieve this through...

 

Lots of eye contact - and not just when we are staring them down because we are cross, but lots and lots of warm, happy eye contact.

Lots of physical touch - and he gives a lot of time to the subject of appropriateness in this department and how appropriateness changes as a child gets older.

Lots of focussed attention - not the "I'm half listening to you and half writing my blog post" sort of attention...ahem...

Discipline comes into it too and there is a lovely chapter on this issue - that is, training a child in what is right, rather than punishing a child over what is wrong.

And then he finally gets to the "what to do when they are naughty" bit.  More than three quarters of the way through the book.  And this is the genuis of the book.  When I used to have student teachers at school and on the handful of occasions I've run a training session for Sunday School teachers, the question, "What do we do when they're naughty?" always comes up.  That's normal and expected.  And I always irritatingly answer that question by saying that most classroom discipline problems can be dealt with by good lesson preparation.  For the most part, classroom disruptions can be avoided by running good lessons. 

Now before you all head to the comment box, I know, OH HOW I KNOW that this isn't always the case.  Sometimes we have some truly challenging children in our midst who haven't had breakfast or who live on sugar, whose home life is terrible or whose routine is non-existent, who are sick or who have experienced some sort of trauma.  Or you have the children whose home life is steady but last night they had an awake-over  sleepover and today it is windy and tonight it will be a full moon and... Stuff happens.  I know.  You should have been in my first Scripture lessons last week!  There was a lot of stuff happening there...not a lot of Scripture lesson though.  But generally speaking, most classroom problems can be avoided by good planning. 

And Ross Campbell contends that most discipline issues at home can also be avoided if a child feels well loved.  They won't do all that attention seeking stuff if they know they have your attention.  He gave plenty of examples of when his kids did muck up and he was able to pin it down to the fact that, as he phrases it, their "emotional tanks" were not full.  At times he had the clarity to realise this and deal with it properly instead of heading into a session of unwarranted chastisement.  At other times he mucked up.

Campbell's approach is not permissive.  He is all for firm boundary setting, good training and high expectations.  He is all about making sure that children don't develop scarily dependent relationships with their parents (and vice versa) but grow and develop into mature, independent, capable adults. He is also up front that the he is speaking in broad terms.  Things don't run to script - he is not suggesting a formula that will work perfectly in every instance every time.  And furthermore he is not suggesting that parents don't have a right to get on with the things they need to be doing.  But he is suggesting that when kids feel loved things go better.

I was spurred on to read this book for a couple of reasons.  Firstly by a comment Cathy made about slowing down to look at her children in the eyes when they are talking to her.  It reminded me of this book with its emphasis on eye contact.  Reading it has been a good reminder to seize the moment, because these moments won't always be around. And secondly, we have been catching the odd glimpse that our firstborn might sometime in the next year or few turn into a teenager.  Which brings me to Ross Campbell's next book - How To Really Love Your Teenager.  Stay tuned.

Thank you Deb (and Karen too)

This post is to say thank you to Deb who in four short months of blogging at This Fleeting Moment, has changed my life.

Deb's blog is full of godly wisdom, insightful observations of life, fantastic cleaning and home organisation ideas, great food, amazing craft ideas for kids' groups and fun. And she likes letter writing, teaching and West Wing too.  The perfect blend of serious thought and great humour. 

And in four short months she has changed my life. 

First it was the post about shower cleaning that evoked a response from the lovely Karen about using Viva Kitchen Wipes (are you allowed to mention brand names on a blog?) to clean the shower and voilà, keeping the house clean seems a little easier.  I now grab this lot...

 

...and away I go.  Now don't get me wrong.  Our house isn't spotless.  It still has a very much lived in look and feel to it.  But with all these wipes and a good dusting cloth, those 15 minutes windows are now amazingly efficient, productive and satisfying.

And then there was the dishwasher post where I left a cheeky comment...

...and now our dishwasher sports this snazzy magnet.  Hey presto.  No more sad moments in the kitchen.

 

Thank you so much Deb and thank you Karen too.  Two blogs worth a peek for a realistic, God honouring, fun and helpful view of life.

 

a) and/or b)

I'm conscious of the fact that everytime I write a book review on this blog I say

a) I really loved this book, or

b) words to that effect.

The thing is, because

a) I am not famous, and

b) this blog isn't famous

it means that no-one sends me books to review.  And I am glad about that because if they did

a) I would have to read the books people sent me, and

b) then I would have to review them.

And if I didn't particularly

a) like them, or

b) agree with them

I would need to say so in order to

a) be honest, and

b) maintain my integrity.

So it will be that everytime I review a book I will say

a) I really loved this book, or

b) words to that effect

because I only ever read books that

a) have come highly recommended to me by people whose opinion I trust, or

b) I have stumbled upon myself and think they look good

For those moments when I read

a) novels, and

b) this goes for non fiction too

 I will only read the books

a) that have come highly recommended, or

b) that have captured my imagination within the first quarter or so of the book

because

a) reading time is precious and hard won, and

b) life is too short to read bad books.

So I am thinking that I should change the my label on such posts from

a) BOOK REVIEWS, to

b) BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

because any book mentioned on this blog will be accompanied by the words

a) I really loved this book, or

b) words to that effect

and I will be mentioning it by way of

a) warm commendation, and

b) not with a view to criticising it.

So

a) happy reading, and

b) just thought you should know.

God's Good Design by Claire Smith

I have been having an email conversation with a friend about the roles of men and women in church over the last few months.  It's been a fairly protracted discussion.  Long gaps between the emails while we ponder the questions and frame our answers. 

We all know stuff about these issues - bits of what the Bible has to say - and we know it all to be very emotive.  Especially as we approach those muddied, murky waters that are the two words "headship" and "submission."  But are we able to sufficiently push aside what our emotions are telling us for long enough to really see what the Bible is actually saying about these things?

So my friend and I were glad to discover a new book that has been published this year about this very subject - God's Good Design: What the Bible Really Says About Men and Women by Claire Smith.  I have just finished reading it and loved it.

After an opening chapter providing a brief survey of feminism, the book is divided into two sections covering the role of men and women in the church and within the home.  Claire Smith takes seven of the key Bible passages about the roles of men and women - looking at 1Timothy 2, 1Corinthians 11 and 1Corinthians 14 within the church and then Ephesians 5, 1Peter 3, Genesis 1-3 and Proverbs 31 within the home - and does a thorough study of what each of them has to say about the role of men and women. 

What did I like about this book?

Each of the passages is tackled in detail, one chapter at a time.  Claire Smith presents what she calls a plain reading of the passage - asking, "What does the Bible have to say about this?" rather than "What does my head/heart/need to have my rights met say (with bits but maybe not all of the Bible/passage informing my thoughts) about this issue ?"  (See how messy it gets - and quickly.)  There are a number of specific verses along the way in some of these passages (if not the whole passage in toto) that often stop people women in their tracks.  In tackling fairly large chunks of Scripture she is able to put those traffic stopping verses in their wider context and in light of the whole counsel of God, unpack them with a clear head rather than in an emotive lather.  Claire Smith has done her work.  Her studies are thorough and well founded.  As I was reading along I kept thinking, "Wow, this is a really straight shooting book."

God's Good Design may be straight shooting but it isn't harsh.  Claire Smith writes gently, lovingly, humbly, and generously.  All through the studies she seeks to explain in clear terms what the Bible is saying about things that are pretty challenging - but she also leads us pastorally through all those "What if..." and "What about..." questions.  She knows all the niggling doubts and concerns we have.  She's been there too.  And to demonstrate that,  she tells her own story in the final chapter and shows how she personally applies these passages in her own life.

This is a very encouraging book and a good read for women AND men as we aim to understand one another's roles at home and at church and seek encourage each other to be and do our very best for the sake of unity, harmony, service and living in a way that honours one another and brings all glory to God - the Master of this good design and plan for our lives.

You can get yourself a copy of God's Good Design from Matthias Media. Available in paperback or as an eBook.


This I know...

Jonathan Parnell wrote in a post about Ten Reasons You Should Read the Book of Job at the Desiring God site...

Persecution, disease, war, disability, disaster, freak accident, assault — all are alike in this: Satan aims to destroy your faith, but God aims to strengthen it.

This is such a helpful comment.  When things go wrong nationally or personally we often find ourselves looking for reasons or explanations.  Is this God's judgment?  Is it God's discipline?  Or is this as a result of living in a fallen world?  Often times, especially in the case of large scale disasters, we have no way of knowing.  In personal matters we may have an inkling that God might be disciplining us, if we know that discipline is due.  But mostly, in the face of crisis, personal or national, it is simply not for us to know why, at least in the immediate situation.

But this, as Jonathan Parnell has said, we know.  Satan will use the situation to destroy our faith.  And God will use it to strengthen it.  That is all we need to know.  And then we need to attend to it in God's strength as best we can - that our faith might be strengthened.  And that is enough.

Reading the Bible in chronological order - discovery # 2

Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God

¹Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
² Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 

³ You turn men back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, O sons of men.”
⁴ For a thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
⁵ You sweep men away in the sleep of death;
they are like the new grass of the morning—
⁶ though in the morning it springs up new,
by evening it is dry and withered.

⁷ We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
⁹ All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
¹⁰ The length of our days is seventy years —
or eighty, if we have the strength;
yet their span is but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away. 

¹¹ Who knows the power of your anger?
For your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.
¹² Teach us to number our days aright,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 

¹³ Relent, O Lord! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
¹⁶ May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children. 

¹⁷ May the favour of the Lord our God rest upon us;
establish the work of our hands for us—   
yes, establish the work of our hands. 

When I read the Psalms I don't tend to read the fine print.  That is, I don't tend to read the little subheadings under the Psalm numbers.  You know..."A psalm of David", "A song of ascents", "Of the Sons of Korah", "A maskil of Ethan the Ezratite", "A psalm. A song.  For the Sabbath day", "A psalm for giving thanks", "A prayer of an afflicted man.  When he is faint and pours out his lament before the Lord"... And because I don't tend to read those little subheadings I miss little important pieces of information.

So there I was, making my way through Numbers.  It has been a bit over a year since the people of Israel were rescued from Egypt.  They are in the desert and Moses, under God, is trying to hold it all together.  But there are ructions.

The people are begging for food, anything other than that manna.

Miram and Aaron start opposing Moses' leadership.

There is the exploration of Canaan, the Promised Land, and then the subsequent rebellion of the people who are too scared to go in and take ownership of the land.

Then God plans to kill them all for their disobedience and lack of faith and trust.  Moses pleads their cause and God decides that Caleb and Joshua, the faithful spies, will enter the land but no-one else from that generation. 

It should have been so good.  Life as God's people under His rule and care.  And it was all going so very badly.  And then, at least in this particular chronological plan, up pops Psalm 90. 

I love Psalm 90.  I read it often.  It's a great wisdom psalm.  It helps me to humble myself before the Lord - to know my right, small place in space - and it helps me to ask for the right, wise things in prayer.  It is a psalm that I often turn to when someone I know has died.  It shows me that God is control and it shows me what is important.

But because I don't read the fine print I don't think I have ever taken in (or at least, not in recent memory) that this, a favourite of mine, is a psalm of Moses.  I usually read Psalm 90 as a personal psalm.  But it takes on amazing power when read as a national psalm.  Imagine Moses, trying so desperately to usher an enormous group of people into the land God has promised them.  Imagine Moses, described in Numbers 12:3 as "a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth" on his knees praying this prayer for the whole nation of Israel, not just for himself.  Imagine if we prayed this psalm for our church communities, for our wider communities, for the Kingdom of God.

Breathtaking.

Read the fine print.  At least, read the biblical fine print.  It is important. 

I have just a read book about rubber duckies - and loved it

Can you remember what you were doing on 10th January 1992?  I was in Tasmania celebrating my birthday.  I can't remember if I was still travelling around at that stage being the tourist  or whether I was by then ensconced in a very nice B&B in Hobart, attending an amazing music education conference.  Obviously the birthday celebration wasn't a high point of the day.  But I was definitely in Tasmania.
 
It turns out that on that very day a sea container fell off the back of a ship during high seas in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Evidently not an unusual event.  Apparently between 2000 and 10 000 containers fall off their ships into the ocean every year.  That particular container held 28,800 bath toys - beavers, frogs, turtles and duckies - 7,200 of each. The sea container burst open, the boxes of bath toys tumbled out and the cardboard packaging deteriorated, liberating all of those toys that had been designed to float.  Evidently ocean currents follow reasonably steady and predictable courses and there are certain points on the globe, little bays here and there, that act somewhat like terminus points - or rather gathering points - for tons and tons of rubbish/flotsam picked up along the way. And so a year or two later, these bath toys started showing up, some in odd places, but others en masse at these bays-cum-accidental rubbish tips.

Donovan Hohn, a high school english teacher from Manhattan with just a touch of Indiana Jones in his makeup, first heard about these bath toys bobbing in the seas and floating across the oceans of the world as he read about it in a student's essay.  He was charmed and thus began an adventure, over a series of five chases, that saw him follow the path of the rubber ducks from production in a chinese toy factory through the journey on a container ship to what should have been their proper destination.  He didn't do it all in order, but over the course of a number of years, he covered the route the ducks should have taken from the chinese toy factory to its US port and the route that at least some of the ducks took when they jumped ship to their final destination at one of the so called Garbage Patches, far from any US port.

Moby-Duck: The True Story of 28,800 Bath Toys Lost at Sea is his story.  And what a story it is.  Along the way I learned about...

oceans and oceanography,
the difference between environmentalism and conservation,
how some of the things we do in the name of environmentalism are in fact of no help at all, and can sometimes even be counterproductive,
environmentalism being a hugely complex issue,
the shipping industry and all sorts of conditions at sea and all sorts of conditions on all sorts of ships and boats at sea,
lots of ways to be horribly cold, uncomfortable and sick at sea,
toys, childhood and being a parent,

...and about our very sad, destructive addiction to plastic.

The very features that make plastic a perfect material for bathtub toys - so buoyant! so pliant! so smooth! so colourful! so hygienic! - also make it a superlative pollutant of the seas.  No one knows exactly how long a synthetic polymer will persist at sea.  Five hundred years is a reasonable guess.  Globally, we are currently producing 300 million tons of plastic every year, and no known organism can digest a single molecule, through plenty of organisms try.  (Last paragraph of the fourth chase.p. 190  )

By now, if you are even still reading, you are probably wondering how I came upon this book and why I read it.  The thing is, I heard Donovan Hohn interviewed on the radio and he was engaging, articulate and entertaining.  A natural and brilliant story teller.  He would surely be able to write well.  And he was, after all, an english teacher. 

Well, write he can.  You may have absolutely no interest in any of these subjects.   I didn't.  Which is to my shame.  But Donovan Hohn has managed to turn that crazy mixture of subject matter, along with the whimsical idea of a rubber duck lost at sea, into an absolute page turner.  He writes beautifully and has an extraordinary command of the english language.  Moreover he is a teacher through and through.  He will throw out a bit of jargon, a scientific concept, something the average person knows nothing about and you think, "Mmmm...don't know what he's talking about there."  And he knows you don't know.  So just around the next corner (be it a paragraph, page or section) you find yourself in the middle of the explanation. 

This book is worth reading for three reasons. 
Firstly, for the beauty of the writing and the joy of the story.
Secondly, to educate.  At so many levels.  About interesting stuff.  But also about important stuff.
And thirdly, to find out if he made it back in time from one of his chases to be present at the birth of his first child (he knew, when he set off, that it would be tight) and if, in the course of his chases, he  found for himself one of 28, 800 bath toys, having so carefully traced their route. 

A great book. 

Suffering Well by Paul Grimmond

On page 153 of his book Suffering Well, Paul Grimmond says this:

About ten years ago I was involved in a pastor's training conference.  In one session, as we talked about discipling young believers, we tried to come up with a list of key biblical truths we would want to teach every new Christian.  People gave the usual responses (and that's not a bad thing!): we wanted to teach new Christians the importance of Jesus' death in our place; we wanted them to know about the Holy Spirit's work; we wanted them to understand sin; we wanted to teach them about the church.  But then a woman who had been a missionary in Argentina for many years added her voice to the conversation.   I will never forget her contribution: "We need to teach them to suffer."

So true.  First world people are increasingly appalled and outraged by suffering.  When something goes terribly wrong we almost can't believe it.  "This shouldn't happen in this day and age."  And then we look for someone to blame and after that we look for someone else to make sure it never happens again.  What a burden we place on individuals and groups within society, insisting that they render our existence free of suffering.

But the thing is, it will happen again.  Wars will continue to be waged.  There will be more natural disasters.  People will die, sometimes in tragic circumstances.  Things will break.  The power will go off.  We will be caught in more traffic jams and have to wait in more queues.  Until Jesus comes again, suffering will continue. 

So what are we to do?  One thing we can do is grab ourselves a copy of Suffering Well by Paul Grimmond and learn how to suffer well.  In his book Paul Grimmond walks the reader through...

*  how it is that we came to believe that it's our right NOT to suffer - and then blows that myth (because it is a myth) right out of the water.

* lots of examples - corporate and individual - of suffering in the Old and New Testaments, giving a thorough survey of what the Bible has to say on this subject of suffering.

*  the main ways in which we suffer...
- because we live in a fallen world.
- because we follow Christ and so can expect to be persecuted.
- because God disciplines us.
- because we sorrow at seeing the world through God's eyes as we watch people wallow in their sin, long for the salvation of others and see Christians live sinfully and rebelliously.

*  ways to learn how to suffer well by...
- praising God with integrity, because He is good.
- doing good, by God's grace.
- not thinking that suffering well means being stoic.
- waiting patiently for His justice and His time.

*  ways to prepare for suffering by...
- reading all of the Bible and moreover, reading it in the way God intended.
- living out what we learn in the Bible.

All of this unfolds across a strong foundation of God's sovereignty.  God is completely in control.  Our suffering and the situations that give rise to our suffering do not take God by surprise and His purposes are always good and right.  If for no other reason, read this book to be thoroughly convinced that suffering is under God's good and loving control.

The bad news is that there is no "suffering well" quick fix.  This is a life's work.  But the good new is that it IS possible to suffer well - to suffer in ways that encourage others to see God at work and that bring glory and honour to God.

Suffering Well has been published as a part of a series called "Guidebooks for Life."  It isn't a book to be read in the midst of suffering - although for one well thought out on this subject, its words would certainly been affirming and encouraging.  This is a book to be read in the good and ordinary times.  At a time when there is opportunity to think over the ideas, read the Bible passages and pray in the guidance provided in order to prepare for the time when suffering comes upon us.  And times of suffering will come.  How good to be prepared for these times so that even in our trials we can seek to bring to God all glory and honour.  We need to learn how to suffer.  How to suffer well.

This is a great book.

You can get yourself a copy of Suffering Well from Matthias Media.  Available in paperback or as an eBook.

Suffering Well and hope

While the world tells us that human beings are just another part of the food chain, God tells us that humanity is the centrepiece of his plan.  By God's grace, we are precious to him.  And throughout human history, God has worked towards the glorious future he has planned for us in spite of the sin that characterises us.  When Adam and Eve sinned, they were expelled from the garden but not destroyed.  When the world was wicked in the days of Noah, God chose to rescue humanity through Noah and his family.  In the face of the tower of Babel, God promised Abraham that through his descendants, every nation would be blessed.  And in spite of the repeated, unrepentant rebellion of Israel that caused them to be cast out of the Promised Land, God continued to promise a future to Israel and, through Israel, a future for the whole world.

From Suffering Well by Paul Grimmond, page144.

Aging and Sanctification

I found this very short talk (it's about four minutes so it really is short) from John Piper about aging and sanctification interesting and helpful. 

At one point he explained that getting older doesn't equal sanctification.  Certain desires - he listed lust and greed for money but you could add all sorts of other things like grabbing for power, covetousness and so on - will likely lessen as a result of aging, sometimes for physiological reasons and sometimes because these things simply become redundant after a certain point in your life.  But just because these desires lessen or even disappear, that doesn't make you holier.  It is a deep seated, growing relationship with Jesus that makes you holy.  So it is important not to be fooled into thinking that you are growing in holiness if the aging process is bringing some of these urges under control.  They would be the hallmarks of growing in holiness but they don't represent holiness in and of themselves.  It seems so obvious as I write it down - but it's good to have teased out the distinction, none the less.

The benefit of aging, he said, is that "your resevoir of past grace is growing."  Lovely.  Your relationship with Jesus is all the more sure and strong because you can look back on an ever increasing collection of moments when you have seen God clearly at work in your life.  That is very steadying.

The unexpected surprise, he said, was that at age 30 he thought that in thirty years time he would be thirty years more kind and thirty years more patient.  But certain sins have remained and that this isn't necessarily the case.   Good to be mindful of this.

May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. 
1 Thessalonians 5:23,24

Suffering Well and Job

The point of the book of Job is not to explain the reason for every episode of suffering in the lives of innocent people.  It is to remind us that God has reasons beyond our reasons, and to call us to humbly rely on him.  Job suffered deeply.  But God taught him that he didn’t need all of his questions answered; he just needed to know the living God.  

From Suffering Well by Paul Grimmond, page38.

Teaching kids about God - timed challenges

Teaching kids about God

Teaching kids about God photo by Cathy.  Thanks Cathy!!

Another thing I do to keep Scripture classes at school (30 minute lessons) and Sunday school classes (40 to 60 minutes) humming along is to use timed challenges throughout each lesson.  I have a chart where I record everyone's best times and it is highly competitive.

Here's THE WHAT...and then I will explain the HOW and the WHY.

The Shape Sorter

Pull out this old toy from the toddler toy box.  Time how long it takes to put the shapes in - surprisingly hard when you are under pressure.  But for those with a cool head and the right strategy, it is possible to do it in 14 seconds!

Apple Stacking

Bring a bag of apples - you won't need any more than eight apples from my experience - and see how many you can stack in a set amount of time.  I did this last term and gave the kids 27 seconds (because there are 27 books in the New Testament...and they all know that fact now) so that it wouldn't drag out for too long.  Record - five.

Cup Stacking

You need ten plastic cups.  The idea is to time how long it takes to stack them up - four at the bottom, then three, then two, then one - then put your hands on your head and then unstack them back into a pile of cups and yell "FINISHED!"  It's pretty quick so the yelling at the end helps for time keeping.  And kids think it is fun to yell in class.  If you google CUP STACKING you will see some pretty amazing examples of this challenge.  Mine is a very simplified version but they love it. 

The Buzzer

A friend found this one for me.  You have to ease the hand piece around the wire without letting the circle of the hand piece touch the wire.  Some of these gadgets buzz or beep if the circle makes contact with the wire.  This particular one laughs at you hysterically.   Time how long it takes to get from end to the other - and you are disqualified if it laughs at you.  Most don't get a time.  The laughing seems to diffuse the frustration and disappointment.

Block Jigsaw

This doesn't work in a classroom because it is too small to be seen from the back.  All classroom competitions need to be visible by all or else they fail monumentally.  Take it from me.  I know.  But this is great to use with a smaller group.  They get to find and assemble the animal (with or without a guide picture, depending on how tricky you want to make it) and you time how long it takes.  I have two sets of these so sometimes I bring out both sets and run this challenge as a race rather than individually timing them - with evenly matched children and only with robust kids who can cope with the fact that one will win and one will lose.

THE HOW

1.  I run one of these challenges in Scripture classes every week across a whole term - with a new challenge each term.  Every child who wants to participate is timed.  This takes a few weeks and their time is recorded on a chart.  When everyone has had a go I choose some to have  a second go to beat the class or their own personal record.  Sometimes I choose children at random to have a go, sometimes a child who needs a boost and sometimes I choose someone as a reward for good class participation.  At least one child will have a go of the current challenge at every lesson, week in and week out. 

2.  In Sunday School I run a challenge for a month at a time.  Every week the kids can have a go to beat their own score or break the group's record.  I run a monthly challenge two or three times a year - injecting one when things are getting a bit flat and need some pepping up.

3.  Rather than running a challenge over a long period of time, these can be used as a one off - the one who gets the best time gets a prize.  Or run along the lines of "a minute to win it" - if they do the challenge in a minute...or whatever time you set...they win the prize.  Or run it as a "minute to win it" across the whole term if you have a good supply of prizes - that probably works better with younger children.

4.  Respect the child who doesn't want to have a go.  For a quiet few, they won't want to be exposed at the front of the group like this.  And that is OK.

THE WHY

These challenges have absolutely nothing to do with teaching kids about God.  But here are ten quick reasons why I use them.

1.  They are quick - they don't rob too much time from a lesson.
2.  They inject some fun into the lesson. 
3.  Because they are fun it helps in building good relationships.
4.  And it sets a good dynamic in the room
5.  So the kids look forward to your lesson with them.
6.  And that means you are well underway to winning the battle with discipline.
7.  Which means more time to teach.
8.  And more opportunity to be kind, to show love and to demonstrate warmth.
9.  If done ever single week then it becomes a constant.  It's a bit like when you hear the dulcet tones of the West Wing theme music (or insert your own favourite TV series) at the beginning of each episode and it excites and prepares your mind for what is coming next.  Think Pavlov's dog.
10.  That then helps the kids to transition quickly into your lesson - which means less wasted time.  It is five or ten minutes time well spent - which means twenty or more good teaching minutes in a thirty minute class.

Please know that not every lesson works perfectly for me.  Far from it.  My last lesson today would testify to that.  But I have had a much better strike rate, particularly with school Scripture, since I started doing this.

Reading the Bible in chronological order - discovery # 1

I don't know that I have ever really thought too hard about where the book of Job fits into the scheme of biblical things. I usually just get to Job, take a breath and dive in. It's there in the midst of the wisdom literature with a timeless message and it just IS. But when was Job knocking about the place?

Well, I was not three days into the chronological read through of the Bible, eleven chapters of Genesis under my belt, and there I was being redirected to Job, just before Abraham enters stage left at chapter twelve. Interesting.

Turns out there are at least a couple of theories as to the dating of Job. The theory that places him around the time of Abraham rests particularly on the fact that in chapter one, amidst Job's calamities, his camels were carried off by a raiding party from the Chaldeans (Job 1:17). Abraham was from Ur of the Chaldeans. And the area of Chaldea later became known as Babylonia - important around the time of the exile. So the suggestion is that Job was around the time when Chaldea was Chaldea, not Babylon.

Another theory has Job around the time of the exile. He is mentioned in Ezekiel 14:12-14.

The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, if a country sins against me by being unfaithful and I stretch out my hand against it to cut off its food supply and send famine upon it and kill its men and their animals, even if these three men - Noah, Daniel and Job - were in it, they could save only themselves by their righteousness," declares the Sovereign Lord.

Curious that Job is mentioned last in that list – and so the question is, does the order have any significance? And it has been said that whoever wrote Job shows a great knowledge of distant lands and is therefore unlikely to have been around any time before Solomon.

The bottom line is that we don't really know. There are a few clues - and they are just too few. But the folk who constructed the reading plan I am using had to put him somewhere, so on this occasion they opted for the association with Abraham rather than Ezekiel. And I'm glad they did because it made me sit up, pay attention and read Job with fresh eyes.