Tuesday, May 31, 2016
A simple and effective family night idea: fill the emptiness
If you are anything like me you have questions at times about how to keep your children level to the reality that life isn't always easy. A Christian life might be exceptionally difficult with more and more hostility prevalent in global encounters. The genesis of my questions come from a concern about what they will do when faced with difficulty...With increasing numbers of people (or at least awareness of them via social media and news platforms) that are seeking to fill the void or emptiness in life with fleeting and temporary pleasures, we can't deny that our children will and possibly have attempted already to "fill the gap" with outside things as well: Think iPod, money, game systems, friends, food, Facebook, Instagram...
We do the same thing, don't we?
We were created with this longing and need for God; He set eternity on our hearts before we were born to help us turn to Him in utter dependance and need. We were created to seek relationship with Him. This was pure intention. Yet we spend time seeking things that actually pull us farther away from Him trying to fill it and wonder why we feel empty, lonely, depressed or ____________.
This activity is designed to create awareness of this longing in our hearts and prevent a lot of heartache from attempting to fill it with the wrong things. Have fun with today's Family Night Suggestion~ our children did; and it was pretty easy to pull together, needing only a few supplies:
Battery operated doll or toy (We used a Lego Ninjago Alarm Clock) with batteries removed but close for use later
Flashlight with batteries
Dollar Bill (I used a $100 which got pretty distracting :))
Pictures of: Beautiful Man or Woman, group of friends, favorite food, dream house, vacation spot, favorite toys, an expensive car
Index Card and Pen for each person in your family
Pray: Our Father in Heaven, please bless this time together that it would inspire deeper connections with and understanding for each other. Thank you for this gift of family that you did not create as an accident but with a purpose to love and support each other. Help us remember that you placed each of us here for the others. When we gather in your name we know you are with us and ask that you use our family to be a blessing to others.
Activity One: All I need
Everyone gets an index card and gets to write and complete the sentence:
**Younger children get to draw a picture of their answers
Try not to show each other your answers...its fun to try to guess what each member of your family may have put as their answer.
After everyone has had a chance to share, ask the questions:
Do you think if you had this one thing you would be completely and truly happy?
How long do you think this would really make you happy for, before you decided you needed something else?
Read the verse shared above: Ecclesiastes 3:11. What does this mean? (God has put a longing in our hearts; a desire and a hope for Him)
Activity 2: The Empty Hole
Show your family members the doll (or battery operated toy) with the empty battery box and ask: "What does this doll need to do the "thing that it does"?
Share "We all know it needs batteries, but I wonder if anything else will make the doll work?" Your kids will perk up here just out of your sheer silliness.
What happens if I put money here? (literally try to stuff the money in the battery box and try to turn the doll on)
A nice house? A nice car? A handsome boyfriend (or pretty girlfriend)
A great vacation?
Continue with any other pictures you may have to demonstrate things we might use to "fill our gap" to show that nothing else will make the doll work
ASK: How is this like the need we have?
The need we have isn't for batteries, its for a relationship with God. Everyone was created with this need, but not everyone looks to God to fill it. A lot of people try to stuff other things in their lives to fill this need, but just like the doll without batteries, it won't work. What are some things people try to fill the need with?
(Answers range from friends, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, popularity, nice houses, wonderful vacations, money, jobs, toys, new bikes, better cars, drugs, alcohol, volunteer projects and causes.)
There will always be a better job, a bigger house, others with more money and popularity, more amazing vacations, new toys, etc. We just can't keep up. But we can keep drawing nearer to God and He will draw near to us.
God invites us in Isaiah 55:1-2: "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend your money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me and eat what is good, and you will delight in the richest of fare..."
Don't work hard for things that won't satisfy you, or spend money on that which "isn't food", meaning that which doesn't sustain life. God knows we have a need and wants to fill that need for FREE thanks to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that paved our way to a restored relationship with our Father Almighty.
Time to put the batteries in the doll; Just as the doll has a hole in her that can only be filled with batteries to serve her purpose; we have a hole in us that can only be filled by a relationship with God.
After the activity, take prayer requests from your spouse and children; make a habit of teaching our children to pray for each other throughout the week and let this strategic time together transform their hearts and yours.
Takeaway: We all have a need in our lives and only a relationship with God can fill our need.
*Inspired by Family Night Tool Chest "Cavity Filler"