Mission Monday Moments
I desire for my children to feel so cherished and loved that they in turn will pour out that love into the lives of others.
Matthew 22:36-40 ” ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
What does loving others look like through the eyes of our children?
Summer provides the time and opportunity to create traditions, memories, and experiences on the mission field. The hope is that the time we spend together as a family sharing the love of Christ with others will not only deepen our family bonds, but will make us less self-centered and more others-centered.
The simple act of naming an activity can create anticipation and excitement to participate in that activity. Sort of like Taco Tuesdays referenced in my Friday Night Chicken and Rice post. In an effort to create some excitement around serving others, we labeled Mondays as “Mission Mondays”. Throughout the summer every Monday we will do some type of family mission project.
For our Mission Monday kickoff, the boys and I put together a few blessing bags. We often pass people standing on the street in obvious need of some love and care. Usually we have very little on hand to offer. For less than $10 we were able to fill 4 bags that we can keep in the car for the next person we see in need of a little love.
The boys really took to this project much more than I realized they would. We purchased a few supplies such as wipes, mouthwash, and deodorant. We added a few non-perishable food items we had in the pantry along with extra Bibles we purchased for 50 cents each at the Christian bookstore. Next, the boys wanted to add candy and their own money to the bag, two of their prized possessions.
To complete the bags they drew a picture with a scripture verse on a card. Zachary chose James 4:8 “Come near to God and He will come near to you.” Jacob chose Acts 16:31 “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved.” The final step was to pray for the people who would receive those bags. We asked God to send us to whoever was in need of what was inside that bag. And most importantly that God would draw near to those individuals.
This was a really fun project to start our summer missions.
Here is a list of some fun and simple family missions projects:
- Prepare blessing bags
- Volunteer at a soup kitchen or food bank
- Visit a nursing home
- Provide a meal to someone who could use it
- Bake cookies for a neighbor
- Sponsor a Compassion or World Vision child
- Send a care package to a soldier.
- Write a letter to a sponsored child
- Gather items around the house to donate to Goodwill or Salvation Army
- Pull weeds or other yard work for an elderly neighbor
We’d love to hear your ideas for creating family memories through missions!
I am surprised too by how much my kids remember when they notice obvious needs. I’m challenged to begin creating more opportunities to develop a missional heart in the boys. So sweet that Jacob continues to ask about the man on the street. His sweet prayers can do far more than he could imagine!
Renee Robinson http://www.barefootwalks.com http://www.bestill1.wordpress.com 540-256-2928
Mission Mondays…I love it! What a great idea, Renee! I think about the man we saw on the street often and Jacob talks about and remembers him more than I thought he would. He is always asking me questions about him. If only we had one of these bags on that day! What a blessing that would have been for him!
I forgot to mention that Jacob and I are going to deliver some meals for Meals On Wheels this summer. He is really looking forward to this!
What a great idea to deliver meals on wheels meals! Thanks for sharing!
Renee Robinson http://www.barefootwalks.com http://www.bestill1.wordpress.com 540-256-2928
Renee, I just love this! Those boys are so blessed to have a mommy that is so intentional about their character development and teaching them about the love of Christ!
🙂 I pray the good moments outweigh my failures. I find myself in constant thanks for God’s unending forgiveness and mercy!!
I love this idea! Thank you for sharing.
Delivering Meals on Wheels on Fridays was one of the best things we did as a family and is now one of my fondest memories. Taking our two young daughters with us added such a dynamic to the experience of the elderly on those days. Their faces would light up when our daughters came through the door. We made it a point to say “God bless you” each visit as we left. Once Rachel left one house crying. I said, “What’s wrong?” She said, “It was MY turn to say God bless you!” Rachel died in 2002 at age 18 but memories like that one will always stay in my heart. Now I want to do these kind of things with my grandkids.