For dad only:
Hope
I used to get up grumpy every day. I would have rather let him sleep. Then, I realized I was the one making this child frustrated. Thank God I discovered His gift of hope.
Every morning as I rally my crew out of slumber land, I try to set before them some sense of hope. Instead of irritating them right from the get-go, I look for things they will be excited about. “Hey, sweetie, get up so we can go check on that new puppy” or, “Hey, man, we’re having waffles for breakfast, you do not want to be late.”
Living in anticipation
What keeps you going forward? Hope. That word does not work for most of us because we use it in a negative sense: “I hope the rain does not ruin the picnic” and so on. So, let’s use the word “anticipation.” What do you anticipate?
If you only expect doom and gloom in your future, you will settle into a grumpy, depressive lifestyle. If you anticipate great things for your life, you will inspire others, too. Have you created an environment of anticipation within your household? Or does a pale of hopelessness gag your clan?
A life of expectancy
Pregnant women’s eyes twinkle with hope. They are expecting. They know something great is coming even though it comes with pain and hard labor. Give your kids something to get out of bed for. Plan evening game times, weekend events, and week-long getaways.
Set a reward for particularly difficult milestones and achievements. Speak encouragement, not threats and punishment. When your kids become addicted to expectancy, you will have a joyful home others will envy.
Expectant hope breeds generosity, love, peace, harmony, unity, and joy. What are you expecting to come from your devotion time with your children today? How can you make it exciting and fun, not just another to-do?
Imagine the joy of seeing your children start happy families of their own. Picture them leading others to a love relationship with Jesus. Envision your reward in heaven. Feel that? It’s hope!
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Read this birthday devotional to the kids:
Moving Forward
Last time, Rusty was stuck hanging on the face of cliff.
“I just can’t wait,” Misty said as she hung a paper streamer. “Rusty is going to be so surprised!”
“Do you think he has any clue that we are doing this?” Mom asked as she tied another balloon.
“Nope. He has no idea. He said all he wanted to do for his birthday was go climbing with Dad and Dad’s friend. He told me later that it would be weird not having any friends over for his birthday this year.”
Mom laughed. “Then he doesn’t have a clue! I put the cake in the oven last night after he went to bed and had it cooling in the pantry when he left.”
“And we got the icing on it this morning after they left,” Misty concluded.
“Oh, I love that whipped cream frosting. I hope he likes the orange flavor we tried this time.”
“On chocolate cake? Oh yeah! He probably would not have gone climbing if he knew we made that. He’d be here trying to snitch some.”
Mom stepped down from the chair where she’d tied up some balloons. “I sure hope they are doing okay…,” she said staring at the decorations.
• • •
Hanging on the edge of the rock wall, Rusty whispered, “Jesus, please help me get off of here safely.”
Rusty’s harness began to feel uncomfortable as he sat there, leaning out from the rock wall. All he could think about now was getting off that rope and standing up somewhere solid.
Rusty breathed in deeply and looked up to the top of the cliff. Troy and Dad were at the top now, looking over.
“Rusty?” Dad shouted.
“Yes, sir!” Rusty answered.
“Go ahead and climb up. Troy and I will pull up the slack in your rope as you go. Okay?”
“Okay!” Rusty said with a renewed burst of strength. “Ready or not, here I come.”
He put his hand on a little ledge and pulled up. He moved up his left foot and found another place to grab on with his other hand. As he crept upward, Dad and Troy pulled up the slack on the rope. Rusty glanced up often to see how far he was from the people he wanted to be with and the place where solid ground would soon be under his feet. It seemed so far away, but seeing Dad’s head peeking over gave him a goal to climb toward.
“That’s good, Son, keep going. Make sure you have good hold of the rocks.”
After quite a while, Rusty was within a few feet of the top. “Way to go, buddy,” Troy said.
Once Rusty had a hand on the ledge at top, Dad grabbed his hand and helped pull him up the rest of the way. Troy slapped Rusty on the back. “Way to go, buddy!”
“How was that?” Dad asked.
“Fine, as long as I kept thinking about what it would be like at the top.”
“That’s the secret to it,” Troy said.
“Sounds like a secret to getting through a lot of difficulties,” Dad said.
Troy took off Rusty’s harness and jacket to untangle the two.
Rusty stretched. “Wow! That was a lot of fun.”
“Was it as good as you told your mom it would be?” Dad asked.
“Better. I can’t wait until I can tell her and Misty all about it.”
“All right!” Dad said. “Let’s pack up our gear and get moving. I bet she has some grub for us to eat, too.”
“Cool! Let’s get going.”
They found a hiking trail and started working their way down the hillside. It was a longer walk down that than the distance up the rock wall, but it went much more quickly than climbing the cliff did.
On the way down, Rusty talked non-stop about what he was going to tell Mom and Misty. “I wish I had a picture of those deer,” he said. “And, boy, did you guys see that eagle?
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Now discuss this birthday devotional for kids!
What were Mom and Misty looking forward to?
What are some things you are looking forward to?
Read Proverbs 10:28. If you have something to look forward to, how does it bring you joy? Does gloominess ever ruin your day?
How did hope keep Rusty motivated?
Read Proverbs 13:12. How does hope influence our emotions of joy or despair?
How does hope in the Lord keep us moving forward?
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Read God’s Word together:
Hope for Healing
Then a man named Jairus arrived; he was an official in the local synagogue. He threw himself down at Jesus’ feet and begged him to go to his home, because his only daughter, who was twelve years old, was dying.
As Jesus went along, the people were crowding him from every side. Among them was a woman who had suffered from severe bleeding for twelve years; she had spent all she had on doctors, but no one had been able to cure her. She came up in the crowd behind Jesus and touched the edge of his cloak, and her bleeding stopped at once.
Jesus asked, “Who touched me?”
Everyone denied it, and Peter said, “Master, the people are all around you and crowding in on you.”
But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I knew it when power went out of me.”
The woman saw that she had been found out, so she came trembling and threw herself at Jesus’ feet. There in front of everybody, she told him why she had touched him and how she had been healed at once.
Jesus said to her, “My daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace.”
While Jesus was saying this, a messenger came from the official’s house. “Your daughter has died,” he told Jairus; “don’t bother the Teacher any longer.”
But Jesus heard it and said to Jairus, “Don’t be afraid; only believe, and she will be well.”
When he arrived at the house, he would not let anyone go in with him except Peter, John, and James, and the child’s father and mother. Everyone there was crying and mourning for the child. Jesus said, “Don’t cry; the child is not dead—she is only sleeping!”
They all made fun of him, because they knew that she was dead. But Jesus took her by the hand and called out, “Get up, child!”
Her life returned, and she got up at once, and Jesus ordered them to give her something to eat. Her parents were astounded, but Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone what had happened.
(Luke 8:41-56, GNB)
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Suggested discussion:
What was the sick woman’s hope?
Jairus found out that his daughter had died before Jesus arrived. How did Jesus keep his hopes up?
Anytime God gives us a promise, we can take hope in it. What are you hoping for that God has promised you?
Read Proverbs 24:14. How does wisdom bring hope?
Role play: Abraham had no reason for hope. He and his wife were beyond the ability of having children. Yet they looked forward to holding a cuddly child because God said He would give them one. Read Romans 4:18, 5:2-5; 8:24-25. Would you have had hope like he did?
How can you inspire hope in someone else?
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Memorize it!
Proverbs 10:28
The hope of the righteous
shall be gladness:
but the expectation of the wicked
shall perish.