TREE OF LOVE

Print the Tree of Love and leave it on the dining room table for your family to discuss this week. Also, gather pencils and colored markers as you fill in the tree.

Read 1 Corinthians 16:14 and discuss the following questions with your family:

• How did our family learn to love? Who showed us how to love? (Family members, a caring friend, watching how another family cares for each other, Jesus caring for people)
• What are some things our family does really well in love for each other? (Empty the dishwasher, use kind words, ask for help, give a hug, listen to each other, laugh together)
• Sometimes, it’s really hard to love our family well. What are some ways our family might love each other well when it’s harder to love well? (Notice when someone is tired or stressed and offer compassion and grace; take in a deep breath of love/kindness before responding.)
• What are ways our family does well to love others in our community? (Visit an elderly adult, take a neighbor’s trash bin to the curb, meet and get to know a new family in the neighborhood or school, invent a creative way to raise funds for a special cause)

On the Tree of Love page, read Psalm 1:2-3. Here, we learn that if we follow God’s instructions, we are like a tree planted by the water so it can grow. We love because God tells us through the Bible and Jesus that God loves us, and we need to love others, especially our family.

Pray: God, thank you for giving us this family. Help us to show your love to each other in all we do and say. Amen.

This week, come back to the tree daily as you do anything in love and care for your family or community. Set a goal for each family member to do one or two acts of love daily. Write it in one of the hearts on the tree and then color it with a marker. You might be surprised by just how many ways you show love to others.