A few years ago, my husband and I were making hot chocolate in a pot on the stove. We filled the pot with lots of water and added the hot chocolate mix, turned on the stove, and waited for itto heat. All of a sudden we heard a strange hissing noise coming from the pot—we saw the hot chocolate fountaining out of the pot, onto the stove, and down to the floor! We had a mess of hot chocolate everywhere.

Sometimes when I think of God’s love, I’m reminded of our hot chocolate disaster. God pours His love into us every day through the words He speaks, small moments with friends, a comforting word from a family member, and through a million other demonstrations of His love. He continues to pour into us every day until we become so filled up with His love that it begins to spill out of us and onto all of the people around us.

This month as a family, create your own bucket of love. Look for places you notice God or others pouring love into you, then remind your children that God fills us with His love so we can give it away.

What You’ll Need For Your Bucket of Love:

• small bucket or pail
• stencils, paint, construction paper, glue, or any other supplies you want to use to decorate the bucket
• a bag of wrapped candy (enough pieces to fill the bucket)
• card printout from bit.ly/homefrontpouritout

What You’ll Do:

1. Decorate the outside of the bucket with hearts, the word “love,” this month’s memory verse, or any other décor that will remind your family to love one another throughout the month. Keep in mind that once the bucket is full, you will be giving it away to a friend or neighbor. As you decorate the bucket, talk about who you would like to give it to once it is filled.

2. Place the bag of candy next to the bucket. Each night throughout the month, gather as a family and think through how you experienced God’s love that day. After someone shares a story, he or she can drop a piece of candy into the bucket.

3. When you give away your bucket of love, encourage the family who receives your gift to empty the bucket and follow the directions to refill and give it away to another family. Have fun together as a family tracking where your love bucket goes each month!