Challenge activity: A mother/daughter farm visit followed by an act of kindness. Key verse: Philippians 2:5-7 Key thought: Think of yourself the way Jesus did, humbling himself for others. Suggested challenging setting: a barn (preferably with animals)

Planning This Date:All you need is a barn to recreate the atmosphere into which Jesus entered the world. It would be ideal if you have a connection and can visit a barn where you can have some privacy (except for the animals) so you and your daughter can talk. If you don’t know of someone who has a barn, you could go to a commercial friendly farm or zoo with a farm section. Once you’ve determined your destination, here are the easy steps to take. Be sure to take your Bible!

Step 1: Prep TalkRead the following challenge before you begin your date.

Barns are a lot of fun. And very stinky. Both of these facts are especially true when a barn is full of animals. I know. I have a barn. And a lot of animals. You may have heard about Na-poleon, the peacock, if you’ve attended Secret Keeper Girl Crazy Hair Tour. We also have two horses, seven llamas, two fainting goats, two peacocks, two chickens, and one mini-donkey.

Cassie, the mini-donkey, is our most recent addition. Would you believe that two of our friends just dropped her off as a gift for our anniversary! Who does that? I wouldn’t even bring you a pet fish without asking if you wanted one. But our dear friend the Stauffers thought the Gresh farm was lacking a mini-donkey! (We are no longer lacking.)

Cassie is sweet and cuddling, but came to us a tad shy and scared so has yet to be bathed. (Can you say dirty?) She’s a little bigger than our dog and her round little body is so stout that I wonder that her teeny-tiny legs can even bear the weight of it! She loves us. If we go outside, she begins to try to bray. I say begin because she just can never quite seem to pump one up all the way to let it loose, but she sure is excited to see us. When we get close, she greets us with her big eyes and even bigger ears, and then promptly turns her back end to us. She wants a good scratch! We always oblige and then I feel like I need a shower because she is so dusty and dirty. (Next Spring she will get a good bath!)

Today I was pondering the fact that Jesus’ mom, Mary, rode a donkey into Bethlehem. While we don’t know exactly what animals may have been in the barn when Jesus was born, it’s fairly safe to say that the donkey was one of them. Well, that made me think of the first day we had Cassie. She was nervous about all her new barn mates and surroundings...and so was her tummy. Oh my, could that tiny body make a stink bigger than all the animals on the farm put together. You certainly wanted to watch where you stepped, if ya know what I mean. And she was noisy! That particular day she did get out a few very loud brays. (I think she was trying to call out to her old friends at her old farm!)

I wonder if Mary’s donkey was nervous being in a new place. Did it...well, ya know? Was it noisy, trying to bray?

This isn’t how we think of Christmas. Usually our image of the stable where Jesus was born is so...clean. But Jesus came in the quietest, dirtiest, lowest way possible.

He’s God.

He could have come anyway he liked. But he came this way. From the very beginning, he was proving he’d do absolutely anything to save us, love us, and serve us.

Philippians 2:5-7 says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did

not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a ser-vant, being born in the likeness of men.”

Step 2: Challenge Activity

Visit a barn. Enjoy the animals. This time of year especially, barns can be a little crisp. (Thankfully that can help a tad with the smell, if the barn you’ve chosen has animals.) Depending on where you live, there still may be flies or bugs. If you are in a private barn, you might ask to help muck a horse stall or feed the chickens. Note how noisy, dirty, and busy a barn can be. Have some fun, but be very observant

Step 3: Girl GabLet’s talk about what God says about being born in a barn.(You might do this while sitting in the barn so that you can really continue observing while you talk and

enjoy this Bible-focused time of mother/daughter girl gab!)

Read Luke 2:1-7 together and then, discuss these questions.

Mary and Joseph were probably wet and without question tired when they got to Bethlehem. They had to travel 90 miles on that donkey. (A normal long trip in one day back then was 20 miles, so they really “hoofed” it. Pun intended.) Excavators say the journey would have been up and down hills, not flat. And the weather? It’s estimated it was rainy and in the thirties during the day and really cold at night. This is how we find them when they learn they have to spend the night in a barn!

But, oh, thank the Inn Keeper! At least they have a barn. Of all the Bible characters in Luke, the Inn Keeper had the mind of Christ that we read about in Philippians 2:5-7. He didn’t think he was too important or too busy (even though his inn was so full) to help Mary and Joseph. He found a way to fit them into the little stable. Think about this as you talk today.

Step 4: G2G Prayer Each date will end in prayer, but this also requires action.

Pray for the family you have identified as having some special needs. Then, do what you can to meet the need. God revealed it to you for a reason.

For more dates like this, we have three published 8 Great Dates books available at

{secretkeepergirl.com}

Girl Gab Questions to talk about together:

Is a barn a good place to have a baby? Talk with your daughter about what it might have been like for Mary to give birth there. Where would she have chosen to lay the baby in this particular barn? Do you think they were comfortable? Clean?

Why didn’t God decide to have his son arrive in a King’s palace? Or at least a cozy rich man’s home? Talk about Philippians 2:5-7 and humility. How does this attitude compare with the way we sometimes have problems with entitlement and greedy-grimmie-gim-mies at Christmas time?

How can you both be like the Inn Keeper this Christmas season? The Inn Keep-er helped a young, tired, wet, needy couple in need. Look around you. Who do you see that is in need? How can you meet their need is a simple and practical way? Hatch a plan to-gether as mother and daughter and then set it in motion!

Secret Keeper Girl-to-Girl Christmas Coupon

THANKS to our Girl-to-Girl Moms and Daughters whose monthly donations make this date possible! As a practical way to thank you, we’d like to offer you this special coupon for The One Year Mother/Daughter Devo. Start the new year out by having devos together everyday!

50% OFF

Available only to Secret Keeper G2G Members- look for it in your email!