ORANGE.  Where Faith and Family intersect.

Activity:  Letter to God

I am not sure what it was like at your house when you children were younger and it was Christmas time but at the Smith house, our kids are excited about gifts.  In fact, they are so excited that they write Santa letters so he knows what they want from him.  Anna is keeping these letters so we can look back on them years down the road and just remember these days.

These letters got us thinking at EPIC.  How often do we write a letter to God with the same passion, desire, love and anticipation that our kids do to Santa?  Probably not that often, if ever.  So we recently did a new worship experience where we encouraged our students to write letters to God.  What an amazing experience.  The heart that these students poured out broke my heart.

Application:

Scour the attic, basement, boxes, etc and see if you can find old letters your kids wrote to Santa, or better yet, to God.  If you don’t have any, look up “letters to Santa” on the internet and read some of those.

Then, as a family, sit down and write a letter to God.  Share your hurts, desires, passions and anticipations.  Store the letter in a safe place.  A year from now, pull the letter out and read it.

ORANGE.  Where Faith and Family intersect.

Activity:  Nature Watch

The other day my son and I were out sitting in the woods.  I know it is cold out side, but with the leaves off the trees, you can see so much more of nature. 

As we entered the woods everything got quiet as the animals scurried toward safety.  It only took 15-20 after we found our spot and sat still before the animals soon reappeared from their safety.  It was amazing to sit there and watch my son’s eyes and see the expression on his face as squirrels and birds came within feet of him.

After we got back into the car, my son was full of questions about God, creation, and nature.  For the entire ride home we talked about how amazing God is to have created all the different things He did.

Application:  Take your student away for 1-2 hours to just sit in nature.  Alum Creek, Delaware State Park or Highbanks are great areas.  Just be still and watch as God’s creation comes alive around you.

Afterwards, find a place to talk.  I prefer on the ride home or better yet in a coffee shop.  Ask the following questions:

1.  What was your favorite thing about sitting in nature?

2.  What surprised you the most?

3.  What does nature say about who God is?  (i.e. creative, powerful, detailed, etc).

4.  What stood out the most from this experience?

Don’t let God moments pass by with out point them out and talking about them with your student.

These ideas are meant to bring the family and faith together.

Check back this Monday for our first installment.

Two COMBINED influences make a great impact than just two influences.