Family

October 10, 2024 A Little of This and That! My brother-in-law, Pat, passed away recently. He remained my brother-in-law even after my sister and he divorced. They remarried once, but again divorced. My husband thought of Pat as the brother he never had. My husband is an only child. Jill and Pat remained great friends through the years. A few weeks after Jill passed away in 2019 we took Pat to lunch. He told us about the first time he asked her to make him breakfast after they were married. My mom loved to cook. But, she didn’t teach us … More

February 19, 2024 Can’t Leave Those Hugs Behind! I want to share some stories of my friend, Ellen Hetz, and her family. Ellen is now with the Lord. One of my earliest memories is of Ellen’s oldest son, Ross and my oldest son, Kevin, as they played with their little cars in our front yard. Rchel and Coreen were also playing nearby. At the time, Ron, Ellen, Chad and I were meeting about our Married Couple Club at church. The boys became good friends that day and remained friends though out their lives. Ellen always had a hug for everyone, … More

November 21, 2023 Strengthen Your Family – Eat Meals Together How can you strengthen your family? That’s a question that many people ask us. One way to strengthen your family is to eat meals together regularly. Did you know that many families don’t eat together on any regular basis? Turn off the television, radio, social media, and other electronic devices that can distract you from communicating with each other and eat a meal together. Begin your meal with a prayer. Here is a simple prayer that even very young children can memorize and pray. “A.B.C. One, two, three. Thank you, … More

July 26, 2023 The Sixth Trait that Builds Strong, Healthy Families Manage Stress and Survive Crisis written by Kay L. Meyer Ruth called the Family Shield office to ask for prayer and shared, “My 41-year-old son was in a serious boating accident. Two friends died. His spleen was damaged and he is hospitalized. Would you pray for Jonathan and our family?” Less than five days later she called again. “My son is out of the hospital and doing better. But my husband has had a stroke. He’s hospitalized. Would you pray again for our family and especially for Dan?” As … More

February 28, 2023 The Five Love Languages of Children And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them (Mark 10:13-16). Jesus loves children. One way he showed his love for them was to tell his disciples to “let the children come to me.” He then took the young … More

November 23,2022 Treasured Memories and Traditions  But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you (1 Thessalonians 3:6-7). Why are You Thankful? Why not take the letters THANKSGIVING or CHRISTMAS as your family gathers during the holidays and brainstorm words that share why you are thankful? Write the letters down the side of the page. Here are two examples: T=Our family is thankful … More

November 10,2022 These are pictures of some of the books and authors we have featured on the Family Shield radio program and podcast.  The Five Love Languages of Children And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them (Mark 10:13-16). Jesus loves children. One way he showed his … More

October 25, 2022 Fun Family Devotions for the Home From Kay Meyer’s column in the St. Louis Metro Voice newspaper from 1994 to 2013. It’s tough, isn’t it? Even in Christian families tempers sometimes flare. Christians sometimes find themselves irritated by insignificant events. Then, too, we don’t talk with one another about our faith or about our Savior as often as we might like. Family devotions scare many Christians. We all know we should worship and pray together as a family, but sometimes we don’t because we just don’t know how! The following fun family devotions can be done at … More

September 9, 2022 M&Ms Remind Me of God by Kay L. Meyer “Mom, wake up! It’s time for us to get ready to go to church.” “Dad, can I invite Larry to go to church and Sunday school with me this Sunday?” “Wally, would you like to come to Sunday school with me this Sunday?” “Steven, let’s play church. I’ll be the pastor.” “Coreen, M&Ms remind me of God. Let’s talk about how they remind me of God.” The following is a children’s message you can share with your children or grandchildren during family devotions or with your Sunday school … More

July 8, 2022 Families – Spend Time Together! I like to use the above picture in our newsletter and on Facebook. Playing games with children of all ages is an excellent way to spend time together.  Spending time together is one of the six traits that build strong, healthy families. Our daughter and her family love to play games together. Dana Herbst told us that playing games helped her family grow into a loving blended family during a radio program we did with her last year. Did you know there are six traits that research has documented can build strong, healthy families? We have a … More

March 25, 2022 Kay Meyer and her family. Where is Your Treasure? Matthew 13:44-52 Hello, boys and girls. Our Bible verse from today’s lesson is Mt. 13:44, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.” Years ago people used to bury their treasures so no one could find them. We don’t bury our treasures today, but I made a treasure chest and put some items inside that are precious to me. Let’s look … More

March 5, 2022 The Lord Created Pets! My husband and I adopted a two-year-old rescue dog recently. Our 17-year-old beloved dog died 4 months ago. He was our son, Jeff’s dog, before Jeff died of cancer in 2010. Jeff asked us to take care of his dog, and we did! What a wonderful pet and loving companion. He helped us grieve the loss of our son and became a constant companion for us. I’m glad the Lord created pets, aren’t you? Some people have asked us why we got a rescue dog instead of a puppy. I suggested to my husband that we look for a … More

November 10, 2021 Treasured Memories and Traditions But Timothy has just now come to us from you and has brought good news about your faith and love. He has told us that you always have pleasant memories of us and that you long to see us, just as we also long to see you. 1 Thessalonians 3:6-7 WHY ARE YOU THANKFUL? Why not take the letters THANKSGIVING or CHRISTMAS as your family gathers during the holidays and brainstorm words that share why you are thankful? Write the letters down the side of the page. Here are two examples: T=Our family is … More

May 28, 2021 Traveling with Our Children Recently, in preparation for a program, we were planning on “Traveling with Our Children” I asked friends on my Facebook page, “What do you do with your children to keep them engaged as you travel?” I had over 90 responses on the two pages with such great ideas. We did record our recent program on this topic, but I wanted to share some of the wonderful ideas and suggestions that people shared on Facebook that we didn’t have time to discuss. Below are some of the comments friends shared:  One mom said, “I … More

The Five Love Languages of Children And they were bringing children to him that he might touch them, and the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw it, he was indignant and said to them, Let the children come to me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God. And he took them in his arms and blessed them, laying his hands on them (Mark 10:13-16). Jesus loves children. One way he showed his love for them was to tell his disciples to “let the children come to me.” He then took the young children in … More

January 19, 2021 Parents–Go First Into the Home These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you rise up (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) How do we begin the process of spiritual nurture in the home for our children? How can we help them learn to love the Lord and grow in faith? What are some fun family activities and devotions that we can do with them to help them know and … More

November 27, 2020 Prepare for the Inevitable As they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, “Lord Jesus receive my spirit!” (Acts 7:59) “Students, your friend and classmate, who struggled with heart problems for years, died today,” came the announcement over the school’s public address system. The students, shocked and stunned into silence, could not comprehend how someone their age could die. Words of comfort were shared: “In heaven there is no more pain for our young friend, no more sorrow or tears. God Himself will wipe away his tears. Though he had much pain on earth, now, today he is in … More

November 12, 2020 Be Thankful! Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:16-18) For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. (Ephesians 1:15-16) We are thankful for you, those that read this email newsletter and our radio & podcast listeners!  And we are thankful for our Board of Directors, employees, volunteers, those we serve through the Response Center,  and … More

October 9, 2020 Speak with Gentleness and Respect! Why should we speak up and promote God’s word, the Gospel, and a life affirming message to family, friends and those within the community? Why should we always be respectful and God pleasing as we speak? God’s Word in Proverbs 31 tells us to, “open our mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy.” But God’s Word also says, …”Sanctify Christ as Lord in your heart, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in … More