“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Sample—Special Time
Build a Fort
You will need
- 1 flashlight
- Your Bible marked at Psalm 56:3 and Psalm 18:1-2.
Get Started
Have your family members “ransack” the house to get pillows, blankets, chairs, and whatever else they can find to build a fort. Take your time making it and let your kids be creative with it. (For example, they might want to make a tunnel entrance.) Build it big enough for everyone to fit inside.
From inside the Fort use your flashlight to read Psalm 56:3.
ASK--What is something you’re scared of?
SHARE--Share something you were scared of when you were a child.
ASK--What should we do when we’re scared? (Trust God.)
ASK--Why can we trust God? (He’s faithful. He’ll never let you down. He’ll always keep His Word, etc.)
Read Psalm 18:1-2 from your Bible.
ASK--How is God like a fort (fortress, stronghold) for you? (In old days people went inside a fortress to be safe. Its walls protected them from harm. God is a shield for those who follow Him and like a fort, you are safe in Him.)
ASK--Does this mean that bad things will never happen to someone who is living for Jesus? Why or why not? (Bad things still happen to good people, but there’s nothing so bad that God can’t turn it to your good.)
If they want a further answer, explain that sometimes we do wrong things and these bad choices bring “bad” things into our lives. But sometimes we do everything right and someone else does something wrong and we get hurt because of it. Even so, there’s nothing your children will ever do that is so bad that God can’t forgive them and there’s nothing so bad that can happen to them that God can’t turn it around to their good if they love Him and are walking with Him. (See Romans 8:28 for a great promise.)
PRAY—List prayer requests below and thank God that He will always take care of you.
Family Prayer Requests
List prayer requests here:
Sample—Bedtime Story
A Really Rotten Day
“It’s a happy, shiny, bright, new day.”
The mom said to Jonathan Gray.
“Get up. Get up.” She patted his head.
It’s time for you to get out of bed.
He closed his eyes,
Then jumped up in a dash,
Grabbed hold of his clothes,
And was dressed in a flash.
But after that,
The good was gone.
Everything that happened,
From there went wrong.
He tripped when he walked.
He fell down the stairs.
His toast was burnt,
And he grew nose hairs.
His fingernails turned blue.
“Oh what will kids think.”
Then he smelled a bad odor.
He was starting to stink.
His socks didn’t like him,
So they jumped off his feet.
His shoes just laughed,
And ran up the street.
Then it started raining spagetti,
Which he thought was quite weird.
Then he had an odd feeling.
He’d grown a pink beard.
Suddenly a hurricane came,
And blew his house away,
And there he stood alone.
Poor Jonathan Gray.
Spaghetti covered him,
From his head to his toes.
Then a monkey came from nowhere,
And pinched him on his nose.
Without warning the moon fell down,
And hit him in the knee,
“Ouch!” he screamed,
“Why me? Why me?”
“Its a happy, shiny, bright, new day,”
Jonathan heard his mother say.
“Get up. Get up.” She patted his head.
It had all been a dream,
And he was glad to get out of bed.
Thankfulness
The next time you have a really rotten day, remember what the Bible says in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Remember, you can always give thanks in the middle of hard times because Jesus is right there with you and He’ll never let you down. He is bigger than any bad situation you will ever face and you can always trust Him, no matter what.
After you’re done playing in the fort, feel free to have a pillow fight or time for your family to see how fast they can tear the fort down and put everything away. Have fun and enjoy!