May 08, 2007

I’d been sent home from work early since for some strange reason concrete finishers don’t like to work in the rain—perhaps it has something to do with the fact that all that extra water pouring down from the sky makes the concrete on the ground dry slower? Got me. I just get it from point A to point B and slop it on the ground where they tell me to. But I digress.

I popped the turkey in the oven soon after getting in the door, (Say what?Whassamattayou, Heckler? Doesn’t everyone cook a turkey dinner on a rainy day? Now hush—I’ve got a story to tell!) and then sat down at Ye Olde Laptop to run a backup of my writing since I hadn’t done one since, oh, October of ’06. (Heh! This century, Heckler. I’m not that old. Right. Oh, hush.)

After I finished copying all the files to the CD I began to pull some up at random just to make sure the backup had gone smoothly—there have been a few CDs that turned out to be junk. I found one old file in my HIS_WORK folder that was named SCAV.DOC. “Hey!” I thought to myself. “I wonder if that’s—” I quickly pulled it up in my word processor and sure enough! It was an old scavenger hunt I had made for a church my family had been members of way back when . . . (Dinosaurs roamed the Earth? Smarty. Just because we knew the Three Wise Men when they were just smart kids . . . )

So what have a scavenger hunt and rain to do with each other? Well, not much. Perhaps you could do the scavenger hunt on a rainy day? Perhaps a cup of rain is the answer to one of the items listed? The mind boggles. What I’m doing with it is sharing it with you. Freely it was given to me by Another, so freely I pass it on to you to use for your church, youth group, bible camp—even your own family. I don’t care. Take. Use. Enjoy. It follows some random bible verses that have nothing to do with scavenger hunts and everything to do with rain.

Shalom u’vrachah – Peace and the Blessing

Tim

Rain verses to meditate on
(Not in any particular order) 

Genesis 2:4-7 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.Leviticus 26:3-4 If ye walk in my statutes, and keep my commandments, and do them; Then I will give you rain in due season, and the land shall yield her increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.

Job 5:8-11 I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause: Which doeth great things and unsearchable; marvellous things without number: Who giveth rain upon the earth, and sendeth waters upon the fields: To set up on high those that be low; that those which mourn may be exalted to safety.

Psalm 68:9 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.

Ecclesiastes 11:3a If the clouds be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth

Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater

Jeremiah 14:22 Are there any among the vanities of the Gentiles that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O LORD our God? therefore we will wait upon thee: for thou hast made all these things.

Zechariah 10:1 Ask ye of the LORD rain in the time of the latter rain; so the LORD shall make bright clouds, and give them showers of rain, to every one grass in the field.

Matthew 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.

Acts 14:17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.

Hebrews 6:7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God

(Organization Name)’s First Annual
Family Scavenger Hunt RulesWelcome to (Organization name)’s First Annual Family Scavenger Hunt! Below listed are the rules.

1. All participating entrants should be at L-location by T-time on D-day.
2. Participants will be broken up into four groups—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
3. Items on the list can NOT be on your person, part of your attire or YOU!
4. There is no rule #4. (Hey, this is supposed to be fun, right?)
5. NO items may be LIVING FAUNA ! (Please put the hoppy-toad back in the bushes!)
6. NO items may be ILLEGAL !
7. NO items may be obtained ILLEGALLY !
8. All lists are to be returned and checked by T-time on D-date, or earlier if all groups have returned prior.
9. There are no traveling area restrictions on this hunt. If you want to stay local, fine. If you want to fly out to Jerusalem, Israel—hey, knock yourself out!
10. Each item on the list is worth 5 points, bonus items are worth 15. In other words, He (or She) with the Most Toys, WINS ! Whether or not an item meets the criteria of what was listed and earns points will be decided upon by (Insert the name of someone cranky—cranky people tend to make the best judges!) or any others they designate.
11. Breaking ANY of these rules is grounds for disqualification of the group.
12. You have FIVE (5) minutes to read the rules and the list and ask any questions. No further questions about any of these items are allowed after those five minutes. (Not really—just checking to see who’s paying attention.)
13. (Organization name) is not responsible for any trouble you get into while executing this Scavenger Hunt. So be careful when executing any driver changes in the middle of traffic on the interstate.

Now, before we get on to the actual list, let me begin by telling you what we are looking for. We have put together a list of things that are referenced in the Word of God. It will be referenced to by book, chapter and verse. (I used the NKJV to write this—your version’s text may differ.) It is up to you, as a group of scavengers, to decide what that particular thing means to you and then get something to add to your collection to bring back to the (designated gathering point).

For instance, if we were to list “the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden,” (Genesis 3:3) chances are, the group would come back with an apple. Or, if we were to say, “We have here only five loaves and two fishes,” (Matthew 14:17) you might come back with a two-piece fish dinner. Use your imagination and have fun with it. Remember, we are not trying to make light of the Word, we are merely trying to have some fun using our minds to express biblical things in new and unusual ways.

(Organization Name)’s First Annual
Family Scavenger Hunt List of Items1. Let there be light. (Genesis 1:3)
2. He took one of his ribs. (Genesis 2:21)
3. Make yourself an ark. (Genesis 6:14)
4. A freshly plucked olive leaf. (Genesis 8:11)
5. Make ready three measures of fine meal. (Genesis 18:6)
6. She became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)
7. A ladder was set up on the earth. (Genesis 28:12)
8. A tunic of many colors. (Genesis 37:3)
9. So she said, “Your signet.” (Genesis 38:18)
10. Also put my cup, the silver cup. (Genesis 44:2)
11. Seed for the field. (Genesis 47:24)
12. Laid it in the reeds. (Exodus 2: 3)
13. He said, “A rod.” (Exodus 4:2)
14. I will not give you straw. (Exodus 5:10)
15. And the Lord rained hail. (Exodus 9:23)
16. And the children of Israel ate manna. (Exodus 16:35)
17. And there shall be a knob. (Exodus 25:35)
18. And you shall put it on a blue cord. (Exodus 28:37)
19. A sweet aroma to the Lord (Leviticus 1:9)
20. If they bind me with seven fresh bowstrings. (Judges 16:7)
21. His mother used to make him a little robe. (1 Samuel 2:19)
22. Cut off the corner of your robe. (1 Samuel 24:11)
23. Two seahs of barley. (2 Kings 7:18)
24. For a shekel. (2 Kings 7:18)
25. Take a large scroll. (Isaiah 8:1)
26. His food was . . . wild honey. (Matthew 3:4)
27. Give us this our daily bread. (Matthew 6:11)
28. Let me remove the speck. (Matthew 7:4)
29. Shake off the dust. (Matthew 10:14)
30. Whoever gives one of these little ones a cup of cold water. (Matthew 10:42)
31. They would have repented long ago in sackcloth. (Matthew 11:21)
32. Some fell among thorns. (Matthew 13:7)
33. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. (Matthew 13:31)
34. Even the little dogs eat the crumbs. (Matthew 15:27)
35. Then He took the cup. (Matthew 26:27)
36. When they had twisted a crown of thorns. (Matthew 27:29)
37. One of them ran and took a sponge. (Matthew 27:48)
38. Lying in a manger. (Luke 2:12)
39. Whose sandal strap. (Luke 3:16)
40. The fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. (Luke 5:2)
41. The gospel of Christ. (Romans 1:16)
42. Does not the potter have power over the clay. (Romans 9:21)
43. Branches were broken off. (Romans 11:19)
44. I put away childish things. (1 Corinthians 13: 11)
45. Written in the book of the law. (Galatians 3:10)
46. Having nailed it to the cross. (Colossians 2:14)
47. I am also in chains. (Colossians 4:3)
48. You have come to need milk. (Hebrews 5:12)
49. The earth provided its fruit. (James 5:18)
50. I am the Alpha and the Omega. (Revelation 1:8)

Bonus Items 

If you cannot find items on the first part of the list, or have extra time, the following items may be picked up:1. I set My rainbow… (Genesis 9:13)
2. Count the stars… (Genesis 15:5)
3. Judah is a lion’s whelp. (Genesis 49:9)
4. Benjamin is a ravenous wolf. (Genesis 49:27)
5. In a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. (Exodus 3:2)
6. We have seen His star. (Matthew 2:2)
7. They presented gifts to Him . . . frankincense. (Matthew 2:11)
8. A bruised reed. (Matthew 12:20)
9. Has become the chief cornerstone. (Matthew 21:42)
10. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 22:13)