FOSTER CARE 20 JUNE 2025 www.goodnewsfl.org Good News • South Florida Edition It’s summertime, and it has me nostalgic thinking about my summers as a kid. I spent so much time outside year after year every summer. Some summers were spent in the Midwest, visiting my grandfather, others as I got older were filled with sports and other activities, but those early summers as a kid I was mostly outdoors, with family, making good memories. Doing good Good memories can also come from doing good for others – especially others who are in need. There’s a unique opportunity that comes around this time of year; we can slow down a little and create space to do more intentional good in our community. This doesn’t have to be overly complicated; there doesn’t have to be great barriers to doing good. It can be something simple like intentionally smiling at someone in the grocery store, praying for a person you may see asking for money at a traffic light, sharing a meal with a neighbor, or volunteering for an upcoming church event. I can remember my parents modeling this kind of goodness for me and my siblings growing up. Imagine it’s the 90’s and my parents have my siblings and I in tow for church each week, but they took the time to notice someone who needed some help. I can remember a woman being at church who was maybe taking the bus or walking to church every Sunday, but my parents started offering to give this woman a ride home. Something like a ride home from church can seem so insignificant, but we were able to get to know her a little bit better. We were able to love on her. We were able to take a simple step, and it brought my family from just attending church to actually being the church. This action of doing good blessed her greatly, and my parents were able to model that in our family. Good memories with our kids One of the best parts is when we get to do good with our kids by our side, and that is another gift summer gives us – more time with our kids. We get to model doing good in our words and actions, because we know they watch and learn so much from us. We can also create even more space to spend quality time with our kids, in some cases maybe it’s your grandkids or other kids in your life. For the most part kids are home for summer giving them extra time to watch and learn from us. In fact, Deuteronomy 6:6-7 tells us, “These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” We have time to impress goodness on our kids. Summer gives us that extra time to have really good conversations with our kids, to get to know them better, and to connect with them more deeply. At 4KIDS we see connection as the foundation for good relationships with kids. Whether it’s in encouragement or discipline, connection is what we strive for, and it gives us the best set up for purposeful discipleship. The goodness of God And when we’re spending this extra time with our kids, let’s not look past the chance to talk to them about the goodness of God. It’s so easy to only focus on just the good things our kids can do for God but what about talking to them about His goodness? When we openly and regularly talk about how good He is in our lives, we invite our kids into the experience of our testimony with God. This is what wins their hearts for the Lord; seeing how He has impacted our lives as parents in a setting where there is beauty and connection. I invite you to seek out and embrace the goodness summer is holding for you and your family. That deep, soul-filled goodness is usually waiting for us in the small, quiet, ordinary moments. Don’t miss out on the goodness God has waiting for you in this new season. Since September 2024, Andrew Holmes has been serving as the President of 4KIDS--a ministry that provides Hope, Homes, and Healing to kids and families in crisis. Learn more and catch the vision of a home for every child at 4KIDS.us. Have a Good Summer - Andrew Holmes - 4KIDS President
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