Penny A. Zeller - 77 Ways Your Family Can Make a Difference. Ideas and Activities for Serving Others

Copyright 2008
By Penny A. Zeller and Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City

2013 eISBN 978-0-8341-3188-0

Printed in the
United States of America

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, or any otherexcept for brief quotations in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher. If you have received this publication from any source other than an online bookstore, youve received a pirated copy. Please contact us at the Nazarene Publishing House and notify us of the situation.

All Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version (NIV). Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Zeller, Penny, 1973

77 ways your family can make a difference : ideas and activities for serving others / Penny Zeller.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8341-2370-0 (pbk.)

ISBN-10: 0-8341-2370-3 (pbk.)

1. FamilyReligious life. I. Title. II. Title: Seventy-seven ways your family can make a difference.

BV4526.3.Z45 2008

249dc22

2008014692

Contents

A little girl knelt at the edge of her bed and prayed for each member of her family. She then asked God to heal the owie she received while riding her bike. With her head bowed and her eyes closed, she finished her prayer, saying, And, Lord, please help us find someone to bless tomorrow.

In this world of chaos and busyness, it takes only a moment to bless someones day. Thoughtful things we can do for one another can really make a difference. Because of this, its important to teach our children the power that helping others can have. Involving the entire family will teach children to develop a mind-set of serving others as they grow into adulthood. Serving others as a family project has the reward of helping others, and it creates multiple benefitsto those inside the family unit and also to other individuals in need.

Just as the Lord said, were to treat others the way we would want to be treated and to love our neighbor just as ourselves. What better way for children to understand this principle than to teach them to serve others? And what better way than to model as parents? 77 Ways Your Family Can Make a Difference provides the platform for doing just that. By using this book as a learning tool, your family will reap many benefits. This book does the following:

It teaches children to care about and serve othersa valuable lesson that lasts their entire lives.

It gives families a chance to witness to others.

Unlike some books that are set aside when the reading is finished, 77 Ways Your Family Can Make a Difference can be used time and time again.

Many of the suggestions in the book have no extra expenses.

It opens up many Bible verses for discussion.

It helps promote family unity.

Each suggestion includes an interactive Up for Discussion section. This allows children to discuss the importance and the effect of each activity and correlate it to Gods Word.

Encourage your family not only to take part in these activities but also to develop a mind-set of servanthood that can, in turn, be passed on to their own children. Put a smile on someones faceyou can make a difference!

This hands-on book has a collection of 77 suggestions that are written for youparents, grandparents, youth leaders, and teachers. Such suggestions will assist you in involving your families, youth group, and students in the important and life-changing act of serving others.

Some of the suggestions in this book are designed for family members and friends as recipients, while other suggestions are designed for complete strangers. Regardless of which suggestions you choose to undertake, be sure to pray about each activity, and ask God to bless the people you serve.

Youll note that some of the projects require heavy involvement, while others are very simple. Keep in mind that even simple acts of kindness make a difference.

After each activity is an Up For Discussion section. This section is written directly to your children, youth group, and students. The questions and comments within this section are directed and designed for them to answer after your family or youth group has completed the project. The questions help them look deeper into the reasons behind each activity. Many correlate the activity to a particular Bible verse or Bible story. Feel free to add questions and comments of your own during this critical time of sharing, learning, and understanding Gods desire for us to serve Him and others.

At the end of each activity is a Bible verse. Discuss this verse with your children and how it applies to their lives, serving others, and living the life God designed for them. You may also wish to have your children memorize the verse. By doing so, theyll be able to more readily call upon the Word of the Lord throughout their lives.

During each of these projects, may you and those you involve in each activity serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men (Eph. 6:7).

Sometimes we take family vacations for granted. The pleasure of climbing into the car and escaping for a while is always an option. However, there are many people who, due to health, financial, or other reasons, dont have the privilege of taking short jaunts or extended vacations. Why not bring a vacation to them by creating a Bring-It-Back-Box?

A Bring-It-Back-Box can be made from a cardboard box or plastic container with a lid. A wooden box put together as a family project can be even more creative. Using craft supplies such as paints, crayons, and stickers, spend an evening as a family decorating the box.

Whenever your family takes a vacation, whether to the mountains, the beach, the zoo, or to visit a relative in another state, make it a point to collect mementos from your trip. Place these mementos in your homemade box, and when youve collected quite a few items, give to someone who may never be able to travel to those places. Remember: you dont have to travel far to find a treasure for your Bring-It-Back-Box. Some suggestions for ideas are as follows:

A pinecone or pretty rock from your camping trip.

A seashell or sand dollar from the beach.

A small stuffed animal from the zoo gift shop.

A beautiful pressed flower from Grandmas yard.

A drawing of the butterflies at the butterfly farm you visited.

A dried cattail, interesting leaf, or feather from a family walk.

A postcard from your trip to another state.

A coin from that far-off country your family traveled to.

A picture of your family from an exciting adventure at the aquarium.

To experience this activity even more fully, collect duplicates of the items that your family places in the Bring-It-Back-Box and use them for your familys memory box!

Up for Discussion

Why would creating a Bring-It-Back-Box provide cheer for someone unable to travel? Would that person enjoy receiving a token from one of your trips? Can you think of any other items you could add to his or her box?

So many items that can be used for the Bring-It-Back-Box are those found in nature. God created nature for us to enjoy. Any object found in nature is the best kind to include!

Challenge your parents or sibling(s) to list how many animals they can think of in one minute. How many did you come up with? Why do you think God chose to make so many different types of animals? Why is it important to have an awareness and appreciation for all that God created?