Reaching Our Nation One Family At A Time Issue 1

Growing FamiliesWestern Australia

Growing Families

Australia

of great joy that will be for all the people

Luke 2:10good news

behold I bring you

quickly the years go by and how precious the time spent together is. In all the hustle and bustle of the busy Christmas season, lunches, work functions, shopping for presents, end of year school events etc...Have you made time to reflect on the reason for the season?

This Christmas,- reflect on why God sent His one and only Son to earth- with your children talk about what Christmas is really all about- talk about why you do what you

do at

Christmas - explore how the whole family can be

"others centred" in practical ways

May the Lord bless you and your families this Christmas.We trust you will all take time to celebrate the reason for the season - JesusLove from our family to yours,

Paul and Norma TroianiWA Team Leaders

A few days ago as we tried to gather our family for a photo, not as easy as it once was, with two married sons their wives, two

grandchildren and two teenagers!

We were reminded how

CELEBRATING THECHRISTMAS REASON

Reaching Our Nation One Family At A Time Issue 1

Whats On

2017GEMS

Godly Encouragement For MumsFirst Friday of each month

Winthrop - Angelaangpascoe@iinet.net.au

Byford - Sarah0425 667 919

‘2nd Friday of each month

Kallaroo - Normanormatroiani@icloud.com

Community Event3rd Saturday of each month

Coming SoonGFWA State Camp

We are currently organising courses for 2017!

If you are interested in either running or attending a course

contact

angpascoe@iinet.net.au

Hello! It’s time for our nextCommunity Event!

Mullaloo Beach ForeshoreBYO Picnic Dinner/Everything

18th of Feb 2017, 3rd Saturday of the month

3pm onwards

Further Details Norma Troiani 0408205260 Sarah Wieske 0425667919

Community Event

Keep Us Up-To-Date!• Not on the mailing list?• Have you changed your email address?• Have you got a new phone number?• Want to recieve Community Events and Newsletter updates?

We would love to know your new details so we can keep you informed

and connected with the Growing Families family! Email us on enquiries@

gfi.org.au

Reaching Our Nation One Family At A Time Issue 1

“Can we have a conference like this in the Kimberley?”,,was the question asked by the Kimberley delegates after the NC16 at Broken Hill. The families who attended from the Kimberley got the bigger picture and were so encouraged and strengthened in their determination to raise godly children. Please pray for them as they face the many challenges and struggles of Kimberley life, where so many other competing factors often hold them back from this goal. Even though getting to the conference from such a long distance was tiring and expensive, it was great for them to take time out from the constant pressures of life and see a positive model for raising strong families.

For the Families God’s Way in the Kimberley team at times the steps forward seem very small, but it is so worth the effort in order to develop a positive family culture and community of like minded people where there is so much dysfunction going on all around us.Recently the ABC released an article stating that, “The West Australian Government will trial parenting lessons for Indigenous families in an attempt to reduce the number of Aboriginal

children in state care.” Also, “According to the latest figures, 7 per cent of children in WA are

I n d i g e n o u s but they represent 53

per cent of the recorded 4,700 children in state care.” We know that unless the Holy Spirit really transforms the heart there will be no change or movement forward. The Families God’s Way in the Kimberley program is based upon God’s Word (just like the original teaching of Ezzo’s Growing Families courses) and is the most effective way of giving hope and direction to these families.

Praise and Prayer Points:

1) Pray for Jerome Birch as he plans to head to Halls Creek in January for another visit. For God’s wisdom in the relationships with the Aboriginal families he knows there.

2) Pray for Bill and Joan Grosser who have been asked to do a professional development Families God’s Way session in Kununurra early in the year.

3) Greg and Linda Wilson have been encouraged with the consistent attendance to parenting classes of two Christian Aboriginal families

this year in Derby. Pray for Wayne and Freda, who are talking about bringing along some of their relatives to Families God’s Way classes in the new year and would like to learn how to teach the classes themselves in future.

4) Greg and Linda were asked to present a short excerpt from the Families God’s Way sessions at the local playgroup in Derby. This went well, and there may be more opportunities to continue this in the new year. Pray that the Lord will direct their steps.

5) Pray for those who attended the NC16 in Broken Hill, Clinton and Michelle (Halls Creek), Doug and Rosita (Halls Creek), Clayton and Vicki (Fitzroy Crossing), Phil and Gail (Pastoring in Fitzroy Crossing), Ali and Roslyn (One Arm Point), Zac and Kasia (Derby) that what they experienced will stay with them and motivate them to keep moving forward.

6) Pray for the requests we have had to organise some get togethers in the Kimberley (Halls Creek and Fitzroy asking for dad and son, dad and daughter), and a full family seminar/camp in 2017. Pray for wisdom, strength and resources to do this.

Families God’s Way In The Kimberley

Reaching Our Nation One Family At A Time Issue 1

We are The Corlson Family - Troy, Kristy, Adelaide (14), Brooklyn (13), Savannah (11), Alexandria (10), Hunter (8) and Bethany (7). We have been involved

in Growing Families since 2007. We are passionate about raising our family to love God and to encourage others along the way. The GFA family camp is one of our highlights of the year and we have attended the WA state camp every year since joining the GFA community. We have had the privilage to attend the last 2 national conferences and have been tremendously blessed by them. Not only do we have a great time making memories and travelling together as a family we are always encouraged by the friendships

and relationships made at the conference. This year at NC16 our parenting focus was on "technology" as this is an area we needed to be intentional with our rapidly ageing family! Our challange is to learn from others as we navigate this ever changing area in our home and lives of our kids. Our aim....to have boundaries without frustration and more importantly relationships with our teens who will walk alongside us as they too learn to honour God in this modern world.

Meet One Of Your State Team Families

Catch and Releaseby Warren Wieske

We dad’s are very aware of the challenges that we face in the area of raising our children to honour God in a way that is in line with biblical principles and yet relevent to our society and culture.

Lately for me this has been highlighted in the area of social media. Recently my daughter asked if she would be allowed Snapchat to be able to communicate with her friends. I

had been resisting this step due to my knowledge of it’s history and the way it has

been used by others in the past. After a

conversation with some older GFA mentors, I realised that I was withholding this social media out of fear. They encouraged me to use it as an opportunity to teach and train my daughter in Godly character in a relavent sphere.

I did allow my daughter the app. I even went as far as to join her in the experience so I could learn first hand what the excitement was about. Of course this didn’t mean that I threw caution to the wind and waved all accountability, on the contrary, it enabled stronger lines of communication between the two of us. As a father it is my reponsibility, along with my wife, to catch the heart of my daughter. This

capturing is done through training and trust, empowered by God’s Holy Spirit, to drive home the principles being targeted, hopefully displayed to her by my life. Our goal is not to wrap our children in cotton wool and never expose them to danger but rather to train them for their eventual, age appropriate release. This release slowly allows them to be exposed to a world where evil lurks behind every corner, equipped with a heart devoted to God and armed with a very large sword, the Word of God.

Keeping It RealReal Time Challenges From a Dad’s Perspective