Share the LOVE!

“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

—1 Corinthians 13:13

 Share the Love

Dig into what makes your kids feel most loved and you’ll learn more about how to connect with them. Ask:

1. What are your favorite memories of things we’ve done together as a family? Why?

2. What makes you feel safe? loved? happy?

3. What could we do together to grow closer to God? How does staying close to God help our family love each other more?

 

Teachable Moments

1. The Greatest of These Is Love: The focus of Valentine’s Day is romantic love. This year, dig into the meaning of “agape” (pronounced “uh-GAH-pay”) with your kids. This Greek word best describes God’s love—the highest form of love. Agape has a deep, rich meaning: selfless, sacrificing, unconditional love. How does God show us that love? How can we show it to each other?

2. Better Than Cookies: Take your well-used cookie sheets and turn them into personalized memory verse visuals with your kids. Find black chalkboard paint at your local craft supply store and embellishments to add to the chalkboard frames. Paint the baking surface of the cookie sheet with chalkboard paint and allow it to dry completely. Then, glue embellishments around the outer edge to frame the chalkboard. Magnets work great for interchangeable decorations. With your family each week, decide on a memory verse and write it on the chalkboard, then put the chalkboard in a central location. Encourage each other as you practice the verse and store God’s Word in your hearts throughout the week. For design ideas and tutorials, go to pinterest.com and search “cookie sheet chalkboards.”

Family Experience

Welcome to “Camp Living Room”! Remember the fun of building “forts” or “castles” with pillows and blankets as a kid? Build on that fun and take your kids on a tent-camping adventure in your living room—they’ll rave about it for weeks!

Together, transform a room in your home into an indoor campsite for the weekend. You can even set up an actual tent or build one out of blankets. Turn off the TV; create a makeshift fire pit with pillows, and let your kids get creative with a flameless representation of fire; cook your traditional camping foods; roast marshmallows over the stove; curl up in sleeping bags; play your favorite board games—you get the idea.

Before lights out, have your kids close their eyes and imagine you’re all sleeping out under the night sky and its blanket of stars. Ask, “When you look at the night sky, what makes it beautiful?” Pause, and let your kids answer. Say, “Our eyes are drawn to the stars, the points of light God placed to shine bright in the dark. Because we love God, he’s put a light inside of all of us and we get to be like the stars in the sky. As we share God’s love with others we get to pass on the light—until there’s no more darkness. How can our family share God’s love and let our lights shine bright?” Finally, tell your kids ways you’ve seen each of them share God’s love and how bright they shine. Say a prayer of thanks for your kids. Then, wish your little stars goodnight.