What are you thankful for?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Getting ready for our day, I did some searching for some scriptures appropriate for Thanksgiving and came across the following 2 from Colossians:

Colossians 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Today, I am thankful that God sent his son Jesus to die on the cross for us, to take away our sins, to save us from hell. I am also thankful for a beautiful and wonderful wife, 2 healthy children, all the rest of our family and our friendships. I am thankful for being part of a bible believing church that is not ashamed to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am blessed beyond belief and give all the thanks to my savior Jesus Christ.

Here's hoping your Thanksgiving Holiday is a blessing for you!

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 31

Day Number 31 - Love your parents

Look up Colossians 3:20-21 in your bible.

Pray about Colossians 3:20-21 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Have you ever been mad at your parents because they made you do something you didn't want to do? Maybe you feel like your parents have mistreated you and at that moment you feel like you don't love them. Or maybe, it's much more than just one incident, have your parents gotten a divorce and you only live with one parent right now? When these things happen, it's hard to feel love for our parents. Scripture tells us, very plainly, that we should love our parents because it pleases the Lord.

Your Challenge: Today, simply stop what you are doing and go tell your parents that you love them. Give them a big hug and tell them you love them because the bible says that loving them pleases God.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 30

Day Number 30 - Love brings unity

Look up John 17:11 in your bible.

Pray about John 17:11 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Have you ever been on team? Maybe in sports or in a team working on a project together at school? If the team works hard together and everyone is in it for the same goal, you have a better chance of success. You don't win every time, but you are okay with that because you tried your best and the team worked together. Family relationships are a lot like a team. If everyone is working hard, sometimes you have failures, but you are in for the long haul... forever actually, and you can have a great family life if all members have that attitude.

Your Challenge: Think of one area in your family life where you don't agree. Use today to pray about that area as many times as you possibly can, all day long. Ask the Lord during these prayers to tell you about anything you might be able to do to help bring more unity to your family.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 29

Day Number 29 - Love makes sacrifices

Look up 1 John 3:16 in your bible.

Pray about 1 John 3:16 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: On a baseball team, there is a term called a sacrifice bunt. A player gives himself up by bunting the ball in a position that will almost surely get him out, but the goal is to help advance the baserunner so that he is closer to scoring a run. The player is willing to sacrifice himself for an out, so that the team has a better chance to score a run. I'll bet this is a hard concept for you to understand. As a child, you are taught many times to win at all costs, winning is most important and don't ever give in. However, the bible teaches sacrifice in our lives and relationships.

Your Challenge: Ask your parents or brother or sister today what one of their needs is from you. Maybe they need you to help out around the house. Maybe your sister needs help with her homework. Maybe your brother needs help cleaning his room. Commit to help them and sacrifice yourself to help them achieve what they need.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 28

Day Number 28 - Love's motivation

Look up Ephesians 6:7 and Colossians 3:20 in your bible.

Pray about Ephesians 6:7 and Colossians 3:20 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: What is your motivation for following your parent or teacher's instructions? I'll bet at some point, your parents have probably said, when you asked why you had to clean your room, "Because we are your parents and we told you to do it." That probably wasn't very motivating was it? Well, it's the same way with love. If we love our family and friends just because we are supposed to, it's hard to do, that's not good motivation. But what if we change our motivation? What if we love in the same way God loved us, by sending his son to die for us. What if we put all our effort into loving someone out of love for God instead of just because we are supposed to?

Your Challenge: Before you see your mom and dad, pray for them and for their needs. When you see them, simply tell them how much you love them and then do something to show it to them... in God's love, with all your effort. Then, go to God again in prayer, thanking him for the privilege of loving your parents unconditionally, the same way He loved us.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare'ing in New York City

Hi folks, here's a picture of Kelly and I during a recent spontaneous trip to New York City. It's sad to some degree that we had to get away to New York to spend some time together, but I wanted to do something special. As you are probably aware if you know us, or if you have kids of your own, schedules are so hectic that sometimes you wonder at the end of a day if you even said or done anything of consequence that was meant to build your marriage!

Kelly had actually said all during the Rays season how much she wanted to go to more ball games (Yes, I do have the most amazing wife in the world). So, I decided to surprise her with a quick trip to New York to see the Statue of Liberty and catch the 1st Yankees playoff game at the new stadium.

I want to challenge you husbands on something... although your wife may say that you don't need to do anything big for her, don't believe it. She is just such a nice and caring wife that she probably doesn't want to tell you what to do!!! Realistically, you cannot do big things all the time, but your wife deserves something big and unexpected every once in a while. It doesn't have to be an expensive trip to New York to sweep her off her feet again. In fact, I was pretty cheap on this trip because the flight was covered with frequent flyer points, the hotel was covered with points and the Yankee tickets were acquired through a special contact I had.

Just surprising your wife by scheduling a babysitter on your own and taking her out to a nice dinner and movie will do the trick. Think about it guys, what extra effort can you put forward to make your wife feel like the princess that she really is.

Until next time... In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 27

Day Number 27 - Love encourages

Look up Psalm 25:20 in your bible.

Pray about Psalm 25:20 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Do you wonder why your brother or sister or friends at school just don't do the right thing? Do you ever say to yourself, "I can do better than them." That's not encouraging, that's discouraging. You cannot show true love if you have unrealistic expectations for someone that you discourage.

Your Challenge: Today, tell someone that you love how much you are sorry for the unrealistic expectations you have placed on them. Tell them you will encourage them instead of putting them down and discouraging them.

In Christ,
- Steve

One of the greatest home runs of all time

I remember watching this in October of 1988. I was a junior in high school. There is a lot of theatrics at the front of the video, but the good stuff starts at 7 minutes in.

Enjoy...

- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 26

Day Number 26 - Love is responsible

Look up Romans 2:1 in your bible.

Pray about Romans 2:1 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Who is responsible for your actions? Not your mom or dad, not your sister or brother and not your teacher at school. You and only you are responsible for your actions. Today, our world makes it way too easy to blame someone or something for the things we do that are wrong. To truly love like the bible wants us to love, we need to take responsibility for our actions.

Your Challenge: Today, take time to pray about the things that you have done wrong recently. Ask for God's forgiveness and then go to your parents, family members or teacher and admit the things you have done wrong. Do it with sincerity in your heart. Ask them for forgiveness.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare For Elementary Students - Day Number 23

Day Number 23 - Love always protects

Look up 1 Corinthians 13:7 in your bible.

Pray about 1 Corinthians 13:7 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Do you have any bad habits? Bad habits suck away our love from the ones we are supposed to love. Maybe your bad habit is talking to your parents in a disrespectful way. Maybe your bad habit is that you don't do things the 1st time you are told. The bible says that Love always protects. We can protect the love we have for our family and friends by getting rid of bad habits. Bad habits make it harder to see when we need to love each other more. They blur our vision when it comes to love.

Your Challenge: Today, choose to remove a bad habit from your life. When you remove this bad habit, replace it with love for a family member or friend.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare For Elementary Students - Day Number 22

Day Number 22 - Love is Faithful

Look up John 13:35 in your bible.

Pray about John 13:35 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Have you ever had trouble saying that you "Love" your mom and dad or your brother, sister or a friend? Maybe they hurt you by being mean to you or hurt you in some way. The bible tells us in John 13:35 that people will know we are His disciples, Christians, if we love one another.

Your Challenge: Today, go to your family member or friend who you recently had a hard time loving and tell them that you love them no matter what, even when you are mad at each other, you will always love them.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 21

Day Number 21 - Love is satisfied in God

Look up Isaiah 58:11 in your bible.

Pray about Isaiah 58:11 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Have you ever tried to do something on your own, without any help from your parents maybe, that just didn't work out? Maybe you were trying to do your homework and told your parents that you didn't need any help, but later wished you had asked them to help because it was too hard and you really needed them to help out? That's how it is with God. He is offering us help in every area of our lives, but too often, we try it first on our own, fail, and the go running to God for help. We will love the important people in our lives better, stronger and more faithfully, if we first seek God to be the center of our lives.

Your Challenge: Make a promise to God that you will start each and every day, on your knees, praying to him. Right when you wake up, get out of bed and get down on your knees and ask Him to be a part of everything you do that day!

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 19

Day Number 19 - Love is from God

Look up 1 John 4:7 in your bible.

Pray about 1 John 4:7 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Have you ever failed at anything? Maybe you got a bad grade on a test? Maybe had a bad baseball or soccer game? Have you ever thought about failing at love? You are probably asking me right now, what in the world are you talking about? Well, what I want to tell you is that cannot love someone like your parents or brother or sister with only your strength. You can love them even better if Christ is in your heart and he is helping you love. You probably think that you can love them a whole lot with your own strength, but if you let Christ live through you, the love you give will be even greater.

Your Challenge: Think back over the previous Love Dares that you have done. Were some harder than others? Maybe you were trying to do those with your own strength instead of praying first to ask God to help you love even more. Pray right now and ask Him to show you areas where you love even more with his strength there to help out.

In Christ,
- Steve

Who's on First?

Sit down with your young baseball fan and they will get a kick of out this. I remember when I was young trying to memorize the whole thing. Yeah, I know, I was a geek and a baseball lover... in fact, I'm still both of those things!

Enjoy...

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 18

Day Number 18 - Love seeks to understand

Look up Proverbs 3:13 in your bible.

Pray about Proverbs 3:13 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Do you understand why your friends or relatives act the way they do? Maybe your mom and dad would like you to always clean your room because their parent always asked them to have their room clean. Maybe your friends aren't allowed to watch a certain t.v. show because their parents don't allow it. You see, we all act certain ways because of the influences on our lives. I'm sure you are exactly the same way.

We should seek to understand those that we love. We should seek to learn as much about them as possible so that we can love them even more.

Your Challenge: Ask your mom or dad if they would be willing to sit down with you today and discuss the following questions with them.

1. What is one thing that you ask me to do because you did it when you were growing up?
2. Can you explain to me why there are certain movies, t.v. shows, songs or video games that you don't want me to listen to, watch or play?
3. What is one thing I could do a better job at?

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare for Elementary Students - Day Number 17

Day Number 17 - Love promotes closeness

Look up Proverbs 17:9 in your bible.

Pray about Proverbs 17:9 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Who's your best friend? Who do you feel the closest to? Maybe your mom or dad? Maybe a brother or sister? Maybe a friend who you enjoy playing with after school? These are the special people in your life. One day, you will have a friend that decides to ask you to pray for them, if they haven't already. Take this very seriously. They are so close to you that they trust that you will pray for them, don't take this lightly.

Your Challenge: Today, ask your closest friend or family member if they have anything that you can pray about for them. Also, if you want them to pray for you, ask for that as well.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare For Elementary Students - Day Number 16

Day Number 16 - Love intercedes

Look up 3 John 2 in your bible.

Pray about 3 John 2 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: Throughout this study, we have been teaching you lots of new words. Today, I want to tell you about the word intercede. If you intercede for someone, it means you step up and do something for them. It means you get in the middle of something and help them out. It means you pray for them. In fact, intercede is a related to the word intercession which literally means to pray to God on someones behalf.

Your Challenge: Today, pray for your mom and dad. Pray for their heart. Pray that they do all they can to be the best parents in the world. Love them by praying for them as many times as you can today!

In Christ,
- Steve

How would you introduce our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?

I love this and wanted to share with everyone. Enjoy!

Love Dare For Elementary Students - Day Number 15

Day Number 15 - Love is honorable

Look up Ephesians 6:2 in your bible.

Pray about Ephesians 6:2 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: The bible says we should honor our father and mother. To honor them means to respect them, to listen to what they say and to love and care about them. Honor is a word that is very powerful. The hard part is to honor someone when you don't really feel like it. If your parents have been nagging you about cleaning your room, you don't really feel like honoring them do you? That's when love takes over, we honor them because we love them.

Your Challenge: Today, choose a way to show honor and respect to your parents. It may be opening the door for your mom or helping them unload the groceries in the car. It might be helping your dad with chores in the yard. It might be just asking if there is anything at all you can do for them.

In Christ,
- Steve

Love Dare For Elementary Students - Day Number 14

Day Number 14 - Love takes delight

Look up Ecclisiastes 9:9 in your bible.

Pray about Ecclisiastes 9:9 and ask God what he is saying to you through the scripture.

Read the following: What's your favorite food? Is it pizza? A chocolate bar? Whatever your favorite food is, you take "delight" in eating it. That means that you love it and truly cherish the time while you are eating it. You just want more and more. We should love others in the same way. Maybe you haven't been too nice to a family member or friend lately and they need to be love on a little bit today!

Your Challenge: Today, ask someone from your family or a best friend if they want to spend some time together. Tell them they get to choose what you guys do together. They will cherish the time spent together and love will truly delight in your time together.

In Christ,
- Steve