SAM LEONOR

FOCUS TEXT
 "And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." Matthew 24:14 ESV

RECALIBRATE
1.  The Seventh-day Adventist faith tradition has long been focused on The End, The Second Coming, but we have taught that it will be horrible!  Sam present it as pure joy.  How do we remove the ingrained fear from Matthew 24 and refocus on The Good News?  

SHARE

verb
1. have a portion of (something) with another or others.
MUSIC // Switchfoot — 'Wonderful Feeling'
Sam’s message reminded me of this song by Switchfoot. I actually started listening to this song on repeat at the very start of our local lockdown. It’s a real feel good song, that helped lift my spirits and was a good reminder to keep looking for the light! My favourite lines are:
“Come on sunlight prove the darkness wrong
Ain't it funny how the fears we had last night
Don't look so scary in the morning light”
MUSIC // The Beatles— 'Here Comes The Sun'
ART // Monet's "Impression, sunrise" 1872.
Last year, I visited a significant Monet exhibition at our National Gallery. To be honest, I didn’t expect to be so moved by the paintings, and was generally feeling like there was probably a little too much hype around ‘Impression, sunrise’(and all the effort and expense to get it here to Australia for us to see it). Until I saw it. Of course, like many famous paintings, I had only ever seen reproductions. And, of course, the reproductions really did not do it justice. Art critics and historians talk about how the sun and it’s reflection truly glow in this painting. And they are right- and they had not exaggerated at all. It was luminous. What makes it glow? Why is it so arresting? How does the sun and it’s reflections transform all the other colours around it? Why does this matter?
WATCH // The Good News Report
Watch this video and get some ideas on how you can tell the good stories that are happening around you. I love the very last story about Nike and how he was adopted by a family who loved him.
Know that you belong in God's family and we love you!

FOR THE KIDDOS // Daniel and the Lion's Den
Have you ever been stuck somewhere in the dark? Just like Sam's story and Daniel's story we long for the light. How did you feel when the light came? Can you imagine how Daniel felt being in a den full of lions? How do you think he felt when the King had the stone rolled away? Do you know another story about a stone being rolled away?
Watch this story and find out.

MAKE

verb
1. form (something) by putting parts together or combining substances; create.
2. cause (something) to exist or come about; bring about.
MAKE // A Snack to Share
Make your favorite snack to share with your family. Is it honey on toast? Is it cut up apples with peanut butter?Is it cheese and crackers? Is it berries and whipped cream? I love making food to share. It’s always good news to have enough food to share. It’s even better news when you can eat your favorite thing with people you love.
MAKE // A Suncatcher
When my sons were younger and we were homeschooling, we loved making all different kinds of sun catchers and window stars and stained glass crafts. We had beautiful morning sun in our learning spaces  and they always made the room happier, and were a good reminder to me about looking for the light! Maybe you would like to make a suncatcher! 

TRY

verb
1. make an attempt or effort to do something. Use, test, or do (something new or different) in order to see if it is suitable, effective, or pleasant.
TRY // Watching the Sunrise
Make a plan to go to a good look out spot...maybe it’s even your backyard. Find out what time the sunrise happens tomorrow or this weekend. Then plan to be there to watch the sunrise above the horizon. If you are like me, it can be hard to be excited about the sun rise. It’s sooo early. After you’ve watched the sun come up, how do you feel? What colors did you see? Did you feel the sun’s warmth on your face? Think that God may be excited to make the sun come up again today and again tomorrow. This makes me smile to know God does not get tired.
A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abundant vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, “Do it again”; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, “Do it again” to the sun; and every evening, “Do it again” to the moon. It may not be an automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we.
– p. 61, Orthodoxy by G. K. Chesterton, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1994
TRY // Asking a Question
Try asking someone, if there is something they are afraid of and how do they cope with it? What is it that helps them get over their fear? Have they found ways to conquer their fear or cope with it?
Does asking these questions make you feel scared too or does it help you find ways to deal with the stuff you are scared of too?

PLAY

verb
1. engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation

FOR THE KIDDOS

PLAY // Your Favorite Song.
I have to say I have a lot of favorite songs. They make me happy and bring a smile to my face. I can’t stop singing them and maybe even dancing. Do you have a favorite song? Listen to it with your family or friends. Can you play it with an instrument? Or maybe sing it?
PLAY // Spotlight Hidie!
The aim of this game is to find as many people in the dark as possible within a time limit. You can set how long you want the round to go for.
To play this game you will need a group of friends, a torch or torches on your phone  and a place that can be dark. Everyone must have a torch.
Before you turn the lights out choose someone to be it. It is the person who has the torch and is searching for the people who are hiding.
Also choose someone who can turn off the lights once everyone has hidden themselves.
Once that has been decided “It” goes out of the room and everyone else hides.
Set the timer for how long this round will go for.
It searches using the torch to find where people are hiding. Once you are found you join it by turning the torch on on your phone and staying where you are.

Notice how easy it is to be found once the room starts to lighten up with all the torches on.

This is what our heart is like, our families, our communities, our world can be, when we let love, Jesus love switch on and light up where we are. Shine baby Shine!