Sooo Big!

I was reflecting on my pastor's sermon yesterday.  He talked about the games we used to play with our children.  You know the one when you ask the child "How big are you?"  and the child throws up their hands and you say "Sooo big."  How cool would it be if someone asked you "How big is your faith?"  and you could throw your arms out wide and say "Soo big."  Pastor offered up a challenge and I would like to pass it on to the readers of this blog.  He challenged the congregation to get deeper into our faith.    We have to grow physically, if you don't, usually you go to the Dr. to see if something is wrong.  We should be growing spiritually as well.  If you aren't shouldn't we go talk to God?  

Here are some interesting findings when it comes to the importance of family time and spiritual growth:

• The Search Institute (2007) found that three factors as predictors of faith development in teens were: 1) frequency of discussions about faith with parents; 2) frequency of family prayer time; and 3) frequency of shared family experiences and activities.
• Lifeway (2010) interviewed parents of young adults (ages 20-35) about what they did with their children that resulted in positive spiritual outcomes for them as adults. Among the top things listed: regular family prayer time; students connecting with a leader at church; teens regularly serving at church; and teens participating in ministry or service projects with their family.

So I challenge you to grow spiritually this quarter.  Here are some suggestions on how to do that:  Read the Word more, Pray more, and get involved in ministry and mission.  Not just you, but involve the whole family.  Do a service project together.  I have little ones and I thought we could fill the quiet bags at the church together.  Do you have other great ideas on how we can grow spiritually?  I would love to hear them so leave a comment and share.