Supplies
Pen
Bible
Schedule
Breakfast
As you eat breakfast, decide on your strategy for staying off screens as much as possible today. To help do this you could:
● Keep your phone in a box.
● Give your phone to someone else.
● Leave your phone in your room.
Solitude: Read Psalm 46
Make sure you find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted as you read Scripture. Feel free to listen to worship music in the background. Use the following questions as a guide. Be sure to take your time and don’t rush through this important hour.
- In what ways has God been a refuge for you recently?
- How does eternal life change the way you think about your life?
- How does God use his power for your benefit?
- To exalt something means to hold it in very high regard. Does our nation “exalt” God? How so? If not, what are some ways you could personally exalt God?
- How does God working all throughout history to love His people affect you now?
- In what ways can you be still before God?
Close your time by praying through Scripture verse by verse. Stop on each verse and take time to pray according to the truth you just read.
Lunch
Eat lunch with a friend via the phone or zoom, preferably someone who is a believer. As you eat, take time to answer these three questions for each other:
- What has been your high point during this quarantine?
- What has been your low point during this quarantine?
- What is something you have learned or noticed in Scripture lately?
After you have finished talking and eating, use the rest of your time to write a letter of encouragement to the friend you just talked to or another close friend. Ask your parents to mail the letter for you in the next few days.
Simplicity
As we have been learning in our series The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, a big source of anxiety in much of our lives is the pursuit and accumulation of stuff. Take this hour to simplify some aspects of your life. Go into your room and make three piles of stuff. The first pile is stuff you need to get rid of. This is stuff that you don’t really need. The second pile is stuff you can give away. This is stuff you think someone else could use more. The last pile is stuff you need to put away. This is stuff you don’t use but don’t want to give away (awards, gifts, sentimental stuff, etc). Then, throw away the first pile, set aside the second pile until you can donate it, and store the third pile after asking your parents where you can put it.
Silence: Read Psalm 33
Make sure you find a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted as you read Scripture. This time, don’t listen to any music as you study the Word. Use these following questions as a guide. Be sure to take your time and don’t rush through this important hour. Feel free to invite a friend to read, discuss, and pray with you for this hour.
- In what ways can we worship God during quarantine?
- In what ways have you seen God’s love during quarantine?
- How does knowing God has a plan for your life make you feel?
- How has God kept you or a family member safe during this time?
- What robs you of joy in your relationship with God?
- When do you feel like you have lost hope in God? What helps you remember your hope in God?
Close your time by praying through Scripture verse by verse. Stop on each verse and take time to pray according to the truth you just read.
Mini-Sabbath
Use this “free time” to slow down a bit. Try activities that keep you away from a screen and that directly benefit your sense of peace and stillness. Try some of these:
- Take a long walk.
- Read a book.
- Listen to positive music.
- Take a short nap.
- Play a board game with your family.
- Go for a run or some other form of exercise.
- Make some art. Draw some sidewalk art. Learn to play or sing a new song. Doodle something random.
- Interview your mom or dad about their childhood.
Do not take this time for homework or chores. Remember, this is a day of rest from work and other things that stress you out!
Dinner
Dinner time is a great time for family conversation, so use this meal to sit down with your family. Try asking each other some of these questions to get the conversation going:
- What is your favorite TV show?
- What is your favorite chip flavor?
- What was your most memorable birthday?
If your family is a family of believers, you can also ask these questions:
- What has God taught you about being a father, mother, son, daughter, sister, or brother?
- What is something you remember about last Sunday’s church service?
- What is your favorite worship song and why?
If you don’t eat dinner with your family, eat with a friend (facetime or phone call) or invite your parents to come sit and talk with you!
Slowing
Now that you have spent all day in discussion, Scripture, worship, and un-hurry, it is time to reflect on the day. Take this hour to be still, silent, and thoughtful. Rewind the day in your mind.
Go back to any scripture that struck a chord in your heart. Find a place in your home where you will be undisturbed, as well as a place where you will not immediately fall asleep. Ask yourself these questions:
- What did someone else say to me today that I found helpful?
- What did God say to me today?
- What are some aspects of this day that I want to repeat in the future?