Summer with Jesus - Family Program Curriculum

Jesus SUMMER WITH

FAMILY ACTIVITY GUIDE & DEVOTIONAL

H EY , P AR EN TS!

H AP P Y SU M M ER !

Believe it or not, the time has come again. Your kids are out of school for 10 weeks, but remember! They're out for ONLY 10 WEEKS. This is precious time that you have with your children, even if you work full time weekly! Think of it as a season for you to spend intentional time with one another and make lasting memories. It is our prayer that this guide will help you in creating those special summer memories, while remembering that God is with you through it all! It’s printable as well as digital, so that you can keep it with you on the go!

Each week is divided into two segments to encourage both intentional play time and devotional time throughout the 10 weeks of summer. Pick a day each week to enjoy each activity. Please keep in mind that most of these are designed for families with dependent children. You are invited to create memories outdoors, indoors, at home, and away from home. This is to ensure that you and your family are learning, exercising, playing, and growing in various settings throughout the season. We encourage you to spend time in God’s word each night following each activity. We believe that our everyday culture easily connects to scripture. Be encouraged as you discover God and his word in your weekly activities!

Live the dream this summer with Jesus, and grow together in Him as a family! Play hard, Pray hard!

Grant Bell Family Program Specialist

4 FAMILY STONES W H AT' S TH E 6 ROLLIN OUT 8 MOVIE N' CHILL 10 SOAK UP THE SUN 13 G.N.o! TWIST & SHOUT! 18 16 SPREAD THE LOVE 20 THE WILD! PICNIC AT THE PARK 23 25 S'MORE SUMMER

P LAN ?

WEEK 1

FAMILY STONES

Get ready, because we are going to get down and dirty for this first week of summer! Together, the whole family is going to make stepping stones for your front yard. This craft is typically sold in kits at your local retail/craft store, but for this first summer activity, we encourage you to DIY it and get everyone involved. These will be a beautiful touch to your home and serve as wonderful memories from this special time in your lives. You’ll enjoy seeing how the kids have grown over the years over the years!

YOU WILL NEED:

- 1 Cake Tin Per Family Member - Quick-setting concrete - Bucket and Paint Mixer - Rubber Gloves, Old Newspaper, Washcloths - Nonstick Cooking Spray - Mix-In and Embellishments

1. Start by putting newspaper and/or a drop cloth on the ground, ideally outdoors.

2. Line your mold or molds with cooking spray or petroleum jelly.

3. Mix up your concrete according to instructions on the bag, guessing the quantity you'll need.

4. Pour concrete mix into mold or molds.

5. Add embellishments to the top of the concrete. In addition to adding objects to the mold, you may also want to create concrete "casts" (impressions of objects that are then removed from the concrete). One option is to wait until the concrete starts to set, and then have children make hand and/or footprints in the drying concrete. Other interesting impressions can be made with leaves, shells, and other natural objects.

6. Allow your stepping stone to dry for at least 24 to 48 hours. Remove from the mold and place it in your front yard/garden!

Don’t forget to take pictures of everyone together with their stones, after they dry of course. It would be fun to take some of everyone standing on their footprint. In the future, take these pictures again and see how much everyone has grown! Of course, Mom and Dad’s won’t look much different…we hope!

ONE STEP AT A TIME Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Psalm 119:105 (NIV)

Stepping stones often create a path. Each stone is placed in front of another, giving a clear way to follow. Pretend you’re in a garden and all you see are stones like the ones you made today in a giant line. This line is so long; you can’t even tell where it may lead! It just keeps going and going! Now even though you can’t see the end, what can you see? The stones! One after another, they show you where you to go, even if you can’t see where the path leads! All you can do is trust that the stones are going to take you to wherever it takes you.

Did you know that God gives us stepping stones in our lives? Life can be so crazy sometimes and it’s scary to think about the future, but we don’t have to feel that way! God knows exactly what’s going to happen and is always showing us the way. He does this through his word, the Holy Bible! He gives us stories and words to encourage us in helping us remember how loving and protective he is! Just like it says in Psalm 119:105, the bible is a lamp for our feet.

As we walk on the long and sometimes scary path of stones in our life, remember that God is with you and is showing you where to go, each step of the way!

WEEK 2

ROLLIN OUT

Keep the good times rolling…take the family out for bowling today! Remind everybody to bring their socks and get excited for a fun day of family competition! See how everyone’s feeling towards the end of the first game, they might be up for a second or a third.

You could even go out for lunch before or after the game to make a whole afternoon out of it. Dinner and bowling might even be fun, especially if you have a bowling alley that goes glow in the dark at night!

Ask the kids if they want to play with bumpers. They may take you up on it right away, or they may be up for the challenge. Encourage them to try with them down! They’ll learn what works best for them!

While you’re at it, you could teach them how to bowl if they don’t know how to already! Here’s a few tips from KidBam to help them understand the game:

1. Choose a good pair of bowling shoes that fit.

2. Select a bowling ball that fits.

3. Choose a bowling ball weighted “just right”.

4. Use bowling lane arrows when aiming.

5. Use the bowling approach markers.

6. Start far enough up on the bowling approach.

7. Learn basic bowling timing.

8. Use bowling bumpers for very young children.

9. Don’t go past the foul line.

10. Bowl when it’s your turn and not before.

A “rule of thumb” for the kids bowling balls is that they should start by choosing a ball weight that matches their age.

Make sure everyone is having a great time and no one gets TOO competitive!

STAY OUT OF THE GUTTER for the Lord will be at your side and will keep your foot from being snared.

PROVERBS 3:26 (NIV)

Did everyone have a great time bowling? How did everybody do? Who won? For some of you in the family, it may have been your first time going bowling. It’s a hard sport, so don’t feel too bad if you didn’t do so well this time. Keep practicing and you’ll get a higher score for sure! If you told Dad or Mom to turn on the bumpers for you, it was probably much easier to bowl. Maybe some of you in the family chose to bowl without the bumpers. You might have done both between games! All in all, I’m sure you were thankful you could choose to use the bumpers. Why? Your ball didn’t go in the gutter as much right?

When you think about it, God is kind of like our bumpers in life. Life can be very hard and sometimes we like to think that can do everything on our own, but the truth is, we can’t do anything without Jesus. We need him. It might have felt a little funny to bowl with bumpers, watching everyone else score higher without them, but in the end they helped keep you out of the gutter right? That’s exactly what God wants to do for us. He can and wants to take care of any problem that we have, but we have to choose to let him help us. Just like how we can choose to use bumpers in bowling, we can choose to lean on God in life.

Next time you bowl with bumpers, think about God and how he wants to help you! Let him keep you out of the gutter and get strikes in your life!

WEEK 3 MOVIE N' CHILL This week, after the parents get off from work, get everyone in their PJ’s and in the car for a fun movie night!

Visit the Drive-In or Movie Theater. Both are great, but the Drive-In is a little bit more fun and definitely cheaper! There should be plenty of family-friendly premieres out this summer, so there should be no problem catching a flick that everyone will be excited to see!

If you do go to the Drive-In, pop the trunk and pile everyone in with pillows and blankets from home! This will make everyone really comfortable and it adds to the experience of watching a movie in the car.

Have everyone bring their favorite movie snack from home, stop by the store on the way, or visit the concession stand at the theater to grab things to munch on during the night.

Of course, a night like this is just as relaxing and fun at home if your family does not want to get out and spend money. If you are going to do this, why not make the experience extraordinary?

Build a fort in the living room using blankets and chairs, gathering everyone together inside and in front of the T.V. for movie night!

Wherever you decide to go or however you decide to put on this night, we hope it’s one that will allow you to kick back and make some summer memories together!

REST IN HIM Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Matthew 11:28 (NIV) Did you have fun together at movie night? Wasn’t it nice to kick back, enjoy a snack, laugh, and enjoy a movie with the family? Times like these are so special when we are able to have them.

It’s like everything that we think or worry about during the day goes away!

It is so good to rest and God knows this. That’s probably why he gives us nights like tonight. He knows that we need them! Did you know that God rested when he was creating the world? It says in Genesis, that on the seventh day after he created the world, He rested! Even God understands how much we need to rest. While summer is a break from school, it can sure be busy and tiring! Everyone works and plays hard. It is okay to remind yourselves that it's important to rest sometimes. In fact, we should do this anytime that we can. Jesus can help us do this! Matthew 11 says that anytime that we are tired or beat down, He can give us rest and lift us up.

Praise God, He allows us to rest by spending time with our family! What a sweet, sweet gift!

WEEK 4

SOAK UP THE SUN

It's time to get out of the house and soak in some sun! It’s Beach Day! Put on your swimsuits and slip on your flip flops for an awesome time together.

Nothing says summer better than this!

Of course, the activities here are endless! Spend the day riding the waves, swimming in the ocean, or collecting seashells along the shores!

Have a competition and see who can make the tallest or biggest sandcastle!

Mom with the Girls against Dad and the Boys? Bring it on! Afterwards, join forces as a family and amaze bystanders with the largest sandcastle they have ever seen! Remember not to get too close to the water!

Bring a kite and fly it high in the air!

Before you go, make another fun memory by writing your names in the sand and take pictures standing in front of them. If you wait till sunset, you’ll be able to have a nice silhouette! This would be a great picture to hang up in your home every summer!

Get creative and enjoy this time away from home together in God’s creation, but be sure to stay long enough for sunset.

This is the best part!

REST IN HIM But if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

1 John 1:7-9 (NIV)

Turn page

REST IN HIM Wasn’t it good to get out the house and enjoy a day at the beach? There’s nothing better than having fun and making memories in God’s creation! What was your favorite part about the day? Was it the ocean, collecting seashells, playing games on shore, or maybe the walk you took along the shore? There’s so many beautiful things that makes the beach a wonderful place to make memories. Especially, the ocean!

Think about the waves and the sand. Do you remember watching them move back and forth?

Hearing them crash as they hit the sand? They are so powerful. That’s why it's probably not the best idea to build a sandcastle too close to the water, because what happens? It gets washed away by the waves and pulled back into the ocean! This is exactly what happens to us when we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins. Sometimes it may feel like our sins are so big and bad that God can’t forgive us. Yet, 1 John tells us that when we confess our sins, Jesus is faithful to forgive us and clean our hearts!

Sometimes the devil wants to remind us of our sins and make us feel bad, but when we remember what the bible tells us about what Jesus has done for us on the cross, we can walk in victory! We know that we have been forgiven and set free! Of course, we want to do our best to be more and more like Jesus every day, but remember that God understands that we are going to make mistakes. He just wants us to confess those mistakes and do our best to be better and act more like Him. Once we do, it's like it never even happened. Just as the waves wash away the sand, Jesus can wash away our sin the same way!

Praise God for his never ending grace and love!

WEEK 5

G.N.O!

We’re about halfway through the summer, so it’s time to celebrate right! It’s time for G.N.O! Girl’s Night Out and…Guy’s Night Out! Spend some time with your daughters and sons separately this week. You can plan to have them on the same night or on different nights, depending on your schedule or number of vehicles. It’s wonderful for the whole family to spend time together as this guide encourages, but it’s also very important to have special time with like genders as well. This creates a space for Dad to talk “guy stuff” with the fellas, and for Mom to have “girl talk” with the little ladies! Enjoy it. You'll never understand how much of an impact this is.

DAD’S GAME PLAN: When you get home from work, tell your son(s) to get in the car, but don’t tell them where you’re going.

This will build up the anticipation and get them excited about the evening!

Decide to take them somewhere fun and manly! Arcade and Pizza at Chuckee Cheese’s is a good idea. It’s dinner and an activity all in one! Or maybe you could take them to their favorite restaurant and then for ice cream afterwards. You can decide to plan something yourself or get the boys involved and see what they want to do. Either way, just make sure you’re getting out of the house and bonding together!

MOM’S LINEUP: Mom, get the girls all dressed up and in the car, but again like we told Dad, don’t tell them where you’re going. Surprises are so much fun!

Take them to a nice restaurant, one that you don’t visit often. Enjoy some fine dining together and make them feel special. Afterwards, take them to some of their favorite stores and let them choose a new outfit to buy for church on Sunday! Maybe you could check out some evening cooking or art classes in your community to take them to that evening. If anything else, a walk around the lake or park would be beautiful as well, especially around sunset. Whatever you decide, just remember that this evening is for you and the girls to get out together and be girls! These moments are precious, so take it all in and cherish every second. They sure will!

This is your time in to invest in them as guys and girls!

IRON SHARPENS IRON As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17 (NIV) Did the guys enjoy their night out? Of course you love the ladies in your house, but sometimes it’s just good to get out with the guys isn’t it? You probably talked about all kinds of crazy things, which makes for great memories. Maybe you got to know each other a lot more! I know what you’re thinking boys, you’re saying what are you talking about? Of course, I know my Dad. That may be true, but you know we always learn something new about someone every day! That’s what’s so cool about nights like these. It really allows us to talk about things we can’t or don’t normally talk about with the men in our lives.

Each time you come together with Dad, you learn new things about him and he learns new things about you. You become closer! It’s important to spend time together, because the guys need each other. As the Bible says in Proverbs, iron sharpens iron. They become better and sharper as they come together. This works the same when you guys bond together! Dad makes his sons better, and the sons make Dad better!

Enjoy these times with Dad, because they won’t last forever. Learn from him, laugh with him, and grow with him!

LOVED AND SEEN Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; Honor him, for he is your lord.

PSALM 45:11 (NIV)

How was G.N.O. ladies? What did you all end up doing? Dinner for sure, but I’m sure you shopped till you dropped! Was it fun getting out with Mom just as girls? Did you buy matching outfits for Sunday? Okay, maybe too far right?

You might have went to the dressing room before trying on clothes you were looking at.

Do you remember looking in the mirror after putting something on? What were you thinking? Anytime you look in the mirror for that matter, like tonight when you were getting ready for the night.

You were probably thinking you looked pretty after Mom brushed your hair and everything. You’re right! You are beautiful. Mom thinks so too, and you know who else does? Your heavenly Father! Not because you brushed your hair or even bought a pretty new dress to wear, but because of who you are! He loves you and you are his beloved daughter. Psalms 45 encourages us to let our beauty be of praise to God! As you get older, you’ll find that the world we live in will try to tell you that you have to look or act a certain way to be beautiful. Don’t believe those lies! Know that you are beautiful, because God made you that way and that you are His. He’s enthralled by your beauty!

Be loved and seen by Jesus!

WEEK 6

SPREAD THE LOVE

We’ve had a great time so far this summer with the family haven’t we? It's such a gift to spend time together. Sadly, not everyone has this blessing. There’s some people out there in the world who have family far away, or sometimes they don’t have any at all.

That can be a very hard thing to deal with, so why don’t we give back a little bit today?

God has blessed us with our wonderful family, so today we’re going to bless those who don’t have one with the love and care from ours! Visit your local nursing or retirement home and bring the residents something special. Be sure to call the home ahead of time though to make sure you have permission and can schedule an appropriate time to visit. Have the whole family make cards for each of the people that you visit, with an encouraging message and a bible verse one it!

If you are not able to visit a nursing home, why not get the family together to prepare some bag lunches to deliver to the homeless? You can include simple on the go items for them to eat. Such as a PBJ sandwich, fruit, granola bar, crackers, and a bottle of water. Along with the meal, you can include an encouraging note with a bible verse!

These are simple, yet significant ways to extend the love of Jesus to those who have a hard time feeling loved!

However you decide to serve or love others with the family, remember to say a little prayer for anyone you can come across to! You never know how God can use your family to bless and minister to those who are hurting.

What a reward this is to give back together and see the love of Jesus in action!

REST IN HIM Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

PROVERBS 5:13 (NIV) Did you have fun serving and encouraging other people today? What was everyone’s faces like when you gave them their card or bag lunch? I’m sure it made your heart happy knowing that you made someone else’s heart happy! You got to see Proverbs 5:13 in action. Before today, the people you met and spoke to were probably going through bad heartaches. Maybe they’re very sick and are not getting better, just lost their job, got kicked out of their house, and living on the streets. These things are so sad, but they happen!

The world is not a happy place, so that is why people need Jesus more than ever! You showed them Him today! You may never know exactly how those people were touched today, or maybe you do because they might have told you. Either way, you made God happy today and He is going to use every word and hug that was given today! You never know. The necks you hugged today could have come to know Jesus for the first time. That’s pretty cool!

God is so proud of what you did today and you should be too!

WEEK 7

TWIST AND SHOUT!

Gather the troops to take a spin, because your favorite board game, Twister is coming to LIFE on YOUR lawn! This out of the box version of the classic game is so easy and simple to setup. Not to mention, a blast to play! Know that It will take a day to setup, so be sure to plan ahead of time.

YOU WILL NEED:

- SODA BOX - SCISSORS

- DINNER PLATE - GREEN, BLUE, RED, YELLOW SPRAY PAINT

Step 1: To make the circle stencil – Use your soda box, and trace the dinner plate in the center and cut out circle. The circle itself can be used for the spinner.

Step 2: Decide on a flat large area of the yard.

Step 3: Place the stencil box in the upper left hand corner and paint your first color row.

Step 4: Each circle should be 6 inches away from each circle on all sides.

Step 5: Paint 4 rows of 6 circles.

Step 6: Do this again, and change the order of the colors so they show up better on the grass to: green, red, blue, yellow. Let it dry overnight.

When you’re ready to play, you can always use the spinner from the game (if you have it already), or you can easily make one out of a paper plate.

If you’ve never played, here are the rules: Teams face each other on opposite ends of the mat, standing side-by-side with each foot on a circle so that all 4 circles closest to the Twister name are covered. Just as in a 2- or 3-player game, the referee spins the spinner and calls out a hand or foot and a color circle.

Have fun and DON'T break a leg…or get too dizzy!

TANGLED UP Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

HEBREWS 12:1 (NIV)

Did everyone have fun playing twister on the lawn today? Wasn’t it cool seeing the game come to life on the grass instead of the mat? It’s fun to do things different once in a while!

Maybe this was your first time playing twister. Isn’t it a crazy game? You get told to put your hands and feet so many places at once! It’s so easy to fall over and get out of the game.

Often times this is what the devil does to us in our lives. We try our best to follow Jesus and do what He says, but we are going to make mistakes! We are sinners, and each time we do wrong, it can often feel like a game of Twister. As Hebrews 12 mentions, sin can tangle us up, but when we follow Jesus we can stand strong when the devil tempts us to slip! Don’t let him take you out when you are trying to please and praise God! Ask God to help you stay on your feet. In times when you do get tangled in sin and fall, the bible says that because of what Jesus did for us on the cross, we are forgiven! Just like how we learned a couple weeks ago at the beach.

Sin can get us so tangled up, but with Jesus and his help, we can stay on our feet and win!

WEEK 8

THE WILD

Brace yourselves for a WILD day! It’s time for a trip to the Zoo! This is going to be an exciting, adventurous, and educational day.

Try and visit all the animals and give everyone a fun checklist to mark off as you see each kind of species! At the end of the day, you’ll be able to come together and remember which ones you saw! An example is provided for you on the next page.

Enjoy the rides, play areas, and don’t be afraid to get wet when you can. Save money and pack a lunch for everyone to enjoy in the park. Take a lot of pictures and maybe even get the kids a little souvenir as a memory from the day!

The Zoo is the perfect place to learn, watch, and play!

WILD CREATION Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is exalted; his splendor is above the earth and the heavens.

PSALM 148:13 (NIV)

Every day we are reminded of God’s creation! The grass, sky, air, trees, and flowers are beautiful snapshots of His work, but it’s not every day that we get to be surrounded by his creation from the WILD! Animals are definitely some of God’s most majestic creations and we got to experience them up close and personal today! Did you enjoy seeing all the animals?

Which one was your favorite?

Psalm 148:13 says, let them praise the name of the Lord, and this includes animals if you read earlier in verse 10. Isn’t that incredible? The animals sure were loud, so that must mean that they are awesome worshippers! Did you notice anything else about the animals? Did see the beautiful stripes and patterns on their bodies? That’s all a part of God’s creation! We serve an awesome God who loves his creation so much that he pays very close attention to the smallest of details to make everything beautiful! It’s no surprise our world is so breathtaking! He loves us so much and we can see it everywhere here on earth, especially at the Zoo!

Remember to thank God today for the beautiful world that he created for us.

WEEK 9

PICNIC AT THE PARK

Wake up in the morning, have a nice breakfast and then get together to prepare a big picnic lunch to enjoy at the park in the afternoon!

Split up the meals among the kids and parents, so everyone can be a part of getting everything ready for the afternoon ahead!

Bring a big blanket for everyone to sit on or snag some picnic tables at your local park! Bless the food and enjoy a great meal.

Then, kick or throw the ball around afterwards!

Maybe even climb some trees or feed the ducks at the pond.

MEAL OPTIONS

BY PARENT BLOG, "SHE KNOWS": • Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich (or substitute almond butter or Nutella) Turkey Sandwich • Cream cheese and veggie bagel • Ham and cream cheese tortilla wrap • Bean salad • Fried chicken (must be eaten within two hours) • Veggie and fruit kebabs • Pasta salad • Chopped watermelon • Trail mix • Chocolate covered pretzels • Chocolate chip cookies

Whatever you do, enjoy the nice cool air and don’t forget to visit the playground before you leave, because you know who will be asking for it!

ALWAYS PROVIDING And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

MATTHEW 14:19-21 (NIV)

It’s not every day that you get to eat a bunch of delicious food on the ground right? Picnics are so fun and it’s even better at the park where there’s so much to do! Do you remember seeing the blanket or table filled with food? What did you think at that moment? Were you thankful? Food is a wonderful gift from the Lord and it’s so cool to know that he is such a good father that provides so much for us.

Sometimes there might be times in our lives where we feel like God isn’t providing for us, because we’re not getting everything that we think we need. When in reality, God is giving us everything that we need. When Jesus fed the 5,000 in Matthew 14, the disciples were not sure how everyone was going to get fed with only 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, but what did Jesus do? He worked a miracle and was able to feed everyone with what they had! They even had some leftover!

Even in moments where it seems like God isn’t giving us what we need, we should remember that he is always providing and we can trust that he is taking care of us!

WEEK 10

S'MORE SUMMER?

We made it! End your summer right by having one S’MORE summer adventure together. Let your creativity and imagination run wild as you have a good ole’ fashion Campout right in your very own backyard!

Get everyone involved and pitch the tent together! This might be the first time anyone of you has done this before. Enjoy is figuring it out as a family!

It might be tight, but also fun to get everyone to sleep in the same tent! If not, you can always set up another.

Once the tent is all set up, go ahead and put up some string lights to really add to the atmosphere at night! Find them at your local retail or hardware store.

Now you’re all set for a memorable Campout! Here’s some ideas to keep the night going: Make a whole evening out of it! Play some games together. Bring out the card games, board games, and spend an hour or two just having fun together outside!

For dinner, you can roast hot dogs over a warm fire! If you don’t have a fire pit, you could build one yourself.

If all else fails and you're worried about burning down the neighborhood, play it safe and go inside to cook them on the stove.

Dessert is given! S’MORES of course! Enjoy these gooey, delicious treats and don’t be afraid to get all messy.

That’s the best part about it! Maybe you could even have some milk or even better, chocolate milk!

Before heading to bed, take down the lights, lay on the lawn, and look up at the stars! This is probably the best thing you can do to help wind things down for the evening. See who can find the most types of stars! Share with the kids about the kind of stars that are up there and spend time reflecting on the summer and your time together.

This Campout will be one they will never forget! Nothing better than your imagination and the great outdoors right at home to wrap up summer.

S'MORE JESUS Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.

PSALM 34:8 (NIV)

Can you believe summer is already almost over? We’ve had an awesome time together as a family haven’t we? We’ve learned, laughed, cried, played, explored, and most importantly, we’ve grown in our relationship with Jesus!

Tonight as a part of your summer finale, you had S’MORES at your campout! Weren’t they delicious? You can’t ask for better ooey gooey warm dessert. I’m sure you had at least 3 or 4 right?

Did you know why they’re called S’MORES? It’s because when you put graham crackers together with chocolate and marshmallows, over a warm fire, you just can’t enough! They’re so good, you can never have just one!

This is exactly what God is like! Psalm 34 tells us to TASTE AND SEE that the Lord is good! Just like how we took a bite of that first s’more and fell in love, this is what our relationship with Jesus should be like! Every time we spend time with him in prayer and reading his word, we should always want more and more of Him and his goodness. It also says that those who lean on him, will be blessed! His love for you is never ending and he wants to show you every day.

Summer will end, but family time does not have to! You can still spend time together. Same with God! We’ve learned so much from the Bible in our summer adventures. That doesn’t have to stop either! He wants to continue teaching you and growing you when you’re in school and at home. Life is a gift and it’s even more beautiful when we choose to spend it with Jesus and our family and friends.

You’ve tasted and seen that He is good, so go get S’MORE of Jesus, because He wants S’MORE of you!

SOURCES www.thesprucecrafts.com www.kidbam.com www.bowlingball.com www.tipjunkie.com

SEE YOU NEXT SUMMER!

GRANT BELL MEDIA 2019