The Lesson
Unfortunately, I am not the energizer bunny. I get tired, grumpy, and extremely irrational. I know what an all-nighter feels like and let me tell you, it is not at all like a pleasant teenage comedy. I can’t keep going and going because I am human.
In the world that we live in, there is so much to do, so many places to go, so many people to see, and so little time in the day, that it is easy to get overwhelmed. Exhaustion is normal. But what do we do to recharge? To take the edge off? As we sit in our small moments of peace, do we take that time to binge on Netflix, sit mindlessly on social media, or pray?
Sometimes it’s easier to just sit, and drown your troubles with movie marathons, internet surf or other things but what’s even more beneficial in that time we take to recharge is that we sit and talk with our Father. There have been plenty of times where I have preferred sitting in front of a screen without thinking instead of getting out of bed and onto my knees to pour out my heart to God but when I choose the latter, I feel a difference.
To end my day without a word to my Father makes me feel unfulfilled. All of those problems, thoughts, and emotions from the day fester inside without a warm embrace from God to tell me everything’s going to be alright.
Quiet time with God is important and we went over it with the kids on Wednesday night. We will get stressed, and we may feel anxious, but it’s important to get that quiet time in to release those emotions. We went over Mark 1:29-39 to talk about how even Jesus had to talk to the Lord.
People had been coming to Jesus all day, late into the evening to be healed. The next morning, he got up while it was still dark, left all of the chaos, and prayed. Even someone as powerful as Jesus needs that time to recoup.
The Activity
The kids made stress balls for the night’s activity-all they needed was a couple of water bottle halves (to use as a funnel), some flour, and a balloon. The stress balls represented the relief you get from prayer. Just funnel the flour in the balloons, tie it up and you have a stress ball!
They had carrots and grapes as a healthy snack!
Free Union Youth 