E Patience means waiting until later WE K 3 K for what you want now. - 1 S T Read Ecclesiastes 7:8 DAY 3 DAY Don’t Burn 1 Your Tongue So Hungry What could you miss out on if you don’t wait? Ask an adult to help you look up Ecclesiastes God has big plans in store for you, but if you 7:8. What do you think this verse has to do with decide that you don’t want to wait for His plan our Bible story from this week? Our verse says and you choose your own plan, then you may that patience is better than pride. Esau had a lot of miss out on something big. Ask an adult if they pride. That means that he thought he knew what can help you bake some cookies or brownies. was best. Esau thought that he didn’t have to wait. What do you think this has to do with patience? He was hungry and so he ate. When you are feeling We have to wait for the cookies to bake and then impatient, it can be easy to settle for something that’s we have to wait for them cool or guess what? You not best for you in the long run. Esau gave up his will burn your tongue! Whether it’s cookies or inheritance just for a meal! God’s plan for your life, if you don’t wait, it can cost you. Dear God, Thank you for teaching me how to be patient. Remember God has a plan for you. Help me to be patient in all things. Amen. DAY DAY 4 2 Impatient Eggs Waiting for What does it look like when you are impatient? Your Reward Maybe you lost your temper or get mad. Ask a We know that we can miss out on some pretty family member to play a game with you that is big things if we don’t wait patiently so let’s put really going to test everyone’s patience. It’s called our patience to the test. Ask your mom or dad to the spoon and egg game. Ask an adult for two help you come up with a reward if you can show spoons and two eggs. Go outside and decide on a some big patience this month. Flip this page over starting line and a finish line. In order to win, you to see your very own patience chart. Every time a must cross the finish line without dropping your family member sees you showing patience, you egg. Ready, set, go, but don’t be impatient or you’ll get a check mark. Once you get 10 check marks, drop your egg! you get your reward! Ask God to help you be patient. Look for ways to show patience this week! If you don’t wait t you. it could cos E Patience means waiting until later for WE K 2 3 N D what you want now. D - 3 R DAY 1 Read Proverbs 15:18 DAY 2 Ever play the blame game? Ever point a finger at someone else as if to say, “It’s not my fault. Read 1 Corinthians 13:4 It’s her fault?” Jesus said that the number one thing we can do is love. Love God and love others. Today’s Be honest. No one else has to hear your answer. verse reminds us what love looks like. It’s Does the blame game stir things up and or calm kind. It’s not jealous or braggy or proud. But them down? the first part of the verse might actually be the hardest. The next time you find yourself in an argument with a friend or sibling, stop and ask yourself Love is patient. Love doesn’t hurry or yell a simple question: “Am stirring things up or or push to the front or insist one way is the working to calm them down?” If you’re stirring only way. Love lets others go first. Love waits things up, take a deep breath and then try to it’s turn. respond with patience instead. Think back over your day. Were you impatient Find a friend and play the patience game. with anyone? What happened? What could Sit on the floor to face each other.The you have done differently to help you focus object of the game is to sit completely still as on showing love to that person instead of you stare at each other. The first person to impatience? laugh, loses. Play again and time yourselves to see how long you can go before someone On a piece of paper, write out the words “loses” it. “LOVE IS PATIENT” in big block letters. Decorate the page with lots of color so it will really stand out. Post your masterpiece on the fridge or in another prominent place where everyone in your home can see it. Each time you read it, ask God to help you show love to others by choosing to be patient. Then thank Him for always being patient with you. DAY 4 DAY 3 Read Proverbs 16:32 According to our verse today, what’s better? Read Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 To choose patience or to lose your temper? Do you know what a fool is? A fool is someone Instead of fighting or insisting your way is who makes unwise decisions. No one wants right, it’s better to take a deep breath. It’s to be called a fool. better to calm down before you blow up. Becoming frustrated and impatient won’t When you’re waiting, what if you thought solve the problem. So, instead of blowing up, about the end instead of the beginning? In what if you tried these steps instead: the end, don’t you want to be seen as a wise, patient person? Don’t you want to be the kind Calm It Down Steps of friend others can trust and depend on? 1. Stop 2. Count to 10 When you fly off the handle, when you 3. Try again interrupt because you think what you have to say is more important, when you push ahead When you’re not patient, it could cost you. when you’re not prepared, it could cost you. You could end up hurting others by saying You might look foolish. It’s better to choose something unkind that you don’t mean. You patience. could even end of up hurting yourself. So the next time you’re about to lose control because you think you can’t wait, stop, count to ten, and then try again. Ask God to help you so you can protect yourself and others. If ait, you don’t w you. ost it could c Journal Preteen Week 3 Spend some time thinking about the question below and journal your thoughts or share them with a parent. Day 1 SO & SO TOP 3 After watching, write one thing that: Go to conrwallchurch.com/children 1. You liked: and watch this week’s episode of The So & So Show. 2. You learned: Even if you already saw it at church, feel free to check it out again! 3. You’d like to know: Day 2 Day 4 Read Genesis 25:24-34 out loud, Just like we can learn from the but instead of reading the way you stories of people like Jacob and normally do, read it as though you’re Esau in the Bible, we can also learn performing on a stage, or sharing the from our friends and family and Day 5 story with a little kid. their stories. Use lots of energy and enthusiasm. Today, you’re going to do just that. What could you miss out on by not Use dynamics—get soft when you’re Grab a sheet of paper and a pen. Then waiting? talking about Jacob, and get loud and go around and interview everyone animated when you’re reading things you can find. Ask them the following Esau missed out on a lot—his entire Esau says. Be as dramatic as you can, questions: inheritance as the first born—because and maybe even try acting out some of he didn’t wait. You probably won’t miss the physical cues in the story. 1) Have you ever missed out on out on your inheritance, but your con- How did it feel to do that? Even if Day 3 something because you didn’t wait? versations with your friends and fami- you felt silly, did you perhaps pick up 2) If yes, what do you wish you had ly yesterday may have given you some on some details you missed before done differently? ideas of what you might miss out on if Did you know it’s possible to pray because you were acting it out? If so, 3) If no, what is something that you you don’t wait. silently? write them here: ____________________________ work hard at being patient so that So how do you wait? One thing ____________________________________________________ you won’t miss out? that can help is by memorizing truth You probably do it all the time without from God’s Word that can give you even realizing it. Maybe when you’re the strength you need. If you haven’t in school and you’re struggling to already, work on memorizing this figure out the answer to the test, you month’s Bible verse: might silently ask God to help you Wait for the Lord.