Adventures in Odyssey Summer of Service A.C.T.S. Blog Tour

 

Have you heard of Adventures in Odyssey?  I really hope you have because if not you are really missing out!  Adventures in Odyssey, the beloved audio series from Focus on the Family, has encouraged kids toward a stronger faith for 25 years.  Whit, Connie, Eugene, and the other lovable characters from Odyssey have shared countless adventures with kids across the world in the classic audio dramas, books, videos, and devotionals, fulfilling the AIO promise to help kids discover, imagine, and grow.  I am proud to partner with Adventures in Odyssey and Tyndale House in joining them in their Summer of Service A.C.T.S blog tour. 

Join Adventures in Odyssey this summer to discover how fun it can be to serve others!

This summer, Adventures in Odyssey is joining with Christian bookstores across the country, inviting kids to participate in a Summer of Service.  They’re promoting the biblical message, “When you serve, everybody wins,” encouraging kids to serve their families, their communities, and their world.  Whether it’s baking cookies for an elderly neighbor or putting together a care package for missionaries overseas, kids will discover that serving can be a blast!

How the A.C.T.S. (A Call to Service) challenge and contest works:

Kids who join A.C.T.S. can pick up a service log and collect fun character stickers for hours served at participating bookstores throughout the summer, or download a serving log online at whitsend.org.  At the end of the summer, kids can record and upload a short video telling how they serve and why they’d like to become an Adventures in Odyssey Ambassador.

A hundred winners will get the brand new AIO Album, and after online voting, two grand prize winners (one boy and one girl) will get to travel on an exciting Good-Goers Mission Based Adventure trip to another country with a parent!  The out-of-country destination will be announced on a live podcast May 22—hosted by AIO actors Katie Leigh (Connie) and Chris Anthony (Chris)—which you can watch at whitsend.org/acts.  You don’t want to miss it!

On May 22, there will be a webcast launch

Why serve?  And how to serve?

One of the best things we can do to build selfless, confident children is to help and encourage them toward a growing and thriving faith in God which includes serving others!  We do not serve because it makes us feel good - although, most of the time it actually does but instead we serve others because we are following God's instructions.  Modeling and encouraging serving will help build faith that our children can carry with them into adulthood—which is one of the greatest gifts any parent can bestow on their children.

For David's 35th birthday this year the kids and I put together a "blessing box" as one of his gifts. 

 Some of our ideas

The box contained 35 ways that we could bless others within our community.  These ideas included hiding $1 bills in our local Dollar Store, placing free red box codes on the machines, giving out reusable bags to those who forgot them, handing out Chick-fil-A gift cards, bags to be left at changing stations that contain diapers and wipes, snack bags (juice/granola bars) to hand out to those in need, Gatorade to distribute, Cliff bars to hand out, bags of change to be left on vending machines, and Hershey bars to be given out for a sweet treat to name a few. 

 

 Have you ever been out and about with a little one and forgotten diapers and perhaps wipes?  We thought this could really bless people with little ones.

Ready to distribute

The kids and I are also planning on baking cookies to distribute to the local firefighters in our area for all the work they do.  We want to bless them in a practical way and show them the love of God and thank them for their service!  David and the kids and I have been having a great time distributing the contents of his "blessing" box.  These are just a few examples of simple ways to bless and serve others.  What ideas do you have?  Please let me know!

Click here to gain access to the free downloadable mp3 file of the AIO Service episode!  And there is a free PDF download of summer service ideas for kids available here.  Hope you decide to participate!