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October 2008: Role Models We’ve all heard of the poorly behaved sports or entertainment su-perstar who says that it’s not his or her job to be a role model for children. And we ourselves tend to forget that we are role models—whether of good traits or bad ones—in all that we do. Children are always looking up to someone. But how often do they think of themselves as role models? This issue should help children under-stand that they too are called to be role models of the Christian life to those around them, to both adults and other children. Paul’s words to Timothy help us here: “Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity” (1 Timothy 4:12, NRSV).
Stories: In “Bus-Stop Babysitter,” Joanie’s mom “volunteers” her to walk a young neighbor to the bus-stop every day. Joanie is not excited, especially because the little girl imitates everything she does. But when Joanie hears Heather imitating her calling their bus driver “stupid,” she realizes that she needs to set a better example. In “Starbird Ridge,” our continuing feature series, Miguel is tired of having to entertain his little brothers while their mother prepares for dinner guests. He wonders how his grandfather can be so pa-tient with the boys and learns how prayer can help him to be a bet-ter role model. In “Corey Can,” a Wendell story for our younger readers, Corey envies his classmates seemingly superior skills in art and soccer and wishes he could be like them. Then he learns that he can use what he is good at—bike riding—to help a younger neighbor. In “Special Delivery,” Lucas feels uncomfortable about visiting his grandmother, who has Alzheimer’s, in the nursing home until he meets Barney, whose grandmother is also a patient there. In “Count Me Out,” Wade thinks it will be fun to be a “study buddy” for a first-grader—until he actually meets the first-grader he’s paired with. In “Not a Superhero,” Abel is embarrassed and annoyed by his little brother, and he doesn’t understand why his parents keep insisting that he had an important role to play in the little brother’s life.
Pocketsful of Scripture focuses on readings from Genesis, Jeremiah, John’s Gospel, and 2 Timothy.
Pocketsful of Prayer leads readers to prayerfully consider the qualities that make a person a good role model.
Coming Up:
November 2008—STEWARDSHIP
Giving thanks to God through acts of stewardship is the key to praising God and responding to God’s graciousness. This issue should help chil-dren experience God’s grace in the world in such a way that they will want to respond as good stewards. We want to deal with stewardship not only of our material wealth but also of our time and of the world God has entrusted to us. Submissions for this issue should help children identify what a good steward is and why he or she is called to respond to God with thanksgiving.
December 2009—JOY TO THE WORLD!
The December issue of Pockets takes on a life of its own as we turn to Advent themes such as waiting, hoping, journeying, giving, and sharing love, joy, and peace. This issue should help children begin to understand how Jesus’ birth, God’s incarnation, is made new for them each Advent and Christmas and how this sense of Emmanuel, God with us, guides our lives throughout the year. This issue also includes special features such as our Advent calendar and Advent devotions suitable for use in family or other group settings.
More Upcoming Themes
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