Check out the “Weekly Memory Munchie” with free printable scripture note cards below to cut out and memorize. Click the download button, print, and post on your mirror, fridge, around your house, or add to lunch boxes. Keep an eye out for next week’s “Weekly Memory Munchie” that we will be posting each Sunday.
*Need a pop of prayer? Head on over to our Prayer Pop page here and leave a comment in the section below. We would love to lift you up!
“You’re going to make us late again,” Opal yells down the hall with one arm in her hoodie and the other holding the door jam. She feels like squeezing the white, wooden beam gives her more bravado, emphasizing her growing frustration with her slow-moving brother.
“I’m not going,” Henry calls back.
Opal hears rustling and drawers opening and closing. She quickly moves down the hall to see what Henry is doing instead of getting ready for youth group. Henry used to love youth group. It was almost all he would talk about; he would count down the days to Wednesday like most people countdown to Friday. “What’s going on in here, Henry? Are you finally running away?” Opal asks jokingly.
“Ha, ha-not funny,” Henry snaps back. “I want to go to the gym to play basketball with my new friends.”
“Well, I’m going to tell Mom and see what she has to say about it,” Opal says.
“I’m old enough to make my own decisions about youth group, Opal,” Henry replies.
Opal races downstairs with Henry moving faster than she’s seen him move in months. “Mom, Henry isn’t going to youth group, he’s going to play basketball with his new friends at the Y,” Opal tattles.
“What’s all this now,” Mom asks. “Is this true, Henry? You want to go to the Y tonight instead of youth group? This is very much not like you at all, what’s going on, bud?”
“I’ve been to youth group a million times, Mom. I want to play basketball and maybe lift weights with my new friends. If I want to play football next year, I need to get buff and in shape,” Henry tries to negotiate his position. Opal snorts, holding back laughter before a look from Mom snubs out her snarkiness so it doesn’t cause a fight between the two siblings.
“Oh, you want to get fit, do you?” Mom asks.
“Yeah, Mom! You get it!” Henry replies.
“So on a scale of 1-10, how fit do you think you are right now?” asks Mom.
“What, I don’t know – maybe a 6?” says Henry. “I’ve definitely got some room for improvement. But I’m not going to get closer to a 10 unless I work at it.”
“I get your point. Another question for you: on a scale of 1-10, how spiritually fit would you say you are?” asks Mom with a smirk. She can tell by the look on Henry’s face that this is the turning point of his argument.
“I see what your saying, Mom,” Henry admits.
“If we’re not spiritually fit, Henry, then we have nothing-literally. How do you think you get spiritually fit? Going to the gym? Because we do that 3-4 days per week for your homeschool P.E. Technically, if that were true, you’d be spiritually ripped by now!” Mom jokes.
“You get spiritually fit by reading the Bible and connecting with God,” Opal offers. “You can do it too, by having fellowship with other believers and in prayer. Doesn’t the Bible say that if two or more gather in His name, He is with them?” Opal asks.
“That’s Mathew 18:20,” Mom adds.
“You guys are right, the youth group is more important than the gym. I will call the guys and tell them I’ll meet up with them tomorrow.” Henry says.
“Good call, Henry – get spiritually fit, then get physically fit,” says Opal.
Weekly Bible Verse: For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. -1 Timothy 4:8 NIV
Note to Nibble: While physical fitness is healthy, spiritual fitness should take priority.
Check out the “Weekly Memory Munchie” with free printable scripture note cards below to cut out and memorize. Click the download button, print, and post on your mirror, fridge, around your house, or add to lunch boxes. Keep an eye out for next week’s “Weekly Memory Munchie” that we will be posting each Sunday.
*Need a pop of prayer? Head on over to our Prayer Pop page here and leave a comment in the section below. We would love to lift you up!
Check out the “Weekly Memory Munchie” with free printable scripture note cards below to cut out and memorize. Click the download button, print, and post on your mirror, fridge, around your house, or add to lunch boxes. Keep an eye out for next week’s “Weekly Memory Munchie” that we will be posting each Sunday .
*Need a pop of prayer? Head on over to our Prayer Pop page here and leave a comment in the section below. We would love to lift you up!
“Mom, my shorts from last summer don’t fit and I’m supposed to meet McKayla at the river. What am I going to do?” Rae cries from deep within her closet. From the kitchen, her mother hears her like she’s in the next room. Rae stomps down the hall with shorts in hand then flings them back and forth over her head like a white flag of surrender. “I give up, Mom. My old summer clothes don’t fit me anymore. I’m about to cut all my jeans into shorts. I can’t even meet McKayla at the river now.”
“Nice to see you too, Rae. My extra shift at the nursing home went pretty well until Mrs. Cramer threw up her breakfast all over my shoes. How was your night? Did you sleep ok?” Mom asks.
“I’m serious, Mom!” Rae snaps back.
“I am too, honey. I had to scrub banana bread pudding out of my shoes for a half an hour. They’re so old and cracked that the vomit was stuck in the cracks. I had to find an old toothbrush that looked about as old as my shoes.” Mom retorts.
“I’m sorry about your shoes, Mom,” Rae says. “I just don’t have any clothes that fit for the summer and I’ve put applications in at every fast food place, juice stand, and coffee shop in a 20-mile radius.”
“I’m sure something will turn up for you, sweetheart. Have you prayed about it at all?” Mom asks.
“Prayed about shorts?!” Rae questions with eyes wider than a cartoon character getting bonked in the head by a clever rabbit or very fast road runner.
“Why not? You can come to God with all your troubles. He wants to provide for you, you know? Why don’t you go to your room and pray?” Mom suggests. “Then you can cut one pair of jeans into shorts for now. How’s that sound?” Mom asks.
“Ok! Thanks, Mom!” Rae says, as she runs back down the hall.
Things have been extremely hard since Rae’s dad passed away two years ago. Her mom had to not only get a better job, but also had to take a second job at the nursing home just to pay the mortgage, bills, and buy groceries. She doesn’t have any extra money for clothes or shoes. She decides it’s a good idea to go pray in her room too.
The next day, Rae and her mother pull up to the church and sit in the parking lot for a moment. Sunday was Dad’s favorite day of the week. They would go to church and then to lunch after – family time was always the best. Although they haven’t broken down crying in the parking lot at church for a few months – it is still hard for them to get out of the car to move through the day sometimes. Mom grabs Rae’s hand. They take a deep breath in unison and together say, “Let’s go.”
A white mini-van pulls up next to the passenger side of their car and out pops Juliana, Rae’s mom’s best friend. “Carmen, Rae, can you help me with something before you go in, please?” Julianne asks as she opens the van’s back end. Inside are four large boxes. Three of the boxes have “Rae” written on the side in black marker. One has Carmen’s name.
“What is all this?” Carmen asks in shock.
“Well darlin’, I was doing some spring cleaning and boxed up all the clothes that Samantha doesn’t wear anymore or has grown out of. Turns out it is a lot. I had to pull more boxes out of the garage. Then, I decided to go through my closet and box up a bunch of clothes that I don’t wear any longer either. There’s a pair of comfy sneakers in there you could wear to work too, Carmen.”
“You’re an answer to a prayer, Jules!” Carmen says. “It’s like I told you, Rae, God provides.”
Weekly Bible Verse: And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. -Philippians 4:19 NIV
Note to Nibble: God is a loving God who cares about you and is the ultimate need meeter.
Today’s “Bite-sized Bible Bit” is about getting fit with God. We hope you listen and find some encouragement for the week!
For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. -1 Timothy 4:8 NIV
Make sure you are getting your fit on in the area of godliness, first and foremost. Strengthen your heart, mind, and spirit by working out with God daily, being active in the Word, and building your prayer and obedience muscles.
*Need a pop of prayer? Head on over to our Prayer Pop page and leave a comment in the section below. We would love to lift you up!
Today’s “Bite-sized Bible Bit” is about the who, when, and how of prayer. We hope you listen and find some encouragement for the week!
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people. -Ephesians 6:18 NIV
Don’t forget to connect with God throughout your day, be deliberate, and keep on keepin’ on with your prayer.
Check out the “Weekly Memory Munchie” with free printable scripture note cards below to cut out and memorize. Click the download button, print, and post on your mirror, fridge, around your house, or add to lunch boxes. Keep an eye out for next week’s “Weekly Memory Munchie” that we will be posting each Sunday .
There’s nothing like sit-down family dinners to keep your family close and talking. And we have just the thing to keep the chat going amongst your loved ones. Download our set of 32 free printable “Dive in and Discuss” dinner conversation cards to keep Christ in your discussions and draw your family even closer as you chow down on some delicious eats together.
Today’s “Bite-sized Bible Bit” is about standing in confidence as children of Christ. We hope you listen and find some encouragement for the week!
We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. -1 John 5:19 NLT
Remember, stand firm in the One True God that has you, and don’t let yourself be moved by what someone of this world may say about you.
PhillFamily Ministries 