A Splink is a SIMPLE way to LINK your family together spiritually.
It’s a FREE weekly email packed with ideas to help connect your family. Splinks are creative ways of interacting with your children with family devotional starters and ideas for family time. Splinks can also help you use teachable moments to pass along spiritual truths and life lessons while making memories or just having fun together. No matter where you are, it can always be time for a Splink!
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Splinks for October 19th - October 25th
Hidden Treasure
Buy a small treat (food, candy, small trinkets, stickers, etc.) and put in a box and hide it in the back yard. Make a map or just stand outside and give your kids directions to find a treasure.
****NOTE: Don’t just write off an idea because you don’t have what you need. Take the idea and adapt it to fit your family or what you have on hand. You don’t even have to have a treasure. Hide a small toy you already have and see if they can follow your instructions to find it. Let them hide the toy and give instructions to their siblings on how they should walk to find it.
If you make a map, include statements like these and draw the steps (five giant footsteps, arrow to right, ten small footsteps, etc):
• Walk five giant steps and turn right
• Take ten small steps straight ahead, then turn left
• Walk backwards six steps
• Stop and look under the bush to find a treat.
If you just speak the commands, tell them the way to walk (giant, medium, or baby steps), the direction to go, and how many steps to take.
Say something like this after the treasure has been found and enjoyed:
The Bible tells you the way to walk. Oh, it doesn’t tell you to take five giant steps or ten baby steps, but it tells you how to live. It tells you what not to do and what to do to please God and live a good
What Doesn’t Belong?
Play the “What doesn’t belong here” game. (Remember Sesame Street?) Collect a few items that are similar and one item that doesn’t fit. This is especially good if you have younger kids.
Put out three kitchen items (spoon, knife, fork) and a shoe.
Put out a crayon, marker, pencil, and a hat.
Put out three stuffed animals and a cookie.
Let them pick out what doesn’t belong with the others.
Then read the following lists to let them find out what doesn’t belong in the life of one who followers Christ:
• sharing, forgiving, helping, saying bad words
• loving others, being patient, working together, losing your temper
• being kind, obeying, stealing, respecting others
God wants His children to be like Jesus–to be holy–to stay away from sin.
Walking Like Jesus
Take a walk with your kids and as you walk, give each child a different challenge.
Walk like a: duck, queen, drum major, tightrope walker, cat, cowboy, Miss America, etc.
Ask:
How should a Christian (Christ follower) walk? Explain that by “walk” you mean the way they should live.
What should be a part of the way they live? What shouldn’t be a part of the way they live?
Ephesians 4:25-32 gives you several ideas. If they are old enough to read, let them look in these verses to find things that should or shouldn’t be part of the way they live (or you could read a verse and let them listen for what to do and what not to do). For example: Ephesians 4:25 says to put off lying and speak the truth to one another.
If you have an older child, he could write these on a white board. Put a line down the middle and write what not to do on the left side and what to do on the right side.
The fruit of the Spirit for this week is self-control. It means just what it says–controlling yourself. It means closing your mouth and not saying mean words if you are mad. It means not losing your temper when you don’t get your way. It means obeying when you would rather do something else. God will help you to have self-control if you do what is right (what He has told you in the Bible) instead of just doing whatever you want to do.
