Today is the 12th installment of 30 days of resources for your family to use to grow together. Each of our daily activities will have the following pieces:
- PLAY TOGETHER: An opportunity to have fun and do something together instead of watching Netflix.
- TALK TOGETHER: Around the dinner table or just two of you sitting on the back porch, take turns asking these questions to learn more about the other.
- ORIENT TOGETHER: In time of need we have an opportunity to renew our vision for Jesus, and pray for His work in our life and world.
We hope these resources are helpful to you as a family. Feel free to share with others as well!
Artistic Antics: Choose the oldest or youngest to start this drawing game and then have players draw in order of their birth date. Find a fairly large piece of paper and get out colored pencils, crayons, or markers. The first player begins by drawing a line, circle, or other piece of a picture. Each player adds to it. Keep having players add to the picture until everyone has a turn, if you have many players, or until the players have had a predetermined number of turns. See what type of interesting drawing results.
- What/Who has made you angry or feel hurt in the last few months?
- What do you do when you become angry or feel hurt?
- What emotions do you feel when you have hurt others?
Forgiveness
With all the chaos and confusion in our world, my prayer is that we all draw closer to Christ in the middle of this storm. As we are being stripped of our idols and having to find a new identity, I believe the Lord can do amazing things in our hearts during this time in our lives.
As I have had more time to spend with the Lord and reflect on my life, I have always struggled with forgiveness. I tend to bottle everything up and eventually explode. Maybe some of you don’t struggle with this, but for me, it held me back for years. I had so much anger towards family members, friends, past relationships and all this anger began to affect how I felt about myself and even God. I began to blame God for all the hurt I had gone through which just lead me down a road that didn’t glorify the Lord.
As I read the passage from Matthew 18, I am convicted on how I want to be forgiven yet it can be so hard for me to forgive others. I tend to hold grudges and assume others don’t have good intentions. I have realized how this has damaged my heart and soul in the past. It wasn’t until my mentor really challenged me with my unforgiveness that I began to see how this was affecting my relationship with God and with others. When we don’t forgive others, our hearts become hardened towards people and that is not a quality the Lord desires for us.
Take a few minutes to ask yourself the questions below. I challenge you to dig deep into forgiveness and to allow the Lord to soften your hearts during this time. Is there a family member or friend that you need to call or text to ask for forgiveness? Is there bitterness in your heart that is not allowing you to be in a deeper relationship with Christ?
Read Matthew 18:15-35
QUESTIONS:
- Is there anyone you have had a hard time forgiving? Who and why?
- What does God’s forgiveness of your many sins say to you about forgiving others?
- What steps is God showing you to take to forgive those who have wronged you or have something against you?
Today’s Family Resource for Growing Together is written by Nate Bowen, a youth pastor in Lexington, SC.
MODGNIK 