Decorate
Use bright colors, making sure to include yellow. Hang rainbow posters, drawings or pictures in a prominent place where everyone is sure to see them.
Refreshments
Serve a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables with dip.
Crafts
Review the following sites for suggestions for crafts having to do with light:
Easy Mason Jar Luminaries – https://momspark.net/diy-easy-mason-jar-luminaries/.
Mondrian-inspired Mason Jar crafts – https://masonjarcraftslove.com/mondrian-mason-jars/.
DIY Faux Stained Glass: https://abeautifulmess.com/2015/02/diy-faux-stained-glass.html.
There are other interesting crafts from justpaintitblog.com.
Smart Phone Trivia
If the women have smart phones, ask them the following questions that can be answered with the help of their phones. For a bigger challenge, see how many questions they can answer without using their phone.
- What is Earth’s main source of light? The Sun
- What is the speed of light? 300 million meters per second or 186,282 miles per second
- What are the small energy particles that move in waves making light? Photons
- Why do we see lightning before we hear thunder? Light travels faster that sound
- Does anything travel faster than the speed of light? No
- How long does it take light to travel from the Sun to the Earth? Just over 8 minutes
- How far does light have to travel from the Sun to the Earth? 93 million miles
- Is the white light we see from the sun made up of only white colors? No
- What colors of the spectrum make up the white light we see from the Sun? Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo and Violet
- What “p” word allows us to see that white light is a mixture of all the colors? Prism
- What is formed when objects block the pathway of bright light? Shadows
- What are the uses of light (all light, including light from the Sun)? Energy, Warmth (Heat), Illumination (Light), to help things grow (Photosynthesis)
Light
Our theme today is God’s radiant light. When I think of light the first thing that comes to my mind is the sun. I love bright light and warm weather. I live in Arizona where the sun shines more days than not, and I really enjoy it. I grew up in areas of frequent rainfall. I longed for days when I could open the curtains and be greeted by beautiful blue sky and a sun riding high in the atmosphere.
We read in James 1:17, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows” (NIV). This verse is a part of the greeting written in the first chapter of James to fellow believers to encourage them to keep their focus on Christ and what really matters. It reminds us that our Heavenly Father is the eternal light in our life. Let’s think about what light does for us. It illumines our work area. Light from the sun gives us vitamin D, which is necessary to our health. It helps us see in the dark. When coming from a flashlight, it enables us to see small objects more easily. Can you think of any other things light does for us?
Summer is a time when light is abundant. Eventually the season will change and light from the sun will diminish, especially as the winter season approaches. As believers in Christ, we have a special privilege to experience the light and brightness that comes from our Savior. He is our source of joy and contentment no matter what season it is or what the sky looks like. Christ is not someone who changes or disappears like light eventually does every day. He doesn’t hide in shadows or change as time goes by. We have the amazing gift of Christ to light up our lives. We can share all the gifts and blessings we receive from Christ. We can have steady and unwavering faith that Christ will always be the light of our souls and the reason for our smiles.
As darkness in the Bible is closely associated with fear, evil, the evil one and separation from God, James chose to include this in his greeting because he wanted people to remember to stay in the light and out of the shadows. We use the Sun to illuminate the dark, and James reminds us that we need God’s Son to illuminate the darkness and get rid of the shadows in this world. It can be so confusing navigating life here on earth. There are so many things pulling us in so many different directions. But, if we rely on God’s Word, have faith in Jesus and trust the Holy Spirit, He will be “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” (Psalm 119). He will banish the darkness, because it cannot survive in the light.
Just as sunlight is used for energy, the light that comes from God gives us the energy we need to keep going and not to give up even when it seems like there is no hope. In the most humble or dire circumstances there is always hope. There is hope because we have a source of never–ending light. This constant light, much like the sun’s light provides us with warmth as we bask in the glow of Jesus’ love. When I realized for the first time just how much Jesus loved me, I can’t explain the feeling that emanated from my head to toes. I can only describe it as warmth and joy, which only comes from true love.
Lastly, we need the Sun’s light to grow plants, which we need to breathe and to eat. Like the plants, we also need God’s light to grow. In Arizona summers, if we don’t water our grass, it can go from vibrant green to a depressing brown in just a day or two. It needs water, daily, to survive the harsh heat. We are not much different. I’ll never forget the Sunday School song “Fishers of Men,” which states that if we read our Bibles and pray every day, we will grow, grow, grow. The second verse stated, on the flip side, that if we don’t read our Bibles and pray, we will shrink. We need God’s light to grow in this dark, dry and dangerous world. Without Him and His light, we will shrink; we will be parched, and we won’t survive.
We have a gift that never grows old, never leaves us and will be constant and steady. We have the gift of light that comes from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. As summer slowly fades and the light seeps into the shadows with a new season, remember the light from Christ is always there to light our way in the darkness. It gives us energy to persevere, provides warm love and enables us to grow into the people He wants us to be. We are radiant and beautiful because of the light and life we have in Christ Jesus.
