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Twenty Questions
Grab
Two paper grocery sacks
Hammer
Can of soup
Box of tissues
New stuffed animal
Money
Car keys
Go
Is this another date? Will it be fun? It’s Twenty Questions! Place all of the items you gathered into a paper sack and fold the top closed. Instruct your daughter to find three items of her choice to place in her own paper bag.
Begin the date by choosing a place to go for ice cream, but keep it to yourself! Have your daughter guess where you’re going by asking you questions. Do they have fast food? Have we been there before? Once she figures out where you’re going, head on over there with your bags in hand.
Once you’re seated and have ordered your dessert, challenge your daughter to guess what your bag contains, beginning with the hammer. Only respond to yes or no questions, such as “Is it metal?” or “Can I eat it?” Open-ended questions like “What color is it?” just won’t work. When (or if) your daughter guesses that it’s a hammer, show it to her before closing up the bag again. Now it’s your turn to guess the first item in her bag.
Take turns playing Twenty Questions and see if you can guess what you each placed in your bags. Save the stuffed animal for last and make it her prize for finishing the game.
Grow
It’s fun and easy to play a game of Twenty Questions. It’s a lot more difficult when we try to answer the questions of life: Why do bad things happen to people? Why hasn’t God answered my prayer yet? When will Jesus come back? It’s good to know that God doesn’t mind our questions. He’s ready to help us when we’re discouraged or filled with doubt.
Read David’s prayers in the Bible when he was wrestling with hard questions:
How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me? (Ps. 13:1–2)
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?” (Ps. 42:1–3)
God won’t leave us hanging—he wants us to discover how real he is and how eager he is to meet our needs. He promises to meet us in the middle of our doubts and questions. Read his promise in Matthew 7:7–11:
Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!
Dear Father,
Thank you for your patience with us when we have doubts and questions. Thank you for hearing our prayers. We know you care about every struggle we face. You know when we worry or don’t have what we need. Give us faith to trust in your goodness so we don’t lose heart. Teach us to wait for you with confidence. You will always meet us in the middle of our situation. We love you! Amen.