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F A M I LY N I G H TI N T R O

C O M PA S S I O N : 3 0 D A Y S O F H E A R T W O R K F A M I LY N I G H T S

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KICK OFF DAY 1 OF COMPASSION: 30 DAYS OF HEARTWORK WITH THIS FAMILY NIGHT

 

DEAR PARENTS, 

 

As children of God, we are invited into a countercultural way of living! The world tells us that the more we consume, the happier we will be. Christ tells us that the way to finding true joy is spending ourselves for others the way God spends Himself for us! That’s why it matters that you’re doing this. 

Checking out of this modern, list-filled, sometimes chaotic life is not the answer, but learning (and forming our kids) to live counter-culturally, pausing to see others, and living in the peace and love of our generous God certainly is. We hope you’ll see that Compassion: 30 Days of Heartwork isn’t about adding another thing to your plate. It’s about pausing your normal hustle and taking baby steps toward living a more free and generous life.   

++ Dinner Idea 

Cook or carry out some kind of international meal that is culturally similar to the country your sponsored child lives in. If you don’t sponsor a child, you can choose a country that tugs at your heart. You can find recipe ideas here: Compassion.com/Recipes/.  Dinner questions:  

1. What would it feel like to have more limited food options? In many parts of the world, we can’t just choose from a full fridge and pantry at any time of day, or run out and get food from one of dozens of restaurants. What if healthy, nutritious food was hard to come by? 

2. As we jump into a month of focusing our energy in different places, in making some unique sacrifices and learning about serving others, how can we start by “spending ourselves” (more on this phrase coming up!) in our own home and family?  

  

 

 

 

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FAMILY NIGHT ACTIVITY 

 

++ Read to the Fam 

Here we go, guys. We are starting Compassion: 30 Days of Heartwork! This is going to be a month of living a little bit differently, focusing on the challenges faced by children and families who are affected by poverty … and looking at the need for simplicity and generosity in our own hearts! We’ll get to do something really special for the child we sponsor (or if you’re not sponsoring yet, for a community who needs the blessing of a safe water well!). We’re starting with a poem in the Old Testament. It’s a very old poem that calls the people of Israel to repentance for their rebellion towards God. Rebellion?? I’m sure none of you have EVER struggled with this. :)   Anyway, it starts with rebellion and ends with incredible love and forgiveness. Because this is our God … loving, giving and forgiving. And this month we are going to learn to live a little more like this God we want to know better.   One interesting thing about this poem is that it describes a lot about the body. Swinging fists, shouting, fighting, shivering … and sharing, inviting and clothing. We make so many choices every day with our –”selves” – our bodies. And this month we want to use our very bodies, our hands and feet, not just our minds, to practice knowing God better. We’re going to read and learn some things, but most importantly we’re going to serve others in new ways, go without some of our normal comforts, and “take up our crosses” (Matthew 16:24 - which is like dying to our selfishness) like Jesus talks about. We won’t have an actual cross to carry around, but there will be some other things we do carry around! (More on that in Week Four!) There are so many ways we can find to make sacrifices for others, the way Jesus has sacrificed Himself for us.   Let’s read Isaiah 58 together. It will be helpful to know a few things:  

1. Jacob is a representative to us all of God’s family, God’s people.  2. “Fasting” means a period of time when you’re not eating any food. In the time this poem was 

written, fasting was practiced by people to humble themselves before God, to seek hope or restoration.* But clearly, the folks Isaiah was hanging around had their fasting habits a little mixed up.  

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3. Remember, it’s a poem and it might be a bit hard to understand. That’s ok! We just need to get the general idea. Notice all of the references to action and to God’s wild and crazy love.  

 * Bible.org, “Christian Fasting: A Theological Approach”, Chapter 1. 

 

++ Activity For everyone in the family who can read, take turns reading portions of Isaiah 58 in dramatic fashion, even acting it out … (read it like the poem that it is!) **This is a mix of The Message+NIV, to make it easy to read and understand.  // Isaiah 58:1-10 (NIV and The Message) 1-3 “Shout! A full-throated shout! Hold nothing back – a trumpet-blast shout! Tell my people what’s wrong with their lives, face my family Jacob with their sins! They’re busy, busy, busy at worship, and love studying all about me. To all appearances they’re a nation of right-living people — law-abiding, God-honoring. They ask me, ‘What’s the right thing to do?’ and love having me on their side. But they also complain, ‘Why do we fast and you don’t look our way? Why do we humble ourselves and you don’t even notice?’ 3-5 “Well, here’s why: “The bottom line on your ‘fast days’ is profit. You drive your employees much too hard. You fast, but at the same time you bicker and fight. You fast, but you swing a mean fist. The kind of fasting you do won’t get your prayers off the ground. Do you think this is the kind of fast day I’m after: a day to show off humility? To bow your head and parade around solemnly in black? Do you call that fasting, a fast day that I, God, would like? 6-9 “This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless and poor into your homes, putting clothes on the shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. 10 And if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the 

oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday. The God of glory will secure your passage. Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’”  

 

 

 

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++ Read to the Fam 

Yikes. And wow. Or whatever words you would use to describe that intense conversation with God! (Go ahead now with all of the words the kids will love to come up with!) So, do you notice any similarities to our culture? Maybe we don’t walk around in black to show our humility (or even fast very often!) but how are we submitting ourselves to God? How are we joining with Him in fighting injustice, exploitation, oppression, hunger and debt?   

Let’s re-read the sentence in bold (verse 10).   God says if we will spend ourselves for those in need, then something miraculous will happen. Our darkness will turn to light! Are there any areas of your life that feel dark sometimes? You don’t have to answer now, but let’s all be thinking about that.   It’s easy to think of this as an “if/then” statement about obedience. Like, IF we’ll just obey God and do nice things, THEN God will do something nice for us. But what if this is more of a statement of identity? When we act like God, we will become like God … full of illumination, seeing clearly, bringing light 

to others, instead of trying to protect and defend ourselves, scared or unable to move forward. 

 As we practice doing things like God does this month, we may just get to know Him in new ways. The truth is, we spend ourselves all the time! We spend our money, our time, our energy, our emotion. And it will be interesting as we try some new things this month to think about how much of ourselves we are spending on OURSELVES. So whatever comes this month, let’s all commit to giving it our best, 

learning more about where we need to grow, and learning how much strength we have to share 

with others!   

++ Video 

Watch this video of a student who worked hard and made sacrifices to be able to sponsor a child. Let his story inspire your generosity! // Find video at Compassion.com/Intro/.  

 

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What’s Up This Week!  

Introduce the upcoming topic, memory verse and challenge to your family! Make plans to take on the challenge, individually or as a family.   

++ Theme 

This first week of Compassion: 30 Days of Heartwork, we’ll learn about how spending ourselves for others starts with LETTING GO. We can tend to hold on tightly to so many things – our hurts, our stuff and our plans. This can sometimes keep us from having room in our lives to see and serve anyone besides ourselves. Start your week by reflecting on this idea: As we consume (entertainment, food, perfectionism, comfort, our own plans, etc.), are we actually being consumed?  

 

++ Letting Go Memory Verse Luke 9:23 // Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  

++ Challenge 

To empathize with those around the world in need, take cool/cold showers for the next few days (or all week!) and choose some nights this week to sleep on the floor instead of your bed. Millions of people in the world don’t have hot water at the turn of a handle or a safe, cozy bed to sleep in every night. Of course, this doesn’t make what we have “bad,” but sometimes letting go of our comforts helps us to appreciate them and to empathize with the struggles (and the strength!) of those who don’t have them.  

++ Get going on Day 1 of your Compassion: 30 Days of Heartwork devotional 

You can find this devotional through the link provided in your first email from us, or by going to Compassion.com/Heartwork/. Take a few minutes now to get everyone’s devices/printed version all set up, and read Day 1, together as a family, or on your own (for around age 10 and up) before the end of today. Tomorrow you’ll read Day 2, and so on, until you’ve reached Day 8 and come together again for your next Family Night!  Pray with your people. AMEN! (Yes! You’re off to a great start!)   

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L E T T I N G G O

F A M I LY N I G H TW E E K O N E

C O M PA S S I O N : 3 0 D A Y S O F H E A R T W O R K F A M I LY N I G H T S

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DO THIS FAMILY NIGHT AFTER COMPLETING WEEK 1 OF THE DEVOTIONALS. IDEALLY BETWEEN DAY 8 AND DAY 9.

 

DEAR PARENTS, 

Our culture screams to us that we should never deny ourselves anything that we think will make us happy. (Think: commercials, ads, billboards, magazines, etc.) But the truth is, letting go of our grip on some things in our lives may make us more available to serve others and hold on tight to God instead. We are all swimming in the sea of our cultural norms. Finding our identity in God alone can feel like popping our heads above water for a moment, but you’re still in the deep waters of consumerism, materialism and achievement, certainty and comparison. It’s a lifelong journey to let go of our cultural norms and live like a son or daughter of God. Remember as you teach your family tonight that even without our plans, our stuff, and our success we are loved and can give love!   

++ Dinner Idea Backwards dinner! We’re working on living counter-culturally, and in a way it can feel “backwards” compared to the world. Tonight, start with dessert! (Maybe even make something special together and share with a neighbor!) Then move onto the main course and then end with salad and fun appetizers.   Dinner questions:  

1. How were the cold showers and sleeping on the floor?  2. What stood out most about this week’s daily devotionals? 3. Parents, can you describe a time in your life when you have sacrificed your own desires in 

order to love someone else? How about a time you may have turned a blind eye to someone in need and chosen a selfish path? 

4. For older kids: As you enter the teen years, many people just expect you to be self-consumed. As a Christian, how do you think you should respond to this cultural norm? It’s easy to get our “rights” and our privileges mixed up. How have you seen this play out in our culture? 

 

++ Recite the Letting Go Memory Verse 

Luke 9:23 // Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. 

 

 

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FAMILY NIGHT ACTIVITY 

 

++ Read to the Fam 

This past week we have done some things a little differently. We’ve been letting go of some of our “normal” conveniences and comforts to empathize (to feel what it feels like) with those millions of our brothers and sisters around the world who are affected by poverty. In our daily life, it’s so easy to forget that the way many of us live, with so much more than we need at our fingertips, isn’t exactly “normal.”  Even though we are literally showered with warm water, covered with clothes and blankets, and surrounded by entertainment, we often want MORE. But our hearts may truly need LESS.   Oh how easy it is to become a slave to the “things” around us … things that seem good, things that promise to make us happier, more attractive, or more successful. Freedom comes when we let go of our NEED for these things so we can focus on God, who gives us all we will ever really need! Sometimes as we focus on consuming more of what we want, we may, in fact, be consumed. What can that look like in your life or in the lives of your friends?   You see, if we are so caught up in our own little world of collecting, consuming and climbing higher, we really have no time for compassion or responding to the needs of others. So, letting go is simply a practice in making some space. Some of us need to let go of hurts and forgive (maybe others, or maybe ourselves). Some of us need to let go of the need for the best of everything. Maybe we need to even let go of some of the things we own to simplify a little bit.   Can you think of any practices of letting go that you want to integrate into your life?  

++ Activity 

Parents, have each family member choose one “prized possession” they own, and one non-so-prized thing and put them in two separate non-see-through bags or boxes. You’re going to play a version of White Elephant (you know, the Christmas game where you steal stuff). You decide if you want the kids to believe that these items may truly be “taken” from them or if you want to let them know ahead of 

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time that everything will be “traded” back to the original owner at the end – depends on what your kids choose and their ages – but seriously, nobody needs a giant family brawl on their hands.  

We are going to play “Trading and Taking.” It’s a fun way to experience how many people in the world and throughout history have engaged in trading or taking in order to get their needs met. Each family member has two personal items, one that is important to them or valuable, and another item that doesn’t hold as much personal value. All is hidden. … Let’s go!  Ok everyone sit in a circle and place all of the items in the middle.   

1. Rock, Paper, Scissors or however you want to decide who goes first. Then just go clockwise in a circle.  

2. On each person’s turn, you must decide to either draw a gift from the pile, take one that someone else has already opened and has in their possession, or try to trade with someone for what you really want. Trading is based on charm and both family members consenting to the trade. Continue this until the last item has been taken from the middle.  

 (Play away!)   Take a look the objects you ended up with! Everyone go around and describe if you feel great or not so great about the items you ended up with.   How hard did you go after the item that mattered most to you?  How did you place value on the items?  How did it feel if something you liked got taken from you?  Really, the fact that we have so many choices in our lives and so much security over what we own is a rare gift, historically, and even in our world today. Let’s remember that for most of us, our NEEDS are all met. It’s so easy to start turning our WANTS into NEEDS in our own minds.   How would it feel to have so little control over what resources you have in your life? And to feel like you had to resort to stealing in order to get what you wanted? 

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How would it feel to be vulnerable to thieves, and to have to trade very special things in order to get something important like food?   Now, make sure to “trade” items back to their original owner so there are no tears. Unless you want to be hard core; then more power to ya!   

++ Video 

Watch the virtual reality video on LETTING GO. This is fun! If you have VR goggles, even better! But you can navigate the virtual reality video on an updated version of YouTube as well, on a phone, computer or most devices. // Find video at Compassion.com/Week1/. 

 

What’s Up This Week!  

Introduce the upcoming topic, memory verse and challenge to your family! Make plans to take on the challenge, individually or as a family.   

++ Theme This coming week is all about IDENTITY. Too often, we let ourselves be defined by what other people say about us, our puffed-up successes or failures or our past. We can even be defined by cultural roles (I’m just “mom,” or the “youngest kid”), and forget the special and unique person God has created us to be! God says you are His (John 17:24), which means you are unconditionally loved and empowered to be loving! Start your week by reflecting on this idea: As Christians, love defines us.  

 

++ Identity Memory Verse 

1 John 4:16 // And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.  

++ Family Challenge 

Each family member make a list of the social media (Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook) you’re on and the media (shows, video games, movies, etc.) you watch regularly. Add up about how much time per day you spend on these things. This week let’s take a break from all kinds of non-essential 

media. Talk about what that means specifically for each family member and make a commitment to 

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