Family Faith and Fun Fridays: Seek First
For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. -Hebrews 4:12
Welcome to Family Faith and Fun Fridays! As the week winds down and I anticipate more family time over the weekend, I often ask God for one good idea that will enable me to bring the Word to life and bring our family together. Usually, the activity overflows out of something the Lord has been teaching me through His Word during the week. I’d like to invite you to join me and my family in the adventure. Sometimes I’ll post things we’ve tried; other times I’ll post an idea in the works. If you’ve got thoughts to add or suggestions on how to adapt or improve the activity, please don’t hesitate to comment.
Seek First
Last weekend, I split the kids into two teams and gave them a simple list of objects I’d hidden in the yard. I told them:
You have SIX minutes and THIRTY- THREE seconds to complete this backyard scavenger hunt. You must find ALL the items in the allotted time in order to achieve victory. Here’s what you are searching for…
1. A Bible
2. A ball
3. A purse
4. A piece of play food
5. A “little people” friend
6. A cell phone
7. A piece of clothing
8. A school bus
(The kids each had the same list of items, but I’d hidden two sets of the objects listed. The boys’ team was told to collect the listed items that were marked with a sticker, while the girls’ team was directed to collect the same items without a sticker.)
Five bodies raced through the yard for six minutes and thirty-three seconds. Both teams found the Bible immediately, since I’d left the Bible in a very obvious place. The other items, however, I’d hidden in rather difficult sites. When the kitchen timer rang, I announced the activity’s end and my frustrated hunters came inside with merely half of the assigned items. And plenty of grumbles–
“No fair! You hid those things really hard!”
“That wasn’t enough time.”
“The girls had a bigger team. We deserve an extra minute!”
Once all the murmurs faded, I invited my crew to turn in their Bibles to Matthew 6:33. Together, we read Jesus’ commendation for prioritizing life.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
We looked at the items on the list and talked about how each object represented something in our lives- athletics, school, friends, connection time, worries, wants. We agreed that those items were a part of “all these things” that Christ spoke of in the verse we’d just read.
“According to Jesus, which ONE thing leads to ALL things?”
“He does,” Luke replied.“And how can we seek Him?” I asked.
“By reading His Word,” Hannah replied as she looked at the Bible that sat amongst the pile of collected stuff.
“Did anyone open the Bible when you found it?” I mused.
Lizzy raised an eyebrow at me and opened the Bible’s front cover. There, taped to the inside of God’s Book was a simple list of directions that revealed the location of each item for which the kids had been hunting….
The Bible is in your hands 🙂
The ball is by the mailboxes.
The purse is on the baby swing.
The food is on the wood pile.
The phone is by the basketball hoop.
The Little People Friend is by the rosebush in the front yard.
The clothing is in the flowers by the bird bath.
The school bus is on the pitching plate out front.
“Oh, man!”
“Are you kidding? I can’t believe it!” The kids read the pointed instructions with a mixture of humor and annoyance.
“Do you think that you could have found ALL the THINGS if you’d first opened your Bible?”
The hunters agreed, “yes.”
“So I guess if we want ALL THINGS we need to start with Jesus,” my firstborn wisely summarized.
His mom nodded with a smile. And prayed that we will be a family that SEEKS FIRST.
How about you, friends? Can you clear six minutes and thirty-three seconds for a backyard scavenger hunt this weekend. It won’t take long, but the lesson learned may endure for a lifetime!
This is awesome!