Kids of all ages are invited to submit for the Arts Exhibit a piece of artwork or descriptive paragraph to represent something their family did this summer to pursue faith at home in a fun and creative way. Submission Deadline:  Sunday, July 31, 2011. Pick up detailed information at the Faith@Home Center.

 Take advantage of the warm evenings to plan a few outdoor Family Night activities. Try this one to get started and discover more Family Night ideas at www.heritagebuilders.com.

Following The Map: Create a map with “Turn Left” and “Turn Right” directions to a favorite destination such as an ice-cream shop or park. Load the kids in the car and tell them you are heading off for a really fun surprise. Give one of the children your map and ask them to guide you step-by-step as you drive. When the child gives you each direction, however, turn the wrong way – insisting you know best. Try to end up at some dead-end or remote location and admit that you got lost. Ask the kids what you should do. (Answer:  Go back to the beginning and follow the directions properly!) When you arrive at the destination after properly following the directions, read Psalm 119:104-105 together and ask the following questions:

• What went wrong the first time we drove? (Answer: I ignored the map)
• What is the map for us to make right choices in life? (Answer: The Bible)
• How much fun would we be having now if I kept insisting I knew best? (Answer: None)

Additional resources available for purchase at the Faith@Home Center:

• Just Add Family: Easy Recipes for Faith Filled Fun,
  by Kurt & Olivia Bruner—Old fashioned tin of 48 ideas will make family night easy.
• An Introduction to Family Nights: Family Nights Tool Chest,
  by Weidmann, Bruner, Nappa—Collection of 12 family nights from a national movement designed to bring fun and spiritual growth
  together on a regular basis.

Summer is a great time to help those in need. Check out the Midland Free website (www.mefchurch.org/serving) to see summer serving opportunities at Midland Free for your family. Ask around and see if there is a neighbor or friend that has a need. Your project can be as simple as baking the neighbors some cookies and making them a card, or as exciting as taking a mission trip with your family.

JAM Summer Servants

Come join students in 6-8th grades reaching out to the Midland community in acts of service on July 11, 14, 20, 25, and 28. Contact Shelley Rajewski for more information at 989.631.4411, Ext. 1011.

Serve in Summer Sundays Son-day School

There are many opportunities all through the summer to serve as a
family. Contact Bev Steel at 989.631.4411, Ext. 1034 or bevsteel@mefchurch.org.

Habitat for Humanity Revitalization Project

Consider serving as a family on August 1, 2011, as Midland Free participates in Habitat's home revitalization projects. Contact Jackie DeShano at 989.631.4411, Ext.1027.

Summer Serving Resources

Available  for purchase at the Faith@Home Center:

• Families on Mission, by Angie Quantrell
• 77 Ways Your Family Can Make a Difference, by Penny A. Zeller

Choosing a Summer Scripture for your home helps focus on the importance and power of God’s Word and allows you to have fun together along the way. The following ideas can help you get started.

Pick—At the start of summer break, schedule a time when you will work together as a family to pick a summer Scripture. Select passages based upon whatever theme, virtue or discipline you consider important for your family situation. (You can find different verses by topic using the concordance in the back of your Bible or online at www.biblegateway.com).

Write—Spend some time writing out the verse in different ways. You can use little cards that can be put on bathroom mirrors, computers, in the car, etc. Have kids draw if they are too young to write out the verse.

Move—Create hand motions for each word in the verse. This is helpful for memorization and is great fun creating together.

Sing—Put your verse to a popular tune to sing together. For example, you could use the Beatles’ tune from “I Want To Hold Your Hand” to memorize Jesus’ words “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

Play—Use your verse to play a fun game with bean bags or make a matching game with the words in the verse. For example, sit in a circle and toss the bean bag to each other. The first person starts with the first word of the verse and tosses the bag. Whoever catches the bean bag next says the second word to the verse and so on.

Repeat—Throughout the summer, choose specific times, like bedtime or dinner, when you go through your verse together.

Rather than allow kids to waste away the summer watching television or playing video games, awaken their moral imagination with great stories rooted in Christian values. As a place to start, we highly recommend all seven Chronicles of Narnia stories by C.S. Lewis. These are a must for children age 8 and older, and all seven can be found in book or audio format. We also suggest the following titles to help you select age-appropriate literature for each of your children.

A few suggested resources are:

• Honey for a Child’s Heart, by Gladys Hunt
• Honey for a Teen’s Heart, by Gladys Hunt and Barbara Hampton
• Check out the BLAST Children’s Ministries suggested summer reading list for K-5th grades located at the Faith@Home Center and Children’s Ministries Connection board or online*. Books may be purchased at Pathway Christian Bookstore in Midland.
• Pick up a suggested summer reading list for 6-12th grade students at the Faith@Home Center or online*. Books may be purchased at
  Pathway Christian Bookstore in Midland. See coupon below.
• Sign up for the BLAST Children’s Summer Reading Program. Read from the suggested summer reading list and win great prizes.

*Online—see www.mefchurch.org/faithathome for a synopsis of resources.

“Are we there yet?” Summer is often a time with hours in the car or plane. Make the most of road trips and travel time together with these great ideas.

Preparation

• To help children get the most from traveling, include them in the
  preparations for the trip. Get a road map for each school-age child,
  and check the library for books about the places you will see.
• Pack a special activity bag for each child. Ideas to include in the bag: games, notepad, their favorite snacks, a fun craft or activity, books.

Activities

You can also get creative and work together to make up your own games.

• Alphabet Thankfulness: You can play this game out loud or have older kids write out their lists. Starting with the letter A, each person names something starting with that letter for which he is thankful to God. This can be a person, place or anything! Examples: A-Aunt Peggy, B-Brothers, C-Chocolate. At the end of the game, say a prayer thanking God for all the things with which He has blessed you.
• Car Bingo: Car bingo is a fun travel game. You can make your own before you leave by drawing pictures of items you might see or using stickers. You can also print free car bingo games online at:
  www.momsminivan.com/printables.html.
• Talk Time: Travel time is a great opportunity to connect and communicate with each other. Have a list of questions to talk through. (You can get a list of questions for teens from the 2o Change Idea Cards for Youth at the Faith@Home Center or www.mefchurch.org/faithathome.) Take turns asking questions, letting your kids ask you questions as well. Questions can be as simple and silly as “If you were any animal what would you be and why?” to deeper questions like, “What is one thing you want us to pray for you this next year?”
• Drive-time Audio: Use drive-time wisely by listening to:  Adventures in Odyssey, Narnia and Jungle Jam. Check your local library or purchase at the Faith@Home Center on Sundays in the church lobby. Hours in the car fly by when enjoying wonderful stories that reinforce Christian faith and values. Learn more at www.whitsend.org.

One of the favorite pastimes of teenagers is to watch movies. Why not rent a film you can watch together and follow up with a conversation about the good and bad ideas portrayed in the story? Use the following questions to open up the dialogue. You can also obtain specific Parent/Teen Movie Night Idea Cards from the resource section at the Faith@Home Center or online at www.mefchurch.org/faithathome.

• What was the “big idea” behind the story? (i.e., good vs. evil, the power of deception, true love, revenge, etc.)
• Who was/were the main character(s) and what was he/she hoping for or trying to achieve? (i.e., to marry the girl, to defeat the villain, to
  become a better person, to help someone, etc.)
• What qualities did you admire in the main character(s)?
• What qualities did you find troubling?
• What themes or scenes from this film touch issues of faith and/or
  morality?
• On the whole, did the story affirm our beliefs or undermine them?
  (i.e., Was good rewarded and evil punished? Did someone sacrifice himself for others?)
• Family Movie Night books available at the Faith@Home Center for
  purchase:
Movie Nights for Kids, by Bob Smithouser
Movie Nights: 25 Movies to Spark Spiritual Discussions with Your Teen, by Bob Smithouser
Movie Nights for Teens: 25 More Movies to Spark Spiritual Discussions with Your Teen, by Bob Smithouser

 Kick off a “Getting to Know Me” project that can continue through the entire summer!

• Make a Journal: Get items to make a small journal or notebook for your child. Let him use stickers, cut out items he loves in magazines, etc. to decorate his “Getting to Know Me” journal.
•  Pose Questions: Create some questions for your child to answer in her journal about herself, her age, her favorite things, etc.
• Keepsakes: Encourage your children to collect keepsakes from
  particular activities that you do during the summer months to add to their journals. You might collect a leaf or flower from a trip to the park or a ticket stub from a movie or special place that you visit.
• Pictures: Buy a disposable camera for them to take special photos of their summer fun to add to the journal.
• Celebrate: At the end of the summer go through the “Getting to Know Me” book and talk about all the wonderful memories that you have made. Celebrate God’s goodness for all His many blessings!
• Share: This is also a great project for kids to take back to school to share when their teachers ask them what they did this summer.

Spectacular things are going on this summer at Midland Free. You don’t want to miss it! Invite your friends, neighbors and co-workers, and come have a BLAST!

Movies Under the Moon

Save the dates and bring your family, friends and neighbors to this FREE event at Midland Free on June 19, July 20 and August 24. Watch for more details.

Church Picnic

Sunday, June 26, at 12:30 pm, right after the second service. Come and enjoy some fellowship and fun with family and friends at this FREE event. Please pick up a wristband for each person attending (this helps us to plan the food) at the lobby table on Sunday mornings after each service.

Sunday Morning Adult Gatherings

All are welcome on Sunday mornings at 9:30 and 11:15. Featured parenting classes for summer are:

• Losing Control and Liking It at 9:30 am in Room 304, June 5-July 17.
•  Boundaries with Kids at 9:30 am in Room 307, June 12-August 21.

JAM Events (6-8th graders)

• JAM Canoe Trip, July 19.
• A great week of fun in the sun at JAM Youth Activities Week. Save the date—August  22-25.

X-treeme Events (9-12th graders)

• Beach Party on August 19.

SpringHill Day Camp at Midland Free

August 15-19. This summer the staff of SpringHill will be at Midland Free for five full days of adventure for students in kindergarten through 4th grade. Stop by the table in the lobby or register online at springhillcamps.com. $149/student (sibling discounts and scholarships available).

Mission Trip Report Back

Don’t miss this exciting night! Come and hear about all the great things God has done through the Midland Free youth as they have served this past summer. Sunday, August 21, from 6:00-8:00 pm.