Fridays are for Families

All ready to get your crazy on tonight?! I hope so! You may need to stop at the store for supplies for this object lesson.

FOLLOWING THE RECIPE

Items needed:
Cookie Recipe (supplied below)
All items of food called for

Instructions:
Make two batches of cookies before you start your other activities for the night.

FIRST BATCH- Give everyone a bowl. Allow each person to make a first batch of cookies making up their recipe. Tell them to do it as much like a real recipe as they can (of course they will have now idea! lol). Place everyones 'cookies' on cookies sheet number 1. Place these, um, cookies in the oven at the time and tempature that the recipe calls for.

SECOND BATCH- Follow directions closely reading them clearly for all to hear (and see). Allow everyone to add an item and help stirring. Place cookies on sheet and put in oven when first batch is complete.

While you are waiting for second batch go play a quick game of tag, Simon (or Daddy) Says, or maybe Red Light Green Light.

Now both batches are complete. Mwaaahaahahaa! Let everyone choose a cookie from each batch and taste them. Let them tell you what they taste like. Are they good? Bad? Would you like more? (Try to make them eat more of the bad ones for the fun of it!)

So, here the lesson begins. Tell the kids that there is a recipe for life. Ask them if they now where that recipe is found. Once, you have established that its found in the bible explain that we can go through life guessing at what we are suppose to do, or bending the rules by doing this or not doing that, but in the end we are like the first batch of cookies. We have missed the mark of what a cookie is supposed to be. When we follow God's recipe for our life we are the scrumptious cookie that the cook (Creator) intended.

Soft Chocolate Chip Cookies
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups butter, softened
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 (3.4 ounce) packages instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups chopped walnuts (optional)

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Sift together the flour and baking soda, set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Drop cookies by rounded spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Edges should be golden brown