It's Story Time

Summer is almost upon us.  Some rejoice, others not so much.  If you have children at home you might find yourself asking how you can make the most of your time with your children.  I came across this resource from The Village Church in Texas.  It is a great resource and I would encourage parents to check it out and to make the most of your time with your children this summer for the glory of God.  Don’t waste this amazing opportunity you have to instill in your children things that truly matter and will have an impact for eternity.

All credit goes to Village Church and their Children’s Ministry Team.  Below is athe letter from them and a link to the Summer Activity Book.

Blessings,

Doug

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Welcome to summer! For many of you, the next few months will be filled with travel, adventure and increased opportunities to spend time together as a family. As you begin to think about and plan how you will spend the next few months, we’d like to present you with the Summer Family Activity Book. It is a family resource that gives you ideas on how to be intentional with the time you spend together this summer.

There is a charge given in the book of Deuteronomy to continually and intentionally talk with children about what it means to love God with all they are – no matter where they are, no matter what they’re doing:

Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you sit up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:4-9

We have put the Summer Family Activity Book together with this charge in mind. Whether you’re hanging out at home, traveling across the country or running errands around town, there is no shortage of opportunities to help your children see the things of the Lord. Our hope is to help you see and take advantage of these moments.

The activities and devotionals in this resource have been divided into four sections to follow the model of Deuteronomy 6:

Set a Rhythm. These are activities your family can do repeatedly and consistently throughout the summer. Some of them will help you put things in place to establish a routine for your family. Others will help you think about ways to be missional – intentionally connecting with people in your community whom you interact with on a consistent basis.

At Home. These are activities that can be easily done as you spend time at home. Many of them include a devotional at the end that will help your kids make a connection between what they have done and a truth from Scripture.

Out and About. This section provides ways to be intentional with outings you take as a family.

On the Way. These are activities that can be done as your family travels – whether you’re moving about by land, air or sea.

We also put together several appendices and an index at the back to make this book even more useful. Enjoy the next few months. We love you and are praying for a summer that draws your family closer together and closer to Jesus.

Blessings,

The Village Church Children’s Ministry Staff

Summer Family Activity Book

Story Family Maui Vacation 2010

Kuleana Resort: Kaanapali, HI

Travel Day

Scariest moment of the flight: Ten minutes after take off things seem to be going smoothly and uneventful when all of the sudden out of nowhere near disaster seems inevitable…the DVD player of Doug’s laptop is not working. Terror moves about the aisle as the passengers in 23D and 23F realize they might have to fly the remaining 5 hours with no DVD player. The flight crews try to calm down the passengers with free drinks, but nothing is working. Finally after a few moments Doug comes through like Jack Bauer in hour 23. Calm, cool, and assertive Doug starts BOLT, followed by UP and the flight was saved.

Highlight of the flight was getting to meet Chris Berman. That’s right The Swami. He is a really big guy. Catherine got to sit around and talk to his wife for a while. As soon as I heard his voice I know it was him. You don’t really notice him when he is not sitting on an ESPN set next to Steven Young and Mike Ditka. He didn’t say it himself but I know he was thinking it…”The EAGLES could…go….all…the…way.”

Day 1 (July 17, 2010)

Donuts, sea turtles saying “hi”, walking on the beach (“the one with waves”), sea shells, throwing sand, swimming in the pool (“the one without waves”), splashing around with mom and dad, lots of jumping into the pool with dad, an island mist of rain on and off all day, playing catch and “taking the sign”, reading books, the new Pixar movie has been crowned for the month — bring on “Toy Story”, boats far away, chocolate fudge bars for dessert, Fresh Hawaiian roles made by mommy, While Dad and Nicholas were in the pool we saw a baby frog stuck in the pool…so naturally we waited for the Wonder Pets to show up (Lenny, Tuck, and Ming Ming too), obviously they did not come .. so dad sprung into action and saved the baby frog. Nicholas said ”Thanks Dad for saving the baby frog for the Wonder Pets” We used teamwork and we sang the theme song together.

Day 2 (July 18, 2010)

Baby Beaches in Paia, Mama’s Fish House, Rain, Rain, Rain, throwing sea shells back in the ocean, Nicholas’ fort was a big hole in the sand, playing in the dirt, Some old people do not like cute kids who play loud in the pool, swimming by himself with his floaters and inner tube, Doug can’t BBQ hamburgers, luckily we had leftovers. Saw lots of big coral on the beach, Nicholas loves to throw everything back into the ocean, if it is not bolted down he will pick it up and throw it into the ocean.

Day 3 (July 19, 2010)

Played in the Banyan tree, threw more rocks, REEFDANCER, octopus, lots of fish, DIVERS!!!!! Maui Tacos, pool time, Baseball, naptime, Nicholas woke up after 20 minutes with his eyes still closed staggering down the hall he exclaims “more pool time”, watched the sunset on the beach, tried to build a sand castle, ended up building a huge pile of sand to jump in and roll down. Lots and lots of sand in the bed, early to bed, 2 am cries for chicken nuggets, (but that is to be expected when your son refuses to eat lunch and dinner)…

Day 4 (July 20, 2010)

Early to rise,(mom takes first shift 4:30 am – 6 am, dad takes second shift 6 am -7:30 am, Dad redeems himself from the BBQ incident and makes Bacon, eggs and pancakes for breakfast, NAPTIME already….Wake up “where are the donuts”, pool time, pool time, ”we’re not people we’re family,” pizza for dinner, Grammy bought Nicholas a kite, attempt #1 to fly kite = FAILURE. More time at the beach playing in the sand, big pile of sand for Nicholas to roll down, turtles, turtles, turtles,

Day 5 (July 21, 2010)

Rainforest adventure, Hiked the I’ao Valley, Hawaii Nature Center, Nicholas made it most of the hike, mom and dad carried him out, some guys were jumping off of the cliffs into the stream, very scary, Nicholas wanted daddy to try, luckily I did not bring my trunks, Nicholas pooped at the Nature Center bathroom (first one in a public place, got to celebrate the small milestones), RUBY’S for lunch, back to the Baby beach, VERY WINDY, attempt #2 to fly kite = FAILURE. “your gonna kill someone!!”, more pool time, Nicholas was totally flirting with girls 8x’s his age, went to see more turtles, saw and EEL!!!!!!! Catherine will most likely never set foot in the ocean again, traumatizing experience, bedtime stories on the patio overlooking the most spectacular view ever. “I need water, because I am growing”

Day 6 (July 22, 2010)

This was our last day so we took in as much as possible. First things first we packed and got that out of the way. Back to the pool because a day without swimming in the pool is just tragic for Nicholas while we are on vacation. Baseball, one last look for sea turtles, Nicholas named one Henry. Bubba Gumps for Dinner, Black Rock Beach at sunset (our last look at Maui beaches before we fly home) the perfect sight to end on.

Traveling Home (the red eye flight)

We got in line and waited and waited and waited, I started to complain and talk about how long this was gong to take until we got home and then the group next to us told me they were flying from Maui to Germany in one day…yes 24 hours of flying… I shut up. Flight left at 10 pm and Nicholas slept the whole way.

Maui was incredible and we had such a great time. It was nice to decompress with my family and spend some time just having fun and seeing what God has blessed me with. I love my family so much and I am so grateful for them and the time I can spend being a husband and a dad. Maui see you again soon.