Family Fuel Pack October 2015 INDIVIDUALITY What s Inside?! Everything you need to help take what your son or daughter are learning on Sunday & Wednesday and make it real at home! Our hope is that these tools will help you continue the conversation related to our monthly virtue, weekly bottom line, and memory verses. The Pieces: Parent Cue: This piece is for you. It has the Virtue with the definition, the memory verse, the bible story of the week, and the bottom line for each week. Plus it has questions for you to ask your kids during meal times and questions for you, like how does the virtue relate to your life. If you have a preschooler we ve included a special Small Talk Card. God Time Cards: These pieces are for your kids. Each week there will be a new devotional card for your kids If you have a Kindergartner - 3rd grade this will be an activity that they will likely need assistance with. Extra Memory Verses: We value storing up the Word of God in our heart. We want to provide you and your kids with extra verses to memorize each month that are related to our virtue and topics.
OCTOBER 2015 BASIC TRUTH GOD MADE ME. KEY QUESTION HOW CAN YOU BE BRAVE? BOTTOM LINE GOD CAN HELP ME BE BRAVE. STORY SUMMARY GOD HELPS DANIEL BE BRAVE AND DO THE RIGHT THING WHEN HE S THROWN INTO A PIT OF LIONS. DANIEL 6:1-23 PARENT TIME Our preschoolers are learning an important verse this month. Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid for the Lord your God goes with you. Deuteronomy 31:6, NIV. It s awesome to hear them recite this verse when something scares them, maybe it s a stormy night or they are trying something new. But, have you ever applied it to your life? It s a verse that we need to remember as parents too. When your toddler is crying and you can t figure out why, be strong and courageous because God is with you. When potty-training seems to have taken over the entire household routine and you fear you will never leave the house again, be strong and courageous for God is with you. When it s time for four-year-old shots and you can t bear the terror in you son s eyes, be strong and courageous because God is with you. God is with you each and every minute of each and every day. You can count on Him in the scary times and exhausting times. Be brave! God is with you! The community at TheParentCUE.org was created to help parents do family better. With blog discussions, podcasts, advice, and inspiration, Parent CUE prompts us to intentionally connect with our families regularly. Since none of us need more to do in our day, Parent CUE helps us capture the time we re already spending together. There s an app for that: Parent CUE App centered around a monthly topic, this app sends weekly CUEs that remind us to connect with our kids whether at home or on the go. You can even watch Bible story videos during drive time using the app. 2015 Orange. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com
OCTOBER 2015 MORNING TIME Wake your child this morning reminding her to be strong and courageous and to not be afraid today. God is with her wherever she goes. What an awesome way to start the day. CAR TIME Being brave isn t just for super heroes. No way! It s for all people who trust that God is there to help. Knowing that God is powerful and always with us can help us be brave anytime we need it. Add a little super kid fun to your drive time this month by practicing your super hero poses. Each time you hop out of the car, tell your child to strike her best super hero pose and say, God can help me be brave! Now you re ready for whatever comes your way! BATH TIME Give your child a special toy or cloth to hold throughout bath time. Tell her she can t let go of it. It has to stay with her until bath time is over. As you dry your child off, praise her for not letting go and for keeping the object with her at all times. Tell her there s someone who is always with her too: God! God is always with us so we can be brave. CUDDLE TIME Cuddle up with your child and pray: Dear God, it makes me feel so good inside knowing You are always with (name of child). I love knowing You are there to help him be brave anytime he needs it. I hope he never forgets how much You love him and that You are always, always, ALWAYS with him. We love You, God. In Jesus name, amen. PLAY TIME Grab a computer and do a search on lions. Find some really cool pictures. Talk about what the lions look like. Read some basic information about lions to your child. Talk about how scary and dangerous it would be to be next to a lion. That s what happened to Daniel. He was put in a pit with a bunch of lions. But Daniel knew God was with him and that helped him be brave. Note: Do your search before you invite your child to join you in order to ensure there are no surprises along the way. 2015 Orange. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com
MEMORY VERSE: Be strong (Put right forearm and wrist out in front of you, similar to Wonder Woman.) and courageous. (Put left forearm and wrist out in front of you and hit wrists together.) Do not be afraid (Wind up in a crazy karate chop pose and chop down on the word afraid.) for the Lord (Point your right hand up.) your God (Point your left hand up.) goes with you. (Put both hands on hips in a strong pose.) Deuteronomy 31:6 (Hold hands open like a book.) 2015 Orange. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com
INDIVIDUALITY Discovering who you are meant to be so you can make a difference MEMORY VERSE Don t let anyone look down on you because you are young. Set an example for the believers in what you say and in how you live. 1 Timothy 4:12a, NIrV WEEK 1: And To Think That I Saw Him on the Road to Damascus 1 Timothy 1:12-16 BOTTOM LINE: Jesus wants to use your story to make a difference. WEEK 3: Oh, The Gifts We Can Gift! 1 Corinthians 12:12-21, 25-27 BOTTOM LINE: When we use our gifts together, we can make a greater difference. WEEK 2: Oh, the Places We ll Go Acts 16:1-5 BOTTOM LINE: When you discover your gifts, you can make a difference. WEEK 4: Timothy of Lystra, Can You Please Lead Now! 1 Timothy 4:12 BOTTOM LINE: You can make a difference right now. 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com
MORNING TIME Tell your kids a story about an extended family member who had a unique talent or someone who made a difference. Encourage them to use their own unique gifts today. MEAL TIME Ask a kid: What are your talents or gifts? Ask a parent: Why do you think God gave us unique gifts and talents? DRIVE TIME Use the Parent Cue app to watch this month s music video. What do you think makes you an original? Talk about ways your kid can use his individuality now instead of waiting BED TIME Read Acts 16:1-5. Who are people around your family who can help you discover your gifts? Pray and thank God for each of those people. PARENT TIME Parenting is filled with ah-ha moments. For example, there are times when, as parents, we notice talents in our kids. Maybe you notice their ability to be creative and artistic. You knew from the moment your kid was able to hold a paintbrush that he or she would love to paint, color, and draw. But when you visit the school on parent-teacher night, something takes you by surprise the teacher rants about your kid s ability to think strategically and do math problems like nobody s business. The teacher noticed a talent in your kid that you didn t notice. Talk about an ah-ha moment. That s why it s so important to invite other people to speak into your kids lives. Small group leaders, coaches, and teachers can help kids develop their gifts and talents beyond what parents can do. Other trusted adults can show your kids how to use their talents to make a difference. At times, you may be the spectators admiring your kids gifts in action, allowing God to use other people to help your kids grow. For more tools to help you teach individuality at home, visit: ParentCue.org: A community of parents striving to make the most of the time we have with your kids. Parent CUE App: Centered on a monthly topic, this app sends weekly CUEs that remind us to connect with our kids whether at home or on the go Studio252.tv: A family web site that helps us make the most of everyday moments at home to build a spiritual legacy in our family 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved. www.thinkorange.com
252 Basics Group and Family Experiences October 2015 Extra Memory Verses In Focus Individuality October 2015 Psalms 139:14, NIrV How you made me is amazing and wonderful. I praise you for that. What you have done is wonderful. I know that very well. Genesis 1:27, NIrV So God created human beings in his own likeness. He created them to be like himself. He created them as male and female. 1 Corinthians 12:11, NIrV All the gifts are produced by one and the same Spirit. He gives gifts to each person, just as he decides. 1 Peter 4:10, NIrV God s gifts of grace come in many forms. Each of you has received a gift in order to serve others. You should use it faithfully.
WEEK 1 READ PSALM 139:13 DAY 1 This month is all about individuality which we define as: discovering who you are meant to be so you can make a difference. Of all the people in the whole world, there is NO ONE exactly like you. You might find someone that likes the same things you do, but you will never find anyone exactly like you. Ever. That s because God created us that way. God knew exactly what you d look like, what you d sound like and what you would DO once you were born. And God wants to use YOU to make a difference like no one else can! Ask a parent to show you some pictures from when you were younger. What did they think you would be like as you grew up? Were they right? Why or why not? THANK God for creating you to be exactly who He wanted you to be. READ PSALM 139:14 DAY 2 Do you ever look at the kids around you and think, if only I could run fast like her? Or I wish I could draw like that guy. It s normal to wish we were more like someone else. But individuality isn t about someone else s story. It s about YOUR story. Instead of focusing on what s true about the people around you, ask God to show you how your individuality can be used to make your world a better place. Create a thumbprint portrait of YOU! Use a stamp pad or color your finger with a marker and place your thumbprint on the page. Draw a face, hair, arms and legs to create a thumbprint portrait. Then draw a large thought bubble like you find in a cartoon coming from the thumbprint s mouth. Inside the thought bubble, write down one or two things that make you an individual. ASK God to help you remember that He made you special for a reason! thumbprint portrait 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
WEEK 1 READ PSALM 139:15A DAY 3 The bones in your body are pretty amazing things. Without them you d be one big squishy pile of mush on the ground. You couldn t walk or run or even wave goodbye. God put everything in place so that your body would do exactly what he wanted it to do. He put all those bones in place. And guess what? All that forming and shaping was for a REASON! God has big plans for you. He s leading you to use that amazing body he s given you to share his love with the world around you. Take a guess and try to answer the questions below. Check your answers to see if you were correct, NO CHEATING! 1. How many bones are in the human body? 2. What is the longest bone in the human body? 3. Where are the smallest bones in your body located? LOOK for ways to use the body God has given you to make a difference. Answers: 1. 270 at birth; 206 by adulthood; 2. The femur; 3. Your ears READ PSALM 139:15B-16 DAY 4 Did anything happen last week that took you by surprise? Maybe you had a pop quiz in math. Maybe your parent came home early from a business trip. While most of us have a pretty good idea of what to expect each day, every day brings a few surprises. Want to hear an amazing, blow-your-mind kind of truth? GOD knows every single thing about the day ahead. He knows what you ll eat for breakfast. He knows who you ll play with at recess. He even knows the exact moment you will drift off to sleep in your bed tonight. Nothing is a surprise to Him. So as you discover who God made you to be, ask Him to guide you to make a difference in the world around you. Do you have a plan for tomorrow? Is it a school day? Write down three things you think you ll do tomorrow. As you head for bed at the end of the day, check your list to see if you were right! KNOW that that nothing that happens is a surprise to God. 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
WEEK 2 READ GENESIS 1:27 DAY 1 We know some things about God: He s powerful. He s loving. He s trustworthy and kind. He s creative and brilliant. He s kind and forgiving. Basically, God is amazing! Read this verse again. How did God create you? He created you in His image. That means that God made you like Him in so many ways. You are different from the plants and flowers, from the birds of the air and the fish in the sea. You have a soul. You can love. You can create and show kindness. You can forgive and be counted on as trustworthy. Basically, you re amazing too! Create a doodle page about God. Write GOD in large block letters in the center of the page. Then take five minutes to write down all the characteristics about God that you can think of any way you want to on the page. THANK God for creating you in His image. READ JAMES 1:17 DAY 2 Everyone loves a great gift. There s just something special about receiving a wrapped gift to open. Did you know that YOU are like a gift? It s true. On the day you were born, God sent the most beautifully wrapped gift into the world. You are a GIFT straight from God. But here s the really important thing to remember: gifts are given to be enjoyed and used. God has given you special gifts and abilities to be used for good. These gifts don t come in boxes, they are already in you. Every person God created has a special ability that not everyone else has. And when you unwrap those gifts, when you discover them, they can be used to make a BIG difference! At dinner tonight, go around the table and talk about the best gift you ve ever been given. Why was it special? ASK God to help you see all the gifts He s given you. 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
WEEK 2 READ 1 CORINTHIANS 12:4 DAY 3 Have you ever taken the time to thank God for the way He s made you to make a difference? Or do you sometimes feel like some gifts are better than others? Or maybe you haven t figured out your gifts yet? One BIG thing to remember when it comes to individuality is that ALL gifts are needed. ALL gifts are important. Sure, you can t decide which gifts you ve been given, that s God s job. But you do have the choice to USE your gifts to make a difference. He doesn t want you to waste time wishing for other people s gifts. There are all different kinds of gifts, and if you re not sure what gifts God has given to you, talk to a parent or friend and ask them to help you figure it out! Complete the sentence below. God thank you for the gift of that you ve given me. Help me to use that gift this week by. LOOK for your gifts and ask God to help you use them to make a difference. READ LUKE 12:7 DAY 4 Have you ever tried to count the hairs on your head? Go ahead. Grab a chunk of your hair and try to count it. If it s too short, ask someone with long hair if you can attempt to count his or her hair. Give yourself 2 minutes. And go! Did that little exercise frustrate you? It should! Counting the hairs on your head is impossible. But it s not impossible for God. He knows everything about you because he made you. God made you on purpose FOR a purpose. All those individual, special, unique characteristics were given to you for a reason. As you begin to discover the gifts God has given you, you can use those gifts to point others to Him and to make the world around you a better place for everyone. KNOWthat God has given you certain gifts for a reason. 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
WEEK 3 READ ROMANS 12:6A DAY 1 Let s pretend that you receive an invite to a friend s birthday party. But this isn t a typical invitation. At the bottom, you see that your friend has told you what to buy her for her birthday! Hold up. That s not how it works! The birthday girl doesn t get to choose and assign the gifts she receives. And, guess what? Neither do you. God is the giver of gifts and He passes them out in the way that He chooses is best. Your heavenly Father is hoping that you will receive those gifts gladly and use them to make a difference. Grab a piece of paper and create a gift tag. Write TO: (Insert Your Name) and FROM: GOD. Hang this tag on your mirror. As you look at yourself in the mirror this week, read this tag and be reminded that God created you as a gift to the world around you. THANK God for the gifts He s given you to share with others to make a difference. READ 1 CORINTHIANS 12:11 DAY 2 When Paul wrote these words to the new believers in Corinth, they had the overwhelming and important responsibility of sharing the good news of Jesus. Maybe some of the people in that early gathering of believers were struggling to figure out how God would use them. Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever think how could I really make a difference for God? That s a normal reaction. But guess what? God doesn t expect you to figure it out on your own. He s surrounded you with people who can help you figure out how to use your gifts to make a difference. Get a piece of paper and fold it in half two times. When you open it back up, you will have four equal parts. Now, think of four people you trust. Write each person s name in each box. Ask each of those people how they think you can make a difference for God, and write their answer in the box on your paper. When you ve finished, fold the paper and slide it into your Bible. Go back and read it any time you forget that God wants to use you to make a difference. ASK God to show you the gifts He s given you. 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
WEEK 3 READ 1 CORINTHIANS 12:15-18 DAY 3 Think about your gifts and abilities like a body. What if your eye suddenly said, I don t want to be an eye anymore. Feet are so much cooler. I think I ll be a foot now? Or what if your chin said, Chin s are so boring. I d rather be an elbow. Well, for starters, you d be pretty funny looking if your eye suddenly became a foot or your chin became an elbow. But you wouldn t just look funny. You also wouldn t be able to do all the things you were made to do. Just as God has carefully formed your body to do exactly what it needs to do, He s also gifted you to do what only YOU can do. Today, whenever your family gets together ask a grown up to help you put a large piece of paper and some markers or pencils in the middle of the table. Read the definition of individuality out loud. Set a timer for two minutes. Each person write the name of the person sitting across from you and then list some gifts that you see in that person. When time is up, take turns telling each other the gifts you each see. Keep this paper for next week. LOOK to discover the gifts that God has given your family this week. READ 1 CORINTHIANS 12:19-21 DAY 4 Do you have a Mr. Potato Head? Do you remember playing with one? If you still have one, grab it and all the parts you can find. Take a few minutes to put it together the right way. Now take it apart and put the parts back in the WRONG places. Looks pretty silly doesn t it? Now think about your church. Imagine that the individual people, like you, are all part of one bigger body. Imagine each person s gifts, given by God, to be like those parts of a Mr. Potato Head toy. All the parts are needed. And all the parts have to work together in the right places to accomplish what they need accomplish. God knows that we can do much more together than we can do alone. The eye needs the hand to write. The ears need the feet to run and move. All parts must work together for the body to do its job. That s why He s given different gifts to different people. It s not that some are better than others. All are needed. All are important. And all must work together to make a difference! KNOWthat God gives different gifts to make an even bigger difference. 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
WEEK 4 READ 1 PETER 4:10 DAY 1 God gives us many different gifts. But guess what? Those gifts don t mean anything if you don t choose to use them to serve others. And God wants us to use them over and over and over again. You can use your gifts to make a difference right now. Gather your family around the table at a meal and talk about what everyone loves to do. Maybe one person is a great cook or another loves to garden and keep a beautiful yard. Begin to talk about how you can use those gifts to serve others this week. Maybe you could cook and serve at a soup kitchen. Maybe you could do yard work for a neighbor that s sick. Make a plan to serve together as a family this week using the gifts that God has given you. THANK God for giving you a family to serve with this week. READ 1 TIMOTHY 4:12A DAY 2 Do you ever think you re not quite old enough to make a difference? Do you wonder if you should wait awhile before you begin to help others? Using your gifts for good isn t a later thing. It s a right now thing. God s not asking you to serve like an adult or someone older. He s asking you to set an example right now, no matter your age, to make a difference in the world around you. Don t use your age as an excuse. Begin now to live in such a way that you show others what you believe. You can make a different RIGHT now. Today. Trace your foot both left and right on a piece of a paper and cut out. Using these as a pattern, cut out two more of each foot, for a total of six separate footprints. Break the verse into six sections, writing a section on each footprint. Lay them out in order and walk along the footprint path as you say the verse. After a couple of rounds, turn one foot over to the blank side and repeat. Continue play until all footprints are blank and you can recite the verse from memory. ASK God to help you show your individuality by serving others RIGHT now. 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
WEEK 4 READ ROMANS 12:1 DAY 3 You already know that God made you. You know that He s given you certain gifts and abilities that are different from the gifts and abilities of others. But did you know that these gifts aren t really even about you? After all, you didn t create you. God did. He made you for a reason. Your gifts aren t just a gift to you. Your gifts can be used to tell other people about how amazing God is. When you use your talents to talk about God, you re worshiping him. Write down 3 things you love about God. Now, write a poem or song about those things. When you re finished, find someone who can listen to your poem or song. LOOK for ways to use your gifts to worship God RIGHT now. READ ACTS 9:36 DAY 4 The Bible doesn t have much to say about the woman in our verse today. Tabitha is only mentioned in a few sentences of scripture. But these sentences are packed with some pretty important information. We learn she was a believer in Jesus and that she was ALWAYS doing good and helping the poor. Not some of the time. Not only when she felt like it, but always. That s a pretty great thing for someone to say about you right? At the end of your life, what would you like to be remembered for? Thinking over all you ve learned this month about yourself and about using the gifts God has given you, what would you like for people to write about your life someday? What would you want someone to say about how you treated them, how you served them or how you helped them? Grab a piece of paper or index card and write down what you would want people to say about you. Place the card/ page in a place where you will see it most everyday as a reminder. KNOWthat God wants you to have a reputation that honors Him. 2015 The rethink Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
Family Fuel Pack October 2015 INDIVIDUALITY 2) Parent Cue blog http://theparentcue.org/archive/ 1) Parent Cue app http://theparentcue.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/ ParentCueApp_GraphicsKit_PrintLong-03.jpg 4) Playing for Keeps, Losing your Marbles book https://secure.orangestore.org/playing-for-keeps-losing-your-marbles-reggie- Joiner-Kristen-Ivy-Elizabeth-Hansen.html 3) Legacy app https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/legacy-countdown/id635713919?mt=8 5) Parent Beyond your Capacity book https://secure.orangestore.org/parenting-beyond-your- Capacity-BOOK-Reggie-Joiner-and-Carey-Nieuwhof.html