Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey Quotes

“Stories, drama, and other symbols powerfully influence children.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“What is spiritual formation? The goal of spiritual formation is a maturing faith and a deepening relationship with Jesus Christ, through which we become more like Christ in the living of our everyday lives in the world.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“In formal education, children are introduced to new ideas about God and must reconcile their image of God with what the teacher tells them about God. As we teach children, at home and in the church, we do not give them our understanding of God; rather, we guide them as they reshape their God in the light of what they learn from us and in their ever expanding life experiences.[19]”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“We want our children to obey God because they do not want to cause grief to the one who loves them. As they become aware of their moral failures, we also want them to discover that their loving God forgives and wants to help children to do the right thing. The importance of the initial love relationship with God cannot be overemphasized; everything else in spiritual formation builds on it in the proper time.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Adults must never discourage a child who desires to respond to God. When children know that God invites them to come and they are ready for a response, they do not need severe external pressure. They simply need a setting for response and possibly an adult to guide them, pray with them, and affirm their encounter with God.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Biblical stories play an important role in the elementary child’s search for answers. Coles found that children relate the experiences of biblical characters to the events of their own lives. As children think about these stories, they see themselves in the characters and see God working and relating to those biblical people. Certain stories grab children, inspire their imagination, and draw them to reflect on life, meaning, and God.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“To be a good parent or a good Sunday school teacher of children, we do not need to be people who have arrived; God simply calls us to be on the way, seeking, finding, and rejoicing in what we find.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“As Jean Piaget studied children, he discovered that they were moral philosophers who struggled with good and evil, understanding and applying rules.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“God did not intend for a father and a mother to shoulder the full load of child rearing without the support of an extended family and a faith community. Will our faith communities connect with young people and become an extended family for them?”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“The church has a greater potential than any other institution for providing the community so desperately needed by persons of all ages; it is the means God designed to provide support and resources for life’s journey.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“As children construct their understandings of God and religion, they are surrounded by symbols for their imaginations to take hold of and to build into their faith images. When children begin to ask questions about the rituals and symbols of the faith, we know their imaginations are grasped by the symbol and that they are working to create a meaning for it.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“children are “powerfully and permanently influenced” by how these significant others live their lives and their faith, by their moods, and by the stories they tell of their faith.[19]”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Faith includes not only a center of value and an image of power but, thirdly, trust in and loyalty to a story that helps us make sense out of our world and experiences. This is what Fowler calls the shared master story.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“We are devoted to and love whatever becomes our center of value and find meaning as we live our lives focused on and guided by that central value. In the Christian faith, the ultimate center of value is to be the Creator, the redeemer God.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Biblical stories play an important role in the elementary child’s search for answers.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Although God respects our freedom of choice and our children may reject grace, I believe their choice is influenced toward God when we give them to God, trust them to grace, and open ourselves to reflect God’s love.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Just when we think we have mastered what is expected of us, relationships change, new persons join us on the journey, or circumstances call for untried roles.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Imagination brings stories to life for both children and adults.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“is often considered to be something children use in play and then discard when they become adults and put away childish things. We are therefore not surprised to learn that children use their imagination to enter stories, to experience them, and even to meet God there, but few adults think of using their imagination to meet God. However, following the lead of children could enrich the spiritual walk for adults.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“says N. T. Wright, bring “two sets of ideas close together, close enough for a spark to jump, but not too close, so that the spark, in jumping, illuminates for a moment the whole area around.”[12]”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Telling or reading Bible stories to children is still one of the best ways for adults to learn the stories for themselves.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“chose to be revealed through the stories of the Bible, stories of God actively relating to people, and stories of God becoming flesh and living among those people. To know God we must know the stories of God,”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“groups and classes for adults we often try to give them an understanding of the Christian faith by teaching the basic beliefs—the theological system—of our church. We lead them in discussing how Christians should respond to life situations and issues, but seldom do we tell them the faith story.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Knowing the faith master story and how to interpret it is critical to the spiritual journey; it may be a life and death issue.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Danger lurks along the paths walked by our children and their parents. If they are to safely negotiate the journey with increasing strength and sensitivity and without suffering debilitating wounds, then wise, committed companions must join them on the way.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“The spiritual journey is not a path separate from the rest of life, walked by one’s spirit. It is the path of everyday living where God meets and walks with us, where we respond to God with our whole developing self. The journey begins at conception and continues until we no longer walk this earth.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Can children grasp the full meaning of Christ’s coming, death, and resurrection? Can we as adults? No, but awareness of the mystery draws us to explore, wonder, and discover more and more, year after year.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“In our fast-moving, noise-cluttered society, children are seldom given time to wonder and may be deprived of God’s deep truths as we try to keep them entertained. Children need a place where they have time to wonder about the mystery of the gospel.”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“The Spirit of God knows the mind and heart of the child and how best to communicate. We must never forget that we are merely assistant teachers or worship leaders, but God does give us the privilege of assisting, and he honors us by sometimes speaking through us to the children.[21]”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith

“Adults must provide a community in which children can hear the Word and can meet God. Children need a sense of belonging in the larger faith community and in their worship setting. These special worship groups will be more truly a community when the participating adults see themselves as learners and worshipers along with the children. We too need to hear the Good News anew and to probe its meaning more deeply. Even as we tell the stories, we must listen for God’s word to us. Children can be encouraged to enter the stories, reflect on their meaning, and respond in worship when the adults in their community model those behaviors.[17]”
― Catherine Stonehouse, Joining Children on the Spiritual Journey: Nurturing a Life of Faith