Availability
“Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
- Romans 12:10
Definition: the quality of being at hand when needed; present and ready for use
Reason Chosen: I know how easy it is to get caught up in our own agenda. We, as humans, are egocentric beings. Children are especially that way too. However, that’s not the way we are called to be. We are called to think of others. Jesus called us to think of the least of these. He called us to get out of our own world and reach out to those in need. A huge part of that is willingness and availability. It means setting our own agenda aside to make the time. I just saw a pastor do a talk to other pastors about making people a priority. In a radical move, before he started he said, “Please turn on your cell phones.” He set his own agenda aside by allowing phones to ring and letting people take calls from the people they are serving. He wanted to make it clear that he wants us to learn to choose people over programs. He even took a call in the middle of his talk because he knew the person calling was in real need. When we get caught up in the business of life, we are often missing opportunities to care for people the way we should. Guilty! I know I have a busy week ahead, but I really want to make sure that I teach my kids to set the care of people over a “to-do” list.
Word Ring At the beginning of each week, the craft will be exactly the same because we will simply be adding a new word to our already established word ring.
Materials Needed
* Stock Card Paper (I had a whole stack like this – found at any craft store)
* Assorted Sticker Letters (I just bought a bunch on clearance at Michael’s)
* Binder Clips (Craft Store)
* Paper Cutter or Scissors
* Hole Punch
The girls chose a paper style they thought would look good with the letters they chose. We then helped them sound out “availability.” They took turns finding the letters we needed and sticking them on the paper…they’re kids – the letters will not be stuck on perfect. I then cut the paper to the same size as the paper from last week. We punched a hole in the corner and stuck it on our binding clip. Each week, a new word will be added to the clip in similar fashion. I then wrote the Bible verse on the back. If your kids are older, have them do it themselves. We’ll spend this week learning the word, meaning and memorizing the scripture.
