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Treasure Hunt

Grab

Twenty index cards

Treat or small gift for your daughter

Pen

Gift bag or wrapping paper

Go

Wrap the treat or gift to make it a special surprise for your daughter. Number the index cards from 1 to 20. Hide card number 20 with the treat or small gift in a clever hiding place. On the back of card number 19, write a clue about the location of card number 20. Hide card number 19, and write a clue about its location on card number 18. Continue hiding the cards and writing clues about their hiding places until cards 2 through 20 are hidden. Save card 1 to give your daughter at the beginning of the game.

Give card 1 to your daughter. Tag along with her as she works her way through the clues. Feel free to give little hints if she gets stuck—the game should be challenging enough to be fun but not so hard that she gets frustrated. Praise her when she figures out a really tricky clue. Celebrate with her when she finds the special gift at the end!

Grow

Did your daughter think the hiding places were funny and unexpected? At any point in the search, did she get tired or confused? Was it fun watching her “aha!” moments when she figured out the harder clues?

Dad to Dad

Keep your daughter’s reading level and age in mind. A young, beginning reader could read clues such as “in a cup” or “in the tub.” An older daughter’s clues can be more complex, such as “where things tumble” (in the dryer), “where Dad finds strength to face the day” (the coffeepot), or “where we see the future” (the calendar).

The one thing about a treasure hunt is that it takes persistence to make it to the prize at the end. We should have that same determination when it comes to finding wisdom and deepening our knowledge of God.

In Proverbs 2:3–5, Solomon encourages his child to:

call out for insight

and cry aloud for understanding,

and if you look for it as for silver

and search for it as for hidden treasure,

then you will understand the fear of the LORD

and find the knowledge of God.

Use the “clues” in Scripture, in the teaching you find at church, and in your prayer time to eagerly hunt for wisdom. The most exciting prize we will ever receive is finding the truth of who God is!

One of life’s greatest mysteries is how the boy who wasn’t good enough to marry your daughter can be the father of the smartest grandchild in the world.

Author Unknown

Dear God,

Help us to search for wisdom as a great treasure. We want to find wisdom so we can know you better and worship you. Teach us your truth through your Word so we will trust you more as we follow you. Amen!