28
Ice Skating
Grab
Warm, comfortable clothes
Ice skates (or money for skate rental)
Car keys
Go
Gather up your warm jackets and gloves and make your way to a local ice rink. Put on your skates and head out onto the ice! If your daughter is new to skating, go slowly so she’s safe and relaxed. Hold hands and let your daughter set the pace. Praise her for her efforts. Be encouraging if she has trouble staying on her feet (or if she has to be patient with all of your tumbles on the ice!).
If your daughter is an experienced skater, give her the fun of showing you some pointers to improve your own skating skills. Give her a chance to perform for you and show you her talents.
Wrap up your skating date with some hot cocoa and time to talk and pray together.
Skating can be both nerve-wracking and exciting—you don’t always know if you’re going to lose your footing and end up flat on your back! It helps to have someone to hold on to for balance.
Sometimes in life we feel like we’re going to slip and fall too. We can get tripped up by tough decisions, disappointments, conflict with others, and the temptation to make wrong choices. We can forget to lean on God for wisdom. We can get carried away with our own ideas and ignore what God’s Word says about how to live.
It’s reassuring to know that God both plans our steps and keeps us steady when the path of our life is “slippery.” Psalm 37:24 tells us, “Though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.” Psalm 55:22 says to “cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.” When we don’t know what to do, God’s Word is a “lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105 ESV).
Talk with your daughter and make a list of any challenges, temptations, or decisions that could be tripping either of you up right now. Take some time to pray about these things right now!
Dear Father,
Thank you for your promises to keep us steady when life might make us stumble. Thank you for loving us so much that we can run to you with all our worries. Please keep us close to you—help us talk to you about everything we’re going through. Teach us to read your Word when we don’t know what to do. Help us to trust you with everything and follow you as you lead. We love you! Amen.