At age four, “Elaina” remembers wandering the streets of her hometown on her own. Her parents were using drugs and severely neglecting her. She has just a few fuzzy memories of that time: “I know that the refrigerator was green,” she says, “but it didn’t matter, because there was never anything in it.” To make …
Tag Archive: Intermountain
Jan 30
Intermountain Moment: Six-year-old “Lenny”
Last fall six-year-old “Lenny” moved to Montana with his mom. He had suffered horrible sexual abuse at the hands of his step-father. Like many kids who’ve suffered greatly, Lenny pretends like everything is okay and wears a steady smile. But in play therapy at Intermountain, Lenny would make up stories that always included “bad guys.” …
Jan 10
Intermountain Moment: Safety first! Working with trauma-affected individuals
Safety. It’s something that many of us take for granted. But for many of the clients Intermountain works with, and especially the trauma-affected children that come to us in our residential program, safety is certainly not a “given.” While it may seem odd to those who have not experienced childhood trauma or …
Dec 18
FREE resource! Children’s Object Lesson for the 4th Sunday of Advent (Year C)
Objects needed: A jump rope. Theme/Main Idea: God keeps his promises, and that should cause us to jump for joy! Presentation: “Have you ever been so happy that it was hard to hold it in? Yes? What are some of the reasons you have had to be happy? [let children share] Wow! Those are great …
Nov 28
FREE resource! Children’s object lesson for the first Sunday in Advent, Year C
The rest of our Children’s Advent Lessons (Year C) can be found by clicking this link! Objects needed: A seedling, branch, or picture of stump/seedling/nursery log Theme/Main Idea: Even when things seem hopeless, God gives us hope. When nothing is left of the tree but the stump, there is still life there… just waiting for …
Oct 18
Intermountain Moment: Helping the trauma-affected child succeed at play, with Kathleen Slack, M.S.
Play time can be hard for any child, but is especially difficult for trauma-affected children. Children that have been affected by early childhood trauma and severe stress are often given any number of labels to describe the symptoms of that trauma or adverse childhood experience: PTSD, ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), ADD/ADHD (Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention …
Oct 15
FREE Advent Object Lessons for 2018 (Year C)!
Once again, I would like to make available to you and your church free Advent children’s object lessons! While written primarily for a Children’s Sermon format, these object lessons could be used in a Sunday school setting, youth group, or even as sermon illustrations! None of the lessons are dependent on Change for Children (CFC) …