39 Clues to You: Week 7

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I'm sure it seems like I've forgotten to update all of you on our summer's quest to help my girls and their friends recognize and appreciate their differences. We finished up our summer adventure last week, but since we were in the middle of our series on money, I decided to hold off on sharing it with you until today.

It's been an amazing summer with these girls. Each one of them has grown and learned something new about the others. I'd love to tell you that they treat each other with respect and never argue and fight anymore, but that would be a lie. They do, however, think a little bit more before they speak, understand how different doesn't mean bad and know that God gave each of them gifts and talents unique to them.

For our last week together, we returned to the topic of the tongue. Everyone has a tough time hanging onto their tongue. It seems as if our tongues have the fastest connection to our brains, and unfortunately, we too often speak before we're finished thinking.

Our verse for the week was James 3:5, "Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark."

To illustrate the permanence of words once they leave our mouths, we had a Silly String war. The girls shot Silly String at each other until their cans were empty. Then, we looked around at the mess. We talked about how our words are like the Silly String. Once they leave our mouths, we can't stuff them back in, just like we can't put the Silly String back in the can. We also talked about what a big mess our words can make, and that mess isn't as easily cleaned up as a bunch of Silly String on the ground.

After cleaning up the mess in the backyard, we came back inside to see how our words can be like a fire and leave others feeling burned. I put a piece of newspaper in a metal pan. I showed the kids the flame of a lighter. We talked about how that flame was under control. When the flame is under control, it doesn't hurt anyone -- just like a tongue that's under control. However, when that flame gets out of control, it burns things up -- just like our tongues can do if we don't control them. Then, I lit the piece of newspaper on fire. It flamed up and burned quickly. We were left with a charred mess of ash. I had the girls look at the ash, and we talked about how our tongue is like that fire. It can turn people to ash on the inside.

Our featured girl for the day was my youngest daughter's best friend. She does gymnastics and loves to play board games. So, we had her show us how to do a cartwheel and a handstand. Each of the girls tried both of those things, and we managed to avoid serious injury. Then, we went outside and tried our feet at the balance beam (which was the railroad tie border of our rock garden). We did dips and scales. Everyone learned that it's a whole lot harder than it looks to walk across a 4-inch wide beam.

After gymnastics, we came back inside and our friend taught us two of her favorite card games -- Spit and Snap. We discovered that some of the girls really loved the speed and strategy of Spit while others hated it. Snap was pretty much universally enjoyed.

We finished our day back where we started it, talking about our tongues and how we should think before we speak. The girls each took home a candle to remind them that we want our tongues to be like a flame that's under control, not one that's burning things up.

Summer Fun: 39 Clues -- Week 5

I woke up to thunderstorms. Considering the fact that we have swim lessons, 39 Clues and soccer practice today, this is not a good thing. As I listened to the thunder rumble at 5 a.m., I was quickly thinking of all the ways I could move our 39 Clues adventure inside. None of my options are good today. So, I'm praying that it stops raining so we can have our duck race outside.

Now, I'm sure you're wondering why we would have a duck race. That doesn't represent a talent of one of the kids. Today, though, our featured child is my next door neighbor's middle daughter. And if there's one thing that stands out about her, it's that she loves ducks.

She loves ducks so much that last Easter her dad thought it would be a great idea to bring home live baby ducks (without telling mom), but that's a story for another day. Suffice it to say that the ducks are now living a happy life on a nearby farm.

Ducks are what this little girl is passionate about. Oh, we're also going to have her teach us how to tap dance, which I cannot wait to get pictures of, but ducks are her thing. And that's what this summer is all about -- learning to appreciate other people and their likes and interests. I want my kids to know that just because someone else has a different interest from you, that doesn't make them weird or wrong. It just makes them different. And we need to value those differences in others.

So, today, we're going to talk about Philippians 2:3-4, "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." We're going to talk about what it means to value someone else and how selfishness can rob others of their value.

The kids will each get a dollar, and I'll ask them if they want to trade that dollar in for other currency of varying amounts. The point is to get the kids to recognize that with money, some things are more valuable than others and how we care for that money shows how much we value it. If we lose a quarter, we're not going to be as sad as if we lose a $100 bill.

We're going to talk about how people aren't like money. Even though we're different, God values each of us. And He wants us to value one another as well. He wants us to treat each other as if everyone is as valuable as a $1,000 bill. We'll talk about what that means and how we can show others that we think they have value.

Then, we're going to focus on our duck-loving child. The girls are going to draw ducks. We're going to have a rubber duck race in our little kiddie pool. The kids will get a chance to practice being good winners and losers like we talked about in this space yesterday. I'm hoping to get the chance to explain that even in competition, we need to let others know we value them.

We're also going to let our featured child teach us how to tap dance as she's participated in dance for the past year. I can't wait to see how my non-dancing girls do with this activity.

We'll end the day with prayer and a challenge to show others that we value them this week. The girls will get to take their $1 bills home and put them somewhere that they can see them this week to remind them that God wants us to value others.

So, I'm hoping the rain stops, so we can spend some time today showing our friends how much we value them.  Even if it takes a duck race to do that.

Summer Fun: The 39 Clues to You

Today is the first day of our summer vacation. It means a new schedule and a lot more time with my kids. It also means it's time to begin our summer "camp."

Many of you know that every summer, my girls and four of their friends gather in my kitchen to spend time having fun and learning about God. This summer, our little group is going to embark on the "39 Clues to You" adventure. Despite a doctor's visit for a severe ear infection in my youngest, which has caused us to rearrange the schedule a bit, we are going to get our adventure under way today.

Each week, I'll be sharing with you what we've done. And the great news is that this year, I'm writing up the curriculum as I go and hope to have it available to you in the fall, so you can use it with your own kids next summer.

I'm almost as excited as the girls. This summer's adventure focuses on the idea that God made every person unique so they can fill a spot in His plan. Every one of us is God's masterpiece -- the very best thing that He can make. Because of that, I want the girls to know that not only did God make them unique and special, but He made others to be unique and special, too. That means that we need to place value on others and treat them with the same care and respect that we would use with a Renoir painting.

Each week will focus on a different girl in our group. At the beginning of the day, the girls will receive six clues and they'll have to figure out which girl we are going to focus on that day. We'll learn to do something that she excels at. Eat some food that she enjoys. Read part of a book that she really likes and find out some of the things that she is passionate about.

At the end of the summer, we're going to have a challenge that will force all the girls to work together and use their specific talents to complete the challenge.

Today is our kick-off day. The girls will get three clues that focus on how each person is loved by and special to God. The answer to the clues is "You." After that, they will receive their T-shirts and their totes. While they decorate their totes, we'll talk about the plan for the summer.

After they decorate their totes, they will each have to choose from an assortment of snacks. Each girl will have to explain why she chooses the snack she does. We'll talk about how each person has different likes and dislikes and how that's important because it keeps us from all being the same. If we all only ate tomatoes, then it would be hard to feed all of us.

Our big project for the day will focus on Ephesians 2:10, which says "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." We will look at pictures of art and architectural masterpieces and talk about how a masterpiece is the best that we can achieve.

We'll discuss how God says that we are His masterpiece, so we are the best thing that He can create. We'll also talk about how art masterpieces are treated -- with care and respect. We'll learn that God wants us to treat other people as if they are masterpieces -- with care and respect.

Each girl will get an artist's canvas, so she can create her own masterpiece with paint. We'll write Ephesians 2:10 on them. They will get to take them home and hang them in a place where they will remember that they are God's masterpiece.

As they leave, they will receive a challenge for the week that encourages them to treat their siblings as if their siblings are a masterpiece. When they come back next week, they'll need to know their memory verse and have written down one way that they treated their siblings like masterpieces to receive their prize.

I can't wait to see how God works in the hearts of these girls this summer. I just know that we're going to face August with a new respect for how God has created other people. And my prayer is that we'll have changed hearts in the way that we deal with others.