Dear All,

I hope you are all well. Amid all the popcorn mania, we had another fun God & Family class last night. Thank you to Dr. Mark Key for engaging the boys.

We meet next week, 11/3/15, at 6:00 pm at Mt Tabor UMC. Same third floor meeting rooms as before – Pineapples start in the library and Pepperonis start in room 307.  Our guest speaker from the Mt Tabor UMC Clergy will be Kara Harvey. (Thank you, Kara!)

We are halfway through the God & Family series. I have a great news – the God & Family Cub Scout Professional, Stacy Stevens, will be back next week so no more dealing with the replacement player, Shannon.

Although, I am a bit sad because this topic coming up is my favorite. It is all about unconditional love or the cheese on our theoretical pizza. It is entitled “In God’s family we are loved, no matter what! Because we are loved, we follow the rules.”

Of course, you can’t talk about examples of unconditional love in the bible with children without bringing up the parable of the Prodigal Son. So we (or they) will focus on Luke 15:11-32.  They will also talk about obedience in Exodus 20:12 as well as Mary & Joseph losing Jesus in Luke 2:41-52.  There is also a discussion of the 10 commandments using Exodus 20:1-17and in Deuteronomy 5:6-21.

Homework this week, you can choose one from:

(1) Saying a prayer with your family and thanking God for all the different gifts & talents God has given your family members.

(2) Taking a walk with your family and observing (with eyes, ears and nose) all the gifts God has given us in nature. Read Psalm 8 and have a family prayer of thankful praise for all the God-given gifts in nature.

I assume that Stacy won’t need me for the rest of the series, so let me tell you how much fun I had with your boys. They are bright, funny and engaging. Thank you so much for sharing them with me!

In my God & Family replacement player career, I was blessed with lots of help: Carmen Bridges, Brad Wood, Ty Brown, Emma Brown, Liza Wearn, Mark Wearn, Courtney Shields and the rotating Mt Tabor UMC clergy (who know this program like the back of their collective hand). I am grateful for every one of these wonderful people, for this support and so many other reasons. If I missed someone who helped, please know that I am thankful for your help and just a little bit scattered ;>.

Enjoy next week.

Take care-

Shannon