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We All Scream for Ice Cream
Grab
Two pint-sized food storage bags
Two gallon-sized food storage bags
1 cup half-and-half
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
Kosher salt or rock salt
Ice
Go
In each of the two pint-sized food storage bags, have your daughter carefully pour ½ cup of half-and-half, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and ½ teaspoon of vanilla. Seal the bags tightly. Fill each of the gallon-sized bags half full of ice and sprinkle about ½ cup of salt over the ice. Place the smaller bags into the gallon-sized bags and seal securely. Shake the bags for about five minutes until the mixture has thickened into ice cream.
Remove the smaller bags from the larger bags of ice, rinse off the salty water, and cut off a lower corner of each small bag. Squeeze the ice cream from the bags into bowls and enjoy!
Grow
It’s fascinating watching a sloppy bag of cream and sugar transform into a thick, delicious dessert. Sometimes we’re a lot like that—when life “shakes us up,” it changes us! Unexpected events, whether exciting or upsetting, force us to change our perspective and face how not in control we are of our lives. The great thing is that God promises to use every surprise and tough situation to grow our faith and make us more like Jesus.
God promises that not only can we survive hard situations, we can thrive! James 1:2–4 reminds us:
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
God uses our trials to build our trust and make us “grow up” in him—that’s something to be excited about! James continues by saying, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (v. 12). Wow. Such awesome promises. No wonder we can have joy in the tough times!
Thank you for allowing challenges to come our way. If everything was easy all the time, we would never learn to trust and depend on you. We would never learn to hang in there and grow. We wouldn’t have the chance to stand the test and receive your crown of life. Fill us with joy and excitement about the work you’re doing in us as we are tested. Thank you for your love! Amen.