Thanksgiving is coming!  Thanksgiving is coming!

Cranberries are a big part of the Thanksgiving meal.  Did you know that cranberry juice can be changed when different ingredients are added to it?  Did you know that people can change when different ingredients are added to them?  When we work on our relationship with God, our lives are completely changed.  We see things differently!  God sent Jesus to live with us here on Earth.  And when Jesus went to live in heaven, God did not leave us alone.  The Holy Spirit lives in all of us and helps us to work on our friendship with God .  What changes for you when you work on your friendship with God?  What things do you do to spend time with Him?

As a family, talk about what it is like to be friends with God.  Listen to each other to hear what works for each person.  Some people may feel closer when they mediate.  Others might like prayer better.  It doesn’t matter what you do to become closer, just do something.  God can create amazing changes in each one of you!

In the experiment below, the three glasses represent different things.  One is you if you do nothing to build your friendship with God.  The second is what happens when you let God  fully work in your life!  There is an explosion!  The third represents other influences that we allow to happen to us, or choices we make that impact our lives negatively.  They can be a little sour!  Keep all of this in mind.

Help each other in your family to spend time with God!  Encourage one another!  The gift is amazing!  And, don’t forget to tell God thank you this year, for everything and everybody in your life, but especially for the gift of Him!

Try this –

Cranberry Chemistry

Cranberries may be the official fruit of Thanksgiving.  Whether it is cranberry sauce on a turkey, or a delicious cranberry pie, the berry has become a staple on most tables during the holiday.  Beyond being a popular treat, cranberries contain anthocyanins.  Anthocyanins are pigments that change color depending on if they are reacting with an acid or a base.  Because cranberries are naturally acidic (it is part of the reason they have a somewhat tart taste) the anthocyanin reacts with the acid to make the berries red.  However, if you change the acidity, you can change the color too.

For this project, you will need three clear glasses, baking soda, cranberry juice, and lemon juice.  Then just follow the steps below:

1.    Pour one cup of cranberry juice into the three glasses.

2.    Add a tablespoon of baking soda to one glass and observe the reaction.  Things to look out for are bubbling, noises, and changes in how the liquid looks.

3.    Wait 2 minutes, and observe if any changes occur.

4.    Add two tablespoons of lemon juice to another glass, and again, pay attention to see if there is any reaction.

Baking soda is a base, so it should first foam up a bit when it contacts the acidic juice, and then react with the anthocyanin to turn the cranberry juice from red into a darker purple or blue color.  When you add the lemon juice, which is acidic, it should keep the juice a red color.