It is estimated that parents have 3000 hours of intentional time with their kids each year. The Kids Team knows that those hours are vital in the social, emotional, physical and spiritual development of your kids. In 2019, we want to encourage and challenge you to find rhythms in your home that are engaging, creative, fun and allow for natural conversations about faith and Jesus. Every month a staff member from the Kids Ministry Team will share an idea from their family rhythm that will guide you in making those 3000 hours a year a little more intentional. Join us each month by sharing how you incorporated the month’s challenge in your home. Post your family experiences to social media using #mhcfamilychallenge for chances to win prizes and encourage other families to join the challenge!

Camping 101

As a kid we never went camping but our family embraced the outdoors through other activities like fishing all the time. I had never slept in a tent, cooked meals on a camping stove, or tried to brave the elements in nature in such a way. Over the last several years my interest and love for the outdoors has increased since I started camping and finding all that can go along with it!

I love camp life. From cooking meals over a fire, spending days hiking and paddle boarding, to calm mornings waking up to the birds chirping. I love every aspect of it and creating lifelong memories is very easy when you are relying on good equipment and smart planning…or lack thereof. But to be fair you don’t have to be in the middle of nowhere or in a fancy tent, you can live your own camp life in your living room or backyard! My challenge to you is to create memories with your family in a simple creative way.

• Go on a hike and then plan to make a blanket fort and sleep in it at home!
• Camp out in the backyard and only use the restroom in the house, no electricity, electronics, or other luxuries.
• Use a grill or fire pit to roast hot dogs and make s’mores, then with the smell of a fire all over your clothes and sticky little fingers hugging your neck, play every annoying instrument your kids own and sing camp songs together.

It doesn’t take tons of money or fancy things to create some of the best memories your family will cherish forever, it just takes intentional time to be focused on each other . . . and sometimes being a little silly helps as well.

Share a picture of your family camping during the month of July (whether in the living room, backyard, or in the wilderness) on social media, to be entered in a drawing to receive a Cabela’s gift card. Facebook / MHCKids or Instagram @MHCKids.

JENN SHRADER 
KIDS WORSHIP ARTS + AWANA COORDINATOR