Keeping God in the Center of a Busy Weekend

       We have a very big family and I love it, but it can be challenging. In our household on certain days (like this weekend) we have my wife, myself, our daughter Nikkie who is 8, our son Jude who is nearly 7, our daughter Stella who is 3, our daughter Hendrix who is 18 months, and my older sister Britni all under one roof! It makes for a lot of traffic and a lot of noise. Alyssa picked up Jude and Stella from their moms house on Friday morning. I was able to get off work early, so Alyssa picked me up around noon. We were very excited for a weekend with everyone. Once I got home and took a quick shower, then it was time to give all my time and attention, to God and my family. God is always the center of our lives and our home. Which is why the first thing we did was a Bible study! We try to make it as fun as possible for the kids. At the same time it is important to be biblically accurate. We start by reading the children's version of a Bible story, after, we read the story straight from the bible. We've noticed it helps them grasp the story better from the bible while still getting the facts. Next we always do an activity with the Bible study. Sometimes its elaborate other times depending on the weekend its minor. This weekend we studied the story of Daniel, afterwards we asked them to draw with their imaginations what they think Daniel looked like while inside the lions den. They had a great time drawing their lion and discussing the story. Our favorite verse was   Daniel 6:27 He rescues and he saves; he performs signs and wonders in the heavens and on the earth.
He has rescued Daniel from the power of the lions.”
        After the story it was time for some outside fun! Coordinating all of the kids can be difficult especially when everyone has their own agenda. The way we tackle this and to get everyone playing and participating together is to take turns. Everyone has to play each game and everyone chooses one game. Jude chose baseball, Nikkie chose ninja skills (like mini olympics), Stella chose freeze tag, Dad chose soccer. We had a lot of fun with the different games, everyone played and there were no fights or pouting. We ended up playing outside for over 2 hours straight. Mom was able to get all of her school work done in the meantime. Plus being pregnant means she can only play some outside activities. After the 2 hours I was exhausted, but even when we are tired it's important to remember 1 Corinthians 16:14 "Let all that you do be done in Love." Afterwards we had the kids play quietly in their room until dinner was done.
       At dinner we said grace, and then started our best thing, worst thing tradition. After dinner the kids got to have electronic time. While they did this I spoke with my wife and sister. I knew they had a long week and were especially exhausted. I thought of John 15:12 "This is my commandment, that you Love one another as I have Loved you." I had a little extra money saved, and knew just what to do. I called the nail salon nearby our house and made a reservation for my wife, sister, and 2 daughters. I handed my wife the money and sent them off. The girls were excited and very thankful. This gave me and Jude some time to bond as well, in our case, play a little video games :). The girls returned about an hour and a half later. Everyone was tired as it had been a long but fulfilling day. We got everyone changed and ready for bed.
     The next day was just as adventure filled as the first. Like I said the weekends are to stay God centered and focused on the family. We started the day off by going to Lowes, for those who don't know what it is, it's a large warehouse hardware store. The second Saturday of every month they offer a free kids workshop. Mom is pretty crafty at finding out about this stuff and post things like it to our website www.todaysdisciples.com. The kids had a great time with the activity. They were constructing picture frames for Valenines Day. While we worked I explained to them the principles behind wood working and that Jesus himself was once a carpenter. Mathew 13:55 ""Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?"The finished work looked great, Hendrix and Jude didn't want to stop building. Thank you to everyone at Lowes for such a great workshop.
                                                                                    After the workshop I took the 3 older kids hiking with me. Mom needed a little more time for Valentines day without the kids. Hiking with the kids was a bit challenging, in their defense it isn't the easiest hike. Challenges are important though, as I told them. The hike will be worth the view and we'll come back from it stronger. Then I thought to Jeremiah 31:16 "Restrain your voice from weeping and eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded, declares the lord." We reached the top and the kids were amazed at how far they could see and how windy it was. It was an amazing view, but the sight of my three little achievers was far greater.
       You would think that was enough adventure for one day, not for us. I still needed to take my little man out for some father son time. The girls had gotten their nails done, so I asked my son Jude, "What would you like to do?" He replied,"I want to try fishing, so we can catch a really big fish, but hopefully not a stinky shoe like in the movies." "Haha, okay bud sounds like a plan, but just so you know I've only been fishing once. We will have to learn this together." He agreed and was very excited. We went to Wal-mart and bought a fishing pole that came with hooks and bait. It only cost 14 dollars which I though was a fair price. Next we went to a pond I had driven by a few times off of 59th Ave and Bethany Road. It was a beautiful park with a huge pond for fishing. Jude and I read the instructions and got our pole set up pretty quickly. We hurried over to the pond and made ourselves a spot. Jude got the basics down very quickly, between casting and reeling. While we waited for a nibble I kept explaining to Jude that some of the disciples were fisherman. Then I pulled out my bible and read him Mathew 4:19 "Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” He thought it sounded funny until I explained it to him. I told him it was about finding people who were without Jesus or God, they were the lost fish, and teaching them about God and how to Love him. We fished for a little over an hour before we started running out of sunlight. We had one nibble and caught one old bag of trash which Jude found hilarious. We both really enjoyed fishing and telling each other stories. We decided we would try it again in two weeks. We packed up our equipment and hurried home. Mom had just finished making hot dogs and hamburgers and we were starving. After dinner we all watched an anime together. It was another great day.