Good Afternoon! God Has Made It Hot Hot Hot For A Reason: Check It Out!

Greetings! It is a very hot afternoon today! So instead of doing a full article review which is supposed to be scheduled today, I will be sharing a craft project that will have people of ALL ages cooled off in no time! Wait a minute there will be a small faith sharing today as well. So turn up those air conditioners, sit tight, and enjoy the post of the day!


As you all know the theme of the day is based upon this unbearable heat!


That's right, the topic is the forty days and the forty nights in the dessert! How does the forty days and forty nights of Jesus fasting, sweating, and trudging across the dessert have to do with family life you ask? How does the topic apply to singles you wonder? How does it apply to couples at all levels of discernment? Inquiring minds are probably wanting to know. For starters Jesus had to sacrifice on his journey through the desert, he even snubbed Satan when the devil himself appeared as a serpent offering him food and comfort.
There are several aspects of the trudging through the desert besides a message of sacrifice, but today I want to discuss sacrifice and sacrifice of comfort. 

The many families and couples do not realize the sacrifice that the other(s) has made for the overall comfort of the other partneror the rest of the family. Think back when a boyfriends arm went numb when you fell asleep on his shoulder at the movie theater just for the sake of not wanting to wake you. The heat has been so intense! Think of the times your girlfriend or wife has fired up the stove to prepare a meal in this dreadful heat sweating over the stove ungracefully. The idea is that putting aside comfort to assure the other persons comfort is kept at a higher priority, realize and appreciate it. If you have not took the time to say thank you now is the time to do it. Look you partner in the eyes and tell them "Thank you for offering up your own personal comfort for the sake of mine, I love you and I appreciate you".  To put God in the center yes you will hear this quite often! When you bow your head in prayer today tell God you are grateful for his mercy and tell him tank you for offering his son at a great  deal of pain doing so also, thank Mary for giving up comfort when delivering Jesus just to make sure the infant savior had a comfortable place to sleep, finally that our savior Jesus Christ for offering up his suffering the many he endured through his life span to his death so we all can be forgiven and live a life in comfort free from venial sin. 

My faith story begins when I was in a previous relationship. I was being beaten badly and I told no one. Unbeknown to me the neighbor knew what was going on, he refused to bite his tongue. He did not have a care in the world as to what my ex and his family would say or do to him. Giving up the comfort of personal safety of his family and himself, he would come to my aid when he heard my screams through the open windows. He also risked comfort when he suffered personal injury stepping between. He made that sacrifice for me knowing it was the right thing to do and the Christian thing to do. If it wasn't for my ex boyfriends kind neighbor, I would not be typing today. I am reminded of that sacrifice for one good reason because, God so willed him to step in! So every sacrifice is only a part of God's destiny he chose for you.  Meet God halfway for once go to a daily mass if you are not Catholic go sit somewhere where there is cold water to take a swim in and say a prayer of thanksgiving.



Now for the fun project! We will be making "Bible Babies" frozen treats.

All you need is single serve popsicles on a stick ( not the "twin" pop variety that has two popsicles stick that you have to break apart, though those will work if you are making a face only).

 Materials
construction paper
glue
markers
Bible (so you can research your ideas, plus you also get the word of God)


1. LEAVE POPSICLE IN PAPER WRAPPPER!
2. Draw on the facial features of your favorit or your researched biblical characters ( see above).
3. Make the clothing out of the construction paper (children please have adult supervision when using sharp objects, later on I will have my final suggestions, so stay tuned for that).
4. After you have glued the clothing on stick the "Bible Babies" on a tray or cookie sheet. Have plenty of room in the freezer! Let them refreeze as they may soften so, I suggest researching or planning your characters ahead of time before pulling the popsicles out of the freezer to decorate them. Leave them in the freezer for a few hours not only will the popsicles refreeze, but the glue will need time to dry.
5. Serve them to your family and friends! Couples you will have fun doing this too! It will get the door open for communication.

Final Take ~ Family time is always good time! So remember when making your "Bible Babies" remember to do it as a family, as a couple, or in a group! The conversation ideas when crafting should be opening up and sharing on prayer life. If there is a new prayer you learned share it. Then at the dinner table later or in a random conversation ask if the prayer was remebered. it is a very good way to brush up on cummunication skills!

Now this is an icebreaker, LITERALLY!

Don't forget to fill yopur journals in at some point of the day! Discuss sacrifice!


Closing Prayer
+ Sign of the cross +


We are offering up thanksgiving for the wondrous sacrifices our eternally beloved savior has offered up for our worldly comforts we wallow in sinfully, to have a laid back comfortable life. Teach us God to have greater respect for what it really means to sacrifice. Thank you God for your mercy and compassion.
Amen

+ Sign of the cross+