This month, we want to share a practice that helps shape and deepen community at home or at church. We call this “community connection.” It’s a time to listen to our brothers and sisters in the Lord (no matter what their age), to listen to the Holy Spirit on their behalf, and to encourage one another. Adele Calhoun reminds us that “Spiritual transformation is not a solo event.” Try this spiritual practice with…

Like the pup in this picture, sometimes we grandparents need to keep our chin up, to keep on “truckin’” even when the journey is arduous.

God knows that life is hard, and that we struggle because things are not the way they should be. Most Christians have not heard much about lament. After all, aren’t all of our problems supposed to go away after we receive Jesus? (Not!) And yet, the spiritual discipline of lamenting is everywhere in the Bible! Lament is an important spiritual practice that can help us walk through the difficulties in our lives in close step with God and grow into deeper trust of him.

Advent is all about waiting and watching. This month practice waiting and watching for love letters from God – for you personally, for your friends, for your children or grandchildren.

Grandparenting is a marathon, not a sprint. Make a plan on the small steps you can take today to impact your family with the love of Jesus!

Any month is one where we should engage in the spiritual practice of gratitude. Being grateful. Thanking those who have given to us. Appreciating the blessing of being alive. And, most of all, the gift of knowing Jesus.

Read more to find out about American football player Walter Payton and his balance of grit and grace in this second installment of encouragement by Cathy Jacobs, our Director of Grandparenting Ministries.

KidZ at Heart has been blessed to develop relationships with many brothers and sisters in Christ in Ukraine and Belarus. We are always encouraged to hear of how they are continuing to spread the love of Christ and use what they learned in KidZ training in spite of the pandemic, war, and political unrest. God never stops working!

Our hearts grieve and our prayers go out to those caught up in the battle in Israel. And those in Ukraine. And those in the 45 armed conflicts in the Middle East and North Africa, the 35 armed conflicts in the rest of Africa, the 21 armed conflicts in Asia, the seven armed conflicts in Europe, and the six armed conflicts in Latin America.

And our hearts grieve for the church…just one more place where we too often fail to engage in the spiritual practice of unity. As James warns us, “No one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8, NLT).

Read this encouragement from Cathy Jacobs, our Director of Grandparenting Ministries!

We want to share some incredibly good news with you!

KidZ at Heart International has been blessed by Lilly Endowment with a $1.25 million grant through its Christian Parenting and Caregiving Initiative. KidZ is one of 77 organizations, denominations, local congregations, and regional districts of national church groups to whom Lilly Endowment awarded a total of $92 million this summer.

As summer ends and school is back in session, now is the perfect time to develop a “Rule of Life,” both for yourself and for your family that will help foster deeper relational closeness with God. Click below to find practical ideas on how to implement this into your family’s life.

God is continuing to work, even in the most difficult of circumstances! Click below to read about Adel, our National Training Network Director in Sudan, and how God is using him to continue impacting children with the love of Jesus...even as Adel and his family fled across the country to avoid the civil war centered in their hometown.