Hi Families! 

Guess what time it is? Don’t look at your phone or whatever you use to tell time…we are not talking about clock time.

The teacher in me tells me it’s time for a review. You know review like: reconsider, reexamine, or check. A friend of mine says with great enthusiasm, “let’s go back!”

This is our 5th Creatorwords Walk. What have we done so far? We have established a routine. Routine is good for kids…and grownups. There is comfort in knowing what happens next…routine does that.

What is our Creatorwords Walk Routine?

1.       Begin with scripture…ADD prayer.

2.       Ask questions before you walk-base them on a look out the window. Write in your Family Journal: Date, Day, Leave Space for a Theme for the walk.

3.       Get ready to go out.

4.       1st out-Be Still…stand, watch and listen…2-5 minutes.

5.       Talk about the Be Still…it will prepare you and your WALKer team. Be Still is a time of quiet…listening and watching, closing your eyes and gathering a sense of what the day is like. Before you walk ask your WALK partners what they thought while they were still…talk about it, then walk.

6.       Take your WALK…consider this you can pick a walk theme for every WALK. (WE have 4 themes so far…Sky, Wind, Birds, Rain-and these are repeatable!) Consider walks in places wilder than around your house. Think of a theme for them.

7.       Head back to the house…your kitchen table, family room…you pick your family comfort place.

8.       Reflect on your walk…Decide on your theme. You can make your theme the title of your WALK. Ask those who walked with you to share their discoveries…record them also. Consider writing the verse of scripture you picked for the day…it puts the Word of God in our hearts.

Our scripture from the first four WALKs can be used again and again. The verses we used in our first 4 Walks:

Day Scripture Topic of Scripture

BIG Questions based on scripture are underneath.

1 Psalm 19:1 Heavens DECLARE, skies PROCLAIM!

How do the heavens and skies proclaim the glory of God?

2 Proverbs 30:4 God holds the wind in HIS hands!

What evidence can you see to prove God holds the wind in HIS hands?

3 Job 12:7-9 The birds will tell you!

What do Birds “tell” us about God?

4 Psalm 147:8 God supplies the earth with rain.

Think about rain…where does it come from? How does it form? What do we know God does to supply the earth with rain?

WALK Mission Verse:

(this verse could be a theme for every WALK)

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

We can “see” the power and divine nature of God in creation

What can we see that reveals God’s power and divine nature?

SURPRISE

…expect God to surprise you on every walk. Look for your surprise. God loves us…He puts marvelous surprises for us-outside. When we stay in, we miss them…WALKs allow us opportunities to experience the surprise of GOD. Some will be stunning… Others will be gentle, small, subtle.

What About this Family WALK Journal?

It does not need to be fancy-unless you want it to be. It should be bound…a composition notebook is my favorite. You decide, a spiral notebook works too, I just get distracted by the wire binder. Why a journal? To keep a record of your WALKS. Some people keep spiritual journals. A WALK journal is a record of your family discovering the “power and divine nature” of God outside…it is a form of spiritual journal. Here is a basic form to follow”

1.       Every journal entry-write the date and day.

2.       Write your Theme for the day…better yet, at the end of the WALK give the walk a title. This will make sense when you first try this.

3.       Consider having someone in your family write the verse of scripture you use for your walk. (Do a topical search to find new verses! Use Biblegateway.

4.       If you want record the temperature, wind, sky conditions for each walk. This leads you and your family to become students of God’s creation. Learn about weather, God makes it moment by moment.

5.       Another idea-have each person in your family write, or sketch in your journal. Each entry simply must have connection to the walk.

6.       Before you journal reread the scripture for your walk. Use the topic of the verse to guide reflection and generate questions like-What showed God’s power today? Or… How did we see the divine nature of God today?

Just a bit about Reflection…

1.       Reflection develops critical thinking skills-in you and your kids. Writing your reflections sharpens reflection and becomes a record to return to…How is your family discovering the power and divine nature of God on WALKs?

2.       Reflection time will build relationships with your kids. Talk about big things is important talk, important talk builds love in your family…talk about God is important.

3.       Reflection times will enable you and your kids to deepen your understanding of who God is. It is cooperative thinking…TWO heads are better than one. When those heads are people you love it is even better.

4.       Reflection time is best concluded with prayer…pray with your kids after WALKS…your will soon be amazed at what God does.

Now that we have “re-examined our first four walks…it’s time for another. Have you gone on a family WALK today?